Author's Note: I am so sorry for the long time off that I have taken from writing. I'm back to it now, just had to settle some life stuff. My promise to my readers is that I will do better. This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but it felt right to end it where I did. Please let me know what you think.

Flames that Burn

Four months before the mission

The first couple of weeks after the events at the club went by quickly for Itachi. He had his normally busy schedule to make the time pass. The dull grind of repetition was an excellent way to keep the mind occupied until his head finally laid down upon his pillow at night.

The dreams weren't important.

When sleep eluded him, Itachi just slipped out of an open window into the night. His new favorite prey tended to move around more in the darkness. This tantalizing new game of stalking such a worthy foe, filled him with excitement.

This was how the Uchiha heir found himself, perched in a tree in the dead of night, with his prey in sight.

'As I expected, he lured his mark back to this location' Itachi thought smugly, sure in his knowledge of the prey's patterns.

The soft murmur of voices drifted through the thick foliage and Itachi used the sound to cover for the noise of sliding two shuriken out of a pouch. He concealed himself perfectly as two figures emerged in the clearing below.

The smaller figure's steps were hesitant, the tone of her voice stuttered with confusion and indecision.

In response, the male figure's stride was smooth and sure, his voice soothing and deep. His hand firmly on the female's lower back, the target led his nervous companion to the moonlit clearing. The two passed right beneath the very branch that Itachi was perched on.

Familiar, cheesy, pickup lines flowed with ease out of the man' mouth as he attempted to ease the female's misgivings. Itachi wondered how such a genius could be so appallingly lacking in imagination and creativity.

Itachi watched intently as the target turned the female around and up against a nearby tree. His eyes narrowed in on the woman's face and bit back a curse at her identity. No doubt that kunoichi was the Hyuga prodigy's teammate and not-so-secret love interest.

New anger added fuel to Itachi's lust for his prey's blood. His body tensed, and he rubbed the two sharpened blades in his fingers together softly to sooth his excitement. If the prey followed his usual patterns, the moment to strike should come anytime now.

The target captured the female's lips, swallowing her weak protests and replacing them with soft moans. Her eyes were glossy and unfocused with intoxication, a combo of sake and desire. The man was impatient and ripped her shirt down the front, exposing her small breasts to view. He wasted no time in taking a small, brown nipple into his mouth. The kunoichi cried out, lost to the pleasure, and didn't even notice as her pants and underwear were jerked down to her knees.

The man released her breast from his mouth and roughly picked her up, folding her legs against her chest as he pinned her harder against the tree. The position opened her core to his advances while limiting her movements.

Itachi leaned forward and readied his shuriken. Any second now, the perfect opportunity would present itself. He watched as the man fumbled with the ties of his pants in his haste to claim the woman. The Uchiha knew his target wouldn't pull them down far, not out in the open like this. No shinobi worth his salt would make himself vulnerable in the darkness of the forest by dropping his trousers to his ankles. Only a few inches would suffice.

True to form, the man tugged down his pants to pull out his erection, exposing the top of his buttocks in the moonlight.

'I've got you now.' Itachi immediately released the two shuriken into the air and they flew true to their target.

The man screamed his surprise, jumping back abruptly from his companion. Without his support, she fell to the ground and landed, dazed and confused, onto her naked rear. Her eyes flew to the enraged man twisted around in his attempt to eye the blades currently embedded deep into his rear.

"Damn it, Itachi! That fucking hurts!" Shisui yelled out into the surrounding forest. He grabbed the shuriken in his left buttock and yanked it free with another cry of pain. "You are such an asshole! If you are mad about something, just tell me. Don't do this anymore!" The injured Uchiha gestured to the other blade still deep in his ass cheek.

The kunoichi on the ground seemed to collect her wits. She got to her feet quickly, pulling her pants up as she rose. Clutching the tore edges of her shirt together, she fled the clearing without a word.

Shisui paid no attention to her, focusing his fury on the tree branches where Itachi was perched.

He leapt from his hiding place landing on the grass a few yards from Shisui. Itachi waited silently while his cousin removed the last shuriken before commenting, "Interesting choice of woman tonight, Hyuga Neji's lover."

Shisui gave him a smug look, "I thought it would be amusing to rattle the arrogant bastard a little." He took a few steps to be closer to Itachi, "Do you think it will work?"

"Maybe to start a clan feud."

The elder Uchiha threw his head back and let out a laugh, "At least that would give me something to do. Really dear cousin, what brings you out hunting this lovely night? What hypothetical wrong are you righting?"

Itachi waited, silent, until Shisui huffed in amusement and began to set his disheveled britches to rights, not wanting to leave vulnerable parts out while in the irate Uchiha heir's presence.

"I guess that is a question for Old Man Winter, cousin."

Shisui's head shot up and he met Itachi's hard gaze. A knowing smirk slowly spread across his face, "Would this have to do with the lovely Goddess of Spring?"

"You are aware that she is on the list," Itachi stated flatly. It was not a question. The turbulence within him hidden from all but the eyes of someone who knew the Uchiha heir well.

Shisui was one of those people. The smirk grew wider.

"It would be a real shame if something were to happen to bump her off that offensive list," Shisui purred, watching closely for any reaction from Itachi. When he did not get what he was after, the elder pushed a little more. "Maybe the counsel will be satisfied as long as she breeds with some high-level Uchiha. Which means, dear cousin, technically I am in the running for the goddess myself."

"So, you try to fuck her friend against a tree? To impress her?" Itachi let a trace of disgust and disbelief lace his cutting tone.

However, Shisui just shrugged off the accusations, "Can't blame a man for seeking some entertainment while waiting for what he really wants, right Itachi?"

His eyes flared red with anger and Itachi couldn't stop himself from taking a threatening step in his best friend's direction. "Are you saying that you want to pursue Haruno Sakura?"

"Why not?" Shisui said with a warm, low chuckle, his face turned up towards the moon. The soft glow highlighted his face as the sly smile fell into a more serious turn. His own scarlet, twirling orbs focused intently on Itachi, "Unless you are making a claim?"

After a few moments of just the song of crickets, Shisui stretched his lean body and yawned loudly. He rubbed a hand gingerly over his wounded buttocks, "Well, if you are done with your wargames, I think I am going to head over to the hospital to get these injures seen about. It's a good thing that Spring has the late shift at Konoha General."

A flash of a smile and blur of hand signs later, Shisui was gone with his signature move.

Alone in the clearing, Itachi let a curse blast from his lips. Several deep breaths later and his hands unclenched. His emotions were wrestled back under his iron-clad control.

Nothing else could be gained from being in the forest late at night, so Itachi turned and flashed away in the direction of home.

The Uchiha main house was quiet and dark when he arrived there. Careful of the protection jutsu surrounding the house and to not make any noise, Itachi made his way to the kitchen area.

A couple of covered plates awaited him there. Itachi mentally sent his mother a feeling of gratitude and love. Grabbing one of the dishes, he made his way out onto the back porch that overlooked the private gardens.

At ease in this secluded place, Itachi wearily leaned against his favorite, wooden post and let his legs drape over the edge of the decking. His eyes took in the moonlit beauty of the grounds, occasionally bringing a morsel to his mouth. The food was delicious as always.

The peace and solitude were not to last however, broken by the light tread of his younger brother in the kitchen. It wasn't long before Sasuke padded out into the night air and settled on the porch near Itachi.

The younger Uchiha was damp from a bath, a towel draped over his broad shoulders. A dinner plate balanced in one hand and a crumpled piece of parchment in the other. Sasuke was reading the paper intently with his upper lip curled in disgust. When he was done, he waved the offending correspondence towards his elder brother, "Have you read this shit? What in the hell do they mean by 'best breeding outcomes' and 'low chance of genetic dilution'? Then, they expect me to choose from their damn list…it's bullshit!"

Sasuke threw the scroll down onto the wooden planks with an angry huff and focused all of his frustration onto his dinner, attacking each bite like it was an enemy. After clearing half of his plate, he looked over to Itachi. Curious of his brother's opinion and impatient with the silence, Sasuke couldn't hold back his question, "Who are you going to choose? I know I will just pick Sakura and be done with it, but who is your lucky lady going to be?"

Itachi sighed in disappointment. Was his little brother so naïve to think it would be that easy?

The Uchiha heir laid his utensils across his plate and gracefully got to his feet. With a few quick steps, he was lording his height over his seated younger sibling. Itachi looked down at Sasuke and made his claim.

"You may want to reconsider you choice, little brother. You have forgotten that it is I that chooses first from that list." Itachi turned, having made his point clear to astounded, younger Uchiha. He paused at the door, why not kill two birds with one stone? "Oh, and Sasuke, our dear cousin has also shown interest in your teammate. I believe he may be at the hospital now with some made-up injury in an attempt to woo her right now…Goodnight, little brother."

Itachi snapped the door shut on the flare of chakra from his enraged sibling. He chuckled in delight when he felt Sasuke shoot away in the direction of the hospital.

The mental picture of Shisui trying to convince a furious Sasuke that the puncture wounds on his ass were put there by Itachi rather than a perverted scheme to get Sakura's hands there amused the heir as he readied himself for sleep. The light, easy feeling settled in his chest ensured that slumber would be swiftly achieved.

For the first time in quite a long while, Itachi fell asleep with a smile upon his face, however, the temporary peace didn't last long.

The dream returned.

Red ribbons knotted around his form, completely restricting any movement. The laugh of the wood witch as Itachi's mother tore his fate in half, tossing one side on the length into the darkness. Gentle fingers painstakingly sewing fine stiches. Pounding drums deafened him, steadily raising in volume, as a dark figure slowly undid the knot tying his fate to future happiness.

As he had done every night while trapped in this dream, Itachi struggled against his bindings. Fear, frustration, and anger built inside of him until it burst forth from his body as black flames, burning the ribbon that was his fate to ash.

Itachi woke violently, sitting upright on his bed. His chest heaving and his fingers clutched tightly in the fabric of his bedcovers, He fought off the haze of the nightmarish vision. Helpless against ravings of his unsettled mind, Itachi cursed into the darkness.