Dangerously Beautiful

Chapter 15 Caged Sasuke rubbed his aching eyes, the bright light of the early sun waking him from his exhausted sleep. His dark eyes blinked a few times as they adjusted to the flooding brightness from the window, his left arm pushing him up in his bed, though the sheets felt so comfortable right now. The youngest Uchiha let out a content sigh as the whirring air conditioner kicked in, spreading a nice, cool breeze throughout the room. It was now the boy almost forgot what a horrible situation he was in, until of course, his curious eyes panned the room and caught a glimpse of the one he had thought was in love with him, now cradling the body of another. A typical frown arrived on his lips at seeing Kakashi's arms around his own brother. It was different when he was much younger, seeing them together made him happy because for once in Itachi's miserable life, he seemed as if he was genuinely happy. Now though, it hurt knowing the only one he had ever been with, the one he had given his virginity to, was now so easily swayed back to his former lover. Sasuke grabbed at his chest through his thin hospital garb, feeling his heart beating rapidly, the curse at the base of his neck nearly spreading before he calmed his body down. The gray-haired Jounin took in a slight breath as he slept across the room, strengthening the grip his arms had around Itachi's body even during his sleep. Without his mask the blush on his cheeks and smile on his face were very obvious. Sasuke got a sudden sinking feeling, knowing how much he tried to hate his teacher for doing this to him; it was neaimpoimpossible to despise him when he seemed so happy. Still, it was frustrating to know hen't n't the one causing him to blush or smile like that. He let out a muffled groan as he struggled to move out of bed, knowing he had to get away from such a disturbing scene before he got too out of control. Seeing something so precious taken away from him was like reliving the massacre of his clan-the people he loved were disappearing from him, and he could do nothing about it. Carefully he edged off the bed, dragging his heavy left leg along with his body, the casting on it seeming even heavier after sleeping without moving it for a long while. His right arm also hung at his side, though right now his broken bones seemed to hurt much less than the stinging ache in his chest. Sasuke took a few steps toward the door, taking a last look back before stepping into the cool hallway. Cautiously he let out a breath. Too many things were going through his mind at this point, but loudest thoughts of all were his musings on how his life would continue from here. Would everyone he ever loved disappear this easily? Was he just destined to live alone? He clenched his teeth at the thought, "Dammit..." The boy was drawn away from his thoughts at the sound of eerie footsteps wandering across the hall, meeting up with the staff of the Konoha hospital at the reception desk. Curiously the dark-haired ninja leaned back to see who was visiting at this early in the morning. His black eyes shot open as he saw the near army of Anbu that were aligned before the nurses, their hauntingly misshapen and emotionless masks turning back and forth as they carefully scanned the area. Sasuke tensed up, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as his mind raced frantically. He knew why they were here. His older brother had probably been spotted in the streets, or perhaps they had found Kisame's body out in the forest. Either way, he knew their target was Itachi. At first Sasuke grinned at the thought, his older brother, the murderer of his family and all his relatives, would finally be brought to justice, finally receive the punishment he deserved. A sadistic thrill took hold of him at the thought. Itachi would get what he deserved, and Kakashi... The youngest Uchiha paused, taking a deep breath and holding his aching head. If Itachi were put in jail, what would happen to Kakashi? He would be heartbroken of course; his life would probably be ruined with his boyfriend in jail, or worse... Sasuke cringed; the thought of his instructor looking so down and depressed made his heart wrench. The Jounin would probably never recover from the sadness if the Anbu did catch Itachi. Sasuke bit his bottom lip, in reality he knew whatever his brother did wasn't his fault anyway, he had been pushed to insanity by having to live the life he was born into, the torturous, excruciating life of a common whore. It was also impossible not to consider how much Itachi cared for him when he was little, even if sometimes it seemed he was a bother to him. The murder of the clan had probably all been for Sasuke's sake in the first place. When it came down to it, the pleasure he would get out of seeing Itachi jailed and punished were far out-weighed by the effects it would have on almost everyone around him. "We're looking for one 'Uchiha Itachi.' Is he staying here?" The apparent Anbu team captain muttered, making sure to be very quiet about the entire situation. The nurses shook a little at the sight of so many Konoha elite ninjas interrogating them for information. The young receptionist at the desk flipped through her registration books quickly, searching alphabetically for the subject they were searching for. Finally she came upon something, "I'm sorry, there's an 'Uchiha Sasuke' here, but we don't have any sterster of an 'Uchiha Itachi' staying in this hospital." She mumbled, checking the name a few times to make sure she hadn't read it wrong. "Maybe he's not here." Another Anbu whispered to his leader. The team captain shook his head, "Remember what Hokage said, Sasuke and Itachi are too similar in their looks. We have to check it out, which room is he in?" The receptionist dragged her finger across her papers to the room number. "Room 106, down this hall..." she said, standing up to point across in Sasuke's direction. That was enough to make Sasuke hurry back inside of his hospital room, shutting the door behind him, locking it, and breathing heavily. Had they already seen him? His mind raced at the thoughts, wondering what he should do. The Anbu were right outside. The Anbu were right outside. The Anbu were right outside. Damn, it would be a Hell of a lot easier to think if his mind could get past the frightening thought of those soldiers bursting through the door, demanding his brother give himself up. Itachi was too stubborn to do something like that; Sasuke knew it would never go down so easily. His older brother would get angry and try to fight all of them at once and, and... well, it probably wouldn't end in his favor. Sasuke forced his eyelids closed, feeling the warm tears that gathered in the corners of his eyes. This was his brother he was thinking about, no matter what had happened between them, they were still brothers. Sasuke felt the sudden need to protect Itachi at all costs. The youngest Uchiha grabbed at his teacher's collar to wake him up, shaking him back and forth frantically, his hands shaking violently as he called to him, "Kakashi, Kakashi, wake up..." he hurried, his black eyes trailing a beeline between the door and his snoozing instructor. The gray-haired Jounin peeled open his tired eyes, blinking a few times before noticing how worried Sasuke appeared before him, "Kakashi, the Anbu... the Anbu..." he mumbled, unable to express his entire sentence and feeling his caring teacher's fingers wrap around his wrists to steady and calm him down. "Shh, Sasuke, calm down. What is it?" Sasuke took his teacher's advice, taking in a deep breath and letting out a sigh, "A large team of Anbu is down the hall, they're looking for Itachi. Please, you have to get him out of here, they're going to kill him..." he said, his voice still rushed and strained, the nervous shaking in his fingers not withstanding. Kakashi stared at the young ninja for a long time before realizing something. He had fallen in love with both Itachi and Sasuke, now he understood why, no matter what had happened between the two brothers, they were always risking their own safety to protect the other. Getting back to the situation at hand, Kakashi nodded, his eyes peering cautiously around the room for a means scapscape. He pushed the still sleeping Itachi off of his lap and ran over to the far window, grabbing at the sill and struggling to open it. This would probably be the easiest way to escape easily. Already he began working the plan out in his mind, 'Okay, I'll escape with Itachi, Naruto and Sasuke will stay here, the Anbu have no reason to suspect them of anything. Itachi and I will escape to the outskirts of town, maybe take cover in another village for a few years until...' he continued to plot his escape in his mind, absolutely determined that his lover would not be sent to prison, or be punished in a worse way. Naruto groaned in his sleep, "Mmm... one more ramen please..." turning over and snuggling up to his sheets comfortably, though he was unable to sleep with all this racket around him. His pearl blue eyes opened to see Sasuke and Kakashi pulling at the window anxiously, trying their best to force it open. The blonde blinked a few times, "Eh? What are you guys doing?" he asked, sitting up in his small hospital bed and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Sasukumblumbled, "The Anbu are outside looking for Itachi... We have to find a way to get him out of here." He explained, continuing to pull desperately at the bottom of the window. The young fox took in a quick breath; the Anbu had come after Itachi? A lump began to form in his throat as in the back of his mind he pictured what would happen. The troops would slam their fists on the door before finally kicking it in. And without any questions they would spot Itachi and throw every weapon they could. The thought of Itachi being simultaneously impaled by dozens of needles, kunai, and shuriken until the team was sure he was entirely defeated and he fell limply to the floor suddenly flooding his mind. Naruto wished ne die didn't have such an active and vivid imagination. Along with the others he hopped out of his bed, joining alongside Kakashi and Sasuke and pulling at the nailed down window, even going so far as to grab the nails between his teeth and pull at them with his jaw. As the rest of them tried as hard as they could to figure out how they could manage a successful escape with the S Rank criminal, he himself awoke to all the commotion, looking at them curiously with wide, blood red eyes. The Anbu began knocking at the door, slamming the weight of their entire arms on the wooden, white door that separated them from their target. "Uchiha Itachi, surrender yourself." The team captain shouted, his voice muffled through the thickly painted wood. Itachi closed his eyes. So they had tracked him to the hospital, huh? Well, it was no surprise after all the Anbu teams he had encound lad lately, most likely all put on immediate alert when he was spotted in Konoha days ago, that they would have found him so easily. Right now he was probably on one of the highest lists in the Bingo book, perhaps right under Orochimaru for his destruction of their village, there was his name, the crime listed-the genocide of the entire Uchiha clan. In truth they probably had more than enough reason to go after him, he had single-handedly weakened the village's assets in one fatal day, taken away from them one of the most well-trained and heavily-armed fighting clan families Konoha had. Without warning he returned from his thoughtful walk around town and murdered his family. He had heard his grandparents' plea for him to spare the rest of the family, and he had not listened, he had heard his mother and father scream and yet he still finished them off like animals. Worst of all, instead of killing him like he had the rest of his clan, he left Sasuke, his little brother alone amongst nothing but dead bodies, the weight of avenging the clan he had placed upon his shoulders. Why then were they all working so hard to help him escape? Didn't he deserve whatever punishment they could give him? Shouldn't he be forced to pay for his crimes like anyone else? "Stop." The other three in the room turned to Itachi, wondering why he had said such a thing. Kakashi's eyes widened, "What?" "Uchiha Itachi, surrender yourself immediately!" The shouts from the other side of the door became increasingly louder and more frustrated as more time passed. The S Rank murderer stood up, his black cloak still falling off of his shoulders, right now in hung so low it appeared he was floating, perhaps though it was because of the words that came next from his mouth that he appeared so awakened, the guilt he had largely ignored for five years catching up with him in an instant. "Stop trying to find a way for me to escape. Kisame was made to pay for his crimes, the rest of the people in Konoha prison were as well. It is finally time I too should pay for what I did." He admitted, the first eyes he met up with when he looked at the three of them were Sasuke's. Those black, shining orbs stared back at him blankly for a long time, the brothers remaining intensely silent. Kakashi was the first to speak against it, "No, Itachi," he muttered, heading over to his side and grabbing his shoulders tightly in his hands, "you didn't do anything wrong. You had to defend yourself against the life you were leading. It wasn't your fault..." he continued, trying his best to convince his lover there was a perfectly viable reason for what he had done that day. Even if it was a rash decision, it was the only solution the eldest Uchiha could come up with to stop the abuse and mistreatment he was receiving nearly everyday. "Even if killing my family can be justified, I left Sasuke alone to take care of himself. Like you said before Kakashi, I wasn't ever really a big brother to him..." Itachi argued, looking down at his own feet and hands and realizing how small they seemed at that moment. Sasuke couldn't take it anymore, the thick tears sprung from his eyes as he pushed past his teacher's body and latched onto his older brother, wrapping his arms around his thick coat and burying his face in his chest, "Brother," he whined quietly. He still didn't approve of what his brother did, he still didn't think it was the best decision he could have made, but right now he didn't care. Right now as the Shinigami were practically knocking at Itachi's door. "When we were fighting you said... you said I didn't have enough hatefulness. Because, even as much as I tried I couldn't hate you..." Sasuke sniffed, his tears now dripping down his pale cheeks at full force, most of them soaking his elder brother's clothing. "I... I don't blame you for anything anymore. You were abused and beaten and you didn't deserve to live that kind of life put upon you..." The youngest of the Uchiha clan muttered, his voice squeaking and squealing because of how quickly his simple cry had evolved into a full-blown weeping. It was impossible for him to stop the cascading tears that still fell from his wide, black eyes. Itachi's chest ached. It had been so long since he had held his brother like this, since he had felt his warm body against his own, since Sasuke had come to him crying like this. His red eyes softened, for the first time in a while they faded to their original black as he pulled his left arm up, his hand touching the top of his younger sibling's head softly as he whispered in his ear. "And you were alone and forced to avenge the entire clan, you didn't deserve to have that life put upon you either..." Sasuke further buried his pale face into Itachi's chest, feeling the warmth of his brother's skin and pulling forward, his short arms refusing to give up their strong grip around his older brother's back. The Anbu troops had just about had enough of this persisting resistance, the sound of their pounding fists and angry shouts becoming louder before finally they decided to knock down the door. After a few resounding thumps, the wooden door cracked off of its hinges, making a snapping sound and swinging inward, the many Anbu teams filing in, all of them armed with several weapons in their hands, ready to use them if their suspect resisted in any way. "Uchiha Itachi, surrender yourself immediately and you will not be harmed." One of them demanded, holding a number of kunai between his fingers and approaching the enemy, who was standing in front of them, clear as day. The members of the elite squad seemed surprised that someone wanted for such a vicious and outrageous crime would just be standing in the middle of the room so calmly, it seemed only the other people in the room were upset, while Itachi simply stood there, his brother latched onto his chest. Before the Anbu went any further, Kakashi stepped in front of the two Uchiha brothers, his arms outstretched on either side to stop them. "I won't give him up to you without a fight." He swore, his eyes more serious and determined than they had ever been in his entire life. "He's done nothing wrong..." he muttered quietly, staring right through the team leader's mask and into his deep brown eyes. "Hatake Kakashi, what do you think you're doing? You know what happens to those who go against a direct order from the Hokage? You're position of Jounin is easily filled, you know?" The team leader threatened, lowering his head and peering at the objective young man before him. Just whom did he think he was standing between a team of Anbu and a murderer? The gray-haired threw a disturbing glare to the entire Anbu squad, lowering his head menacingly, "Even if you force me to leave the village, I will protect Itachi..." Sasuke stepped back a bit as his older brother shook loose of his grip and touched Kakashi's shoulder lightly, stepping a few feet forward and staring into the softened eyes of the caring Jounin, "Kakashi, please step back. This is for the best..." Itachi whispered, his dark eyes nearly peering right through the Jounin's soul. Without a fight, the eldest Uchiha held up his hands, giving up his freedom to whatever judge would decide what exactly to do with him. The handcuffs slapped over both of his wrists, a long chain attaching them to the strong leg cuffs they also strapped precautiously to his ankles. Just as the eldest of the clan believed his bindings had gotten as restrictive as they could possibly be, another Anbu stepped forward, an awkward-looking apparatus in his hands. It was a large metallic figure that he slipped over Itachi's head, blinding him as the cold metal covered his eyes, most likely to prevent him from using the powers of his Sharingan. How convenient the Anbu had such a device with them. Kakashi began to wonder how long Konoha had known that a life of prostitution and beatings would lead one of the clansmen to madness. Naruto bit his lip at seeing the eldest Uchiha like this, standing there so helplessly, at the mercy of the Anbu who had captured him. He tried to hold back his tears by biting his bottom lip, but noticed it was not working very well. He sniffed loudly, wiping at his nose and hurrying over to Itachi's side. Itachi shifted as he blindly felt the short blonde boy embrace him from behind, the weight of his head pressing against the small of the eldest Uchs bas back. The young criminal already knew who it was, hearing his small voice whine behind him, "I'm sorry for being so annoying to you Itachi, and that I wasn't a very good replacement for Kakashi..." he muttered, knowing none of those trivial things probably mattered anymore to the eldest Uchiha. Itachi grinned, lowering his head as the young blonde held his small body closer, "Naruto... I like you just the way you are..." he mumbled, feeling the fox grip into his black cloak tighter as he spoke. Two Anbu grabbed each of Itachi's arms tightly, pulling the short Genin off of his back and leading him out of the door, Kakashi insisting to go to the prison as well, to hear what convictions were going to be brought upon his young boyfriend. The Anbu grumbled at the idea, but decided to allow it, pulling the two of them into the hallway and quickly making their way to the Northern Konoha prison, notorious for imprisoning only the worst of the worst-the rapists, the kidnappers, and the murderers. Sasuke could feel his legs suddenly go limp, his body feeling tired and worn from straining it so far with the intensity of his injuries. He made his way over to his small hospital bed and collapsed, immediately covering his leaking eyes with his small hands, "I couldn't do anything to help him. He's my own brother and I couldn't help him..." he muttered, stifling back the embarrassing tears that hung from his dark eyes. The youngest Uchiha's heart jumped at feeling his rival's arms wrap around his shoulders, careful to avoid his broken arm. The caring blonde nuzzled into the crook of Sasuke's neck, "Sasuke, you tried your best to help him. But if he wanted to go, there's nothing you could have done." He said, hoping his comfort would be something to the incredibly stubborn Uchiha. Sasuke wrapped his left arm around his blonde teammate. Damn him, why was he always so understanding and kind? It made it very difficult for Sasuke to stay angry when Naruto was constantly there to tell him everything would be all right. Just once he'd like for the blonde to argue with him and punch him in the face a few times, that way he'd have a certain outlet for all this annoying frustration. Just once he wished a simple spar could solve these types of complicated situations. Meanwhile Kakashi, Itachi, and the watchful team of Anbu arrived at the large, nearly overpopulated prison, the team leader constantly keeping an eye on his locked up prisoner as they stepped into the building. After traveling down a few long corridors they arrived in the halls of the holding cells. Itachi stepped blindly, his every move directed by the Anbu who held his chains in their hands, pulling him around corners by yanking at his s mes mercilessly. Kakashi watched them with a temporal glare from behind, his single red eye nearly sending chills down the troops' spines. As the teams walked by with their newest prisoner, it seemed the entire holding cell came to life, all of the jailbirds walking up to the bars and shaking their doors, probably just to get attention, or scare the newest kid into submission. Still the team walked on, ignoring the idiotic voices that resounded around them, the voices of the rapists and murderers who had been stuck in this large facility for years, the solitude and tightly knit groups driving most of them to madness. They hopped on the bars and barked at the guards, smiling with their rotten teeth when they finally were given the attention they craved. It took a few seconds but soon the prisoners noticed who their newest cellmate would be. Their dismal gray uniforms latched on tightly to the bars, sickening grins coming to their chops as they began to holler and shout at the young Uchiha. "Hey, it's the Uchiha!" "Send em' in here guards, we'll take care of em'." "Mm, yeah..." Another agreed, rubbing himself through his clothing in inappropriate places, "Just give me five minutes with that skinny ass." Another of the prisoners licked his lips, "It'll feel good to rip the pretty boy open..." The entire prison was in an uproar of frantic yelling and objectifying, and the resounding laughter that resulted from it. Their hoarse and low voices continued to echo through Itachi's head as he tried to ignore them; unfortunately his nerves were on end because he couldn't see a thing in front of him. For all he knew the team of Anbu was going to leave him in one of these cells with these sickeningly familiar men. Yes, familiar. Most of the voices he heard were coming from the sick bastards who had visited his house so many times when he was younger, either to take his mother, his cousins, or himself as a sex slave. Many times he had heard those eerie voices moaning or crying out as he was forced to pleasure them with his childish bodies, but even more disturbing was the feeling of those large, dirty hands that traveled over his smooth, perfect skin, staining him with their fifth. All at once it seemed memories of those horrid nights came back to him, along with the feeling of a thousand hands touching every part of his body. Itachi shivered. Kakashi couldn't stand to see his young lover shake like that, having to hear their perverted calls and shouts. The gray-haired Jounin took a few steps forward, touching the Uchiha's shoulder comfortingly and whispering into his ear, "It's okay, I'm still here..." he reassured him, staring at that blank Sharingan protector that covered his eyes and spotting only his own reflection in the cold metal. He never realized how much he had taken Itachi's wonderfully dark eyes for granted until now, when they were ultimately hidden from his view. One of the Anbu members who had taken hold of the new prisoner's handcuffs let out a sadistic chuckle, "Ya' shouldn't worry. He won't be in prison for long anyway..." he said, adding another laugh, though Kakashi could find nothing about this situation that was humorous. The Jounin began to wonder what the loud-mouthed soldier was talking about; running through the possibilities in his mind before the team stepped a few feet forward, passing a rusty metal door that had been secured by several strong deadbolts. His narrow eyes widened upon reading what had been so messily spray-painted upon the door in the exact shade of blood, 'Death Rowe'. A shiver crawled up his back, stopping at the base of his head and causing him hakehake uncontrollably. From the other side of the door he could hear the distant moaning of a few prisoners who were unlucky enough to be sent to the notorious side of the jail. Itachi marched blindly by the cold door, having little to no idea of what they were referring to, though he had a pretty viable guess. He felt his lover's hand tighten on his shoulder, his fingers digging a little into the Uchiha's soft skin, but he hardly minded-at this point he wanted any reassuring contact to remind him Kakashi was still firmly at his side. The Anbu captain led the way quickly to the end of the hallway, where the Hokage and various other delegates would decide what exactly was to be done about Itachi's crimes. They continued to pull on their prisoner's chains upon arriving, one of them letting out a laugh at seeing the murderous Uchiha fumble and nearly trip when he accidentally yanked a little too hard on his bindings. Kakashi was about to send him a sickening glare towards the Anbu before the captain threw open the magnificently large door in front of all of them. Inside was a large wooden panel, a desk set on top of it, the Fifth Hokage sitting at her proper place reluctantly, a council of the elders of the village and many clan leaders occupied the rest of the seats. Immediately the Jounin was wary of this situation, these were the people who would decide Itachi's punishment? A room full of clan leaders and noble family heads, surely they would be a bit biased in their decision on what to do with someone who had brutally killed off an entire clan, save for himself and his younger brother. As they stepped inside the haunting stares already began to fall upon the Uchiha, as the head of the other royal families looked upon him with disgust. Tsunade quieted their whispers as she stood, raising her arms in the air to silence the room completely, "Please sit the prisoner down. Will the council read the convictions aloud for one... Uchiha Itachi." She paused, her voice pausing as it finally entered her mind that finally, after such a long while of knowing the S Rank criminal was written in their Bingo book, they had finally caught him. The apparent eldest of the council stood, coughing a few times and scratching at his balding scalp, "Uchiha Itachi, accused of the crime of murder in the first degree for the entire Uchiha clan. Mass genocide and reckless abandonment of a minor, betrayal of the village, traitorous activities, entering a restricted village, and entering with a banishment." He muttered, his low voice showing no sign of wavering. The eldest Uchiha's shoulders slumped, though Kakashi was sitting right at his side, grabbing his delicate, pale hand in his own and staring at the enormous plate over his eyes, wishing he could look his young lover in the eyes for just a second, to tell how he was feeling. As hard as he tried, it was always so easy to read exactly what Itachi was thinking, whether his mysterious Sharingan was activated or not. "How does the prisoner plead?" The silent S Rank criminal was pulled by his chains to stand, the Anbu apparently having already made their decision about his innocence, as was shown by the shoddy way they had been treating him. After all, he had been one of the biggest and more notorious criminals of the normally peaceful village of the leaf, how were they to treat him? Certainly not like a normal human being, more like a rabid dog who had bitten the hand that fed him. Without regret they yanked him upwards, waiting for him to answer. Before he could speak up, Kakashi touched his shoulder, feeling the warm wetness of the tears that had soaked into his thick black cloak, leaning over and whispering into his ear, in that wonderful, sweet voice of his, "Itachi, you don't have to plead guilty. None of this was your fault... I'm if if we just explain it to them..." "Guilty." The red-eyed criminal muttered, ignoring his boyfriend's kind words. As much as he knew Kakashi was trying to help him out, even if he escaped from prison on some awkward technicality, it still would not lift the heavy burden he had been carrying in his chest. It didn't help seeing Sasuke so much lately, the hate that burned in his eyes, the stubborn and furious young teen he had grown into after his brother left. He knew how much more normal, even enjoyable his brother's life would have been, had it not been for his sudden eruption of rage. The gray-haired Jounin grabbed him protectively, hearing the chains rattle at his side and clutching onto his back tightly, spinning around to face the council members with heavy tears dripping from his miss-matched eyes, "You can't possibly convict him of these crimes! He was forced to crime by the lifestyle he was born into, he was born in a brothel, forced to prostitute himself for money at the age of twelve! No one should have had to endure that type of life!!" he shouted, a blush appearing on Itachi's cheeks as he spoke, revealing things from the past he no longer wanted to remember. Desperately he buried his face in Kakashi's clothing, the barrier over his eyes falling onto his shoulder. He was glad he had the protector over his face now, perhaps they couldn't see the red of intense embarrassment in his pale cheeks, or the tears streaming down from his eyes, but most of all he was thankful he didn't have to see their judgmental eyes leering upon him. He had seen pairs of eyes like that far too often when he was younger, when the kids in the street refused to play with him because he might've contracted some disease, or the adults of the neighborhood turned their backs on him and the other Uchiha when they came their way. Tsunade spoke up, closing her eyes to avoid seeing the depressing sight before her eyes, right now she had tostanstantly remind herself she was the Hokage, the leader of the village first, and a fellow human being second. It was most difficult to completely throw away her emotions and common sense for the cold and unfeeling ways of the ruler. "Even so," she began, having to pinch her own hand to extinguish her feelings, "We can not let him off the hook, if not for Sasuke's sake and the sake of all those he murdered, then for the sake of the village. He destroyed one of Konoha's strongest fighting families; he single-handedly made us a subject for easy attack and weakened our resources. I will consider the fact he was raised in an improper household, with more than enough circumstances to warrant a relative excuse, but I can't make any promises..." she muttered, staring Kakashi directly in the eye, knowing he was more worried about Itachi's fate then the criminal was about his own. It was an agonizing thirty minutes after the council headed into the backroom to deliberate, shutting the door tightly behind them as they argued back and forth about what to do with the vicious killer. The gray-haired Jounin could only hope Tsunade was the main voice if reason, after all, she had similar experiences in her past, as she watched one of her best friends, Orochimaru, slowly deteriorate and turn himself over to Akatsuki. Itachi's only hope now for a non-guilty verdict was that the Hokage would become nostalgic about knowing someone who had too gone down the wrong path. When it began to take over an hour, the Anbu guards pulled their prisoner out of the room, heading down the walkway with Itachi's chain in their hands, "You'll stay in cell D-37 until the deliberation is over." The team captain explained, pushing the S rank criminal into the small room on the end of the row, across from convicts with wrap sheets longer than his own. His boyfriend followed him inside, still holding his right hand to make sure he knew he was still by his side. Never at any time did he want the eldest Uchiha to suspect he had left him alone, not after what had happened five years ago. Within a few minutes the Anbu had searched Itachi for weapons, taking away his kunai and shuriken and making absolutely sure the Sharingan protector over his eyes was fitted just right. It sent a cringe up the young man's spine as several hands wandered the clothing on his body, lifting his arms and tangling his cloak, looking for any other weapons he could use to escape. Kakashi could tell how uncomfortable it was making the young criminal to have his body ravished, and so grabbed his pale fingers tighter in his hand. The cell door squealed to a close, a loud and desolate slam echoing throughout the prison, riling the convicts up once again; it seemed it didn't take much to excite them. After the Anbu officers disappeared into the deliberation room, Kakashi wrapped his arms around Itachi's shoulders, tears obviously running down his cheeks. In fact, now it was easy to see they were both weeping uncontrollably, the metallic covering over the Uchiha's eyes unable to keep the warm, salty trails of water from dipping down into his neck. The elder of the two wiped the tears from the prisoner's cheeks; leaning in and placing a light kiss on his cold, quivering lips. "I won't let them take you away from me..." Kakashi muttered, burying his face in Itachi's cloak and stroking at his long black hair. It would be terrible to have to loose him again, after coming so far to get him back, after waiting the agonizing five years to see him again, he couldn't bare that kind of pain again, and his young lover knew that as well. He could tell by the rapid beating of his heart, and the desperate nails that dug into his clothing he was suffering far worse than the one who was going to be imprisoned. "Kakashi..." The Jounin looked up, not willing to release his incredible grip on Itachi's shoulders. Itachi took a breath, his low voice muffled by the instructor's thick gray hair, "I don't want to live like this any longer..." Startled, Kakashi bolted up where he sat. Damn it, it was so hard to tell what boy boyfriend was thinking when he couldn't stare into his depthless red eyes. Gently he ran his fingers through the eldest Uchiha's jet-black bangs and held the back of his head to comfort him as he continued. "... I can't live anymore as a murderer and an exile, having to look over my shoulder every day, knowing no matter what I do I'll never have the freedom anyone else has. I can't even sleep, do you know what that's like, Kakashi? Do you know how it is to sleep for a few minutes and wake up at the sound of a bird or a breeze, thinking maybe someone is after you for the cheap ransom price they've put on your head?!" Itachi pressed his head to his boyfriend's wide chest, stifling back a sniffle and clutching the Anbu uniform in his hands. Kakashi had no idea Itachi had felt this strongly about his situation, always hiding under his stiff and stoic attitude and expressions. Carefully he lifted his blinded lover's head, seeing only the tears dripping from his metal protector to indicate his crying. "Itachi..." "I want to be able to rest... I want to finally be able to rest..." The gray-haired Jounin listened to his lover's pleas, though they couldn't combat how strongly he felt about losing him again. Quietly he spoke up so softly the nosy bastards in the cells around them couldn't hear more than a faint whisper, "I know how you feel, but I don't know how I'll be able to live without you. You were everything to me, when I lost you back then, I didn't want to live any longer. The loneliness was so painful, everyday I woke up and noticed you weren't next to me, and more and more of me continued to die. I don't know what I'd ever do if you were taken away from me forever..." he muttered, holding back his words so his voice wouldn't crack. Itachi closed his eyes, though it was less-than-obvious, leaning forward delicately and pressing his lips to Kakashi's forehead, finding it difficult to speak with the person he loved so much while not being able to see him. It was incredibly unnerving to loose that control in such a dangerous situation. "Kakashi, I need you to keep living. I know they're going to execute me..." Those words made the Jounin shiver. "I killed too many people for them to overlook. Kakashi, I need you to take care of Sasuke for me, take care of him like the older brother I never was." Kakashi bit his bottom lip, Itachi had always been the type to take your words and throw them right back at you so quickly and diabolically you barely noticed. He quickly quieted as the sun moved past the clouds in the sky and lit up the cell with an eerie golden haze, the shape of the bars on the windows casting sick silhouettes upon the paved ground. He was glad the eldest Uchiha was blinded to how solemn and desolate this place was, especially glad he was oblivious to the disgustingly cheap stares and licking of dry lips from the other prisoners. Gods, he could never leave him alone in a place like this, even if he had to commit a terrible crime to be locked away with him, he would gladly give up the rest of his promising life to make sure Itachi was all right. A few silent minutes passed before the imprisoned Uchiha heard the far-off sound of the Anbu captain and his team marching down the hall with their spokesperson of the council, the Hokage staring at her feet helplessly. Tsunade looked up at them both, knowing seeing them together would only increase the remorse and aching sting in her chest from knowing what incredibly difficult duties she had to fulfill. "Uchiha Itachi..." she began coldly, thinking perhaps she could toss away her emotion. The S rank criminal turned, still in the arms of the one who hadn't left his side since the ordeal had begun. Curiously he let out a low answer, "Yes?" "While it was difficult to decide a proper sentence because of the circumstances, the council and I came to a decision that is most fair to Konoha and its allies," she stopped, her head feeling a bit faint. She wiped her forehead with her hand anok iok in a short breath, "we have decided the correct sentence for your crimes is execution." Itachi slumped down into his lover's arms, finding warm hands touch his back and hold him closer, though Kakashi's heart was breaking too. The gray-haired Jounin was almost afraid to ask, but he knew he would have to speak up sometime. His voice squeaked out as Itachi continued to nuzzle into his chest, "... When?" The fifth Hokage, barricaded by many loyal Anbu teams and their captain, closed her caramel-colored eyes and balled equally tight fists at her side before finally answering. "Tomorrow." Author's Notes: Oh boy was this chapter long. Maybe cause I was away on vacation from Sunday to yesterday, but I still worked, I swear I did, even in the car ride over there I was trying to finish this damn long chapter. Okay, so I did it. This story's getting a little depressing, no? Poor Itachi, just when he's acting so nice he's taken away to jail... *sigh* well, only two chapters left... then I will work on Unnatural, but I really just wanted to finish this before starting anything else ^^ Please review - Uchiha Addiction