Project Logos

A/N: sorry for the hold up with this, real life got in my way and i've been having problems with just about everything. anyone who's still here to read this? Thank you so so much -_-

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Sasuke amused himself with a spinning desk chair and a cheap paperback novel the cleaning crew had left behind until his brother arrived. He didn't have a key to the lower levels himself, and most of the people who worked in the Logos building above ground had no clue there were lower levels, and no one outside of the Akatsuki team had the key and codes needed to access the lower floors. Sasuke waited as patiently as he could, in the Logos building "basement", in one of the rarely used conference rooms, right next to the elevator to the lower floors.

It had to have been hours later that he finally saw a familiar face walk by, though it wasn't his brother, it was his brother's partner, the only other researcher on this particular project, Kisame. They had lab assistants, sure, but none of them knew all of the pieces to the puzzle, none of them had the bigger picture, and none of them knew of the existence of the two subjects that had been lifted from the labs. Sasuke was up and out the door in seconds, and even then he almost missed Kisame, who had almost finished pushing in the code to open the solid metal door at the end of the hallway.

"Hey, Dr.Hoshigaki!" The man turned, peering at the teenaged Uchiha from behind his glasses. Sasuke rather liked Kisame. While he looked like a big, lumbering idiot, he was really quite smart and always spoke to him in a polite, and civilized manner. He did have quite the dry, sick sense of humor though. At least Sasuke rather hoped most of the things he said were meant as jokes. The alternative made him shiver slightly. Sasuke was breathing a little hard when he skidded to a halt at the end of the hallway.

"Ah, Sasuke. Im afraid you're brother won't be coming in until later, he thinks he's found something off the security tapes, so he's supervising a team who is looking into the matter." Sasuke looked up with a grin.

"Yes, well, I know who broke in, and I've been to the headquarters, and seen those adorable little half animal things. They told me about how they knew Itachi, I know it's them. We have to call him and tell him." Kisame raised an eyebrow, but turned to face the door again anyways, punching the code in and waiting until the door slid open. He hurried inside when it did, with a slight whirring noise, and Sasuke slid in after him.

"I suppose we will, Sasuke. You can call him from my office, when we get to the second lab."

X

Naruto paced around the little room, bored as all hell and more than a little bit bitter at being closed in here. The team was having a meeting right then downstairs, and Hinata and Neji were allowed in, even though Naruto knew they weren't on the team, not really. Fuck, even Gaara had been allowed to go, but not him. Just because he smiled a lot and tended to cuddle things didn't mean he was incompetent, or an idiot. He could hold his own, but instead he was shut up here in this stupid room with nothing to do.

He supposed he should be used to it by now, it happened a lot at the labs, but he thought once he was outside things would be different. Sure, it was true that they didn't really have anywhere to go, even if the Hyuugas had offered to take him home with them when they left. They were still here, still helping out, but he was stuck here, in this stupid boring room.

Hinata had left him some picture books and magazines she'd found in the basement, but fuck, he wasn't three years old or something. He knew how to read and write just fine, his mental capacity was in no way diminished. They'd made sure of that in the lab, testing him to the limits of his capabilities. He hadn't seen his records, but he knew what they would contain, all the data, he was pretty sure what each test was for before they even got the results from it back.

He was just missing the bigger picture, what everything meant when it was all put together. He'd tried to figure that out, but he hadn't gotten it yet. And here he was again, cut out of the bigger picture. He knew something was going on, he knew Shika didn't believe what the Uchiha boy had said about not knowing where this stupid base was, but he was secure enough to at least let the team go on another retrieval mission tonight, more their usual fare than Naruto and Gaara had been.

He knew he could help somehow, he could do something. It was the least he could do to try and repay the people who had granted him his freedom. They wouldn't let him do anything though, convinced he would just get in the way. He could see the condescending note in their smiles, in the way they told him no thanks would be necessary. Just because he tried to make the best of things, because he smiled and laughed and showed his joy at being outside they were treating him like a kid. Well, he'd show them he wasn't. But first, he would sulk for awhile.

X

Sasuke waited in his brother's office with a small smile on his face. Kisame had let him into the little room as soon as they'd gotten off the phone with Itachi. Itachi said he'd be over as soon as he could, and Sasuke had been thrilled. He finally had something his brother wanted, he could finally help Aniki with something after years of having it the other way around. The office had been dark and cool though, and he'd promptly fallen asleep on the desk, head pillowed on crossed arms, slumped over in his brother's soft office chair.

It was like that that Itachi found him, almost an hour later, still dozing quietly on his desk. Itachi couldn't help giving a small smile at his brother's position. He knew Sasuke was growing up, that the boy was older now, more competent than he used to be, but it made him feel better that there would always be some of that adorable little boy who had followed him for who knows how long left inside of Sasuke.

He flipped on the desk lamp, the soft light yellow around the edges as it licked up the sides of everything in reach, giving a warm glow to Sasuke's pale skin. Itachi just looked at him for a moment, all rounded edges and softness in the pale light. He reached forwards then, carefully, and let his hand rest on Sasuke's shoulder, the other one bracing on the desk right behind Sasuke. He leaned in, his breath warm and wet on his brother's skin, making the boy shift in his sleep, a smile forming on Sasuke's face.

"Wake up, little brother." Itachi whispered the words into Sasuke's ear, and the boy shifted again, his eyes moving behind closed lids before they cracked open. Sasuke couldn't help the smile that spread over his face. He yawned and stretched a little, snuggling back into the chair, the smooth leather creaking with his movements.

"Aniki, you came back. How long was I asleep?" Itachi hid his smile now that Sasuke was awake. He took a step back as well, his fingers trailing off of his brother's shoulder as he did so. Sasuke bit back a sigh at the loss of contact. It was always like this with Itachi, the distance the older boy put between them.

"Not that long, I'd suspect. I came back quickly when I got Kisame's call. Our investigation isn't going anywhere, we've hit another dead end." There was an undertone of cold frustration in Itachi's words, and Sasuke felt the smile creeping onto his face once more.

"I know where they are, I've met the people in that little group. I recognized a face on the surveillance tape and I followed up on it. They're not to far from here, down on level 2. I could probably find my way back there." He looked expectantly up at his brother, leaning back and sitting up in pride at his words. "I also saw your subjects, they said they knew you and everything." Sasuke's face scrunched up a little bit then, and his head tilted to one side. "But Aniki, what were they? They were all weird, they looked like humans but they had little ears and things."

Itachi bit back his own sigh then. He wasn't prepared for all of this. On one hand, he had found his specimens, or at least Sasuke had, which verified that they had not been terminated or injured, and they were probably still in the area. On the other hand, Sasuke knew a lot now, and it would be impossible to keep the boy out of the labs at this point. This was a complication he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with, but he supposed he had no choice. Besides, Sasuke had tried so hard to be helpful, there was nothing he could do but reward the boy.

"They were chimeric composites Sasuke, human DNA combined with selected animals. The human race has many flaws in it's design, the last couple couple thousand years of evolution have made the species soft, vulnerable. We were seeking ways to make it stronger again, to pull the genetic advantages from other animals, which can still survive outside of civilization, and apply them to these weaknesses." Sasuke's eyes went wide.

"Isn't that dangerous, Aniki?" Itachi smiled wryly at his brother's naivete.

"Many people think so, and many people would stand in the way of our research on shaky moral grounds. It's worth it though, this is the future, the way to our survival. This is only one of the projects going on in our labs down here though, and that is why we have to keep everything here a secret. We will create the future here, someone has to after all."

Itachi kept silent about the many military and tactical uses for their discoveries here, how many people and governments were clamoring at their proverbial gates for their findings, for a chimeric unit of their very own. Sasuke was still too idealistic and young to understand these things after all. Itachi smiled bitterly, on the inside. Sasuke had no idea of what the labs actually did, even now, no idea of what they had done in the past, and he intended to keep it that way. Sasuke's face was blank then, and he chewed on his lip as if lost in thought. Then, like a switch had been flipped, he smiled brightly.

"Aniki is even more smart than I thought, to come up with something like this. I hope I'm as smart as you someday." Itachi faltered a little. He hadn't seen that smile in a long time, and it made something tighten in his chest. He pushed all that away though, focusing on what he was doing right now.

"Well Sasuke, why don't I take you on a tour of the facilities, and then we can go down to the 2nd level and find this little group's hole in the ground so we can retrieve our property, hm?" Sasuke's face lit up again, and faster than Itachi thought the boy could move his little brother was suddenly wrapped around his chest, hugging him tightly. The tightness in his chest came back, and this time it was a lot harder to push away.

X

Naruto sulked on the floor of the little room he was in. He'd watched everyone else get suited up to go out, he'd wanted to go too but Gaara had told him he couldn't, that he should stay here with Shika and "hold down the fort" so to speak. They had taken some pity on him though, and they'd unlocked the majority of the rooms on the main floor of the building, letting him wonder through as he pleased. He didn't want to though, he wanted to go out with them and help.

His isolation was broken though, by a light knock at the door, followed closely by the whooshing of the motor pulling it open. Shika looked down at him from the doorway, a cloth wrapped bento in his hands. He set it down awkwardly by the boy.

"Hinata made this for you before she left, just thought I'd bring it in for you. They might be gone for quite awhile this time, this job is a lot farther away, clear across the city." He watched the other boy shift uncomfortably on his feet out of the corner of his eye. This gave him a bite of twisted pleasure, knowing that someone else was sharing even some of his pain right now.

Still he mumbled out a thank you, and turned to the box, unwrapping it and taking the top off. It's contents were still rather warm, with everything neatly compartmentalized and well balanced. He felt his spirits lifting a little at the thought of the food, and he found himself grudgingly accepting this little moment of happiness.

X

Sasuke had been thoroughly bored for most of the lab tour, but he'd smiled and nodded, and asked a polite amount of questions to seem the least bit interested. He had really been in this more for the chance to be with Itachi than anything else. He'd toughed through it though, and now it was paying off. The two of them were riding up in the elevator, Itachi's hand resting on his shoulder. Sasuke couldn't resist the little bit he'd leaned into that touch, almost subconsciously. The feeling of his brother's hand on his skin was soothing, and welcome after all this time.

He tried to concentrate on the trip up, on remembering how to get to this stupid hideout thing, but all he could think about was the way Itachi's thumb was rubbing small soothing circles on the back of his neck, and how he could feel the warmth of his brother's arm through his shirt along his back. It sent a little shiver down his spine, thinking about those hands. He'd waited so long for an opportunity like this, and now it was here.

The ding of the elevator reaching the regular basement level startled him, and he jumped, blushing afterwards at the small smirk on his brother's face. He pouted a little, before pulling his brother out, grabbing him by one wrist, and leading him to the stairs. They climbed the two flights in relative silence, and Sasuke searched for anything to break the awkward ice that was between them now.

"So ... uh. Is anyone else coming with us? Like for backup or something? There were more than two people there, those odds are less than favorable." Itachi smiled, shaking his head a little.

"I called a security team, they will be meeting us in the lobby." Sasuke nodded.

X

It had been difficult finding his way through the maze of buildings on the second level, and that had been made even more embarrassing by the fact that his brother and an entire 10 person security detail was following him the whole way. Every time he had to backtrack or ended up somewhere he'd already been he felt a self conscious pang in his stomach. Right when he was about to tell his brother he'd need another day or two to re-acclimate himself, he caught sight of the building from the corner of his eye, through the hustle of the little street market.

He allowed himself to release a relieved sigh then. He'd found it, he'd done something right. Now he only hoped there were people there still. Well, he hoped the team was still there, somewhere in his mind he really did hope that the chimeras had gotten away by now, somewhere out of the reach of Itachi and the lab. Still, He motioned his brother forwards and pointed it out. Itachi nodded, and pulled the captain of the security detail aside, setting up the plan.

X

Naruto was bored, staring at the ceiling wishing something exciting would happen. It didn't take long for his wish to be granted. There was a great crash, and a splintering of wood. He jumped at the sound, hell he'd felt that through the floor. His heart sped up immediately, and he sprang from his place on the floor, and was out the door in an instant.

He swung into the hallway, running to the end, towards the control room, as he liked to call it. The team and Gaara made fun of him for it, but it was still the base of their operations, nonetheless. He made it to the end, but stopped short. There was a team of eerily familiar looking people there, dark armor and a tinted shield over the face making them seem more mechanical then human. His heart skipped a beat, and he backpedaled as fast as he could, almost falling on his ass in his haste to retreat.

It was no use though, he heard the crackle of a communicator, and then the swift sound of heavy boots behind him. He panicked, grabbing the door handle nearest him and diving inside, immediately looking around for a way out. He panicked, his eyes darting from one corner of the tiny windowless store room to the other. He swore a blue streak in his head.

Naruto had never been one to plan ahead well, he acted impulsively and that had annoyed the scientists who engineered him a lot. Gaara was his opposite in so many ways, and this was one of them. Where Naruto acted before thinking, on impulse, Gaara planned and calculated, eliminating all of the passion and emotion that Naruto still had in him. Now though, he wished he'd payed more attention to Gaara's tactical lessons while he'd had the chance.

He heard the violent kick to the door, and he backed away. His instincts told him to find somewhere small and try to hide away, so he dropped to the ground, scurrying backwards until he was under a table laden down with boxes and boxes of paper records and documentation. He pulled his knees up to his chest, watching the door bend, shudder, and finally break under the weight of the attack. As soon as it was down two soldiers stepped through, stun guns sweeping the room.

Naruto knew he should try and make a break for it then, but he was frozen with fear and a great, overwhelming sense of disappointment. He'd had an opportunity to be free, to live outside the labs, and he hadn't done anything about it while he'd had the chance. Now that chance was gone. As if the solidify this thought in his mind, make it real, it was at that second that a harsh hand wrapped around his upper arm, stiff from the thick glove encasing it. Naruto was dragged from his hiding place then, and a quick message he didn't quite hear was dispatched from the man at the door.

Naruto sniffled loudly, but stopped when he heard the crackle of the communicator broadcasting back. The voice was familiar yet faint, and he couldn't make it all out. "...secured the area? ... I don't care ... ecoterrorists ... only one? ... can't be helped ... bring him ..." The communication cut with an audible click, and the man who'd been listening intently by the door produced a set of cuffs and a small collar from his belt. He clipped them to Naruto, binding the boy's hands behind him, and connecting the wrists to the back of the collar with a trail of chain, pulling his limbs uncomfortably out and up.

He let out a whimper, his body starting to go numb in their hands. He couldn't believe this, this had to be a nightmare. He repeated this mantra in his head, over and over, as they dragged him down the hallway, pushing him out in front. Naruto surveyed the damage before him as he went. The place was ripped apart, documents strewn everywhere, doors hanging awkwardly from one set of hinges, tables overturned in the search for something they probably hadn't found.

Still, his blood froze in his veins when he was pushed into what had been the control room. He could see Shika's carefully maintained communication and broadcasting equipment scattered across the floor, mostly in pieces, but the genius was nowhere in sight. Naruto swallowed hard as he faced the real cause of his fear now though. Before him stood the towering form of Uchiha Itachi, oozing a festering anger and irritation that promised him pain in the very near future. Naruto couldn't help but wiggle around, cringing under the heavy glare directed at him.

"Ah, Naruto, so nice of you to join us. You made me very worried, by the way. You're such a naughty, naughty boy." Itachi's voice was cool and calm, almost light in tone. It made pretty much everyone shiver slightly. Itachi took a step closer to the boy, cupping his scarred cheek in one hand. "I am prepared to forgive you though, if you prove to me that you're on my team. Where's Gaara Naruto? Where is the rest of the idiots who broke into our lab?" Naruto shook his head, eyes squeezing shut.

"I-I don't know, Ita-nii. They left, they went somewhere and they wouldn't take me with them. Please, don't make em go back to the lab, I don't want to, I-I-" He was cut off by a harsh slap across his cheek, the skin now throbbing an angry shade of red. He let his head fall, studying the pattern of the tile at his feet to avoid making eye contact with Itachi. Unfortunately, Itachi grabbed his face, twisting Naruto's head upwards until they were eye to eye. He knew he'd lost then, and went limp in Itachi's grasp. He stared into the spinning red void of Itachi's eyes, and before he could blink he was out like a light.

X

Sasuke watched the exchange from the doorway, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He felt guilty, walking through the scattered remains of the base. He knew Shika had gotten away, but not before they shared a meaningful glance. He had known these consequences, really, he'd known that his brother would be very angry, and he knew Itachi was quite violent at those times. Still, he'd chosen this, he'd chosen family and his own interests.

Still, watching Naruto crying in that room, watching Itachi open those red, swirling eyes on him, had made those little tendrils of guilt in his stomach pull tighter and tighter, winding around his insides more and more tightly every second. He doubted himself now, doubted his choice. That poor boy in there, around his age, had suffered for it. Sasuke knew how the red eyes felt, what they made you see inside your head, and he shuddered to think of it.

Itachi had told him about them when he was still little, when they'd first manifested themselves in Itachi. His brother had told him how they were better than other people, more advanced, because their father had given them this genetic gift, special shifting eyes and a sort of sixth sense, with an amazing projecting ability. At the time he'd been impressed, but now he understood what that meant.

Still, he hadn't shown any signs of developing it himself, which he counted as a stroke of luck in the end. Itachi didn't seem to know why though, and insisted on checking him once a month, making sure he was progressing and aging correctly.

He'd always felt a little embarrassed and scared of this difference in himself, always thought he would become some sort of freak, a social outcast because of it. Now though, he'd found another person, well two really, who were like this too. It brought him a warm feeling inside.

He watched his brother drag the boy from the room, handing him off to one of the security personnel at the door way. He smiled down at Sasuke then, ruffling the boy's hair with one hand. Sasuke barely found the energy to smile back, his mind not really with him anymore, but with the poor boy being carted out beside him. It was almost enough to make him sick.


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A/N: so, there's another crappy update. Good? Bad? Ugly? Read, review and let me know! ^.^