I'm so sorry guys! It's been forever since I've updated! I've had the plot figured out for a long time now, but I've been struggling to get it on paper. Plus, I feel like no one is into Amity like they were for Accord, so my ego is shriveling up and dying. So please leave some reviews and help me get going again! I need it!

Tally ho! Much love!

Meadie out.

{Amity}

{Chapter Five}

"Sensei? Itachi? It's late – what's going on?" Kakashi queried with confusion as he stared at the trio occupying his doorway, scrubbing sleepily at the scar over his eye with the heel of his palm.

Scarcely wasting an instant, the Hokage nudged Sasuke into the foyer, disregarding the way the boy clung to the elder Uchiha's shirt desperately. "Could you look after Sasuke-kun for a while?"

"Konbanwa, senpai. I'm deeply sorry for the imposition," Itachi asserted calmly with a shallow bow, expression reflecting none of Kakashi's uninformed frustration.

"Aniki, I want to go with you."

"No, otouto. Please behave for Kakashi-san while we look for Naruto-kun, and I promise I'll train with you for a whole day. But you must behave."

Kakashi cocked his head to the side curiously, questioning gaze fixed firmly on his former teacher. "Naruto?"

Itachi could sense the anxiety in his master's glance, though the blond fought desperately to conceal it, and a mild frown pulled at the Anbu's thin lips as he was consumed with the desire to place a soothing hand on the Yondaime's shoulder. Despite the apparent uselessness of the gesture – and the Uchiha's potent dislike of any action deemed superfluous – he indulged in the urge regardless, to his own surprise. In turn, Minato's apparent discomfort seemed to ease palatably, and he took the younger man's hand in his own, their pleasantly clashing complexions blending with their entwined fingers. The humming of their chakras soon resonated into accord, pacifying and warm, and Itachi took it upon himself to at last address Kakashi's inquiry, ignoring his senpai's bored look of surprise.

"Naruto-kun is missing. Hokage-sama cannot sense his chakra even using his sage abilities. Please look after my brother, we have tarried too long here already."

"Who else knows?" the grey-haired man asked, tone growing stern and formal.

"No one," Minato interjected brusquely before heaving a weary sigh and turning to leave, "and it needs to stay that way for now. We will enlist Uchiha Shisui's assistance for our search; you two are the only ones that we know for certain are trustworthy. Take care, Kakashi."

With a shallow bow Itachi followed suit, managing a single step before the hem of his shirt was clutched viciously by small, entreating hands, and Sasuke struggled to drag the elder back as tears threatened to spill from his eyes. "Aniki," the child whimpered, obsidian gaze glassy with concern, "please."

Genuine ease swept across Itachi's features, soothing and gentle, as he dropped to one knee to thump the boy's brow fondly. "I'll be fine, otouto," he reminded in his silken baritone, donning a comforting smile that appeared far more confident than he felt. "I will have Hokage-sama and Shisui by my side; while you have Kakashi-san by yours. Everything will be alright."

"Promise?"

"Hai, Sasuke," the elder mollified, swiping salty tears from the child's silvery skin with a lithe finger. Dark, watery, eyes settled firmly on Itachi's expression – intense, scrutinizing – as if searching for any indication of deception that may have resided within his finely honed façade, and as if that deception was to be expected. His younger brother's suspicion had been far too familiar since the incident with Madara, though Sasuke's blind devotion to the sole remaining member of his family had persistently remained. That vague mistrust was an unnerving sensation that caused pangs of mournful discomfort to haunt Itachi quite regularly, tugging at his chest like an overworked muscle. It seemed as if the youngest Uchiha did not necessarily expect a betrayal, but would honestly feel no surprise if such an event were to occur; much in the way one could hope for a tossed coin to land heads up, only for chance to deny those hopes through mere force of probability. Such an incident would scarcely come as a shock.

"Nii-san, say that you promise," Sasuke asserted sternly, apparently confirming the misgivings of his elder brother.

"I promise," Itachi replied gently, rising to his feet. "Look after him, senpai. Please… my otouto is everything to me."

Nodding, Kakashi grinned mildly behind his mask, eyes narrowing with humor. "Of course. After such a rare display of emotion, how could I possibly refuse my dear kouhai?"

"Stay alert. Should anything happen, go directly to Sandaime-sama," Minato interjected after a moment, fracturing his long-held silence before flickering away without another word, his guard close on his heels.

I hope I can keep my promise, Sasuke, Itachi thought darkly as the pair entered the Uchiha compound in a silent whirlwind of shadow. His expression scarcely altered upon acknowledging the sensation of the Hokage's fingers curling mutely between his own, though some force contained within the innocent touch managed to quell the adrenaline that pounded in his veins. While uncertain of whether his master performed the gesture for Itachi's comfort or his own, the Anbu savored the affection, basking in the blond's warmth as it pried stubbornly through his uncertainties like the sun through clouds. This man… he mused fondly, concern melting away as he returned the grasp, this man is exceptional. It takes a man like him to be Hokage. It takes power that I cannot fathom to battle away such darkness of the heart and conquer it, unscathed. I wish to know more of his strength.

"Itachi?" Minato queried softly, jarring the Uchiha clan head into the present. "I just wanted to say thank you. And despite everything I've done, I—"

The Yondaime's words were silenced by the sudden surge of searing chakra that erupted from within the village center at their backs, and Itachi shuddered at the malice that the power exuded, sending shivers down to his fingertips. A bone-rattling roar soon followed as the chakra pulsed once more, the sound vicious and oddly pained with the frustration of a sealed demon, seeking freedom from its binds. "What is this?" he managed, though his voice struggled to escape his throat at the sight of his master's horrified pallor. "Hokage-sama?"

"Naruto…" the blond practically whispered before bolting towards the commotion, calling quickly over his shoulder to the younger man. "Itachi, fetch Shisui and then come find me! Hurry!"

"Minato!" Itachi shouted, the urgency in his voice far more potent than he had intended, but he disregarded his own embarrassment so as alight over the rooftops, crossing calmly to the Yondaime's side. Permitting himself a moment of weakness, the Anbu molded his body sensually against the taller man's broad frame, lithe fingers tangling into the golden hair at his nape and pulling him down for a firm, demanding kiss. Their connection became gentle after several long moments, and Itachi's brows wove together as some strange blend of emotions clawed at the back of his throat like a caged beast, scarcely allowing him to breathe. At last parting with fleeting brushes of lips, the Uchiha stepped back before speaking, his tone soft. "Be careful."

Though he could sense the Hokage's desire to speak, to confess something further, Itachi simply turned to perform his duty and flitted away towards the clan compound in search of his cousin. Whatever was left unspoken would haunt him until this night was done, he was certain, but the urgency of circumstance did not permit him to dwell too long on the matter, for risk of being consumed by complacency. This turn of events was surely part of Madara's scheming, though to what end he could not be sure. He had scarcely met the man who claimed to be the supposedly long-dead ancestor of the Uchiha clan – who was rivaled in power only by the Shodai Hokage himself – but Itachi could determine from their few brief encounters that he was dangerous and cunning, certainly not a man to be taken lightly. Still, the Anbu prompted himself not to dwell on merely what he thought he knew, but focus on what was currently in his sights. To stay honed and lethal as he always had, he must force away the fondness for his master that seemed to relentlessly cloud his judgement with an anxiety that exceeded the standard limitations of adrenaline and combat.

Taking one more soothing breath and holding it in his chest, urging his heart to cease its pounding, Itachi skittered from the rooftops and down to Shisui's front door, where the other man was already rushing out into the night, fully armed. "Cousin," the Anbu called, noticing the frantic expression in the elder Uchiha's gaze. "Hokage-sama sent me for you."

"'Tachi, what in the hell is going on? That chakra… even the civilians can feel it."

"Judging from Minato's reaction," the clan head replied calmly, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "I would guess that it is the kyuubi struggling to break free of its seals, though I do not know for certain."

"Shit. What do we do?"

"Engage the police force. Keep civilians clear of the area around the village center until this can be resolved."

"Do you think Madara…?"

"Hai."

Shisui groaned and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms, as if the memory of his last encounter with the masked man made his sight burn in his skull with recollection. "Is Sasuke somewhere safe? If this is Madara, then he might go after the clan."

"Hai, he is with Kakashi-san."

Snorting with amusement, the elder Uchiha sighed his understanding. "That damn pervert can be useful sometimes. Anyway, go back to Hokage-sama and I will alert the force."

"Use discretion, Shisui. There are still those in the clan who would stoop to taking advantage of such a situation so as to promote a coup. We must not allow the events of eight years ago to repeat themselves. The Uchiha cannot be suspected of having a hand in this travesty as well."

"Well then," Shisui said as he clapped a brawny palm on the slender man's shoulder, tone light though his gaze churned with determination, "I suggest you fight alongside the Hokage not as his guard, but as the head of the Uchiha clan. As equals. Since he clearly sees you as nothing less than that. Yeah?"

"Hai," Itachi replied, slightly breathless in the face of his cousin's infallible insight, though he concealed his surprise with a small nod and little else. Turning to depart with a few words of caution, his thoughts dwelt on his cousin's often-unexpected bouts of dearly sage wisdom, and pondered to himself if it would in fact be best for the Uchiha if Shisui was acting clan head. It would likely suit them all, as the elder man held the qualities expected of a leader that Itachi himself largely lacked – charisma, assertiveness, and such – and would fill the role admirably. The knowledge that his position as clan head would certainly require him to abandon his post as the Hokage's guard in the very near future did not sit well with the Anbu, for reasons that he hated to admit he did not comprehend. No matter, he conceded, duty must be performed with the utmost valor, regardless of one's feelings towards it; and right now his duty was to protect the village and recover the Hokage's child, no matter the cost.

As he grew nearer the village center, the chill of the night biting against his skin lessened until it practically vanished, replaced by the sheer violent heat of the chakra that continued to spill into the air from near Hokage Tower. It was vile, like rage taken form, and it made Itachi shudder as he approached its source of his own accord, though he could also sense something else in those pulses of power. A familiar sensation much like one that had often soaked into the space around his own heart – composed not only of anger, but of despair and inadequacy and betrayal in lesser, but equally potent parts. After all, that was the purpose of the kyuubi, he supposed, to act as the embodiment of human discord and to purge mankind for the sole initiative of fueling and redeeming its own hatred.

A sad existence, and one I have nearly succumbed to myself, Itachi remarked to himself as he stopped on a rooftop, glancing into the courtyard below. Minato could be seen, already winded and bearing a rather gruesome chakra burn on his right shoulder, facing down a beast cloaked in black and red, its four tails flicking wildly behind it as it assessed its quarry. Alighting from his perch, the Anbu hurried to the blond's side, evaluating the wound and cursing his own lack of skill in medical ninjutsu.

"Itachi!" the Hokage gasped out, cerulean eyes flickering from his opponent for a mere instant to address the man who had come to his aid. "The kyuubi… if I don't reaffix the seals, Naruto will be consumed by it. I could keep up when there were only three tails, but now his power is getting out of hand. And I don't even know where Madara is; the kyuubi's chakra is too overwhelming for me to feel it without being in sage mode. But Naruto has scarcely given me a chance to gather it."

"Naruto?" the Uchiha queried, astounded by the implication as he activated three tomoe to more deeply study the beast. It was mildly humanoid despite its animalistic posture and was composed nearly entirely of the vile, roiling energy he had sensed before, but somewhere within, as if sleeping, was the familiar chakra of the boy. "How did Madara control it before?"

"With…" the blond began before inhaling audibly, his scrutiny falling heavily upon the dark-haired shinobi beside him, "with the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"I understand. I need only capture his gaze and you can repair the seals," Itachi replied coolly, nodding in compliance as he watched the beast cautiously, which seemed to have fixed its attention rather firmly on the Uchiha. While it was an eerie and hellish monster, composed entirely of rage and darkness, its stare – stark white against the writhing chakra cloaking its body – was oddly crystalline in its intensity. Much like staring into the gaping sights of a skull in negative, a soulless void that appeared so empty yet simultaneously so full of secrets; and frankly, the onyx-eyed shinobi was uncertain as to which possibility was less distressing.

Minato took a deep breath, his eyes steeling in a startling manner when they reopened, some fierce determination trampling down his concern as he produced several shadow clones to keep the beast occupied. "We have to be quick, since I expect that Madara will be making an appearance before long. Is Shisui coming?"

"Hai. He is instructing the police force to keep civilians clear of the area and will be arriving shortly."

"Good," the Hokage murmured. "When he gets here I'll need him to take Naruto straight for treatment… who knows what that chakra has done to his body. Then we'll deal with Madara. Don't use too much chakra on your Mangekyō, since you still aren't used to it. I still need you by my side to fight."

"Hai," the Anbu echoed in accord, maintaining a firm and professional countenance, though a slight pain stung his chest at his master's words. But his eyes widened for a moment when a large, warm hand found his own, fingers weaving together and sending a pulse of contentment to soothe his heart.

"I need you, Itachi," Minato said with an intensity that the younger man had not often seen in the blond as of late. "Thank you for staying with me."

"Hai."

The dark-haired shinobi suppressed a flinch as a gentle kiss was placed against his knuckles, gratification replaced with renewed determination as the source of warmth at his side hardened significantly, ready for combat. The Yondaime's voice was dark when he finally spoke. "Are you ready?"

"Hai, Minato."

{Amity}

It seems I'm getting my groove back, so I can guaran-damn-tee that the next chapter will be up soon. Largely thanks to the guest reviewer that helped kick my ass back in gear. I really did struggle with the first half of this, so be gentle please.

Meadie out.