Baby Baby Baby

A/N: Aha! Not quite a week but pretty close. It helped that I had this chapter all planned out...Sasuke needed a chapter of his own, after all.

Thank you to everyone who commented! It makes me super motivated and guarantees shorter wait-time between chapters-

This chapter was brought to you by the Goo Goo Dolls 'Sympathy' and 'Six Days the Remix' from teh Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift Soundtrack.


Interlude: Sasuke

Sasuke arrived in Otogakure just in time to pick his son up, kiss his forehead (right between the eyes so he’d never, ever forget), and put him to bed. He was small enough that Sasuke could tuck the boy into his body as dark eyelashes fluttered shut, as his solid, fleshy body drifted into the slack warmth of sleep. It was as close to love as he could get, Sasuke knew as he sat in the dark with his hand on Itachi’s neck, so as Sasuke listened to the slow cadence of his son’s breath he embraced the tight feeling of ownership that settled into his gut.

After a series of a grunts and nine months of incubation Sasuke had created an individual, a seed, and it adored him though they never spoke, though Sasuke never even once called him by name, because Sasuke took the time every night to kiss him once, hold him for a while, and watch over him while he was vulnerable.

There were two other boys, Obito and Fugaku, a girl, Mikoto, and Sasuke made sure to touch each child at least twice during the week; a pat on the shoulder, a hand resting on silky black hair, the graze of bare skin on bare skin as he taught them how to defeat their enemies. He praised them every so often, spent time with them when he could, told them he loved them at least once a month, and he did it because he was almost sure that those things were something Naruto would do. Of the three that were grown only two took to the shinobi arts and they were mediocre at best. Fugaku had a low chakra well and Mikoto was inclined to genjutsu but was without the imagination of a master.

Obito, it seemed, would be shuffled off to the administrative sector. His tutors said he had a talent with numbers.

Itachi would be the exception. At his birth Sasuke had watched the med nins cut his mother open and retrieve the tiny body. It had been purple, slick and disgusting, but Sasuke had already seen three like it and did not turn away. The doctors had run a finger through the infant’s mouth, given it a good smack, but while the mottled skin had smoothed into a healthy pink there had been no warning cry, no spectacular announcement that newest Uchiha had claimed his place in the world, as limited as it may be.

Sasuke had not decided on a name up until that moment, had honestly forgotten all about the pregnancy until a nervous med-nin barreled into his office, but the very second those dark eyes met his Sasuke had nodded once in recognition and said, “Itachi.”

The boy had cried once, an understanding wail, and hadn’t made a sound since.

But every night he would cling to Sasuke’s neck and fall asleep to the echo of his father’s heart beating.

****

Now that war was breathing down Oto’s neck Sasuke kept the children close, no more missions with genin teams, no more trips to the neighboring villages. They stayed in the old catacombs with sour faces and restless eyes. Mikoto and Obito eventually bowed to their father’s will, but Sasuke finally had to lock Fugaku in his room under an armed guard. He wanted to fight.

“And you will,” Sasuke assured him, “As soon as you’re able to take a kunai and stab me through the heart you will be the master of your own body.”

Fugaku stared at him, his brown eyes wider than Sasuke had ever seen them, and then deflated.

“Then you’ll just have to wait for someone else to do the job.” Sasuke had said shortly, touching the boy on the shoulder. It was a curious thing, he had discovered, that these children could bear Uchiha blood and still not even contemplate murder. Even at the tender age of eight Sasuke would have taken a moment to ponder on the likelihood of bringing his father, the clan head, down. Fugaku was already twelve and there hadn’t even been a flicker of killing intent in his eyes.

“I would rather bow to your every whim than see you harmed, father, by my own hand or any other’s.” Fugaku said, kneeling down to bow low against the stone floor.

“I suppose that’s how things should be.” Sasuke murmured, shifting Itachi back over to the left side of his chest. “Become a man, Fugaku, and then I will let you die as one. Until then, practice your kata.”

“My lord, there is something you must see.” A young chuunin appeared at his side as Fugaku rose. He was sweating, Sasuke noted, but his breathing was even and he had no visible wounds. There was ink on his cuff, thick and dripping.

“A Konoha ninja,” Sasuke frowned, “I imagine he has papers.” Naruto wasn’t the type to send former ANBU into foreign territory without some sort of backup, and travelling papers signed by the Hokage were practically a free pass into most of the elemental countries since the brief conflict between Fire and Water Country.

Naruto had shown them all that a short war didn’t necessarily mean fewer casualties.

The chuunin stared up at Sasuke in awe. “Yes, my lord.”

“Did you at least attempt to stop him?” Sasuke tried to pass off Itachi to Fugaku but the boy kept a tight grip on the back of his robes and refused to let go. Sasuke would either have to break his fingers or take him along. Sasuke scowled and the chuunin flinched, muttering, “My lord-”

He waved a hand, sending the man away, and gestured to his son. Fugaku came forward reluctantly.

“I will send for you soon.” Then, before he forgot, “I love you.”
Fugaku’s trepidation melted and he smiled. Wide and bright. “I love you too, father.”

Sasuke nodded, and as he left with Itachi still clinging to his shoulder Sasuke shut and locked the door to the sound of Fugaku huffing softly through his kata.

****

When Sasuke finally reached the gate it was to the sight of a good number of chuunin and Jounin in various states of disarray, anger, and all splattered liberally with black, red, and blue stains.

“What do you think, fuck-up?” Sai was sitting on the branch of a tree with his feet hanging. “I’ve decided to branch out into some different colors…but the blue isn’t quite as intimidating as the black, is it?”

Sasuke blinked slowly, stared at his red-faced soldiers, and didn’t bother hiding his disgust and anger. Itachi wriggled and the dropped to the floor, landing on his butt in a cloud of dust. He stood up and then padded over to stare at the strange man in the tree. Sai turned his head away from Sasuke and stared back.

“Sasuke-san,” Sai’s voice was pleasant, light as he smiled, “You should terminate this one. It’s defective.”

Sasuke grit his teeth but didn’t answer, instead sending the defeated men away with the flick of his hand and making a quick sign to keep the ANBU watching nearby.

“If we start terminating defective beings in Oto,” Sasuke glared and stood next to his son, “I’ll be starting with you, second-best.”

Itachi sighed, stuck a hand in his mouth, and leaned into Sasuke’s leg while keeping his eyes on Sai. He might not be capable of speaking but Sasuke knew his comprehension level was far above the average toddler’s. Sai stared at them both before breaking the long silence with a sudden explosion of laughter. After exactly five seconds the sound stopped and Sai smiled.

“Please tell me, was that an adequate rendition of sardonic amusement? Or should it sound more like-”

Sai made another attempt and Itachi fisted Sasuke’s robes with both hands, burying his face into Sasuke’s thigh. Sasuke had a not so fond flashback to his days with Orochimaru and finally lost his temper.

Sasuke took a few quick steps forward and put his fist through the trunk of the tree.

Sai wobbled from the sudden lean and then fell, exploding against the ground in a shower of red ink. Sasuke moved in time to keep Itachi from catching any of the liquid but his own pristine robes were ruined with slashes of vivid incarnadine. Sasuke felt the warm liquid drip down his face, slide down to mingle with his fingers, saw it drip down from the hem to puddle into the dust and began to tremble inside.

“It seems you don’t like the red much, either.” Sai said, appearing next to him with Itachi on his hip. The boy was frowning, his hands fisted in Sai’s hair and tugging, but the man didn’t seem to notice, he just held on tighter when Itachi began to struggle in earnest.

Sasuke ripped off the robes and wiped his face and hands clean then threw it down, cursing himself for being sentimental enough to take on the title of Otokage. The responsibility would be the death of him if infuriating leaf nins didn’t make him kill himself first.
“Show me your papers.” Sasuke snapped, grabbing his son out of the man’s arms. Itachi came willingly and with good clump of black hairs between his fingers. Sai didn’t seem to notice, his eyes were on Sasuke.

“You still have a smear on your face.” He said, reaching out. It took a great deal of willpower for Sasuke not to break his hand. Sai’s fingers were almost deathly cold despite the heat of the afternoon, but when he finally pulled away his fingers were tipped with drops of red.

“You shouldn’t let just anyone spray you with chakra-infused ink, fuck-up.” Sai smiled, “Bad things could happen.”

“Tch.” If Sasuke wasn’t holding Itachi he could have ended the sentiment with a chakra burning chidori nagashi but Itachi was already dozing on his shoulder, apparently content.

“Why are you here?” He asked instead, keeping his voice low.

“Because Naruto-kun ordered me here.” Sasuke noted that his usually plastic smile seemed a little more genuine, less staged. “He wants me to determine whether or not you’ll come crawling back to Konoha once war begins. I’m also supposed to assist you in earnest despite the fact that it would be far more useful to just slit your throat.”

The ANBU surged forward but Sasuke just held up a hand. He didn’t need their help with Sai of all people.

They knew each other far too well for that.

“A long-term mission, then.” Sasuke murmured, passing a hand over Itachi’s head when he fidgeted. He lifted his eyes to a twin pair and wondered if Naruto knew more than he should, if he had found out…

“Yes,” The word was firm, “I’m to be a diplomatic envoy and assist you in every way.”

Diplomatic envoy…Sasuke laughed then, wondering why he wanted to weep instead. Sai stared for a moment and then his smile ended, wiped clean.

“That’s what it’s supposed to sound like.” Sai said, “Thank you.”

Sasuke just bowed his head, kissed Itachi on the forehead, and turned away.

****

“This is Sai,” Sasuke said, watching his children. “If you’re ever in trouble he can be trusted to assist.”

“What if we aren’t in trouble?” Obito asked, glaring as he pushed his glasses higher up on his nose. Fugaku and Mikoto glared at him but wisely kept their comments to themselves in front of their father. While Mikoto and Fugaku dared not question their commander, as a civilian Obito had every right to speak up where a shinobi couldn’t.

Also, it was an excellent question and neither of them liked to look stupid. Obito peered at Sai and Sai peered back.

“Then he can be trusted to be intolerable.” Sasuke reached over and patted Obito on the shoulder and Sai followed the movement, drinking in every nuance of the interaction. Obito’s glare softened, but he continued, “He’s a Konoha shinobi.”

Sai smiled, “So is your father. That makes us practically family.”

Mikoto and Fugaku froze, their eyes widening in horror. Obito rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Father,” Obito bowed his head, “I just wanted to ensure that you are in no danger due to your former missing-nin status.”

“No,” Sai cut off Sasuke’s reply, “We have a bond now that would make it difficult for me to end Sasuke-san’s life. Considering your father’s past of murder and betrayal he’s much more likely to kill me. Right, Fuck-up?”

Sasuke blinked. Fugaku and Mikoto blanched.

“Dismissed.”

All three children bowed and then left, their voices picking up as soon as they crossed the threshold. Sai choked out a laugh.

“I think you have them fooled.” He said, walking over to the crib behind Sasuke’s desk where Itachi was sitting and gnawing on a brightly colored block. “Except for this one. You don’t have to play pretend with him, do you?”

Sai’s eyes slit, dark eyelashes casting a shadow on his face as his lips gently curved. He touched Itachi’s head.

“You must have watched Naruto very carefully with those eyes of yours,” He said, catching the block when Itachi flung it over the side and handing it back, “You move just like him when you touch them, but with this one-”

Itachi threw the block again and this time Sai had to reach up to pull it out of the air before it hit him in the face.

Sasuke’s eyes drifted over the movement, the slight arch of Sai’s back, the way his fingers looked bone white against the wooden toy, their delicate, tapering length that was nearly identical to his own. Over the long years hidden beneath the shell of his office Sasuke knew he had grown quite pale too, that once, when he had let it grow long, his hair had fallen straight and tickled the back of his neck.

Sai handed the ball back to Itachi and murmured, “You look at him just like you look at Naruto. With those watching eyes. Like you’re trying to remember, like you’re waiting.”
Sai turned back and stared, his expression going dark, “What are you waiting for, Sasuke-san?”

Sasuke cast his eyes down to his village, gazing out the window to the hustle below. Once he had simply seen mechanics, the clockwork sort of living that old men seemed to embrace, dying men, but now there was disorder, the chaos of children’s laughter, of villagers calling out to shinobi, of shinobi training relentlessly, passionately just because they assumed their Otokage expected it of them. The truth was that Sasuke expected nothing, wanted nothing more than to be the single gear he was required to be, moving the others to perform the task of breathing. Otogakure was his weapon, nothing more.

Until Itachi.

“Lightening is looking for a reason to invade,” Sasuke said, watching Sai move closer in the reflection of the glass, “So far we’ve managed to avoid them, but it’s only a matter of time until someone makes a mistake and the Raikage declares hostilities.”

“Why would he want to?”

“Because their Daimyo is afraid, his people are afraid, and he is too young to know there are worse things than terror.” Sasuke almost pitied the boy, “We are the only land route to Konoha and I will not allow him to march on Fire Country through this territory. Water would help Lightening through a sea route, but they barely have the resources left to protect themselves let alone go to war again.”

“And Iwa?”

“Iwa will watch and wait,” Sasuke smirked, “I’m sure no one has had the heart to tell Naruto that the genin in Rock Country are still ordered to flee on sight of a Namikaze.”

“No one likes to see Naruto-san cry.” Sai said, smiling pleasantly.

“Tch. Konoha shinobi.” So sentimental, even now when Naruto was known as the Shinigami no Sato the whole world over. “You’ll coddle him right into the grave.”

Sai just shrugged, “I’m sure he’d rather die than open the eyes to the truth.”

True enough. Sasuke looked at the man Naruto had become and still saw the boy who had confronted him on the banks of a river so many years ago, who had cried upon seeing him years after and still looked at him with eyes that seemed to be perpetually hopeful despite their long history of despair. But then Gaara, and now Sai…

Sasuke reached over and grabbed Sai by his vest, tugging until Sai gave up resisting and followed Sasuke into shadow and out of the view of the window. Sai frowned as Sasuke slipped his fingers under to find the clasp.

“Why do you do this?” He tilted his head, “Isn’t there some girl waiting for you to impregnate her?”

Sasuke unclipped the clasp at the shoulder, the one beneath the elbow, and pulled the zipper down to the side, throwing the shell of the armor down to the ground. Sai shrugged off the katana and let it clatter to the floor, allowing Sasuke to push him up against the wall and hold his wrists.

“-or is this practice?” Sai tilted his head back and when Sasuke bit at his neck he sighed. “Some people consider me very feminine.”

Sasuke drew his tongue along the side of Sai’s jaw and nipped gently at his ear, smirking when the flesh under his hands shivered.

“Shut up, second-best.” Sasuke pushed Sai’s arms up against the wall and pushed their bodies together, welcoming the heat and watching carefully for the flush that rose on Sai’s pale cheeks. “You want this too.”

Sai’s breath hitched, and he murmured, “Of course I do, my body is skin hungry. No one besides you will touch me, let alone-”

Sasuke kissed him, forcing his jaw open and slipping his tongue in, tilting his head to get deeper, farther, until Sai’s dark eyes fluttered closed and his tensed muscles went slack, until he moaned gently and gave in.

The first time Sasuke had pressed their lips together Sai had bitten him so hard he’d bled all over his robes and had to go to the opening ceremony of the trade summit in plainclothes. It was the first (and probably last) time Sasuke had seen Sai truly flustered, blushing and speechless as he pushed Sasuke away. Then again, Sai was the only person to have ever witnessed Sasuke cursing a blue streak while he stripped frantically and ransacked his room for something new to wear.

The second time Sasuke had kissed Sai his clothes were already ruined, singed and still dripping sand from the Kazekage’s reluctantly aborted Sand Coffin jutsu. By that time Sai had pulled himself together enough to frown a little and then kiss back. From then on it had become a habit to find Sai, furious and frustrated after another meeting with Naruto, and throw him against the nearest flat surface. Luckily meetings between the Hokage and the Otokage were few and far between, but now…

Sai jerked his knee up and brought their entanglement to a swift end.

Sai was flushed, but his expression was as placid as ever. “I don’t feel like fucking in front of your son.”

Sasuke hissed and worked hard not to activate the flames of mangekyo sharingan.

“I would have said something,” Sai continued, “but your tongue was in the way and you told me that if I ever bit you again, you’d-”

“Shut. Up. Sai.” Sasuke couldn’t really be angry, he’d completely forgotten about Itachi, so he just leaned against the wall and took deep breaths until the pain dulled into an ache. When he opened his eyes Sai was standing by the crib touching the Itachi on the head again, his gloved fingers brushing over his downy hair in a careful rhythm. Itachi was a quiet as usual but he was returning the touch, his fingers wrapped around Sai’s exposed wrist as they stared at each other.

“He’s not an animal, second-best.” Sasuke sighed, suddenly weary and still a little sore. “Stop petting him.”

“But he likes it.” Sai smiled, “And he’s about the size of a pet. Quiet as a cat.”

Itachi did seem to like the repetitive motion, as much as Sasuke hated to admit it. His eyes drifted shut as he leaned against the crib’s bar, dropping his toy as his body slackened. After a moment Itachi was entirely asleep and hanging over the edge like a rag doll. Very carefully Sai reached out and positioned him where Sasuke could no longer see, his smile softening into a simple curve as he stared down.

When Sai turned back he still looked like that, blurry around the edges; human. Sasuke wasn’t sure he approved.

“Now we can fuck, fuck-up” Sai said, returning to Sasuke’s side in a brief displacement of air.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes and pushed Sai away. There was still work to do and the moment, if it could be called that, was ruined. He could nearly feel Sai’s frown as he rearranged the robes and returned to his seat.

“You’re dismissed,” He snapped curtly, opening a scroll and taking up the nearest quill.

And when he looked over a few minutes later Sasuke wasn’t overly surprised that Sai was still there, looking back down at Itachi with that curious acknowledgement in his eyes.

****

“Loosen up.” Sasuke murmured, going through Mikoto’s guard to press a finger over her heart, “Hit.”

She grimaced, ducked under his next assault with centimeters to spare, and pulled out a kunai, a tag already attached and burning. Sasuke kicked it out of the air as quickly as she had thrown it and training ground four acquired another crater. When the smoke cleared Mikoto was gone…or was she?

Sasuke smirked and his hand shot out.

“Hit.” But it was better than last time when she only managed to make herself a blur rather than a true cloaking genjutsu.

“My eye!” Mikoto screamed shrilly, “I can’t-”

“Nice try.” Sasuke kicked out and watched as the genjutsu disintegrated and a small body tumbled and skidded in the dust. Mikoto picked herself up, cursing, and glared at him with both eyes intact. “A henge of a bloody socket might fool someone else, though.”

“Fugaku fell for it without a henge.” She groused.
That was…upsetting. But-

“Not everyone will be as concerned for your welfare as your brother, Mikoto.” Sasuke sighed, and tried not to get lost in the past. “And if I’d blinded you my finger would be wet.”

Mikoto paused and stared for a moment, her eyes widening right before she burst into laughter.

“Sorry, sorry.” She finished with a smile, “It’s just…you had the funniest look on your face.”

“Just,” She started to follow as he walked away, and from the corner of his eyes he could see that her smile had vanished, “I’m sorry father, I didn’t mean-”

Sasuke turned on her and she froze, small hands hanging nervously in the air. Afraid, caught by killing intent as Sasuke’s finger’s approached her face, she could only shiver, her pink mouth falling open. Sasuke paused only when her eyelids snapped closed.

“It’s not quite so funny when it’s about to happen to you, is it?” Sasuke let his hand drop and Mikoto blinked, her eyelashes wet as she murmured, “No, father, it’s not.”

“Of all things you must protect those eyes.” He continued, “Lose an arm if you must, a leg, a tongue, but never your eyes.”

The words were nearly oily, sickening as thoughts of his father came to the forefront of Sasuke’s mind. But he deviated from the script all Uchiha had kept close to their hearts for generations, “And never your life. Better a blind Uchiha than a dead one. Do you understand?”

“Yes, father.”

And usually Obito would be there asking questions, prying into the meat of the statement, but Mikoto was a soldier first for all the gaiety and love she could display, and a daughter second. She never voiced the questions Sasuke could see in her face, and never demanded any more than what he gave her.

Still, she always took just as much as she could get.

“You’re a good girl.” Sasuke said, touching her shoulder with the fingers that had threatened her only moments before, and she smiled in a gentle curl of lips.

“Thank you, father.” Mikoto blinked rapidly, biting into her lower lip. “I love you.”

Sasuke turned his face away before the first tear dropped, a deep hollowness filling his chest, but he kept his hand firm as Mikoto sniffed and wiped her cheeks. Thank you. He looked back to his daughter and for a moment all Sasuke could see was the flash of pink hair and the smiling, frail figure of a girl who had thought he was the most precious thing in the world. The hair was different, the figure smaller, but that look in Mikoto’s eyes…it was the same as Sakura’s had been as she pled with him to stay, just stay, I’ll give you everything, anything, if you’d only let me love you.

Sasuke crouched down and pulled her close, resting his head against the delicate flesh of her neck.

“Thank you.” He whispered as her arms encircled his neck, “Thank you.”

But Sasuke could never promise that he’d stay, even if he wanted to.

****

The Cloud ninja didn’t say a word as he entered, he just held his head high and brandished four headbands, dripping with fresh blood. Sasuke could only barely make out the Sound insignia for the gore, but it *was* there, unmistakably.

“You came a long way to return those.” Sasuke smirked, “Surely you have a message to go with the gift.”

“We have your son.” The man said, “Join the alliance and he may live out the day.”

Sasuke shrugged and nodded to the mess of head-bands dripping all over his floor, “Ruined equipment can always be replaced. Sons are no different.”

The nin took a step back, staring while Sasuke twirled a pen between his fingers.

“And oddly enough,” Sasuke put on a smile he had once seen on the Toad Sannin, “The process of making a new heir is much less tedious than hostage negotiation.”

“You’d leave your own son to torture and death?” The Jounin sounded truly shocked. Kumo-nin were so predictable.

“The Raikage doesn’t seem to have any qualms about leaving his people to ‘torture and death’.” Sasuke tilted his head, and stared right back. “Why should I be any different?”

Sasuke gestured and the shadows cast by the low sun coalesced into two black forms that took the nin by the shoulders and held on while Sasuke stood, leisurely, to look the man in the face. There was more than a little fear to be found there, but not nearly enough for Sasuke’s liking.

“It’s been a while,” Sasuke whispered, “since I reminded my men why they follow me,” He activated his doujutsu, “and not the ‘immortal’ snake Sannin.”

“But…y-your son-”

“Is safely tucked away where all good sons should be.” Sasuke smirked, “While one of my fine young ANBU is currently biding his time in the stronghold of Kumogakure…and what will he do there, I wonder?”

The man started to stutter and tremble but the inky sentinels stayed firm as Sasuke looked into the man’s frightened eyes and whispered, “Tsukiyomi.”

After a few moments of ensuring that the man got to watch his own child get killed over and over again Sasuke stepped away and grabbed the hitae-ates from the ground. He was busy inspecting the metal plates when Sai finally stepped out of one of the ink men.

“Took you long enough, fuck-up.” Sai dispelled the other clone and the Cloud nin fell to the floor with a dull thud.

“Shut up.”

The backs of the hitae-ates were numbered; 12-35, 12-37, 13-1, 13-2, which meant that one of the two squads he had sent out to protect his ‘son’ were either dead or safely in Kumogakure, having replaced the men sent out to kill them. If the second squad didn’t show within the day he could safely assume that he’d be seven ANBU short in the silent war.

And there would be eight families to contact, friends to notify, names to etch on the black cenotaph that had been erected before the village walls, before the tower or the hospital…Sasuke put the hita-ates safely into one of his desk drawers and wiped his fingers clean of blood.

He looked up and Sai frowned, a small line etched between his brows on his porcelain face.

“Why don’t you join them?” Sai took a few steps forward. “Three elemental nations and Otogakure would be nearly unstoppable, and now that Gaara-sama is no longer the Kazekage, even Sand would back out given the right incentive…I don’t understand.”

“And you never will.” Sasuke murmured, which was half of Sai’s appeal, after all. The other half-

“I am trying though, Sasuke-san.” Sai leaned a hip against his desk and crossed his arms. “You shouldn’t say ‘never’.”

Sasuke steepled his fingers and pressed his lips against the cold, stained tips as he watched out the window at the activity below. He hadn’t felt like a legitimate Kage until he built the tower, and now-

Sai’s kiss caught him off guard. The hat knocked off with one hand, the other clenched in Sasuke’s robes, Sai pushed their lips together with little regard of teeth or comfort and continued pushing until the were both tangled on the floor after an equally awkward fall.

“You stupid-” Sasuke gasped, jerking his head away, “Get *off* you idio-unh.”

Having his tongue bitten was a new experience, both pleasant and alarming as Sai could very easily bite straight through with those sharp white- and then kissed again, hands pinned down, and Sasuke’s heart was beating, pounding against his ribs as he arched his back and just-

“Open your eyes,” The barest whisper, and Sasuke obeyed because he was caught up in the adrenalin of the act, the surprise, and when he did…blue eyes, cornflower yellow hair, flushed, tanned skin, and Sasuke would have recoiled in horror if he wasn’t already pinned to the ground.

“Hnh-” Sasuke didn’t know how to resist, couldn’t push away, or curse, or even turn his head away, not when-

“You can turn a blank page into anything you want, right?” Naruto’s finger was warm against his lips, wet when it trailed down his neck, “Any*one* you want. All you have to do is close your eyes and imagine-”

So many things, Sasuke knew, so many endings and beginnings that real life lost its shine in favor of the ephemeral taste of could-have, someday, maybe if-

Maybe if…Sasuke arched his back and caught pink lips, raised his freed hands to hover over the scars marring perfect skin, he let himself be held, entwined, *encompassed*.

And for once Sasuke didn’t have to close his eyes.

****

The Daimyo of Rice Country had become rich under Sasuke’s guidance but hadn’t become any smarter, almost the opposite in fact, and Sasuke was hard-pressed not to snap his mind with a well-placed glare.

“You *will* give in to Lightening’s demands.” He said, his face becoming mottled in rage, “And you’ll do it *now*.”

Sasuke looked at the smirking Lightening envoy, at the signed agreement that promised Rice the northern half of Fire, just shy of Konoha, the political clout of an elemental country, and let the sharingan quietly unfurl.

“I suppose Water Country wants Wave Country?” And the bridge that came with it, no doubt, if only to tear it to pieces.

“It seems fitting.” The Lightening envoy said, eyes sparking, “Our Daimyo does not forget his friends.”

“Understandable,” Sasuke returned, “Considering that he has so few.”

“Uchiha! I will have you *replaced*-”

“Will you?” Sasuke smiled, helplessly amused at the look on their faces as the agreement burst into black flame. “I think I’d like to see you try.”

“Guards!” The Daimyo looked at Sasuke with fear in his eyes, the envoy had stopped smirking…

The Samurai circling them moved into the ready, swords shining in brief flashes below the handles, and Sasuke could only feel curiously insulted that none of them had pissed themselves. Sasuke looked into the corner and the Samurai went down, figures slowly stepping out of the shadows while Sasuke simply sat, his hands resting on his knees.

Standing, shaky and ungainly, the envoy lurched towards the door only to be caught neatly by the collar of his kimono.

“If you kill me-” His voice was a screech, desperate, and Sasuke knew exactly how to deal with desperate men.

Give them what they think they want.

“I agree.” Sasuke said, and the words unfurled, took flight. “Otogakure will join the alliance against Fire.”

He smiled, curling his fingers together into a gentle cup and thought of blue eyes, of rough hands and red demons rising in the night.

Sasuke thought of his children and their awkward grace of growing, living, and of the love he didn’t understand, would never understand, but would embrace anyways. Unconditional surrender.

“We march against Konoha.”


Next...Hikaru's secret revealed!