Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the song, or anything here that resembles anything else…

Note: Helloo! I try to put notes at the end of the story but for this chapter, I just wanted to give a forewarning—it's a slow chapter! I apologize! This chapter is to clear up some things and tie in the story again Other than that, I'm a pharmacology major…so drugs are my things…engineering and computer stuff aren't my forte so uhhhh…if it's inaccurate to you with the later part about the box…I apologize ahead of time! I borrowed the ideas from The Blacklist and Revolution and smashed it together for this.

Anyways, other than my rambling….please do enjoy the chapter and do review! I love hearing everyone's inputs!

Number Five With A Bullet:

Part XIV: Devil May Cry

It won't be in vain

To swallow all your pain

And learn to love what burns

And gather courage to return to…

A chill ran down her spine as the wind picked up. She tucked a stray strand of blonde hair back under the hood and drew the coat tighter around her body. Her other hand played with the bracelet clasped tightly around her right wrist.

Light blue eyes flickered at the grave ahead.

She crouched down, placing the meager arrangement of flowers on the top. It had been almost half a year since he had passed.

Shika…

Ino blew a cold breath into the night air. This was probably the last time she'd be this close to Shikamaru.

The blonde's thoughts crossed over to the redhead—Sabaku Gaara, was last known to have been attacked. She could feel her hands shake. Ino could only hope he was doing well and out of harm's way. He had always been sympathetic towards her and she could only wish for his safety now. His presence had been comforting to her. Gaara reminded her so much of Akasuna Sasori, she unintentionally gravitated towards him. But even now, she could do nothing for him. Her concern would do nothing to help him recover.

Honor the dead and protect the living

The corner of her lips quirked up, an image of a scowling raven-haired man flickered through her mind. They were like two sides of the same coin. Though they had their differences and bouts, he had always been there for her after Shikamaru's death. Sure, they bickered, Ino chuckled to herself, but it made her feel alive when they argued and he'd get red in the face.

After she had left the Uchiha Compound, Ino realized that was the last time she'd ever see him—talk to him again too. The second constant in her life, she was leaving behind this time.

Warm. His goodbye hug to her was so warm, the blonde had wanted time to stop then and there and just leave them alone. The anger at herself, at him, at Orochimaru had weakened just for a moment and a thought crossed her mind. Maybe two broken souls could make a whole one. Maybe if she stayed by his side and they could pick up the pieces of their lives together.

But she couldn't stay. Her chest clenched and her breath was caught in her throat. Uchiha Sasuke chose the Hyuuga heiress. And something shattered inside of her, and she felt even colder, and truly alone this time.

She could not bind the Uchiha down with a meager promise to avenge a dead man. It felt so wrong to force him to stay by her side for such a reason.

His heart belongs to another and she had given hers to the dead.

If that's the last thing I do in this world…I'll finish this for you, Uchiha Sasuke

"I know you're there," She could see her breath in the air as she spoke, cursing the cold for her shakiness; "You've been following me for awhile. Who are you?"

Faces in the crowd

Faces in the crowd will smile again

And the devil may cry

The devil may cry at the end of the night

"And why is that?" Sasuke forever plastered the frown on his face. He still didn't understand why his brother did not support the union with the Hyuugas. The younger man tried to pry but had gotten no additional information. Instead, he was motioned to open the mystery box.

His hands betrayed him as he slowly inserted the antique key into the sleek, black box with the Uchiha emblem. It was beyond his comprehension how such an outdated key was used safeguard the contents.

"Don't think of it as so old-fashioned," Itachi smirked from across the table, "There is a safety mechanism."

The box clicked, unsealing it and Sasuke carefully lifted up the lid. Now he was curious as to how the key was in Yamanaka's possession. Did Shikamaru really trust the woman to handle such delicate things?

He raised an eyebrow and scowled, "A microchip?" The entire box held a tiny silver microchip.

Itachi clicked his tongue, "That chip has the capacity to shut down Konohagakure and bring it to its knees."

"What?"

Sasuke glared at his older brother. The man kept beating around the bush and giving him half-assed answers. Why would his father or even Shikamaru have in possession something of this caliber? And how did his brother know about it?

"It was unintentional," Itachi tapped on the wooden tabletop, "Shikamaru was running a program on the generators and its capacity. We were trying to find a way to electrically power the country more efficiently."

The younger of the two glowered, "And?"

"Well…" Itachi paused, still tapping on the table, "The program Shikamaru created allows the user remotely to allocate the currents however they deem so. They can route all currents towards a main power generator and blow it out—therefore shutting down part of the grid."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes; this was going towards a direction he did not like.

"If the back-up generators try to compensate, it would end up failing too and take out the rest of the grid."

His mouth was moving, but he couldn't formulate the correct words together, "Then—how—what does—Why didn't you just destroy this?"

"Imagine a country in total darkness, little brother."

"It would be shitty chaos," Sasuke slammed his hand on the table as he stood up, leaning over. That still didn't answer his question.

Itachi smirked, "The one who controls the power, is in power."

"No one should be holding onto this," Sasuke seethed, "I'm going to wipe this clean."

"You can't."

He slammed his fist, "And why not?"

"Because there are two—one for Iwagakure and one for Konohagakure," Itachi held his gaze, "Orochimaru is in possession of one. We need this one to develop a counter measure for when he does gain access."

Sasuke paused, the information sinking in. Yamanaka had mentioned Shikamaru taking trips to Kirigakure and Iwagakure. Sabaku had been gunned down in Kirigakure, which neighbored Iwagakure. What is going on with these three countries?

"How did Orochimaru know of this? And what does Orochimaru want to do with Iwagakure?"

Itachi rolled his eyes. His younger brother can be so dense sometimes, "He wants nothing of Iwagakure. What he is after is Konohagakure. The majority of the conglomerates—Kyuubi, Hyuuga, and Uchiha—all main branches reside in Konohagakure." With a wave of his hand, he motioned for his younger brother to sit back down, "You have a rat on your side."

Sasuke clenched his teeth at the comment. It occurred to him ever since Gaara's incident—but he needed the Kaze ex-heir to gain consciousness to identify.

"So that brings us back to the Hyuuga business, Sasuke," For brothers, they were so different and Itachi mused at how innocent his younger brother is, "You can marry the woman if you love her so. But if you're marrying her because you think it would stop Orochimaru—then you're sorely mistaken. He could care less about Sound. He just needs the access code to the microchip and a sensible programmer to switch its gridlines over to Konohagakue or wherever he desires."

The younger heir grimaced at the last statement, "You're quite talkative today, Itachi." No doubt, his brother had hit the target right on its mark. His only reason for continuing the union with Hinata was to strengthen his own company. But that plan had been laid to waste thoroughly by Itachi's words.

"Don't make promises you cannot keep, little brother."

Sasuke sighed, knowing exactly where his brother was going with the conversation.

"How much have you thought about her in the last few weeks?"

Every day

Blonde hair and blue eyes danced across his mind. Her voice, broken, and filled with disappointment plagued him constantly. Itachi was right. He shouldn't make promises he would not be able to fulfill.

"It's quite unfair to her."

His eyes darted up, staring straight at his brother.

"You let her go and yet, you really didn't let her go."

No…no…I really couldn't…but how did Itachi know?

He had let Yamanaka leave on her own—but he had already planned ahead in the case that she was hardheaded and would not accept the Hyuuga's hospitality. It was a perfect instance when she had given him her necklace that he exchanged it with a bracelet. Sasuke had told her it belonged to his late mother and that he expected her to return it when all was done.

But hadn't been just a bracelet. He had Naruto modify an old bracelet of his mother's to contain a tracking and sensor chip.

And as of this morning—he knew she was still alive and moving towards the town of Hana.

"You're right," Sasuke sighed again, running his hand through his hair, "I couldn't let Yamanaka go like that."

That was when the younger Uchiha caught the smirk on his brother's face. Itachi stood up, "I was not talking about Yamanaka. But if she's the one on your mind then I recommend you reevaluate your decision."

What?

The long haired man started for the door, "I have some urgent business now. So do locate the rat in the company and bring Yamanaka back. She is, after all, the one with the security codes. I'll contact you later."

The door closed behind the older man and Sasuke sank back into his chair, his hands covering his face. He had been played by his brother—again. But it brought to light so many things he had wanted to ignore and throw away.

Sasuke wanted to accept the arrangement with Hinata but during the last couple weeks, all he had done was try and find excuses to decline it.

And now he had one—one that had been right in front of him all this time. He picked up the historically-designed key in front of him.

Dammit

Where did he go wrong?

The light will shine through the rain

And heaven will hear them call your name

And home will feel like home again

Corruption will fill your brain

She straightened the hem on her dress as she stepped out of the car. Hinata stared up at the large building in front of her, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. She had contacted Sasuke the night prior about their arrangement. He stated he was in a hurry at the time so she pressed for a luncheon the next day.

The lavender-eyed woman strode briskly through the lobby, musing about how she would bring up the topic again. She may be patient but she can only hang on for so long before it starts to become pathetic. And she would not let it get that far.

"A-ah, good afternoon, Sasuke," Hinata had not expected him to be done with his meeting so quickly as she spotted him striding towards the parking elevator.

"Uh—good afternoon, Hinata," He snapped his head towards her, stumbling his words, "How was your morning?" The phone in his hand buzzed.

He had not seen her. He was not looking for her. And in less than 10 seconds, he had managed to crush all her hopes.

To the Hyuuga heiress, it seemed as though he had absolutely forgotten about their luncheon.

Did she really mean that little to him?

"I-It was good," She tilted her head up at him, "Are you a-available to leave now?"

Hinata could see the way he sighed, and how his eyes darted around their ambiance. The corner of his lips dipped down slightly as he tried to hide a grimace.

"O-Or if you're b-busy, I can stop by l-later?"

He sighed again, "Hinata."

The expression on his usually stoic face was deplorable. Hinata wanted to scream. She wanted to lash out. And she wanted to wipe the sympathy right off it. She didn't want sympathy.

"I-I'll come back later," She made a move to walk by him but he had grabbed her arm.

"Actually, I have time," He spoke slowly, his usual mask of indifference slipped back on; "I need to talk to you about some things." Sasuke silenced the buzzing, tucking his phone away.

If Hinata had been less of a prideful woman and had less of a repertoire, she would've cried. She knew it was over. Sasuke had reverted to his indifferent façade—something he only used for business. Their marriage discussion was nothing more than business to him.

"S-Stop," She breathed hotly, "Stop acting like you care and just say it."

He let go of her arm, staring at her strangely. Hinata knew—he was confused. She never used that tone on him before. But it was too late for her. He had put up his wall just as hers was crumbling.

"You're declining my o-offer," The words felt thick in her throat, "Is it because of Y-Yamanaka?"

The silence that hung around them felt dense and she could barely breathe. He didn't need to answer that, because she saw it already. Sasuke could hide his emotions well, but his eyes would betray him every now and then. Hinata had gotten so well adjusted to reading the tiny fluctuations in his emotions.

"Ah! Uchiha-san, Hyuuga-san!"

Their eye contact broke as a newcomer interrupted them.

"Kabuto," Sasuke took a step away from Hinata, nodding at the spectacled man approaching them, "Are you done for the day here?"

"Yes, just for the afternoon," Kabuto smiled at them, "I'll probably head back this way later on this evening." He made a motion towards the elevator, "Are you heading to the parking garage?"

"We were just heading out too," The Uchiha heir nodded at his subordinate, "Hinata, let's go."

Hinata could tell he was trying hard to remain impassive to her and she could only nod and follow. She had been declined no matter how lengthy she could prolong the talk.

The dark-haired woman shifted uncomfortably inside the elevator as the doors closed. She wasn't acquainted well with the silver-haired man and Sasuke was scrolling through his phone. Luckily for her, the elevator stopped at their level in a timely manner and she stepped out first.

Noticing that Sasuke wasn't on her heel, she turned around and gasped as a loud crack followed.

Sasuke stood in the elevator, fist extended. The blood dripped down his hand and she could see Kabuto's glasses lying hapzardly and broken on the floor. The older man struggled under his superior's grip but the dark-haired man seized the back of Kabuto's head and slammed his face into the metal railing. A gargled whimpered escaped her throat. She had never seen Sasuke like that before. Fury seemed to roll off his entire being.

"Go!" Sasuke turned around and yelled at her and without thinking twice; she spun on her heels and ran.

There's no going back…

The Uchiha heir turned back to the unconscious man slumped against the metal door.

Fucking shit

They will parade upon your victory

You'll put a smile upon their faces

The world will be yours for the taking

The story you birth will be ageless

Just learn to love pain and be patient

End Part XIV: Devil May Cry

Thank you for reading!