Surprised with how fast this came? Me too. I notice I have a tendency to increase chapter lengths with every update.

Chapter 6: Restraint

The Konoha shinobi were openly hostile. Much more than what was warranted, Sebastian personally thought. Especially considering how his master had more or less bared his throat the second they've been apprehended. That bothered Sebastian more than he would admit. He was used to feigning weaknesses to catch an opponent off-guard, or faking submission while waiting for the right moment to strike. It was similar to playing a game, amusing and enjoyable. His old master was fond of such deceptions. For Sebastian, the best part was when he was given leave to spring the trap, and annihilate the enemy.

This time, said trap was nonexistent.

Itachi's show of submission was painfully genuine. Sebastian could tell that he absolutely had no intention of fighting back come what may, unlike when he lulled those other shinobi into a false sense of security a few days ago.

It was an appeal meant to bargain for his wish to see the Hokage yes, but Sebastian sensed in Itachi an intense unwillingness to fight these people. He didn't know the reason, but was sure that it went deeper than just wanting to avoid a physically demanding scuffle.

The shinobi above them were murmuring among themselves. From what he could gather, the others were looking to the one called Kakashi to make the final decision.

Sebastian turned his attention back to his master. Itachi looked weary and tired. He didn't understand what exactly the strange insects were doing, but he could sense the other undoubtedly weakening. He itched to set the vile creatures on fire.

"Alright," Kakashi spoke above the murmurs, breaking through Sebastian's inner musings. "Itachi, we'll bring you to the Hokage..."

Itachi looked up at this with barely concealed gratefulness.

"But as you said so yourself, we'll be implementing some security measures. You understand."

"…Of course, Kakashi-san."

"What about your friend here?"

Itachi gave Sebastian a quick glance. "I need him to accompany me."

Kakashi thought it over but seemed to see no reason to refuse him. "Very well...Muta-san, drain his chakra to the bare minimum. Anko, take over."

The insects began to move with unnerving synchronization towards Itachi, as if with renewed hunger for his chakra. Sebastian felt his master's energy drop low.

A dark figure jumped from above. It was a woman, dark-haired and sharp-eyed, dressed in an assortment of fishnet garments and a long-sleeved brown coat. She gave Sebastian a piercing look and snorted before focusing her attention on Itachi.

Sebastian noticed her eyes grow bitingly cold. "Alright traitor," she sneered, "We're going to make your wish come true. Take the cloak off. Slowly. And drop any weapons you're hiding in there."

Itachi obeyed silently. He pushed himself off the wall, let his cloak drop to the ground, and straightened up with effort. Then he paused, and waited for her next command.

Anko glared at him. "I said drop your weapons."

"I didn't bring any," he replied, tone even.

She was unconvinced. She raised a hand and Sebastian was more than a little surprised to see several snakes launch themselves from her sleeve towards Itachi. The reptiles quickly encircled the young man's body, hissing and threatening. One snake raised its head and bared its fangs inches from his face. Itachi stared at it, unfazed. He gave no resistance.

The woman strutted towards him. Sebastian saw her gaze zero in on the seal he'd placed on Itachi's eye. Her eyes narrowed. "That's not the Sharingan."

Itachi realized what she was referring to after a moment and lowered his gaze. "It's a seal. I would prefer not to explain its nature at this moment."

The snakes tightened their hold. Itachi winced slightly but otherwise did nothing.

Sebastian's teeth went on edge but he dutifully stayed put. From what little Itachi had said, he had assumed that they'd be treated with some degree of animosity. He just underestimated how openly confrontational these people could be. He found it more than puzzling, because from what he'd seen, Itachi was not a person who had the kind of character that made enemies.

One snake detached itself from Itachi's body and slithered back to its summoner, Anko lowered her arm and it climbed up to her shoulders. It flicked its tongue meaningfully.

"No weapons," she muttered under her breath. "Hmm…so you're telling the truth. Isn't that surprising," Anko admitted, with a derisive tone.

Itachi stayed silent.

The snakes released him from their coils, all dispersing into smoke. As soon as he was free, Itachi tiredly dropped to one knee. His shoulders rose up and down, and from where he stood Sebastian could hear his deep shaky breaths. He involuntarily took a step forward.

"Oi, oi. I wouldn't try doing anything, if I were you," a voice spoke beside him. Sebastian stopped, and shifted his attention. One heavy-lidded eye appraised him. The man's stance was relaxed and his expression covered by a dark mask. Sebastian did not fail to take note of the other's right hand carefully placed by his hip, where a pack containing weapons was in quick reach.

The demon thought quickly. He adopted a look of distress and allowed worry to lace his voice. "He just recovered from some pretty bad injuries…you're being too rough with him."

A single eyebrow rose in surprise momentarily. "We only aim to subdue him—"

"Unfortunately," Anko interjected. The man gave her a sharp look but she just shrugged and said, "I just don't agree with this, Kakashi."

Kakashi sighed and scratched his head, messing up his mop of gray hair even more. "I told you already that I will take full responsibility. There are no guidelines on how to deal with missing-nin that willingly trip our alarms, pleading for the Hokage…" his gaze wandered to Itachi's kneeling figure. The two held each other's gazes for a moment, and Sebastian noted with interest how Itachi averted his eyes downwards.

"Mura-san, almost done up there?" Kakashi spoke loudly.

"Yes, a minute more," was the reply from above.

"Alright, Itachi," Kakashi turned and approached him slowly, kneeling to his level. "We're going to escort you and your friend here to Konoha shortly. But before that, I'm going to knock you out. We'll be keeping your chakra low, and sealing it off too."

Sebastian froze. Knock him out?

With Itachi unconscious, he would be indefinitely bound to his ongoing order to let the Konoha shinobi do as they wished to his master. Sebastian watched Itachi pause in thought, and hoped that the younger man would take this into consideration before agreeing to such an obviously dangerous condition.

"Do what you need to do, Kakashi-san."

Sebastian almost cursed.

"Wait. Itachi—" he started, stopping when the other gave him a warning look.

"I'll be alright," he said. Of course, this did nothing to reassure the demon. He gritted his teeth and wondered if maybe Itachi deliberately wanted to make things as difficult for him as possible.

His master turned his attention back to Kakashi. "I leave Michaelis-san in your care."

Kakashi gave him a short nod in reply. He raised the band covering a scarred left eye, "Then here we go…"

Sebastian's eyes widened, the patterns adorning the man's red iris was identical to what he had seen of Itachi's when he'd rendered the intruders of their camp unconscious. What did this mean, for this stranger to have the same curious ability his master possessed?

Itachi inhaled deep in an effort to slow his breathing and raised his head with obvious fatigue. He met Kakashi's gaze. Sebastian watched as the patterns of Kakashi's eye spun hypnotically. Moments later Itachi's lids closed, and he fell.

Sebastian was there to catch him before he could hit the floor. He noticed the clearly surprised looks Kakashi and Anko threw at him but ignored them. He let Itachi's head rest on his left shoulder as he supported the other's weight with his arms. Sebastian looked at him closely. His breathing was still labored and pinpricks of sweat covered his forehead, but other than that nothing was wrong with him.

Kakashi was standing already, he looked down with open interest at the strange pair.

"I can't believe he let you do that," Anko said in disbelief. "I was so sure he was going to activate his eyes the moment you showed your Sharingan."

Kakashi looked at Itachi with a contemplating frown. "I expected that too."

Sebastian was on edge the whole trek with the shinobi back to their village.

And he was in a rotten mood.

He was furious with Itachi for cornering him into a helpless state, nevermind that the other probably deemed it a necessity to be allowed access to Konoha. He was high-strung and as jumpy as any demon could get considering how he was rendered helpless by his master's orders. If someone suddenly decided to kill Itachi in his state, Sebastian would have no power to resist them. He'd be able to break out of the handcuffs currently restricting his wrists with the ease of tearing through paper, but even with all the powers of hell in his hands he would only be able to watch these shinobi slit his master's throat.

When Kakashi called two of the other men present to take Itachi from him after he was rendered unconscious, he almost snarled. But Itachi's orders were like shackles that forced him to loosen his grip on his master's unconscious body. Kakashi interpreted his stiffness as worry and told him that Itachi will be woken when they were settled in Konoha. He seemed to observe Sebastian closely for a moment before telling him, "We won't be knocking you out Michealis-san, we are mindful of those who are not shinobi."

The village was closer than Sebastian thought. A fifteen-minute brisk walk from where Itachi crossed the invisible barrier.

The outer wall towered above them. He could sense shinobi stationed everywhere. At the village entrance, they were greeted by another squad. They regarded Sebastian with suspicion as Kakashi conversed with them. And then they reacted with shock when they realized just who it was Kakashi had brought back with him. Itachi was draped across the back of one of the larger men in the squad, his wrists cuffed and his eyes blindfolded. Those guarding the gates stared at him, fearful and unbelieving.

Everyone in this place knew his master in some way, everyone knew something about him that fueled their fright and hostility.

One of the guards stuttered "W-We'll send word ahead," and then they were ushered in.

A village they called it, Sebastian thought to himself. His eyes wandered around the stern and worn faces of its inhabitants as he followed Kakashi's lead. Everyone seemed nervous, restless, and geared for battle at a moment's notice. The atmosphere resembled more that of a war camp than anything else.

They stopped in front of a stark-looking building. It didn't look particularly special in any way except for the man standing by its entrance. He was large and heavily-built, with a potent intimidating air. The long black coat he wore and the scars on his face made him look even more unapproachable.

"Kakashi," the man nodded in acknowledgement, earning a nod back from said shinobi.

"So it's true," his steely eyes were fixed on Itachi. "I was told he let himself be captured willingly?"

"As unbelieving as it is, yes. He even disturbed the outer barrier on purpose."

Sebastian found the cold gaze on him next. "And this one?"

For a human he was indeed imposing, Sebastian admitted. His mouth was set on what seemed like a permanent frown, and he gauged the demon with calculating and experienced dark eyes. Sebastian made a show of flinching and looking down uncomfortably. This man was one to keep an eye on. The best he could do now was to make sure each one of these shinobi underestimated him.

"He came with Itachi. We've yet to ascertain their relationship."

"Mmm…" he hummed thoughtfully before looking at Kakashi again. "The cell is reinforced and ready. Tsunade-sama is on her way."

Sebastian allowed himself to be ushered into the building. He was a little surprised when they descended underground.

There they were greeted by a long dark corridor. He scanned their surroundings; A prison as expected, Sebastian thought. The cavern was made up of cells left and right, rows and rows of them. Countless eyes followed their procession, and soon the prisoners were pressing themselves against the bars in interest to see what the commotion was all about.

The shinobi paid them no mind and continued walking, Sebastian with them. After a while he noticed the cells had changed in character. Instead of bars, the prisoners here were hidden behind closed steel doors. Every ten rooms or so, a guard stood. Whoever were housed in these parts were no petty thieves.

Sebastian wondered just how farther the prison went.

They stopped at a particularly large and thickly reinforced steel door. Their imposing escort tapped it twice. "It's Ibiki, they're here," he said loudly.

There was a thudding sound and then the door opened. There were already numerous shinobi inside hustling about. One stepped forward and saluted Ibiki, "Sir, we've prepared the seals. Everything is set."

Sebastian took in the room. There were more than a dozen shinobi inside, all stiff in their posts, and armed to the teeth. Some were standing guard while the rest were busy checking a large intricately-prepared seal with inscriptions on the floor. Sebastian did not understand its purpose but he could feel it pulse with power.

Ibiki addressed the one carrying Itachi. "Put him at the center."

The man obeyed the order swiftly. He seemed eager to have their prisoner off his back. Sebastian saw him breathe a sigh of relief once he'd deposited his master on the stone floor. He narrowed his eyes in thought.

Kakashi grabbed Sebastian by one shoulder and steered him towards the far end of the room where he addressed two men, "Keep an eye on him."

Sebastian grudgingly allowed himself to be manhandled. The two shinobi grabbed his arms and stationed themselves on both his sides.

"Kakashi-senpai, Ibiki-senpai, we're ready," one of the men inspecting the floor inscriptions called out.

Kakashi and Ibiki exchanged a look. The former gestured in front of them, "You're the expert interrogator," he said lightly.

Ibiki took a step forward, he assumed control of the room.

"Activate the chakra seals!"

Two men quickly approached Itachi's unmoving form (still with such palpable trepidation, Sebastian noted). One started a series of strange hand gestures in quick succession, and placed his palm on Itachi's abdomen. Sebastian felt a pronounced flare of energy that quickly subsided. The second man mirrored the others' gestures but palmed Itachi's blindfolded eyes instead. Sebastian shifted where he stood uncomfortably, not at all enjoying that he had no idea what the men were doing.

"My turn," Ibiki announced.

The two men withdrew as he stepped into the inscribed circle. Ibiki performed a different set of hand gestures and then he wrapped his hand around Itachi's head. He cycled through it twice more, focusing next on the young man's neck and chest. Where he placed his hands, Sebastian saw black markings appear on Itachi's skin.

Ibiki quickly removed Itachi's blindfold and stepped out of the circle. He assessed the scene for a moment. Finally he met the eyes of four shinobi in particular who were kneeled just outside the circle's perimeter and nodded.

All four simultaneously placed their hands on the floor.

The inscriptions glowed, a gust of wind blew outward with the seal's suddenly-released energy. And Itachi snapped awake.

He sat up instantly. His gaze darted around the room as he got his bearings and he made to raise himself from the ground.

"Stay down," Ibiki's voice boomed.

Itachi was just straightening himself up when he stopped suddenly. Sebastian saw him wince as if in pain, then drop to his knees.

"Raise your hands."

Itachi was still recovering. His head was lowered, and his breath came in pants.

Ibiki wasn't so kind as to wait for him. "Raise your hands."

Another wince. Itachi looked for a second as if he was about to collapse, but he regained himself and slowly raised his bound hands in front of him. One of the four kneeling around Itachi muttered something under his breath. The stone cuffs broke into two, chains fell from the ceiling and attached themselves to the cuffs securely. Itachi let the chains drag his arms to the side, in level with his shoulders. Sebastian's fists clenched.

Itachi's shoulders heaved. He looked up and at Ibiki in exhaustion. "Where is…Tsunade-sama?"

"The Hokage is on her way," Ibiki replied curtly. "Meanwhile you can have the pleasure of my company."

Sebastian saw Itachi scan the crowd surrounding the circle before settling his sights on him. A look of relief washed over the other's face before Itachi let his expression settle on passive indifference once more.

"I'm sure you've noticed that nasty stab of pain whenever you take too long to obey my orders," Ibiki said coldly. "That's a pinch compared to what you'll get if you so much as look at Tsunade-sama wrong. Understand?"

Itachi dragged his attention back to Ibiki.

He gave the other man an unblinking stare. "I won't harm the Hokage."

"You'll have to forgive us for not believing you," Ibiki said with an edge.

Itachi's eyes flickered across the room filled with Konoha-nin before regarding the chains binding his limbs mildly. "I wouldn't be able to lay a hand on anyone in this room even if I wanted to."

Ibiki snorted and gave him a nasty grin. "Feigning weakness does not suit you."

The younger man didn't reply. Itachi eyed the inscriptions beneath him, and shifted his gaze to the four shinobi kneeling at the seal's perimeter. When he met the eyes of one of them, the man recoiled.

At that moment, Sebastian knew already that something wrong was going to happen. But he wasn't at liberty to act.

The shinobi visibly panicked before forcefully striking his palms on the ground.

Things went chaotic. Fast.

Itachi's eyes widened a fraction before his head was thrown back, neck straining. Sebastian saw the black markings around the expanse of his throat glowing an angry red. The chains clanged loudly as Itachi's arms involuntarily strained against their bindings, his hands were clenched into fists. His mouth was parted in a soundless scream.

Sebastian's blood ran cold.

Ibiki was already shouting.

"Roku, you damned fool! Deactivate your seal!"

The man that Itachi had unwittingly spooked seemed to snap back to his senses. He fumbled through a couple of hand gestures and dropped his hands on the ground.

The glow disappeared. Itachi stilled. His eyes closed in utter exhaustion, and his body slumped, the chains the only thing keeping him from crumpling on the floor. Long dark hair covered his features as his chin dropped against his chest.

A stunned silence took over the room.

The lone demon in their midst held his breath.

Blood dripped down the floor.

Sebastian was kneeling in front of Itachi by the next heartbeat.

He wasn't allowed to fight the shinobi, but Itachi had not exactly forbidden him from checking up on his master. He grabbed the chains and crushed them in his grip, letting Itachi fall forward against him.

Thankfully, perhaps because of the clearly unprovoked attack, the shinobi did not move to restrict him.

Ibiki was furious. "Medics!" He barked.

This broke the others from their trance. The inscriptions on the floor deactivated, growing dull once more. Two shinobi, one male and female rushed forward.

Sebastian laid his master carefully on the floor. He swept Itachi's hair to the side. He was so pale, blood stained his mouth and chin. The sound of footsteps running towards them caught Sebastian's attention. He glared at the two medic-nin when they approached, causing them to hesitate.

"Don't come closer," he said lowly. His eyes blazed.

They stopped in their tracks, unsure of what to do.

"You should let medic-nin do their jobs, boy," a new voice told him.

A woman, blonde, heavy-chested and bright-eyed strode into the room. Sebastian hadn't noticed her arrival but when he did she was hard to ignore. She commanded attention, with her confident gait and striking appearance. The shinobi parted to let her approach. She looked down with intense amber eyes at Itachi and Sebastian.

The medic-nin bowed at her in recognition. "Tsunade-sama."

The name grabbed Sebastian's attention. This was the one Itachi wanted to speak with. The one they called Hokage.

"Itachi wanted to see me, didn't he?" she said, eyes roving to the wounded boy in his arms, "Well, let me heal him up so we can get to it. If you'll allow me."

Sebastian looked down at Itachi's ashen face and hesitantly stood up and took a step back.

Tsunade didn't waste any time. Her hands moved with practiced ease over Itachi's head, then neck, and chest. Sebastian followed her every movement, curious and suspicious at the same time. She frowned in concentration for a while and rested a hand gently on Itachi's throat. A gentle glow emanated from her palm. She kept at it patiently for nearly a minute before withdrawing her hands and standing up.

She made her way to Ibiki and Kakashi, they talked in hushed but urgent tones.

Itachi blearily opened his eyes. Sebastian immediately lowered himself to his side, relieved. "Itachi," he said quietly. His master slowly focused his gaze on him for a few seconds, before closing them again and giving off a rattled breath.

Tsunade had returned. "Can you sit up?" her tone was not unkind, but it wasn't exactly warm either.

Itachi took a moment but nodded. He braced his elbows against the ground and pushed himself up slowly.

"I apologize on behalf of my men," Tsunade said seriously. "That was an unnecessary attack. They mistakenly thought you'd activated your eyes."

Itachi only looked back at her in silence. Tsunade's attention flickered over the seal on his left eye before she continued. "We'll be restraining you once again."

A breath, followed by a small nod.

Tsunade shifted her gaze to Sebastian wordlessly. Itachi took note of this and locked eyes with him, telling him silently to stand down. The demon understood, though against his wishes he gave Itachi a parting glance before retreating backwards outside the circular seal. The Hokage followed suit, nodding at Ibiki.

The man brought his hands together in front of him and the seal blazed into life once more.

Whereas Ibiki was impatient before, he now allowed Itachi all the time he needed. Sebastian noted that the one called Roku had been replaced by a new shinobi. But the damage had been done.

Itachi took his time in sitting up, his arms strained and shook slightly under his weight. He brought one hand to his face and wiped the blood away with the back of his hand. Sebastian could see his fingers trembling.

He staggered a little when he stood but found his footing quick enough. Then he let out an audible breath and looked up, seeming to recover himself. As much as he could given the circumstances that is. He still looked faint in Sebastian's eyes.

Itachi set his sights on Tsunade, then bowed low. His movements were still slow and pained.

"Tsunade-sama…" his voice was almost a whisper, hoarse due to the shinobi's prematurely activated seal. The others could tell that just saying her name took him great effort. He pushed on, "I wish to confide in you. Matters of…sensitive content," he had to breathe deep after every other word.

Tsunade listened patiently.

He continued, "If possible I would like to avoid speaking…amongst such a crowd."

The Hokage's eyes sweeped across the room. She settled on Ibiki and Kakashi, "You two stay. The rest of you stand guard outside. Leave his accomplice here too."

"B-but Tsunade-sama—!" one shinobi exclaimed, startled with the order. The others looked similarly hesitant to leave the room.

Her amber eyes glinted dangerously. "I think we can handle a chakra-sealed, confined, injured prisoner, don't you?"

They swallowed their words. The others immediately began shuffling away, a few bowed quickly at her direction with apologies in their lips.

She sighed wearily when the steel door shut closed. "What a mess," she muttered irritably.

Now there were only five of them.