Chapter 11

"Naruto?"

"Yes, Itachi-san?" Naruto sniffled.

"Tell me," ten blue flames appeared at each of Itachi's fingertips. "Who's the dominant who got you pregnant so I can kill him."

Itachi growled. He attempted to get up but Naruto quickly stopped him by tightening his hold on the furious alpha's face.

"You're scaring me, Itachi-san." Naruto glanced down worriedly at the intimidating fire gathered at Itachi's lit fingers. "Please calm down!" Naruto let his arms drop after a few seconds when Itachi ceased his flames.

"Itachi-san, are you okay?" Naruto questioned hesitantly. He reached over and laced his fingers through Itachi's cold hands. The hands that he had thought he'd never feel moving against his again. "You just woke up, you shouldn't do anything that requires energy so soon." Naruto looked down at his and Itachi's joined hands as he spoke, unable to fully look Itachi in his eye. "Those kinds of questions can wait until Itachi-san is better."

Itachi's anger seemed to somewhat recede with Naruto's promise to explain.

"I've missed you so much, I'm so happy to see Itachi-san looking back at me with open eyes again." Naruto found the courage to look up, a small smile stretched across his plump lips.

For what seemed to be the first time Itachi truly looked at Naruto. Naruto's blue eyes were rimmed with tears and his pouty lips were wobbling slightly as he attempted to smile. He looked like a crying child, still so innocent looking and yet the proof of his marred innocence was displayed for the world to see. The child growing in his stomach could only mean one thing; another dominant had buried his seed inside Naruto. Itachi scowled. He wouldn't be able to wait until 'later'; he was far too livid to do that.

"How long have I been unconscious, Naruto?" Itachi murmured, hostility sizzling beneath his tone.

"It's been months, Itachi-san." Naruto answered cautiously. Itachi looked calm but he could tell Itachi was only putting on a calm face to pacify him. He could still practically smell the anger clinging to Itachi's scent; it was like the stagnant smell before a fire was lit.

Itachi ripped his hand out of Naruto's and raised it to the three red dots on Naruto's forehead. He rubbed at them as if he applied enough pressure the dots would miraculously erase away. Naruto was the sovereign of the Uchiha clan; the tattoo on his forehead clarified that clearly to him. Who had given Naruto the final dot in the center of his forehead? That was supposed to be his privilege to administer.

"So I've been asleep for months and I wake up to find my submissive pregnant with another man's child? How do you expect me to 'ask about it later', Naruto?" Itachi's eyes drained of its black color and turned bright red. The three tomoes in his eyes spun wildly. "Who was it that did this to you?" Itachi questioned in a tight tone.

Naruto bit his lip. He wrung his fingers together and looked about the room nervously. He couldn't say it. Itachi had always been such a strong alpha that even now, barely awake from a coma, Itachi still gave off a strong intimidating aura.

"Answer me, Naruto." Itachi commanded. The three tomoes in his eyes shifted into the unfamiliar design of the mangekyo. Naruto had never seen it in person before but he had heard about it. The mangekyo had abilities far above a normal sharingan. He knew when an Uchiha displayed their mangekyo that things were about to get serious.

"I-it's complicated Itachi-san!" Naruto clutched his stomach to form a protection barrier against the furious alpha's deadly eyes. The action only seemed to infuriate Itachi even more.

Itachi cupped Naruto's chin. He pulled Naruto's face forward until Naruto was forced to kneel onto the edge of the bed. "Complicated would be me waking up to find out that I lost the ability to use my eyes but this-" Itachi placed his hand over Naruto's that was still protecting his stomach, "this is a complete and utter betrayal. A complication wouldn't be what I'd call it at all. So I'm going to ask you again, who's seed was it that got you pregnant?"

"O-okay, I'll tell you." Naruto stammered, his fingers ached underneath Itachi's tight hold, "but first you have to promise me that if I do you won't kill him."

A furious growl tore out of Itachi's throat. It was a primal sounding yell that made Naruto's insides flutter with fear. His instincts were telling him to run but he couldn't. "The only thing that would stop me from killing whoever impregnated you is if you told me that the child inside you is mine and we both know that it isn't because the last I remember is that I left you completely untouched. Who did this to you? Who touched what was mine!"

Naruto had never seen Itachi like this. Since the day he had met Itachi he had always been perfectly composed. He was the quintessential perfect gentleman. Naruto could still recall how Itachi would always shower him with praises when he was young. The Itachi before him screaming with rage was so different than the Itachi Naruto had known that it was like Itachi had become a completely different person. He had heard of alphas going insane due to jealousy and this is exactly what he had imagined it like. He feared for his life. He was so scared that he was trembling; an alpha was naturally a being to be feared. An alpha didn't have to do much to frighten an omega-especially a pregnant omega. Naruto began to hyperventilate. The familiar feeling of not being able to get enough air into his lungs was creeping up and he hated it. He was terrified to even utter Sasuke's name. If Itachi killed Sasuke, Naruto's happiness in this world would cease to exist. Due to his pregnancy he didn't have the ability right now to physically protect Sasuke so if Itachi did go after Sasuke he wouldn't be able to do anything but watch as Itachi attacked his mate.

"Tell me!" Itachi yelled. He ignited his entire fist into a flame. The flame burned so bright that there wasn't a single trace of Itachi's signature blue flame within it.

Naruto sprung off the bed and cowered away from Itachi. "Please don't hurt me!"

Itachi's eyes widened. He took in Naruto's terrified appearance. Naruto's little body was hunched over into a ball. His small arms were wrapped around his stomach. He was trembling like a wet kitten and his eyes were screwed shut. He appeared fragile, the perfect image of a submissive protecting its child from harm.

Itachi sighed. He blinked his mangekyo away and then got off the bed. He kneeled down in front of Naruto and caressed the top of Naruto's head. "I'm sorry for yelling, enough crying, okay? I promise I won't kill him. Just tell me who he is, I think I deserve to know the name of the man who impregnated my betrothed."

Naruto raised his head. He hesitantly looked up at Itachi. Itachi's black eyes stared down at him. He appeared like his normally composed self. Itachi smiled and caressed Naruto's cheek. This was the real Itachi, the one he had always known. "Come, little one, tell me his name."

Naruto nodded. Itachi was going to find out eventually. It was better to tell him while he was in this momentary calm state. Naruto took a deep breath. "It's Sasuke-"

The second Naruto uttered Sasuke's name Itachi reflexively grabbed Naruto's hair at the back of his head and pulled back exposing Naruto's neck. He sniffed it and pulled away in complete disbelief. Now that he smelled it the scent that clung to Naruto was obviously his brothers...He should've known it was Sasuke when he saw the three Uchiha sovereign dots on Naruto's forehead. His father would've never let them be bestowed upon Naruto if Naruto hadn't been getting married to a royal Uchiha.

"Itachi-san?" Naruto murmured when he noted that Itachi was looking at him with an odd expression. It was like the old Itachi was slowly crumbling away and the new Itachi was taking over. "Are you…are you mad?"

"I still remember the way you shyly smiled that day five years ago when you first arrived here." Itachi's eyes were looking far off, past Naruto. "Your cheeks were so chubby and you were so little. Initially I didn't think I could marry someone so much younger than me but you were so refreshingly innocent. You were so naive about my intentions back then, every time you asked me to translate something for you you'd get so flustered and I'd find it absolutely adorable. Before I knew it I was in love with you. I was the one to ask my father in private if he could extend our marriage date because I wanted you to be of appropriate age when I had you. I waited those five years for you, and when you came back you were even more beautiful than I had remembered. I loved you more than I thought possible." Itachi's eyes came back to the present, he glared down at Naruto. The last remnants of the warmness of the old Itachi had completely dissipated. "Am I mad? What kind of question is that? Of course I'm mad! You we're promised to be mine since the day you turned ten! You were supposed to be my submissive, this child," Itachi roughly caressed Naruto's stomach, "was supposed to be mine. I loved you Naruto," Itachi's voice grew hoarse. If Naruto didn't know any better he would've thought that Itachi was staving off tears but he knew Uchiha men didn't cry. "I still love you." Itachi ran his thumb along Naruto's bottom lip. "Your adorable expressions, the way you so blindly depended on me whenever you needed clarification on what someone said, your stunning blue eyes-I fell in love with all of it and now I wake up to find that you have married my brother of all people? Why didn't you wait for me? I waited five years for you!"

Naruto looked away, Itachi's gaze was burning him with guilt.

"I didn't have a choice, Itachi-san. Your father was the one who came up with the idea to marry me to Sasuke-" Naruto was cut off suddenly when Itachi kissed him. Itachi's warm lips moved passionately against his, sucking the breath right out of him. Naruto closed his eyes. He was internally freaking out. He hated the feeling of another dominant's lips other than Sasuke's on his but he also felt extremely guilty. Everything that Itachi had said was true, he had indeed betrayed him in the worst way possible. He allowed Itachi to kiss him for a few languid seconds until he felt Itachi's tongue prod at his lips so that his tongue could enter his mouth. Naruto recoiled back. He put his hand on Itachi's chest to stop him from kissing him again. He felt like vomiting.

"Why'd you stop me? I thought you said my father forced you to marry Sasuke? That means you had no choice and you truthfully have longed for me all this time right?"

"Itachi-san has misunderstood me. Fugaku-san did indeed betroth me to Sasuke but I was entirely willing." Naruto pulled the high collar of his kimono down, exposing the spot where his neck met his collarbone. "I allowed Sasuke to mark my neck, he is my mate. I never wanted you to find out this way but I have always loved Sasuke. I'm sorry Itachi-san but for me Sasuke is the only alpha I want."

Itachi stared down at the bite mark on Naruto's neck. He touched it, his eyes unblinking.

"Mate..." Itachi's eyebrows drew together as his face scrunched into an unrecognizable expression. "Always loved him...?"

"Itachi-sama! You're awake!" A brown haired maid exclaimed from the doorway. The mountain of pillows she had been carrying fell to the floor. Her eyes widened even more when she realized that Naruto was also in the room and appeared to be terrified.

"Naruto-sama, are you okay?" The maid began to run to aid Naruto but before she could even take one step towards Naruto she was encased in flames. A single anguished scream tore out of her throat and then she fizzled away into a pile of ashes.

"Why did you do that!?" Naruto cried out. He reached his hand out towards the pile of ashes so he could scoop some of the dusty remains into his hands. "Rin did nothing wrong why did you kill her! She was my friend!"

"I'm only going to ask this once, Naruto. Take me to my brother." Itachi said hollowly, not even batting an eyelash over the fact that he had just killed an innocent girl.

"Why? What are you going to do to him? I won't let you hurt him!" Naruto screamed with all of his might.

The loud scream instantly attracted Naruto's personal guard.

"Naruto-nii what's wrong?!" Deidara came stampeding into the room. Two large clay birds were already floating in his hands, ready to be ignited. "Itachi-sama?!" Deidara exclaimed as he came to an abrupt stop. He was utterly shocked to see the once unconscious man out of bed. His heart fluttered seeing the handsome alphas face awake for once. He was so much more beautiful when awake, Deidara's thundering heart immediately calmed down when he realized that Itachi was the reason for Naruto's blood curdling scream.

"What are you doing to my cousin?" Deidara added energy to his clay birds, as they grew bigger they transformed into two big spiders. "Did you hurt him? Answer me!"

"Dei, get out of here!" Naruto yelled. "He's unstable right now, he might hurt you!"

"I won't leave you here alone!" Deidara yelled back, his blue eyes were filled with conviction despite the butterflies swarming around inside his stomach. "I was sent here to protect you even if that's from someone I don't want to hurt!"

Itachi glared daggers at the unknown yapping blond. The blond was dressed in tight black combat pants and a short yukata that had long swinging sleeves. His hair was long and tied into a half ponytail and his eyes were a watery shade of blue. Itachi had never seen him before, he had called Naruto his cousin though so Itachi summarized that the blonde was exactly as he had said-Naruto's cousin. This complicated things; he couldn't kill someone who was closely related to Naruto, even in his maddened mind he knew that. He used his sharingan to discern what the clay spiders the blond was holding were made of. "Impressive." Itachi switched is sharingan to mangekyo, it was noticed only by Naruto. "But useless against me."

"Dei, run!" Naruto screamed out at the top of his lungs but before his warning reached Deidara's ears Deidara had already dropped to the floor unconscious. His body was slumped over into a fetal position; his blue eyes were looking straight ahead, unblinking. And his mouth was hanging open in a silent scream.

"Now I'm going to ask you again, take me to my brother." Itachi commanded.

"I know what the mangekyo does; you're mentally torturing him right now aren't you! Stop it! Deidara doesn't deserve to be tortured just because of me!" Naruto sobbed brokenly. His tears made everything look like blurry blobs. The pile of ashes of what used to be Rin looked like a black smudge against the floor. Naruto moved to get up but Itachi held him down. " Why are you hurting the people I love? Stop, please just stop all of this!"

"Then take me to Sasuke."

"Why? So you can kill him!" Naruto pounded his fist against Itachi's chest, he hit as hard as he could but Itachi didn't even flinch. "What is wrong with you? This isn't like you! The Itachi-san I know isn't a cold-blooded killer! Who are you? I want the real Itachi-san back!"

"This is me. This is what you've turned me into. You've broken my heart, Naruto. You see, a dominants love for his submissive is irrational; it makes us do crazy things."

"So you'd kill everyone, even your own little brother just because of that? That's insane! Well I won't let you." The tattoo on Naruto's stomach began to glow white. New energy flowing through him rapidly like the last time when Neji had attempted to mount him. "I love you Itachi-san, you're very dear to me but I can't and won't allow anyone to hurt my alpha and that includes you!" Naruto produced a rasengan. He threw it at Itachi but Itachi easily dispelled it with a single look from his mangekyo. It fizzled down into nothing before Naruto even had the chance to throw it.

"You won't win, Naruto. And I won't fight you; a dominant that fights his submissive isn't worthy of being a dominant. Besides I could never bring myself to hurt you because even though you betrayed me I still love you." Itachi touched his fingers to Naruto's forehead. Naruto unwittingly looked up, at the same time his eyes locked with Itachi's. He instantly realized the error of his ways. He knew that you should never look an Uchiha in the eyes whenever their eyes were glowing red and he had done just that. Naruto wrapped his arms around his stomach as he felt his body going limp. The corner of his vision turned black, as his eyesight narrowed all he could focus on was Itachi's two glowing red eyes.

He had fallen right into Itachi's genjutsu. His last conscious thoughts were of Sasuke, hoping and praying that his mate would be safe.

Sasuke was exhausted, he had a slight headache, and it would be a couple more hours before he could crawl into his bed, where Naruto was waiting, warm and clingy and too far away at the moment. For now he had to deal with the headache inducing council meeting he was currently sitting through.

"I still think we should proceed with the current relationship status we have with the Hyūga's. Despite what Hiashi's children did we can't afford to terminate our alliance with them. The Hyūga clan has been our ally for centuries!" A balding gray eyed old man dribbled pompously. He was the eldest Uchiha royal in the Uchiha clan; he was an eccentric old man who usually spoke nonsensical things. His words were hardly ever taken into consideration but people still respected him. Sasuke didn't like him. He had heard many stories about the old man when he was a child. Supposedly the man had been a complete savage during the war. Whenever one of his fellow clansmen were slain down the man would gouge out their eyes and use them for his self. Rumor had it that the man still had the eyes and that they were all embedded in the skin of his arms.

"Danzo-san is right! We can't end our peaceful relationship with the Hyūga's. It's not like they actually killed Itachi-sama! They haven't done anything severe enough for us to end our relationship with them." A young councilman named Sai said passionately. He was new to the council; he had gotten in only on the good word of Danzo so he was always siding with the old man regardless of whatever crazy thing Danzo said.

"Have you all lost your minds? If we don't sever our relationship with the Hyūga's after all they have done to us the Uchiha clan will look like a bunch of easy fools!" Obito yelled incredulously. His haggard looking face had been set into a scowl all morning long. "This topic shouldn't even be under discussion!"

"I agree with Obito-san." Shisui spoke up. "In my opinion we should've severed our relationship with them the day Itachi-san lost the duel."

"Youngins like you only think about your stupid pride. We can't afford to lose our standing with the Hyūga's. They are our most powerful allies in times of war! We need to overlook the minuscule things they did! If we don't we may regret it in the future!" Danzo huffed as if he were an all-knowing god.

"Minuscule?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow. Everyone in the council room glanced at the Uchiha king. Sasuke stared past them and trained his eyes on Danzo's cloudy gray ones. "You consider cheating in a duel and putting my brother in a coma that he may never wake up from minuscule?" Sasuke's eyes slowly turned red as he glared at the old man.

"I didn't mean it like that, my lord!" Danzo quickly rectified, the sagging wrinkled skin of his jowls shook as he bowed hurriedly. "I just meant that-"

"You consider my submissive being physically assaulted and almost taken by one of those Hyūga dogs minuscule?" continued, not giving Danzo a chance to explain. "Your sight isn't the only thing that has left you in your old age, your pride has as well! The Uchiha clan doesn't need the support of a clan like the Hyūgas! If you think that we are so weak that we can't get by without the Hyūgas help then maybe you should go and join their clan instead!"

"My lord, forgive me. I could never defect form the Uchiha clan. I only spoke my honest opinion. We have already exacted fair revenge on the Hyūgas. Their princess is shamed and you have scarred their king's face with your flame beyond recognition. I've heard rumors that the right side of his face is nothing but scarred burnt skin now!"

"You consider that fair?" Sasuke laughed humorlessly, "Fair would be me gouging out Hinata's eyes and then burning Neji until his entire body is scarred from head to toe. Fair would be if I waited until his submissive got pregnant and then forced myself onto him! That would be fair! But fair isn't what I'm after. I have no intention of keeping the Hyūgas as an ally and it's quite clear that they don't intend to keep us as an ally either."

"What do you mean, Sasuke-sama?" Obito asked alarmed by the new revelation.

"Isn't it obvious? The Hyūgas have been planning on nullifying our treaty for a while now."

"My son is right." Fugaku intoned from his seat on Sasuke's right side. "I had my suspicions about them ever since Neji challenged Itachi to a duel. Neji is impulsive but he's not a fool. He understands his politics well. He would've never challenged Itachi to a duel if his father hadn't given him permission beforehand. I'm sure that Hiashi had instructed his son to challenge Itachi so that he could get Itachi out of the way. My suspicions were confirmed when Sasuke told me that Hiashi had found a submissive bride for Neji outside of Fire Country. The Hyūgas are planning on ending the treaty and will replace us with Mist Country. I suspect they desire to become the most powerful clan in all of Fire Country and with Mist backing them they could achieve that."

"So basically they've grown tired of our dominance of the North and now their trying to get rid of us by ending the treaty. Sounds like they want war!" Obito thundered.

"I-I didn't know that..." Danzo said dumfounded.

"That's because you blindly wanted to keep the Hyūgas as our allies you old fool!" Obito yelled.

"Don't talk to Danzo-san so rudely! Have some respect when speaking to your elders." Sai shot back.

"Quiet!" Sasuke slammed his fist on the table. A hushed silence instantly fell across the tense council room. He rubbed his temples to try and soothe away the headache that had been steadily developing all morning, "the bottom line is that our clan will sever the alliance with the Hyūga's. It is no longer up for debate."

Shisui and Obito discreetly bumped fists underneath the table for their victory.

"They probably think we don't know about their plan to end the treaty, which is good. We want to surprise them. We have to let them know that we know what their plotting but in a sly way."

"So I shouldn't write a letter to tell them the alliance is over then?" Obito questioned. It was his job as head commander general to issue all tactical declarations.

"No, we'll let them know the alliance is over in a more severe way." Sasuke grinned; he turned to Danzo, "Danzo,"

"Yes, my lord?" Danzo was stunned the Uchiha king had even addressed him after how he had reprimanded him earlier.

"I heard you like to collect eyes, is this true?"

"That's nothing but a rumor, my lord!" Danzo exclaimed animatedly.

"Is it true?" Sasuke pressed.

Danzo crumbled underneath the powerful gaze of the king. "Yes, it's true."

"Thought so. How would you like the opportunity to collect a new pair of eyes? These eyes aren't in your collection but they're every bit as valuable as the sharingan."

Danzo's ears perked up. "I...wouldn't be against the idea."

"Good. I want you to send your best man to collect the eyes of Hinata Hyūga. She possesses a powerful byakugan, which I'm sure you're interested in. After your man collects her eyes I want you have him bring them to me. After I verify that they belong to her I'll let you keep them."

"The eyes of the princess?!" Danzo blanked, his eyes crinkled at the corner as he moved his lips into a sneer. "I'd be honored to complete this task for you, my lord. But how will they know it was the Uchiha clan who did it?"

"That's the easiest part." Sasuke's feral grin immediately made his young face look chilling. "With the blood dripping from her empty eye sockets I want your man to draw a swirl on her forehead."

"But how would the Hyūgas know what that means, my lord?" Danzo asked stumped.

Sasuke's feral smirk widened even more. "Oh, trust me. Neji will know what it means the minute he see's it."

"Sasuke-sama, the way you're speaking it's as if you not only want to end the treaty but to actually start a war." Shisui observed.

"That isn't my intention but an inevitability. There's too much bad blood between our clans, the pendulum has been swinging in this direction for years I can't do anything to stop it but I can control the spot in where it lands and I plan on it landing with the Uchiha clan reigning supreme."

Three hours later the council meeting was adjourned.

Sasuke stood up stiffly and stretched out his sore arms. No matter how many council meetings he had to sit through it never got easier to get through them.

"You did excellent today, son." Fugaku said later on when he and Sasuke were on the carriage ride back to the Uchiha palace. "You were wise to not let that old fool disarm you." Fugaku clamped his hand over Sasuke's shoulder in a rare display of affection. Lately he had been content with the way Sasuke had been running the clan. It was a nice feeling since Sasuke thought his father wouldn't be happy with anyone else running the clan except Itachi.

"Thank you father." Sasuke murmured. He was glad his father approved but he wasn't really listening. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of his sweet blond waiting at home for him. After a day like this Sasuke wanted nothing else but to be with Naruto and his calming sweet milk scent.

The carriage came to a stop in front of the Uchiha palace. As soon as Sasuke stepped out of the carriage he could feel something was off...the air felt stagnant with dwindling energy and the air smelled slightly of burnt flesh.

"What is it, son?" Fugaku questioned when he noted Sasuke's alert disposition.

"Do you smell that?" Sasuke activated his sharingan to scan the dark surroundings of the palace entrance. "It smells...odd in here."

Fugaku sniffed at the cold air. The hair on the back of his arms stood on end when he caught a strong whiff of burnt flesh. "Someone was incinerated in here today."

"There's another scent too..." Sasuke tried to separate the other strange scent wafting in the air but the overwhelming smell of death masked it. The other scent smelled familiar, it was an odor that he was fond of but hadn't smelled in a long time. Where had he smelled it before…

"Uchiha-sama, thank goodness you're home!" A maid came tottering into the room. As she came closer Sasuke could see that the back of her hands were burned. They looked like fresh burns too. Red and chaffed over with yellowed peeled back skin. She wasn't the source of the burnt flesh smell though; the scent smelled much more pungent from the second floor of the palace. The maid bowed hurriedly. "Your presence has been requested. I was ordered to take you to the room as soon as you arrived."

"Ordered by who?"

"I was told not to reveal that Uchiha-sama!" The maid flinched, ready to be reprimanded.

Sasuke was on the cusp of completely yelling at the insipid maid for refusing to answer his question but then his mother waltzed into the room. She had a foggy look in her eyes, like something marvelous had happened to her. She grabbed the maid's burnt hands and gestured for her to calm down.

"Listen to her, honey. A special someone is waiting for you. Just follow her."

Sasuke quirked his brow. What was happening and why did everything feel so...weird.

Fugaku grunted. "Just do as your mother says. It might have something to do with the horrid smell in here."

Sasuke had no desire to obey a maids orders even if his parents were telling him to do so but his curiosity about who the person was that had summoned him made him nod his head and agree. "Lead the way then."

The maid exhaled a sigh of relief. Sasuke could actually see half the nerves melt away from her round face. She turned and began to walk and Sasuke followed behind.

They stopped in front of sliding doors that lead to a tearoom.

The maid bowed. "This is as far as he ordered me to take you. Please enter when you are ready." The maid wrung his hands together and then turned to leave. She glanced nervously over her shoulder and when she saw Sasuke's red eyes glaring at her she broke into a sprint until she was completely out of the hallway.

Sasuke looked away and glanced back at the closed door. The other familiar scent that he had smelled earlier was overwhelmingly strong in this area. It was a warm scent that made Sasuke want to relax but there was also a dark energy mixed in with it that made Sasuke highly cautious. He slowly opened the sliding door; the tearoom was dark. There seemed to be only one candle lit and it was burning in the middle of a low tea table. Sasuke's sharingan easily adjusted to the dim lighting of the tearoom as he walked in. The scent was suffocating him; it was practically choking him. He scanned his eyes around the room and instantly halted when he caught two red eyes in the shadows.

Sasuke's heart all but stopped. Was that who he thought it was? He only knew one person who possessed the mangekyo.

"Itachi?" Sasuke called out skeptically. Had he just imagined his brother's mangekyo in the darkness?

A series of candles suddenly lit up, bathing the room in much needed light. The brightness instantly gave Sasuke the answer he had been wondering. He hadn't been imagining Itachi at all, his brother really was there sitting at the tea table. No wonder his mother had looked so overjoyed.

"You're awake!" Sasuke shouted joyously. He strode further into the room to give his brother a hug. He stopped when he saw something odd, a familiar shape lying on the floor. It was Naruto. His head was lolled on Itachi's lap and he was lying on his side. His eyes were closed and his pink lips were slightly parted the way they did when Naruto was in deep sleep. Itachi had his hand in Naruto's long loose hair. There was a strand of rubies and two red roses on the tea table, they were the same ornaments that Naruto had been wearing in his hair when Sasuke had left the palace that morning. Itachi's hand was stroking Naruto's hair repeatedly, as if he had been doing it for a while.

"Brother, when did you wake up? Why is Naruto asleep on top of you?" Sasuke tried to stitch the pieces of the puzzle before him together. Itachi was no longer in a coma but why did he still see bloodlust in his brother eyes? And how had Naruto fallen asleep on top of him? Sasuke refused to feel jealous; this was not an unknown dominant snuggling up with his submissive. It was his brother who had just woken up from a coma!

"He isn't sleeping. I put him in a genjutsu. He's been in it for about four hours now." Itachi said simply. Like what he said wasn't strange at all. "He's managed to break it nine times now so if I don't keep him like this I'll have to start over."

"Four hours?! He's pregnant, that's dangerous! Stop the genjutsu!" Sasuke tried to keep the anger out of his voice. His brother was awake after so long, he didn't want their reunion to be marred by anger but what was Itachi thinking putting Naruto under a genjutsu when he was pregnant! It could hurt Naruto and their child!

"If I do that then I'll have to start all over again." Itachi's eyes were devoid of emotion as he spoke. Like he was talking to a thing that wasn't worth his time.

"Start what all over again? You seem different Itachi, are you okay? What are you doing to Naruto?"

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine." Itachi's lips twitched up, "I'm just doing what has to be done. I'm rewriting his memories."

"What do you mean rewriting his memories, you're not serious are you?"

"I'm dead serious, little brother. I'm filling his mind with one long genjutsu that will replace all of his memories after my duel with Neji. He keeps fighting me though, every time he manages to break the genjutsu I have to start the memories all over again. He's strong for a pregnant submissive but I suspect it's mainly because of this-" Itachi lifted Naruto's kimono.

"Don't undress him!" Sasuke made a move to cover Naruto back up but Itachi's hands moved too fast. He had already bunched the multiple layers of the kimono over Naruto's round stomach, exposing Naruto's naked belly and legs to the lit room.

Sasuke instantly understood what Itachi was talking about. The seal snaking around Naruto's navel was glowing a luminescent white color.

"The Uzumaki clan is more amazing than anyone realizes. They're smart, these seals on their royal submissives aren't only an indicator of status but it seems they also double as a personal guard for when a submissive is carrying a child. Since Uzumaki's are known to sire gifted offspring other clans usually target them. They don't want anything to happen to these offspring especially if that offspring has noble blood so they infuse these seals with protective energy that only awaken once the submissive is pregnant. It's genius. Or at least it is against other clans who don't posses Uchiha ocular abilities. This seal," Itachi lazily traced the seal pattern with his finger, "is easily controlled with my mangekyo."

"Enough of this Itachi!" Sasuke shouted. "Stop the genjutsu you have casted on my submissive and stop acting like this! You sound crazy!"

"I'm almost done, little brother. I'm on the last day. When Naruto wakes up he'll no longer be your submissive. He'll be mine." Itachi cracked a wry smile. The displaced smile on Itachi's face infuriated Sasuke; his brother didn't smile like that. This man was just an imposter disguised as his brother!

"You bastard. Who the fuck are you and where the fuck is my brother!" Sasuke grabbed Itachi by his collar and pulled him up. Itachi stared up impassively.

"I am your brother. The only thing that has changed is that I now know what betrayal feels like." Itachi sneered coldly.

Sasuke glared down at Itachi's "face". His mind conjured up the image of his brother from five years ago. Back then his brother had been his entire world. Itachi had been first in line to inherit the throne his whole life and still managed to remain humble. His brother hated showing off excessive wealth and believed that respect for everyone, no matter his or her status was a rule everyone should follow. While growing up he had looked up to Itachi more than he did his own father. This snarky man sneering up at him wasn't that same Itachi that Sasuke had idolized all through his childhood.

"Stop lying and give me back my brother!" Sasuke screamed. He balled his fingers into a fist and swung back, punching Itachi right in the jaw. Itachi sat up and grinned. His eyes were now jet-black.

"That hurt, little brother." Itachi feigned a hurt expression.

Sasuke didn't understand. Why was Itachi acting innocent now? A loud scream resounded through the tearoom and in that second Sasuke instantly understood. Naruto had woken up.

"Sasuke-san why did you do that!?" Naruto glared at Sasuke as he stood up and cradled Itachi's injured face in his hands. "I know he's your brother but I'm going to have to ask you to never hurt my alpha like that in my presence ever again!"

"Naruto what are you talking about I am your alpha." Sasuke pulled down his collar and showed Naruto his mating mark. "Itachi just had you under a genjutsu so you think he's your alpha but he's not I am. You gave me this mating mark remember?"

Naruto's face burned red. He swiveled his head away from Sasuke's displayed neck and buried his head in Itachi's neck. "Sasuke-san whatever you and Sakura-chan do in the privacy of your bedrooms is no concern of mine! Please don't show me such intimate things!"

Sasuke's eyes bulged. "Sakura?!"

"Yes, your wife and future mother of your child remember Sasuke. Or at least that's how it was during my duel so that's how Naruto remembers it." Itachi said passively.

"What have you done!" Sasuke hissed. The reality of the situation was settling in. He didn't think it was actually possible for Naruto to forget him, genjutsu or not. He had thought that Naruto's love for him was too deep to be uprooted by a genjutsu. "Change Naruto back or I'll fight you." Sasuke wouldn't just hand over his submissive so calmly just because Itachi was his brother.

"Fight me? Naruto is my submissive. You can't fight me for something that already belongs to me." Itachi's fingers glided across Naruto's cheek, under his chin, and stopped at the deep bite mark on his neck. "I'm the one who gave you this mating mark, right Naruto? Tell my brother when I gave it to you he seems to have forgotten."

Naruto blushed. He placed his hand over Itachi's on his neck. "Itachi marked me on our wedding night, he was very gentle and loving-but I don't see how that's any of your business Sasuke-san!"

"I'm the one who gave it to you on our wedding night! Don't you remember, love?" Sasuke said in a forced placid tone. He was losing his ability to remain calm; the scared look in Naruto's eyes as he looked at him was a look Sasuke had never received from Naruto before. It really was as if Naruto didn't have the faintest idea of what he was talking about.

"He's just joking, Naruto." Itachi reassured the confused submissive.

"Oh, I see." Naruto forced out an airy laugh, Sasuke knew from experience that Naruto only laughed like that when he was uncomfortable. That laugh had also never been used on him. Itachi stood up and helped Naruto to stand as well. "Come Naruto, let's retire to our sleeping chambers. It seems my brother isn't feeling well tonight."

Naruto nodded obediently. "Please get some rest tonight, Sasuke-san. I've never seen you act so strange, it's a little terrifying."

"Wait!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him against him self. "Your mind might not remember me but your body will!" Sasuke cupped Naruto's chin and pulled Naruto into a kiss. Naruto pushed against him, Sasuke flicked his tongue against Naruto's bottom lip the way he knew he liked it. Naruto's body suddenly grew compliant. He relaxed and unconsciously kissed Sasuke back with equal vigor. The kiss had been going on only for a quarter of a second but Naruto's body had already started to remember. Exactly half a second in Itachi roughly pulled Naruto away.

It was too late; Naruto's body was enveloped in a bubbly red substance. Sasuke remembered seeing it the morning after their wedding night when Naruto had used it to heal his legs, which had lost feeling due to the excessive amount of times they had fucked. Naruto had said it was a healing chakra infused in his seal that was supposed to only be used during pregnancy. It had the ability to undo or rectify Naruto's body to a normal state, which also meant that it had the power to undo Itachi's genjutsu.

"Sasuke!" Naruto screamed desperately as some of his memories came flooding back to him. Sasuke's heart melted with relief. Naruto was back to looking at him with love in his eyes the way he always did but just as Naruto's eyes began to clear up they rolled to the back of his head. He collapsed into Itachi's waiting open arms.

"Now I have to start all over again." Itachi sighed.

"As if I'll let you!" Sasuke ignited his fingers into flames. He pointed them at Itachi. "Fight me."

Itachi laughed dryly, "you may be king of our clan now but I'm still stronger than you, little brother. Put those out before you make me hurt you."

"Being in a coma has not only turned you into a monster but it's also made you stupid, brother." Sasuke glared, "a dominant will die in order to protect his submissive. I'm willing to do exactly that for Naruto so fight me!"

"What happened?" Naruto's eyes fluttered open. He blearily took in his surroundings. He hissed when he saw Sasuke's fire tinged fingers pointed at Itachi.

"Don't you dare hurt Itachi!" Naruto stood in front of Itachi and glared at Sasuke. He bared his teeth menacingly.

"Naruto?" Sasuke could literally feel his heart breaking. He knew it wasn't really Naruto protecting Itachi but it still hurt to see Naruto get possessive over another dominant. Sasuke dropped his hand. He wouldn't be able to fight Itachi while Naruto was brainwashed like this. He'd either have to get Naruto alone and break the brainwash or wait until Naruto wasn't nearby so he could challenge Itachi without having to worry about Naruto getting involved. Both scenarios seemed unlikely because he knew Itachi would never let Naruto leave his side now that he knew that all it took to revert Naruto's memories back to normal was a kiss.

Itachi wrapped is arms around Naruto's waist, he cupped Naruto's pregnant belly. He whispered something into Naruto's ear. Naruto nodded and then looked at Sasuke directly in the eyes. Sasuke looked away, he couldn't stand the wary way Naruto looked at him.

"Itachi told me you guys were only joking so I'm sorry for overreacting Sasuke-san. It's the hormones." Naruto blushed embarrassed. "What can I say, Itachi's baby inside me makes me act crazy sometimes!"

Itachi's' baby?

Sasuke couldn't take anymore. Naruto was his submissive and that child inside Naruto belonged to him.

"Do you think mother and father will allow this?" Sasuke said suddenly remembering his parents, they were his last resort to rectify this bizarre situation. "Or the priest who performed my and Naruto's ceremony? You can't cast a genjutsu on everyone. Every one knows Naruto is my submissive."

"Naruto go to our room, I'll be there shortly. My brother and I need to have a discussion."

"Okay, be careful. Don't take too long." Naruto tiptoed and gave Itachi a farewell kiss. He gave a warning look to Sasuke and then left.

Sasuke wanted to follow after Naruto and kiss him just to end all of this already but he couldn't. Not until he dealt with his brother.

"Do you think I haven't thought of that? I admit I didn't have time to plan out every single step of my plan since I came up with it out of anger but I already have most of it all worked out."

"You're smart Itachi but not even you could plan anything to get away with this. You and I both know that stealing a dominant's submissive is against clan law. They won't let you do this."

Itachi smirked. "Funny how that clan law works, huh? I've been thinking about it and I've realized something. You broke that law way before I ever did. You stole my promised submissive away from me. All I'm doing right now is taking back what I stole. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to convince mother and father to see things my way but once I do I can't imagine it'll be that hard to convince the council and priest."

"He's already pregnant with my child! No one will see him as your submissive anymore! When you fell into a coma you hadn't even bedded him yet, you had no claim! He was only promised to you but he was never yours!"

"I'll fix that tonight then won't I?" Itachi smiled. "Oh, don't give me that panicked look, it's only fair, little brother. I waited years for him."

"Don't do this," Sasuke suddenly said, completely out of options and utterly desperate, "I love him brother, he's carrying my child and he's my sovereign. I love him like I've never loved another submissive before. I'm begging you, if there's even a trace of the old Itachi in there then don't do this."

"A trace of the old Itachi?" Itachi chuckled; it started out low then grew into a hysterical laugh. "What does that even mean? There is no such thing...I am the only Itachi."

Hinata Hyūga arched her back as the dominant on top her pistoned his dick in and out her at a lighting quick pace.

"Yes! Yes!" Hinata cried out. She buried her face into her silk pillows to quiet her moaning. Her pale thighs trembled as the dominant's balls slapped against her sensitive slit.

"You're so fucking cute, Hinata-chan!" The dominant came with a quiet grunt. He pushed his seed in and out and only stopped when Hinata stopped trembling. He rolled off of the panting submissive and reached for the cigarette on the side table as he always did. He lit it and took a long drag, exhaling out like he had just conquered the world.

Hinata sat up and laid her head on the dominants naked hairy chest. She sighed as she relished the feeling of his release slowly coming out of her.

"If your father ever finds out that you're sleeping with your guard he'd kill me." The dominant chortled throatily.

"But that's part of the fun." Hinata pulled the cigarette out of the dominant's hands and took a long drag. Her pale eyes watched the smoke billow around, mixing in with the heavy smell of sex in the room.

"You act so innocent that when you first asked me to bed you I had thought you were joking." The dominant barked a laugh, he snaked his hand down and grabbed Hinata's most intimate area between her legs. It was still wet and pulsating, he pressed his hand hard up against it until Hinata let out a whine, "but who knew the Hyūga princess was such a needy slut!"

Hinata's eyes fluttered closed. She rubbed herself against the rough hand. "I'm not a slut, I just have needs!"

"How do you hide this side of yourself from your family? They must smell the change in your scent?" The man jerked his hand against Hinata's clit. She moaned and moved her hips faster.

"I bathe daily in purified water infused with heavy perfumes. I also take herbs to balance my scent. It's not hard to hide though since my father doesn't even think I've ever had a dirty thought before." Hinata bit down on her lip, "rub harder!" She thrusted her hips harshly when she felt the rubbing stop altogether.

"Hey, I said rub harder, stop teasing me!" Hinata cracked her eye open. She sat up when she didn't see the dominant on his side of the bed.

"Looking for him?" A foreign voice spoke.

Hinata quickly looked in the direction of the voice. It came from the shadows in the corner of her room. She couldn't make out his features but she could see he had two coal black eyes; they reflected the moonlight made his eyes appear silver. He was holding her guard by the neck and had slit his throat with a kunai. "Sorry I killed your lover." The man laughed. He let the guard drop to the floor as he slowly stepped out of the shadows.

"Who are you!" Hinata screamed. She grabbed the cover and covered her nude body in shame. "Get out at once!"

"You're in no position to order me around Hinata-san." The man laughed. "I just killed your guard and no one is around right now to hear you. You made sure of that before you started your little hump fest with your lover didn't you?"

"N-no!" Hinata denied hysterically.

The man was fully out of the shadows now. Hinata could now see that the man was wearing a strange dragon mask and was dressed head to toe in black.

"Who are you? What do you want? If it's money I have plenty!" Hinata ripped off the diamond necklace around her neck and threw it at the man, "here take whatever you want and go!"

The man's eyes crinkled into what looked like amusement. "I don't want any of that, I came for something much more valuable."

The man stepped closer.

"What?" Hinata scooted back until she was pressed against the headboard. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

"Your eyes." The man descended upon Hinata before she could even scream. He tore her eyes out of their sockets; blood immediately spurted out. The red liquid gushed down her pale cheeks and into her open screaming mouth.

"Ahh! What the hell did you do to me!" Hinata wailed in pain. She touched desperately at the holes where her eyes had just been.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot." The man dipped his finger into Hinata open bloody eye socket. He took his coated finger and drew the swirl design on Hinata's forehead just as instructed.

"Have a good day, princess. Sorry I intruded during your private sex session." The man laughed and then left the same way he had entered, out the window and into the dead of night.

"Someone help me!" Hinata yelled. Her hands were over her eye sockets trying in vain to stop the excessive bleeding.

It wasn't until minutes later that two guards strolling by heard the princess's screams for help.

"What is it Hinata-chan?" The guard halted at the bloody sight of the naked princess.

"Help me!" Hinata screamed, blood was oozing out of her eyes and dripping out of the sides of her mouth. The excess blood splattered onto her pale naked breasts and into her navel.

"Go wake Neji-sama, he has to see this!" One of the guards ordered. He scanned the room to check for any sign of the perpetrator who had harmed the princess. He only found a slain guard lying on the floor."Hurry!" The guard yelled.

The other guard ran out the room. A few minutes later he came running back in with a very sleepy looking Neji. The sleep immediately left Neji's white eyes when he took in the sight of his little sister.

"Who the fuck did this to you?!" Neji roared. Tears instantly began to fall from his eyes. The gruesome image of his sweet little sister defiled and bloody was too much. He took off his sleeping robe and draped it over Hinata's naked trembling shoulders.

"Don't just stand around! Go get the fucking medics before my sister dies of blood loss!" Neji hissed.

"Yes, your highness!" The two guards hightailed it out of the room to do as told.

"Neji-niisan, it hurts so much!" Hinata sobbed.

"I know, shh. Big brother will make it all better very soon." Neji sat on the bed and hugged Hinata to his chest. He gritted his teeth when he saw the fresh cum smeared between Hinata's thighs. Whoever had did this to her had also had the audacity to rape his precious little sister. "Who did this too you, Hinata? Tell big brother so he can make them suffer."

Hinata shook her head. "I don't know! He was wearing a mask! It all happened so fast!"

"It's okay." Neji cooed, "don't hurt your self trying to remember, I'll find them anyways and kill them." Neji bent down and moved to kiss Hinata's cheek but as he bent down he came face to face with something that he hadn't noticed before. He pushed Hinata's bangs off her forehead so he could get a better look at the odd bloody marking on it.

A swirl...it looked familiar...he had seen it before but where? Out of nowhere it dawned on Neji where he had seen the swirl before. It was just like the one around Naruto's navel!

"Uchiha." Neji cursed the name. "Don't worry, big brother will kill the dominant who did this to you. I'll hurt his most precious possession." Neji kissed the bloody swirl on Hinata's forehead. A kiss of death. His sister was beyond ruined; she'd never be the same submissive again. He'd definitely return the favor to the Uchiha's precious submissive. He'd have to find a way to get into contact with Sakura again, it'd be difficult but once he did Uchiha could kiss his pretty blond 'omega' goodbye.