Itachi did not sleep at night.

Instead he would stare at the ceiling for hours on end, exhausted and in pain but unable to shut his eyes.

Kisame slept on the other side of the room, blissfully unaware of his partner's troubles. In the months following the assault Kisame had remained diligently by Itachi's side. To observes, nothing had changed but when it was just them, Kisame assured Itachi never forgot his place.

He never touched Itachi again. He went out of his way to avoid touching the Uchiha as if he would become infected with Itachi's lies. When Itachi's illness reared its' ugly head again, Kisame was no longer there to support him in anyway. The monster was gone but so was the man. Now, he was a silent wraith by Itachi's side.

He no longer followed Itachi's lead, instead killing indiscriminately as if he had held back during his relationship with Itachi and now he was free to kill as he wished.

Itachi considered killing him. Kisame was a threat. Kisame could ruin everything, but the moment he did, he knew he would be under a microscope. The Akatsuki were already unsettled by the attack and if Kisame suddenly ended up dead...Itachi could not risk it.

"Why?" Kisame asked late one night long after the lights had gone out and Itachi was silently grateful that he didn't flinch at the sound of his rumbling voice.

"Why what?" Itachi managed to answer, his own voice smooth and cold.

"Why did you do it?"

Itachi knew what he was asking.

There was no reason to lie anymore. He would be dead within the year.

"I was ordered to." He replied. He heard Kisame scoff and the rustling of sheets. For a split second Itachi was back in that hotel, back on that bed . He brushed it aside, refusing to think back to that night.

"The village orders you to kill your clan and you're still choose then over everything else?" Kisame sneered. "Such loyalty from their little bitch ." Itachi didn't react physically to Kisame's words, he knew they were true.

"Not above everything." Itachi murmured thoughtfully, finger gliding over the tattoo on his arm. He thought of Sasuke. He thought of his father's final request.

"No?" Kisame's voice drawled out, the bed creaking ad he rolled onto his back to look at the ceiling.

"Just above the Akatsuki," Itachi lifted his head to directly meet Kisame's stare. "and above you."

Kisame's responding grin was was all poison. "I see."

Madara had not planned on going to Sasuke this soon. His plan had been to wait until Itachi was dead and out of the way to approach the boy. However, Kisame's actions had forced his hand. He tracked the brat and his team down to a shitty inn they had purchased for the night. He knew Sasuke was busy planning and that he had been tracking his brother's whereabouts. Call it sentiment or call it a vicious need to stay in control but knowing his subordinate had brutalized his student left a sour taste in his mouth. He had not told Kisame to allow the brute to retaliate against Itachi, it had been meant as a warning to the younger Uchiha, that Madara's reach knew no bounds.

Kisame had been meant to keep an eye on Itachi but Kisame had retaliated and the end result was sobering. Even Madara could see the wrongness in it all. Itachi had trusted for the first time since slaying his clan and it had ended horribly. Perhaps once Madara would have felt sincere pity for his student, now it only served to potentially fuel Uchiha Sasuke's already volatile fire.

Your brother the scapegoat, your brother the victim.

When Sasuke first heard the rumors he had not believed them. Sasuke was already aware of the rumor that Kisame had inadvertently spread.

He had been at a small bar, sitting next to Juugo when he heard Itachi's name. Instantly, he had tensed, holding his breath, his grip on his cup tightening while Karin had shot him an apprehensive look.

"You hear about that?"

''Heh, apparently someone rode him down hard."

"Wish I could have seen it happen."

It took the rest of the night for Sasuke to piece the entire story together.

He was now aware that his murderous brother had been brutally beaten and assaulted, but the mystery of who it was and if it was even true remained. There was no correlation between the thought of the Uchiha clan's murderer suddenly being a victim of some vicious assault. It made as much sense as if hearing that Uzumaki suddenly decided to give up his goal of Hokage and become a monk.

He had brushed off the rumors. There were always false information going around. Some about Sasuke himself. This one was surprising, however. Itachi was rarely mentioned. More of a ghost than an actual person. Even if Sasuke didn't believe the rumors, it did not mean he enjoyed hearing them. If there was even an inch of truth to them...

There was no satisfaction or glee on Sasuke's end. No pleasure that his tormentor had been hurt, only white hot burning rage that if the rumors were true, his target, his brother had been touched by someone that was not him. Someone else had the audacity to touch what was his to kill.

He had ordered his team to head out of the village they had been staying in, trekking to a run down inn in the middle of nowhere so Sasuke could plan out his inevitable meeting with Itachi.

Then Madara Uchiha had found him.

The truth had been a punch to the gut.

"Where is he?" Sasuke had finally asked after no longer being able to deny the truth, after tearing a hole in the paper thin walls and terrifying his team into silence. He did not look at the man who scoffed at him, eyes on the ground and head hanging as if weighed down.

"You think you're going to march over to him and save him?" It was a child's dream. Sasuke's rage over the truth and the sudden fear for his brother was overpowering. If itachi had been dead it would have made things much easier, but the fool still breathed and now his brother would burn down the world to get to him.

"Is it true then?" Sasuke barked. "Was Itachi...is it true?" He couldn't say it out loud. He couldn't stomach saying it. Suddenly it seemed worse. Sasuke's hatred now mixed with love and fear. Madara tilted his head, thoughtfully.

"You're asking if your brother was assaulted?" He observed the boy's flinch and smiled under his mask. "Yes. It seems his partner could not stand the thought of his lover being a trait-"

"His partner? The fucking shark did it?" Sasuke barked and from where Sugiestsu was leaning against the wall he heard they boy suck in a sharp breath.

"He'll never admit it but I have no doubt it was him. He is the only one who could have lulled your brother into a false sense of security. The only one who could have touched him."

"They were lovers?" Sasuke croaked and Madara hummed thoughtfully.

"Yes. A sweet little romance...sadly Kisame couldn't handle a little secret." Couldn't handle was putting it mildly. Sasuke dragged a trembling hand down his face, stomach churning with nausea.

"Is Itachi in danger?"

"Itachi is always in danger."

"Stop fucking around!" Sasuke rounded on the older Uchiha. "You came to me for a reason! Is my brother safe right now?" He was met with heavy silence as Madara studied him. Sasuke could feet Juugo and Karin's eyes focused on him but he didn't dare look away. Finally, Madara nodded, kicking some of the destroyed sheetrock out of his way.

"For now he's safe."

It won't last, however. The Akatsuki will find out soon enough.

I'm afraid my position had been compromised. I am uncertain to what extent beyond my partner but he is aware of my loyalties. I have yet to receive any guidance from the council and hope to gain insight from you. I do not wish to leave or risk my position, but with no orders I am at a loss for my next move. Please respond at your earliest convenience.

There was no name attached and the note had been coded heavily to avoid allowing it into the wrong hands, but Jiraiya knew who had sent it. Jiraiya had not planned on going to Tsunade about this. When he had taken the responsibility from Hiruzen he had no idea who his contact was. Discovering the truth about Itachi Uchiha and the massacre had been like a punch to the gut.

He knew what Itachi had done. He knew what his actions had done to his brother. The massacre had been an atrocity but Jiraiya found he couldn't fault the boy. Itachi had been backed into a corner and groomed into compliance. Instead, Jiraiya found his faith in Hiruzen had been shaken and his loyalty to the village was tarnished.

He met Itachi once every couple of months where they would share information and Itachi would deliver any news on the Akatsuki. Jiraiya had a difficult time differentiating the Uchiha from the murderer who he had run into at the hotel. Eventually, Jiraiya warmed to the boy. Itachi was soft spoken and efficient but Jiraiya saw glimpses of personality hidden there.

Itachi had a sweet tooth and was unfailingly polite. Jiraiya wondered what he would be like if he had not faced so much trauma.

He teasingly brought one of his books for Itachi during their rendezvous and Itachi had politely declined it, lips twitching into a faint smile. This boy had sacrificed everything for his village and no one would ever know. Later, when he had left Konoha with Naruto the council had called him in for a meeting. As he would no longer be Itachi's contact it would fall to another trusted Shinobi.

Jiraiya had suggested Kakashi. It seemed like the perfect replacement. Itachi knew Kakashi. Itachi had trusted and looked up to Kakashi. If Kakashi learned the truth he would be able to offer some form of familiar support. Or, if not Kakashi it should go to Ibiki. Ibiki for all his faults was loyal and reasonable. He knew the dark underbelly of Konoha. He would understand in a way Jiraiya never could. He could offer Itachi assurances that Jiraiya had been unable to.

Danzo had shot down his suggestions. He refused to give anymore potential witnesses information on the massacre. The only reason Jiraiya had been told was because Hiruzen had told him personally in preparation for his future meetings with Itachi.

Jiraiya kept in touch with Itachi during his travels and eventually upon his return. Now, there were rumors of a brutal assault on Itachi Uchiha and Itachi's note confirmed Jiraiya's fears. With little choice left, Jiraiya went to Tsunade's office and ensured no prying ears would hear his next words.

By the end of it all, Tsunade had her face buried in her hands, her sake drink knocked over. Even drinking seemed too much for her at the news.

"He was just a boy." Were the first words she spoke and Jiraiya could only offer a weak nod, slumped in his own seat, his drink untouched as well.

"He's a shinobi...he knew-"

" Bullshit !" Tsunade snapped, throwing the glass off the desk and listening to it shatter against the wall. "That's a the weakest excuse imaginable! It doesn't matter how capale he was, he was just a boy and Hiruzen...the village failed him and the Uchiha." She tilted her head back, eyes screwed shut. Itachi had wanted his clan to maintain their dignity in death. She understood what his goals were, but it was too late for all that.

"What do you suggest?" Her former teammate asked, eyes fixed on the Hokage. Her honey eyes slowly roved around the room, glancing at Itachi's coded message. She couldn't fix Hiruzen's mistakes or change what had been done, but she could do right by the Uchiha brothers'. They deserved that at least.

"Send an extraction team." She finally decided and she heard Jiraiya's hum of either approval or reprimand.

"The council will never approve." There was a fondness in his tone and Tsunade's lips twitched.

"The council will have to get over it." Tsunade leaned back in her chair, legs crossing as she brushed the spilled sake off her desk.

"Who do you have in mind." Jiraiya asked, already having a suspect in mind.

"I want Kakashi in this office in fifteen minutes." Tsunade peered out the window. "I think he'll want to hear the truth about his former subordinate."