Chapter 4

"Rest here for now. There is some food and water in that box." Fugaku used a jutsu to disappear.

Itachi slowly stood up and returned to the cot. The room was very bright with its white painted walls and open, barred cells.

It was also very quiet. There weren't even any mechanical noises. He spent the next few hours awake, staring at the ceiling and constantly checking his watch.

As 6pm approached and passed he grew anxious and his heart started pounding.

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"So this is where you are." Madara's voice jolted Itachi up from his cot and he stood up quickly, but dropped to his knees as a wave of dizziness passed over him. "Be careful there, don't want to pass out."

"Ma…dara" Itachi said with difficulty. Madara was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the cell. He was wearing his usual black pants and long-sleeve shirt with gloves and black shoes.

Two katanas were sticking out from a holder attached to his back. He wasn't wearing his usual black and orange mask.

"You look like shit." Madara ignored the dirty look Itachi gave him and continued talking, "I take it this means the fun is off. Too bad, I was looking forward to it. But… then again, watching Fugaku should prove to be just as entertaining. I may even disguise myself and jump in to help." He gave a short laugh.

"You could get me out of here and…" Itachi started speaking but was cut off by Madara's laughter.

Madara's tone turned serious, "Nope. Not gonna do that, kid. You messed up, you pay the price. And, by the way… our deal is off."

Itachi moved off of his knees and sat cross-legged. Reaching over to the box next to him he pulled out a bottle of water and drank it all in one gulp.

It had been hours since he had last drank anything and he felt so dehydrated he didn't even have much saliva.

He cleared his throat a few times before he could speak again, "Madara…"

"If you're going to beg, forget it." Madara said calmly.

"I wasn't… I just…" Itachi rubbed his face with his hands.

"Itachi, you really are sick. It's plain to see you have a fever." He stood up and walked toward the cell, then walked through the bars.

"Come on, get back in bed." He grabbed the teen's arm and guided him back on the bed then sat next to him.

"Swallow this. It's a tranquilizer and will put you to sleep for a few hours. I was going to give them to you later after we finished, but you look like you could use one now."

Itachi took the pill and swallowed it. There wasn't much point in staying awake at this point anyway, since his chakra had been drained he had no strength to exit the cell.

'If the deal is off,' Itachi thought to himself as he closed his eyes and started to drift off, 'then I will need another way to keep Akatsuki out of Konoha. But I will… if I can't save Konoha from Uchiha, then I will definitely save them from Akatsuki.'

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"For some reason I'm not surprised to see you here." Fugaku greeted Madara sourly as he and Mikoto materialized a few feet away from him. It was nearly midnight, but the brightly lit cell block gave no indication of the dark skies outside of its walls.

"Good to see you too and of course the lovely Mikoto." Madara stood up and bowed formally as he smiled.

"I take it you and my son had some sort of arrangement? I'm surprised you didn't break him out of jail." Fugaku gave a short, bitter laugh.

"Yeah, we were going to wipe out the Uchiha clan, but, well, you sort of put a damper on that little bit of fun." Madara laughed as well.

"Hmm. So that's what Danzo was holding over his head." Fugaku frowned and glanced at Mikoto who was standing a foot away from the bars and staring at her son.

"He sure as hell wouldn't have thought up something like that himself. Even his original idea was thought up by his cousin. He's a great ninja, but, on the whole, too kind-hearted." Madara said plainly.

"True. Danzo will pay for this. Painfully." Fugaku looked at Itachi. He was still having trouble feeling angry at him.

Every time he began to feel upset his sons sunken eyes, pale skin, and skinny arms came to mind and instead, he felt sad.

The fact that Danzo had so effectively brain-washed someone like Itachi was what angered him.

Mikoto spoke up in a worried voice, "What's wrong with him? He's not waking up."

"I gave him a tranquilizer." Madara pulled out a small plastic bag. "Here are the rest. I didn't want to give him the whole package."

Mikoto took the bag, "Thank-you, Madara."

"So why are you still here? I would prefer you left." Fugaku spoke sternly as he returned his attention to Madara.

"I think I'll stay and watch you fight Sarutobi. I love a good fight." Madara crossed his arms and leaned again the bars of an empty cell.

Fugaku growled, "Whatever. Just stay out of everything."

Madara gave a short laugh, "Itachi's partner is in the woods. I bet he'd like some fun."

"Tell him to leave. Having one of the seven swordsmen, especially a missing-nin, show up would not be good publicity on my part."

"Ha! He will pout when he finds out what he missed. But I'll see to it that he gets the word." Madara disappeared.

Fugaku and Mikoto both breathed a sigh of relief when he left, but quickly grew tense again. "Was he joking?" She paused for a few seconds, dreading the answer to her question, "About killing the clan?"

"I doubt it. Really, if you think about it, things do start piecing together." Fugaku replied bitterly.

Mikoto sneered, "Danzo… a thousand painful deaths would be too few."

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