Author's Note: As always, I'd like to thank you all very much for your reviews! I'm going to answer all your questions again a couple chapters later with a traditional F.A.Q. list. So feel free to ask anything you're wondering about in your comments! ;) A unique and interesting question will definitely be answered as well as the popular ones, you guys may rest assured!

Also, shout-out to Danish78 for pointing out my mistake in the description of Neji's technique! I've fixed it, but because you sent that as a guest review, I couldn't thank you via PM.

Enjoy!

Chapter 18. Behind the Mirror

"A new member has arrived," the deep voice announced, and everyone's gaze was now focused on him.

Without the slightest sign of hesitation or fear, Itachi entered the barely lit underground hall, followed tightly by Konan who appeared to be equally as calm. In truth, it actually amazed him how she was able to conceal her fear, because he knew for a fact that she dreaded at the mere thought of their leader possibly finding out about the connection the two of them now shared. He would regret killing her if it would ever come to that. This woman was indeed a great kunoichi…

Much like the rest of them, he instantly realized as he eyed the half-circle of motley, colourful ninjas who had apparently gathered to welcome him.

The closest to Itachi, standing to the left of him was, without a doubt, Deidara from Iwagakure. The young shinobi who had almost killed his brother back in spring… The blond smirked at him arrogantly as their eyes met for a second, Itachi's crimson irises not giving away anything at all, naturally. However, If only he could act freely right now... this fool would already be dead by now.

Next to Deidara was standing someone he couldn't recognize - the red-haired man, although, by the sign on his forehead protector, his origins definitely lay in Sunagakure.

And then there was another one the Uchiha was quite familiar with. The paper-white, unnaturally, almost ill-looking skin; the long, dirty black hair, and finally the greedy, bright-yellow eyes resembling those of a viper, and were now peering at him curiously. Orochimaru the Sannin… It wasn't surprising to Itachi that this man had ended in Akatsuki. Genius or not, he was quite a scoundrel...

The fourth member was, again, someone unfamiliar, and also rather creepy-looking. His body appeared to be split in half, one being white as snow, just like Orochimaru's, and the face looking relatively normal. The other half, however, was abyssal black, and its part of the face lacked a nose, a mouth, and pretty much everything else except for the round-shaped golden-coloured eye that didn't have a pupil.

In the middle part of the half-circle, the leader of the organization himself was standing. His messy bright-orange hair could instantly draw anyone's attention, somehow reminding Itachi of his blond student; however, the man's eyes were what made everyone and everything else pale in his presence, at least to those who knew what exactly they were. And Itachi was aware of the ancient legend behind this mythic dōjustu. Thanks to Konan, he had also already known that this man possessed these eyes, so the Uchiha managed to remain calm, pretending not to have recognized it. Still, it was still quite shocking to see it in person… The Rinnegan. Was Sharingan any match for it...?

His eyes then slid do the next person, and for the first time there Itachi frowned the tiniest bit. As far as he was aware, this woman's name was Yugito; she was one of two jinchūriki of Kumogakure. And now that she was clearly a member of Akatsuki, this was probably the most disturbing news. His blue-haired lover had also told him that this organization intended to gather every jinchūriki in order to claim the power of the tailed beasts they possessed. The highest priority of Akatsuki was to talk the perfect ones - the hosts who controlled the power of their beasts - into joining the organization if possible. Those who disagreed, or didn't have such ability, were to be killed, and the bijū were to be extracted and captured.

According to the intel both Konoha and Akatsuki possessed, there were only four perfect hosts in their world at the moment, the most famous one being Namikaze Naruto. Then there was some person named Utakata who was the keeper of the six-tailed beast and was also rumoured to be incredibly powerful. The next one was Killer Bee, the jinchūriki of Hachibi from Kumogakure - the current Raigake's younger brother. And finally… Nii Yugito, the woman who was now looking at him grimly, as though suspecting what exactly he was thinking right now.

And she would be definitely correct, because to say that this was bad would be a huge understatement. Whatever had caused her to join this organization was already irrelevant, but the possible consequences of this could be catastrophic… Even a single Tailed Beast was enough to destroy any hidden village that didn't have their own jinchūriki. And considering that these people were also some of the strongest ninjas alive… They already possessed enough power to obliterate a good half of the shinobi world!

This was an impossibly serious threat that could not be ignored any further. They had all strongly underestimated this mysterious group of terrorists until now. And Itachi knew that he totally had to take care of it as soon as possible... for the sake of the entire world.

"My, isn't that the little Uchiha from Konoha? I remember you as a helpless toddler… Itachi. You sure have grown up." Orochimaru chuckled, narrowing his eyes at him as though he was attempting to see through the Uchiha's impassive mask.

"It's an honour, Orochimaru-san," replied the man courtly and neutrally, not looking directly at him.

"Leave the sentiments for the later, you two. Now that we finally have enough members, even though we have yet to recruit a few more, I reckon it's about time to step out of shadows and make our first major move. Itachi, Konan," the metallic-purple eyes stared met the bloody red ones, "Your task is to capture Ichibi. His host is vastly known to be quite unstable, and according to the information Sasori provided us with, the village is not very secure. Infiltrating it shouldn't be a problem for the two of you considering your abilities that suit for diversions perfectly. Capture the boy as soon as possible, and make sure to avoid getting seen by anybody if it can be helped. The further we can delay any public attention from the Five Great Countries, the better."

"Understood," said Itachi, wrapping the new coat around himself more tightly.

"One more thing," said the leader, his eyes remaining just as lifeless and indifferent as before, "Originally I expected you to bring us Namikaze Naruto from your home village. However, we've received a message from one of our spies, and apparently, Kyūbi had recently been taken by Iwagakure. While it, unfortunately, breaks the course of our initial plan by preventing us from claiming him for an uncertain period of time, you're still expected to bring him here with the first opportunity you get. I hope this is clear - he is your responsibility."

"Of course." The Uchiha nodded humbly while almost smirking inwardly. Whether the Fourth had somehow miraculously seen through their plan or not, the timing of making Naruto a bait for the upcoming war just couldn't have been more perfect. Now it also gave him a lot of time to prove his loyalty to Akatsuki without having to bring his student in front of these people. And by the time Naruto would be set free, Akatsuki, as well as the rest of the world, would already have found out the forbidden secret truth about Kyubi only a few in their world knew for now…

In other words, Naruto was perfectly safe. And nothing could be more satisfying to Itachi in this situation. He totally had the upper hand, and none of them even realized this yet.

"Then you should move out at once. The meeting is over; everyone has their orders. Dismissed."

A few minutes later, as he and Konan went out of the hideout and walked into the glade that surrounded the deep ravine, the woman uttered quietly from behind his back:

"You knew about it."

He didn't turn around and neither did he say anything in return, keeping striding forward soundlessly.

"You knew that Naruto was going to be taken by Iwa," she continued. "That's why you agreed to join… isn't that so?"

"If you're implying that I lied to you about this, then you are wrong. Whether I knew it or not has nothing to do with my reasons for joining Akatsuki. Everything I told you on this matter was true."

"And yet you fooled me…"

"You don't know that," he reasoned calmly, still not turning around, even though he could hear that she stopped. Was she going to attack him now...? That would be quite disappointing because he had already grown to admire her calm temper.

"Are you going to try to stop us? Are you trying to... use me?"

He finally stopped as well, slowly shifting his head to the left and glancing at her over his shoulder. She was right, of course. This was exactly what he was doing...

"No. I will not try to prevent you from taking Naruto when the time comes and if you still want him by that moment. You may consider that an oath. However, I also have my own plans for him, which is why I don't mind this opportunity to buy myself some time in order to use the boy when I need him."

"Then what do you need him for?" She frowned, peering at him searchingly. He could see that she really wanted to believe him and that she was currently desperately trying to persuade herself in his good intentions. To be fair, he hadn't lied; there would be no reason to protect Naruto from them as soon as everyone would find out the truth about the boy. And that was going to happen soon enough anyway… maybe even sooner than he thought.

"Naruto would not agree to join Akatsuki willingly, and a jinchūriki has to die in order for their tailed beast to be freed," he explained coldly, "His life is very valuable to my younger brother. If he dies right now, Sasuke would most likely awaken Mangekyō Sharingan, and it is too early yet for that to happen. I will need his eyes later… when mine eventually lose their light." He turned away, striding forward again. "Let's go. Getting to Suna will take some time, we should hurry up."

To his slight relief, a few moments later, his ears caught the barely notable sound of her footsteps as Konan followed him, apparently having bought his story after all.

Itachi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Please, be safe, little brother. I will protect you no matter what…

-~X~-

"Kyūbi."

Reluctantly waking up from his peaceful nape and opening his blue eyes, Naruto slowly raised his head, meeting the gaze of the young black-haired woman who was standing at the entrance of his cell, eyeing him jovially. There was almost no ill feelings in her expression... almost.

"Are you talking to me, mam?" He asked politely, deciding not to provoke her for now. He had yet to figure out how much time has passed since the moment he had been captured by Iwa's troops on his way to Kumogakure... A week, maybe?

His eyes slid do the clock on the wall of the passage of the underground prison, and he quickly searched for the number that would tell him what was the date today. Ah, there it is...

"Are you hungry?"

"Not really. Though I'm kinda thirsty," he murmured, quickly making calculations in his head. Was it the right time yet, or not...?

"Eh… I guess I can give you some water." She reached out to her pocket and took out a small flask.

"Nah, that's not what I mean."

She blinked at him a few times, and the Namikaze grinned mockingly in return, suppressing the desire to wince as the tight handcuffs that were covered with various seals were roughly tearing the skin on his wrists with every slightest movement he made. They sure enjoyed torturing him even when it came to such small things...

"I hope you do realize that I can break every single bone in your body right now, and no one would blame me for it," the kunoichi smirked at him darkly, taking a step towards the teen.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Though I'm not really into that stuff, to be honest. You know, to be dominated and all that. Still, if the lady wants it, who am I to disagree?"

She suddenly laughed, shaking her head.

"You're such a moron. You father must be very ashamed of you, Namikaze Naruto."

He looked into her eyes and his lips curved into a tiny smile.

"Well, now that you mention it, I suppose your daddy is quite proud of you, whoever the hell he is…"

"He was killed by the Fourth Hokage when I was five," she replied coldly, the previous note of amusement instantly disappearing from her voice.

"Ow-w," Naruto frowned, lowering his eyes. "What an awkward situation… I don't know what to say. I'm still thirsty, though. Will you take care of that?"

"Why are you being so cocky?" she frowned at him, beginning to slowly circle around the boy while at the same time unhurriedly approaching the captive ninja. "If you're trying to taunt me so that I would put you out of your misery, that's a weak attempt. Everyone who has the access to your cell is aware that as a jinchūriki, your death could lead to a disaster caused by your bijū."

"Well, if you say so." He shrugged indifferently, smiling to himself without looking at her. Yes, the time was definitely right. Now all he had to do was to anger her a little more, and then he would tell her...

The woman gritted her teeth, suddenly rushing to him and gripping his neck tightly, forcing the Namikaze to meet her burning gaze.

"Stop fucking with me, you little shit! I hate you! I so wish I could actually be the one to kill you in the end…!" Her face was now just an inch away from his as she hissed venomously, "We all hate you and your goddamn father so much that you can't even imagine...! And I can see that you're just as arrogant and damnable as him…! How does it feel, huh? How does it feel, knowing that your home is going to be destroyed soon? That everyone you love will die?!" She punched him in the face, breaking his nose and sending him on the cold floor of the cell.

Naruto gasped in pain, barely managing to open his left eye and look at the raging kunoichi, this time rather compassionately than mockingly, and muttered:

"I… well, I guess it would be pointless… to say that I'm sorry for whatever losses you have suffered… because of my dad and my village. But... I'll have you know there is one thing you're definitely wrong about."

She narrowed her eyes at him, visibly trying to calm down yet also clearly failing at that.

"Oh? And what is that, pray tell?"

He then smiled, more to himself than to her.

"You guys will lose. My dad will never choose me over the village, and there is no way you can beat him, not to mention the Uchiha clan. I'm not even gonna mention the Hyūga, Senju, Uzumaki and the rest."

She smirked at his words, though he noticed the slight nervousness appearing in her gaze as she blurted out,

"Right now our army is already a day of walking away from Konoha, and they don't have a way to detect their presence! Without their jinchūriki, they won't be able to stand against an army as huge as we sent there without too many casualties, and do you think your fucking white knight of a daddy would allow this to happen? We'll take the entire village hostage, and combined with you, little piece of shit, also being in our hands, he won't have any other choice but to agree to our terms…! You people will become our rightful slaves, and this is how it ends!"

The boy shrugged, changing his position very slowly, almost lazily leaning his back on the wall of the tiny room. And then he said something that very predictably made her eyes widen in horror, much to his amusement as he had been waiting for this moment for days:

"Well, Kurotsuchi-chan…," he gave her a dead serious glare, showing her that he had finally decided to stop playing with her. "I hate to break it down on you, but if you guys planned this all based on the assumption that there is no jinchūriki in the village right now… I'm afraid you're all deep in shit, especially if they are really that far away from here already. Because that would mean that it's too late by now to send them a message about what I've just said, isn't it?"

Kurotsuchi paled and stuttered:

"Y-You-you're bluffing…!" she almost screamed, quickly getting up and stepping backwards.

Naruto chuckled, shaking his head.

"Eh, you think so? Then let's hope you're right, because, you know, mothers can be really scary, especially when they find out that someone has hurt their only son. Knowing her, I don't envy your army, that's for sure."

-~X~-

"Sasuke!" Hinata quickly ran down the stairs the moment she had noticed the raven-haired ninja who walked in the estate with the typical displeased expression he had whenever he was surrounded by the people of her clan. Surprisingly, this trait was another one both his counterpart and this version of the Uchiha shared. "You've come just in time! Come on, I need you to see something!" she blurted out, grabbing his hand and pulling the boy upstairs.

"See what, exactly?" muttered the Uchiha grimly, frowning at the girl's back, though not breaking out of her grip - most probably because he was too absorbed by his thought on the most recent events rather than due to not minding her doing this to him.

"It's Neji! We believe he's been attacked by Orochimaru the Sannin. Do you know anything about him? That man has put some strange seal on Neji's neck; have you ever… uh, you know… read or heard about it?" she asked a bit lamely, apparently too nervous and thrilled to be able to come up with a better way to ask him about his past experience from the other world now that there were too many eager ears around.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked away while they were walking through the long corridor on the second floor of the massive building. Of course, if that seal was exactly what he thought it was, then Sasuke was most likely more than just familiar with that seal. Well, at least if Orochimaru of this world was anything like his counterpart from his memories. However, the big question there was why had he done this to Neji, and not to an Uchiha. Was he after Byakugan now? But if so, then... why, all of sudden? The Sannin he had once known had never shown any interest in the Hyūga clan and its dōjutsu...

"No, never heard of it. I can check him up with my Sharingan if you want. Maybe I'd see something you guys can't."

"Yes, that's exactly what I want you to do!" she replied impatiently as they came to the door she opened abruptly the next second, revealing a room full of her clansmen standing around the simple wooden bed.

"Hinata… Why did you bring him here?" asked Hiashi, eyeing the Uchiha with a slightly scornful expression.

"Because Neji is his friend! He deserves to know what's going on!" snapped the man's daughter, pulling Sasuke toward her cousin's bed stubbornly.

Ignoring the clearly displeased, and in some cases almost hateful gazes directed at him, Sasuke slowly stepped closer to the unconscious half-naked teen. The seal was indeed there, covering a good half of his body already, and just as the Uchiha had suspected, this was exactly the same one he had once possessed himself. It was still fresh, and Neji's body had yet to grow accustomed to the dire chakra that was fighting his own right now. He knew for a fact that it was hurting him badly, forcing his body to rapidly adapt to its aggressive presence. The Uchiha could still remember this pain... It was nothing special to him, especially comparing to everything he had later been through, but to this Hyuūga… it was probably almost unbearable at the moment, to the point that he had even blacked out.

However, there was one thing Sasuke could do to help him. The same thing Kakashi had done to him long ago, on the arena in the Forest of Death during the chūnin exam… Yes. The seal had to be suppressed with another seal as soon as possible.

He activated his Sharingan, quickly scanning through the Hyūga's chakra system. All in all, the reaction was similar to how his own body had been poisoned by this intoxicating power for the very first time. Luckily, Neji and his brethren had nothing to worry about… at least for now.

"Hinata," he said quietly, but somewhat abruptly. "Make everyone leave this room."

"What did you say?!" the tall man with short black hair who was standing next to his now betrothed gasped. "Who do you think you are, Uchiha? You are-"

"Do as he said, Kō," said Hinata firmly, interrupting him to the man's further indignation. "Everyone out, now!" She looked around the room and frowned, noticing that some of them were hesitating.

"You have your orders. Leave. I shall stay," said Hiashi, instantly making the rest of their clansmen storm out of the room, and thus showing who had the real authority among them. The man then came close to the bed at the same time as Hinata did, and looked at his daughter and Sasuke very attentively.

The boy gritted his teeth in annoyance, although realizing that getting rid of the old man would probably prove to be impossible in this situation. It was truly unfortunate… His initial plan to simply use Preta Path to remove the seal and take Orochimaru's chakra all for himself now seemed unreal to execute, and the perfect opportunity to do this while Neji wouldn't see or feel anything was now ruined. He would probably have to do it later anyway, but then again… Would it even be possible without telling his friend the truth about himself and his abilities...?

He glanced at Hiashi and almost goaned. What a nuisance...

Besides, now that he was going to watch them, he had to choose words very carefully… and hope that Hinata would be able to improvise good enough to come up with something to wash Hiashi's possible suspicion away. And also that the rest of them were obedient enough not to peek, because what he absolutely didn't need right now was for someone to start spreading rumours concerning his mastery with techniques he wasn't even supposed to know in the first place!

"What's going on with him, Sasuke? Can you tell?" asked the girl carefully, touching his hand with her fingers briefly, as if wanting to take his hand, but this time he didn't allow her to keep the physical contact as he stretched his hands and fingers, preparing to use the complex jutsu.

"This Cursed Mark is the container of Inton based natural chakra. Its original owner, be it Orochimaru or not, is not the reason why Neji's body is going through so much stress. As someone who has never adapted to natural energy to begin with, he's doing his best not to let it consume him. It can be helped, though…" He raised his hands and quickly weaved a long series of seemingly countless seals.

Hare - Snake - Horse - Ram - Bird - Tiger…

"Fūja Hōin!"

The bizarre black pattern covering Neji's body began to diminish, slowly crawling back into the round-shaped seal Sasuke had just applied on top of the Curse Mark exactly the same way his former teacher had done for him many years ago. And as the seal's activity finally stopped, the Hyūga's body also visibly relaxed, and he began breathing steadily and calmly, almost looking normally asleep.

"He'll stay unconscious for some time, but he's out of danger… for now anyway. Orochimaru will definitely come after him, it's a matter of time," said Sasuke thoughtfully more to himself than to Hinata and her father.

"You seem to know quite a lot about Orochimaru and his jutsu…, " murmured Hiashi, instantly making the boy snap out of his thought and throw the man a pretentiously cocky glance of the red eyes.

"Never underestimate the Uchiha," he said, not even trying to sound arrogant and prideful as it came by naturally. After all, he truly considered them all far inferior to himself and to the rest of his clan…

"I shall make sure not to," Hiashi nodded peacefully, not reacting to Sasuke's behaviour at all. "Now, back to our business... I believe Fugaku-dono has informed you about the conditions of our… agreement."

Sasuke frowned, noticing the confused expression on Hinata's face with the corner of his eye. So she didn't know…? That was... unexpected.

"Yeah," replied the boy casually, meeting Hiashi's cold, emotionless gaze.

"Have you agreed?"

"Yeah. A marriage is not a problem for me," echoed Sasuke, looking at him equally as impassively.

"W-What the hell?!" Hinata gasped, her eyes widening as she stared at Sasuke in disbelief. "Marriage…? With who? Otō-sama, what is going on?!"

Hiashi sighed, closing his eyes.

"Calm down, daughter. Do not ashame us in front of our guest. This is a mutual agreement between the Hyūga and the Uchiha. You and Sasuke-kun here are now betrothed, for we have decided that it would benefit both our clans significantly. Besides, are you going to tell me that you are against this scenario? Knowing that you two are already romantically involved, I never expected this to be a problem for you."

She opened and closed her mouth mutely a few times, taking a step backwards, and then another. The girl just kept staring at both of them, looking completely dumbfounded and shocked… but, there was something else.

It was very hard to notice, which is why neither Sasuke nor Hiashi paid any attention to it, but her eyes suddenly flashed with purple ever so slightly, and then she fainted, falling with a deaf thud on the carpet under her feet.

-~X~-

Hinata slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times in a futile attempt to see anything as there was not a single source of light around. At first, it even seemed to her as though she had lost her eyesight, which scared her quite a lot. But then the girl let out a sigh of relief. She clearly recognized the silhouette of her hand as she raised it up and clenched her fingers a few times, making sure that she wasn't blind after all.

The kunoichi then raised her head, looking around herself. The place was so dark… But the darkness was pleasant, almost welcoming, as though she had just returned to her room after a very long absence, and had yet to lit it up.

Where am I...?

She then noticed a strange glitter in the dark just a few yards ahead of her.

What was that...?

The girl squinted, slowly striding forward. And then she noticed it again a second later, this time a lot more distinct...!

She raised her hand, trying to touch it with her fingers, suddenly realizing that there was a cold, invisible barrier in front of her. It actually resembled a glass... A cracked glass that was preventing her from going any farther. She could even see the phantom reflection of herself, standing there in the same posture...

Except her eyes were not the same as hers! And also, her expression... She was scared! But, Hinata didn't feel scared at all...! Just what was happening to her?

Her reflection suddenly stepped back, embracing itself and falling on its knees, panting heavily. Was she in pain...? No, she certainly felt normal...! Almost good...

But then the phantom suddenly let out a mute cry, as if gathering all the strength it had remaining, and hit the glass with her palm from the other side, sending the already familiar purple chakra through the breach in the surface of the invisible glass. As the incredible energy was about to reach her body, Hinata closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands defensively...

And then she woke up.

A/N

Fūja Hōin - also known as Evil Sealing Method; this technique is used to suppress technique-induced marks on a person. Marks of weaker power can be completely suppressed by this technique alone, but for marks of higher power, like Sasuke Uchiha's Cursed Seal of Heaven, it will cause the seal's power to become dependent on the recipient's own willpower to some extent, especially if the sealer is not experienced enough to strengthen the seal with his own power. It is also capable of holding back certain kekkei genkai, such as that of the Kurama clan as seen when Kurenai tried to do this.

There is also counter-technique to this, named Kaija Hōin - it is used to release technique-induced seals on a person rather than sealing it. Compared to the Evil Sealing Method, the Evil Releasing Method requires far less preparation. Sasuke Uchiha used this technique to revive Orochimaru, mixing a piece of Kabuto Yakushi's modified flesh to create a body for the consciousness of Orochimaru that was left in Anko Mitarashi's Cursed Seal of Heaven.