After a brief (not really) stint at being away, I'm back.

It has been mentioned to me that my plot is still too unclear at this point.

I agree, but I must inform you that it was designed to be as such.

Either way, the intent of this chapter is clear.

I will finish this story. I know not when, or even how, but I definitely will.

Read.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR BLEACH. TOO BAD THE LATTER ENDED ON SUCH A POOR NOTE.

"Kuchiki Rukia has committed what?"

Outrage and shocked silence were the order of the day.

The sixth squad captain standing to his left closed his eyes, choosing to meditate away his woes.

Uzumaki Naruto saw the old man's wrinkled face mired in thought, his memory very clear on the one time this sort of incident had happened before.

Ginjou Kuugo. He didn't need to try very hard to suppress his smile, but on the inside, he was jubilant.

Another Shinigami Daikou was in their midst.

"I guess it's only natural for inferior beings to ride on the coattails of their superior counterparts."

-Aizen Sousuke

The house seemed deserted from the outside. Despite it being only around ten in the night, the Uchiha household that lived there had already gone off to sleep. The moon wasn't out today, obscured as it was by the heavy cloud cover that threatened to pour down with vengeance.

It was going to rain that evening. It was the perfect time for murder.

Nara Shikamaru had already infiltrated the enclosure for the second time that week, despite the significantly increased security. It only seemed to get easier every time he tried; almost as if they had left the gaping holes in their security there on purpose. To the Nara's disappointment, the more this situation escalated, the more narrow-sighted the Uchiha got.

Panic causes a sense of tunnel vision. Beware of that. That was elementary Genin know-how, discarded by even the most prudent of Shinobi in such times. Shikamaru eased open the side window. The glass pane and the frame were well maintained, despite showing signs of age. They slid upwards without so much as a squeak. He entered the house without hesitation. No one would suspect that he would be here. Not with everyone's attention focused on those Uchiha who were connected to the crime scene.

Fools. Your treachery is obvious, even when you so blatantly claim otherwise.

He masked the sound of his footsteps with suppressing chakra, carefully taking the stairs up. Stealth was of the essence. He could not afford to take any chances, given the near-legend status of his next victim. Uchiha Itachi was nowhere near the Nara enclosure on that fateful night, but he'd extracted information from the hapless dolt who'd let the next pair of intruders get away, and had found that the two Dojutsu had been seen together. It was too much of a coincidence that the Jonin be the leader of a team which matched that description exactly.

Shikamaru was reasonably sure that neither Sasuke nor Hinata had entered a clearly dangerous area such as that without some form of coercion. Itachi had to be behind this in some way or the other. The Nara wasn't sure what role the ex-ANBU assassin had played in his father's murder, but he was going to be the next casualty in a long line until he found who'd actually done the deed. He'd reached the bedroom now. The solid wood door was locked from the inside. Slipping two shadows from under the jamb, he twisted the latch open, padding the click with some suppressing chakra.

His victim was fast asleep. Uchiha Itachi's chest rose and fell gently underneath the pale blue cotton sheets. Shikamaru, despite himself, held back a sigh of relief. No matter what the motivation, taking on the village's most feared Dojutsu user was nothing short of nerve-wracking. Weaving the chakra flows without a single sound, he carefully threaded them through the fibres of the bedspread. There was no need to show forced entry as unnecessary evidence, and Itachi's own formidable chakra seeping into the sheets for so long would mask any remaining traces of his own.

The net was ready. All he had to do was start pressing down, and the filaments of chakra would wink out yet another pointless existence from this realm. Something was holding him back this time, however. The last two were a piece of cake. His rage had been a torrent that had washed away any misgivings about the homicides he was committing. But now, with the Uchiha Jonin snoring gently on the bed, it felt a tad too easy. Something was bound to go wrong. What was he missing? Just what...

A flash of silver.

Two pairs of very strong arms grabbed him from both sides, threatening to snap his spine in two. He was too busy racking his mind to see how he'd overlooked this possibility to show any outward signs of panic. They were lying in wait. Of course. Every Uchiha home in the enclosure was on high alert from the inside. It was stupid to assume that Itachi and his family would be any different.

As he noticed the kage bunshin liquefy underneath the sheets, Shikamaru applied every ounce of his considerable intellect to find a way out. The traitors needed to be purged, and he needed to be alive to see it happen. His capture seemed to have compromised that very condition. His two captors had cut off his sources of chakra, and he couldn't even locate his weaponry, what with his arms held out like a grotesque scarecrow.

Were there just two captors? Shikamaru's concern shifted into dread as he sensed five more Shadow Clones on standby, three manning the bedroom door and two clinging from the ceiling. He winced as the rough baling wire they were using to truss him up like a chicken dug into his wrists. From the very shadows that he was manipulating appeared two figures, their silhouettes crisp in the moonlight.

"And so the wretch makes his appearance."

Shikamaru's fears were confirmed. Uchiha Itachi's deadpan voice was very distinctive. The shorter figure remained silent.

"Did you think we'd let you rampage on unhindered?" Itachi continued. "To allow you to slice through my clan without any repercussion?"

"Heh, so you were prepared," Shikamaru stayed defiant in spite of his situation. That his formidable foe had allowed him to live this long only meant one thing. He was going to be spared his life, at least. "I knew the best of the inglorious bastards would prove to be a challenge."

"Well, inglorious we are, I must admit," ah, the grandiose acceptance of the victor. You make me want to stab myself just so I don't have to hear this.

His struggle against his bonds had cut deep gashes in his wrists. Shikamaru felt his blood drip onto the carpeted floor.

"As you already must have figured, I have allowed you to live because you are still of value to me. But before I go around doing you any favours, you will answer this question. What assumptions did you make that led you to the serial murders you've been committing?"

Shikamaru smiled. "What makes you think I'll talk? All I know is that your kind needs to be exterminated as revenge for what happened to my father. Yours, and those lavender-eyed cowards hiding behind their influence and power!" As he spoke, he felt his grin curl up into a fierce snarl. He couldn't help himself; this farce was making his blood boil.

"The Byakugan?" The legendary Uchiha couldn't stop a hint of surprise from seeping into his voice. Shikamaru's mind raced, desperately figuring out the reason for his captor not knowing that simple fact. That two sets of Dojutsu were clearly seen at the scene of the crime. That those two unprecedentedly working together meant that only one pair in the entire village of Konoha could have pulled this off. If Itachi didn't know, then he either was truly clueless or...

Fuck.

"You're acting on knowledge that was inconsistent at best, coerced from a witness under high psychological duress. What prompted this? I'm afraid to say that you've been driven mad by grief and are taking it out needlessly on the Uchiha."

Itachi's words had a crushing finality to them. The Nara's mind reeled.

But... But... If it wasn't one of those two, then...

Who else was powerful enough to take down my...

The other figure stepped into the moonlight. The colour of his hair was unmistakable in the darkness, providing a stark contrast to the Uchiha Jonin's jet-black tresses.

"You... You?!"

He could scarcely control his bewilderment. To be so close and yet so far from the answer baffled his mind. His heart thumped hard against his ribcage.

"Indeed." There was no pretence in Uchiha Itachi's voice. No remorse either. Shikamaru strained hard against his bonds. The twine cut deeper into his wrists, the sudden stabs of pain only aggravating his rage further.

"Everything serves a purpose," the prodigy continued. "As do you, Shikamaru-kun. Even your utterly misguided explosion of hatred against a clan that least deserved it has unexpectedly hastened my plan, I'm afraid."

"What plan? What the fucking hell are you going on about?"

The clone to his left punched him in the gut. Hard.

Shikamaru's vision blurred, and he felt his consciousness slipping. Coughing blood onto the carpet, he fell limply, held up only by the two bunshin.

I'll never forget this, you treacherous vermin.

The blackness rushed in.

I hate you.

What in the name of...

Hatake Kakashi launched himself off the windowsill, sprinting as quickly as he could. Behind him, the combined pressure from Itachi's and Naruto's chakra was searing his senses. How did those monsters manage to command such power without succumbing to it, he did not know.

This investigation had been far more fruitful than he'd ever imagined. Getting to the heart of the problem in such a short timeframe, beating that cussing hussy for once in his life had its own satisfaction, of course, but who'd have thought the problem ran so deep? A nameless fear stirred his heart as he ran, a dread he could attribute no reason to whatsoever. Neither of the two freaks had given Shikamaru one straight answer.

A kunai whizzed towards him, and he contorted his body mid-jump to let it pass him by harmlessly. Shit. They're on my trail. He vaulted the high wall of the enclosure with bare centimetres to spare as a barrage of blades buried themselves in the wooden scaffolding right under his palms. Hitting the ground running, he sped up, no longer remaining silent. His combat footwear made uncharacteristic flaps on the sand as he pushed his body to the limit, maximizing the distance between him and the enclosure with blinding alacrity.

And yet, his follower gave chase doggedly. The ANBU jonin's attempts at shaking off pursuit were continually foiled, and for once he wished he'd been on field duty more in the recent past. Espionage had ruined his physical abilities. He knew the Sandaime would find this intel invaluable, but if he got caught and killed before it was delivered...

He closed his eyes, leaping from one parapet to another. One follower, and no more. It wasn't one of the beasts unless they'd prudently suppressed their output. But taking on one in a neutral setting such as the village proper had significantly better odds than inside the Uchiha compound. Making an intuitive decision, Kakashi whipped around, sliding his sword out of its sheath. The scar on his left eye throbbed slightly.

This may be incredibly foolish, but I think this ends here, whoever you are.

Skidding to a halt on the slanted rooftop, he secured his purchase on the baked clay tiles, hunched his shoulders and dropped onto the balls of his feet. Any head-on attack would be easier to face now. The chakra source drew closer, and Kakashi could sense the signature resonance from the Sharingan his pursuer was clearly deploying. Sliding his forehead protector up, he opened his left eyelid.

The activation of Obito's gift was accompanied by the usual stab of pain and the near-debilitating drain on his modest chakra reserves. He steeled his resolve. The signature blend of fire chakra in his opponent's silhouette was unmistakably Itachi's. Kakashi's gut coiled up with fear.

Bring it on, kouhai-kun.

Oh, wow, Kakashi-san. Fighting a junior, are we?

Despite the gravity of the situation, the grey-haired jonin let slip a sigh. Urahara Kisuke had the unfortunate talent of butting in at the worst moments possible.

Unless you have something concrete to say, I would be grateful if you'd just shut up from now until the end of this fight. Preferably forever.

Ah, ah, you are mean. Somehow, the link between them allowed Kakashi to perceive the green-striped bastard's facial expressions with his mind's eye. And the bastard had an evil smirk on his semi-bearded face.

I'd reckon you were mistaken, but only time will tell, Kakashi-san.

Huh?

His follower dropped down onto him, swinging a katana in a deadly top-down strike that would have sliced him in half if not for his own sword blocking the strike. Kakashi's eyes widened as he realised his mistake. Parrying the deadly offensive his opponent had launched into, he shouted to make himself heard above the din their clashing metal was making.

"Wait, for crying out loud!"

"Wait, Sasuke!"

His attacker heard him and seemed to regain his senses. Dropping his sword hand but still retaining his combat stance, the prodigy's prodigal younger brother looked at him with an expression of equal parts bewilderment and frustration. Despite the emotions, the unanswered questions ever so evidently coursing through his head, he was able to keep his voice level.

"What were you doing there, Kakashi-san?"

That's my line, you little shit.

The smell of disinfectant hung in the air. The moon had long crossed its peak, and only a sliver of light filtered in through the gossamer curtains.

Sasuke sat on a wooden stool next to the Hyuuga heiress, toying with a corner of the bedspread. Kakashi leaned silently in a corner, his forehead protector back over his scarred left eye. Hinata's eyes were open, but she remained silent and distant, still gazing far out the window. The flowers the Uzumaki had brought the day before were beginning to wilt in the white ceramic vase next to her pillows.

"So, we probably have very little time," Kakashi spoke up, his baritone muffled by his mask. "Tell me what you saw."

The Uchiha had a million questions of his own, but the jonin had asked first.

"The night the Nara's dad was killed, Hinata and I had gone to the scene of the crime."

"You did what?" Kakashi interjected but fell silent again as Sasuke shot him a murderous look.

"I had my suspicions that it was him." His hand grasped the bedsheet tightly, turning as white as the coarse cotton cloth. "We snuck in but were unable to find any concrete evidence of his involvement in it at all. On the way out, a guard saw us leave, and I had to use genjutsu on him to make him forget what had happened. It was a temporary fix, and I knew it. Sooner or later they'd scan his memories and find us there, or at least the glimpse of our eyes he'd managed to catch before I could hypnotise him."

Kakashi frowned.

"So at least we know why Shikamaru made the connection between the murder and the Uchiha, and also why he targeted your brother. There's only one possible pair who'd ever be caught together with the Sharingan and the Byakugan. You and Hinata-chan. He concluded that the answer lay in your house, but why would he go so far as to try and kill Itachi?"

"My wretched nii-san is at the heart of this, I'm sure." Sasuke could barely contain his rage. "And that smug, arrogant asshole he's adopted as his disciple serves him well as an assassin when it's convenient. It all makes sense now; his weird return, my brother and Shisui-nii taking him under their wing, Shisui-nii's sudden murder, everything."

Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Wait. Shisui was also involved with Naruto?"

"Of course he fucking was," Sasuke gritted his teeth. "And now Ita-nii's gone and killed him, and my brother continues to further his nihilistic goals."

"Oh, no." Kakashi seemed stunned, as he shook his head in slow motion. "This cannot be. No. Not this!"

"Spill it, Kakashi!" Sasuke shouted, his own fears escalating into a near frenzy. "What the fuck do you know?"

"Sandaime-sama's resignation..." the Jonin's eyes were deep in thought. "The man who's next in line for Hokage... Oh, fuck!"

Sasuke had no idea what Kakashi was saying. The Hokage's stepped down? The next man in line?

"Come with me. NOW!" With a sudden flash, he slid open the window and leapt out. Sasuke hesitated for a second, then followed the grey-haired man.

They seemed to be retracing their steps to the enclosure. Sasuke caught up to the older man, straining to make his voice heard over the rushing wind.

"Oi! Kakashi!" he dropped the honorific. "What the fuck is going on?"

"If I'm right, and I fear that I am," Kakashi replied, not breaking stride, "then we were sorely mistaken to leave the Uchiha compound. Horribly mistaken."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Itachi said his plan was only hastened by Shikamaru randomly killing Uchiha clan members. Given the tensions with your leaders and the village in general, if the news that these killings were being performed as an act of revenge was to go out, a full-blown civil war would ensue, and thousands of lives would be lost. The only one with enough clout to stop that from happening was Sarutobi-sama. Now, with him out of the way, Danzou has free rein to do as he pleases. And with that man's predisposition towards the Uchiha..."

Sasuke's blood ran cold, and it was an effort to maintain his pace.

What if... what if...

No. That's impossible. Ita-nii wouldn't...

He heard a crackling in the distance and peered into the darkness to make out what it was. When his eyes adjusted to the gloom, his heart leapt into his mouth.

The Uchiha enclosure was on fire.

FUUUUUUUUUCK.

The Katon; Ryuusenka that was responsible had to be the size of a whole cluster of buildings. Only two people in the clan had the ability and the sheer volume of chakra to maintain such a large flame for long enough. Well, now only one of those two was still alive, so...

ITA-NII!

Sasuke willed his body to the limit. His steps on the rooftops were frantic, bordering on sheer panic. Each one was mired in confusion; his desperate desire to know what was happening coupled with a hesitation of actually seeing what was happening. To his side, Kakashi was keeping the pace, fear evident in his eyes as well.

Clearing the wall with one large leap, he cushioned his landing with chakra to prevent his feet from getting charred by the boiling flames. Soft screams echoed here and there amidst the loud whoosh of air being sucked in by the fire greedily feasting on the wooden structures. His whole clan was dying en masse, and there was nothing he could do about it.

His foot slipped on a slick patch of charcoal dust, and he fell from the rooftops onto the ground, grazing his chin. Kakashi landed next to him, picking his limp body off the earth.

"Oi! Let's move! We need to find them."

Sasuke nodded, but his legs refused to prop him up anymore. Gazing hauntedly at the embers slowly roasting his relatives was consuming his very soul. The jonin's military instinct took over, and he slapped his new subordinate across the face.

"Genin!" referring to him by rank was important to remind him of his duty. "Get up and move it. Ima da!"

Sasuke returned to reality, and nodded. Now was not the time for misery. Stepping forward, he broke into a jog, with Kakashi in close behind. The two scanned the houses for signs of people they could save, but the job had been executed far too thoroughly. Everyone had been asleep, and the guards manning their posts lay slumped on patrol, their bodies riddled with kunai.

"There!" Kakashi screamed and pointed. Silhouetted by the flames and the moonlight was the figure of his brother. He was holding something aloft. Someone, rather.

"Ita-niiiiiiii!" Sasuke screamed until his lungs were on fire from inhaling all the smoke around. Leaping up towards the roof his damned brother was standing on, he scrabbled through the crumbled wreckage of his neighbour's house, zigzagging his way through the vermilion flames. Perhaps the one he hadn't killed yet could be saved-

No.

Itachi drove his wakizashi right through his victim's chest, driving it up to the hilt. A killing blow, no matter how quickly they got the poor soul to the hospital. Sasuke's brain froze at that very moment. Until now he'd been able to deny it all. To somehow convince himself that this was all a scam. To believe in his brother's innocence, at least when it came to murdering his own people. But no more.

Landing awkwardly on the parapet, Sasuke felt his ankle roll and barely straightened himself before he stumbled off the roof. Itachi's looming figure continued to hold up the victim's corpse by his hair, looking directly into his eyes. Sasuke ignored the stabs of pain his ankle made every time he put weight on it, limping over to where his brother was. His movements were mechanical now, driven more by unconscious effort than any will whatsoever.

At least... at least if he could see this one person's face, he could say a last prayer for the wretched soul. Some consolation that would be, but Sasuke was beyond irony at this point. He'd seen it all; his laconic mind was incapable of further questioning.

His brother turned to him, the raging tempest of flames mirrored in his glazed eyes, akin to those of a cadaver. Sasuke thought he was far beyond any further disbelief, but one glance at the corpse in Ita-nii's hands shattered every half-baked theory of reality he had in his mind.

That orange jacket. The blonde hair.

Unmistakable.

Uzumaki Naruto's upturned head hung loose, his mouth frothing with crimson.

Okay. Time to re-think things.

I know, I know, bombshells galore here, but that was exhausting.

A year and a half's passed, and the story's finally getting somewhere.

I have no clue how much of my original readers are still around on this site, but to those who've actually waited for this long, I'm sorry.

I want to write this one so badly, but I never seem to get the time to any more.

But a promise is a promise.

Finish this story I will. Zettai desu.

Cheers.