Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or it's characters, though Asami is my OC
Peace had always been her dear Itachi's favorite word, a fact which Asami couldn't help but find rather humorous considering their world was filled with anything but. That was the point of their organization though: to steep themselves in the chaos so that other innocent people could cling to her love's favorite word.
Such as Shisui. Looking on at the happy little four year old playing with a stuffed green dinosaur his uncle had given him, it was hard to imagine the boy as the heir to all of that chaos, but as Itachi's son, the boy was practically as doomed as his namesake. Blind loyalty had gotten her sucked into the Uchiha's crime family, in turn dragging this happy little child down with her.
A small frown tugged at her lips before it faded away with the soft chuckle she released. Such would not be her son's fate if he so desired to keep himself out of the darkness. If she had anything to do with it, this boy would have the world at his feet. Shisui wouldn't grow up like his father and uncle had; he would have the choice their father had never given them.
Well, never given to Itachi. As heir, the eldest brother would typically be forced into two roles: the shadow and the enforcer. In his position as the family's shadow, Itachi was to keep up an image within the public eye and be sure that the tasks he carried out as the enforcer were properly funded. Though a pacifist by nature, Itachi hadn't hesitated to force himself into both of these molds in order to allow his beloved baby brother to live within a light he'd longed to taste himself.
To his credit, Sasuke handled the news exceedingly well, and much to Itachi's dismay, agreed to take over the role the pacifist dreaded playing the most. The only matter left up in the air was what they should do concerning Naruto. The hyper blonde had managed to weasel his way under Sasuke's skin and into the fourteen-year-old's guarded heart; an irreplaceable part of the younger Uchiha brother's life that he couldn't possibly bear to part with. He hardly wanted to be responsible for extinguishing the younger's light by dragging someone so positively innocent into that world by association. In the end, Naruto would value the truth, a choice to be given to him rather than made for him.
Whereas he'd decided to remain out of the shadows of that world and simply learn to defend himself should his associations paint a target on his back, the elder Uchiha sibling was a lot less smooth in dealing with his own significant other's involvement within that world. Asami couldn't help the amusement that tinged her crimson eyes at the thought. She'd never seen Itachi so furious with her in her life.
Exceedingly aware of the dangers simply knowing him would place Asami in, the wayward Uchiha had fought to keep the woman at arms-length. Such a task became all but impossible around junior year of high school when it became clear that he hadn't done as successful as job as he should have at keeping his friendship with the woman a secret. Imagine his shock when his sweet friend had turned up one day babbling about her new boyfriend, Kabuto Yakushi. The silver-haired snake was second in command to a far more dangerous serpent by the name of Orochimaru, the leader of one of the rivaling gangs in the area.
Asami had been the last person Itachi had ever wanted to mix up in that mess, though even he couldn't deny that his father's suggestion to turn the girl into a double agent made too much sense. Through her, they'd managed to locate and tear apart one of the largest hideouts the inky haired man had possessed in the area. From that point on, Asami was forbidden to ever set foot on the field, though in nothing but stubborn refusal to leave Itachi's side, she resigned herself to becoming a medic for the Uchiha family, a task which she excelled at. The only unfortunate exception to her skill had been Itachi's cousin, the man from whom her child got his name. He'd been beyond help by the time he'd been brought to her though something in her refused to let go of the guilt over her inability to perform some sort of miracle to save his life.
"Come over here, Shi, it's time for a bath." Asami rose from her seat, waving for the child to follow after her.
"Can Uncle Sasu's dino come, too?" The little raven found herself being hit with a pair of puppy dog eyes that made her sorry for all the people she'd attacked with a similar sight.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, you can't bring the dino into the bath or it'll get all ruined. But we can have him sit on the toilet with you and keep you company, okay?" She was relieved when she received an excited nod in reply to that.
Stealth and tact were two things the second enemy of the Uchiha family, Danzo, was known for, though apparently his men operated by vastly different standards. Once they confirmed the location of their target, they didn't hesitate long before kicking down the door.
An instant shot of adrenaline rushed through Asami's vein, protective instincts taking hold as the child by her side screamed. She swore a little under her breath before pulling out her phone, pushing it into her baby boy's hands. "Take this and go hide, call daddy, okay Shisui?" She would protect him this time. The frightened child nodded slightly before clambering off down the hall as Asami straightened up to face their attackers.
A weapon, she needed a weapon. Her eyes shot to the side, her hand moving faster than her brain could keep up with as she latched on to a candlestick. A deafening alarm was sounding around them- naturally an attack wasn't something they'd been unprepared for- that made it kind of hard to concentrate, but she had to buy enough time for Shisui to hide. It would be ideal if she could hold these men off until Itachi arrived, but highly unlikely to say the least considering it was four on one and she only had a candlestick to protect herself with. They had a pistol hidden in their room, but going for it would mean leading these men to Shisui and that wasn't an option.
It wasn't that uncommon for Asami to call around this time of night since this was usually around when Shisui went to bed and he wanted to say goodnight to his father. She never had to wait long for him to answer though Sasuke seemed to almost pout when he was silenced by his brother mid-complaining about his stupid partner. If he had a dollar for every time Deidara had nearly killed him, he would take Naruto on a vacation. If he didn't know any better, he'd accuse the bomber of trying to murder him.
The only way to stay human in a world like their own was to find someone who gives you a reason to do so. It was no secret to Sasuke that Asami was his brother's light in the same way that Naruto was his own, so in spite of being cut off, he couldn't help the soft smile that crossed his lips at seeing a similar sight tug at his brother's. Itachi wasn't cut out or this world, not like he was, but so long as Asami was around, he should be alright.
A rare glimpse of peace in an otherwise chaotic world was worth him shutting his mouth for a little while.
The younger Uchiha straightened up at the noticeable flash of fear that tore through the placid moment, and in the next instant, he was on his feet, just waiting for a sign to take off.
"Shisui, take a deep breath, tell me what's going on?" A moment of silence as the sobbing child tried to explain what was happening, but the only word he could seem to choke out was 'mommy.' "Calm down, what happened to mommy?" Even as he spoke, he was on his feet and following Sasuke out of the office. "Stay hidden, okay? Stay as quiet as possible, Uncle Sasuke and I are on our way."
They took Sasuke's car, the younger driving so that Itachi could stay on the phone with his son the whole ride there. He could hear the alarm going off faintly in the background, but every second his wife didn't take the phone from the boy to tell him she was alright set him more and more on edge. "Can't you go any faster?" He demanded of his little brother in a voice that was clearly holding to sanity by a thread.
"If you'd like to crash," Sasuke replied without missing a single beat, his hands clenched white-knuckled around the wheel as he tore through the mostly empty streets of Konoha. "Hold on." He instructed before taking a hard right, screeching down a back ally that would both get them there faster as well as avoid any police who might be lurking about. Considering he was clocking anywhere between eighty and ninety in a forty mile per hour zone, they couldn't afford to get pulled over nor did they have the kind of time for a police chase.
It was a good choice to get the extra money for high quality tires on that car considering how often the speed demon left skid marks all over, a sharp screech announcing their arrival at the small, one-story house Itachi lived at in record time. The elder didn't even wait for Sasuke, throwing open the door while his brother was still slamming on the breaks. Sasuke didn't bother turning off the car, nor did he close his door either before racing off after Itachi with his gun drawn.
Once Itachi quickly punched in the code for the alarm to shut it off, everything was deathly silent, setting both the men on edge. They were too late.
"Daddy!" As Itachi bent down to gather the whimpering boy into his arms, Sasuke moved further into the house to make sure they were alone as well as search for clues as to who had taken the missing raven.
It couldn't be Orochimaru. The snake master had a personal vendetta against him, so it was more likely the man would target Naruto than Asami. Plus, the man loved when his acts got proper recognition, so it's perfectly likely he would have called to brag by now. A bent up candlestick, very little blood, Asami wasn't hurt badly if at all. If it was just some random thug in the area looking for ransom, they would have made their demands by now as well though interrogation was another option. She knew too much about their organization, after all and it would explain why they hadn't bothered taking Shisui as well.
The overall abduction looked too brash and careless to have been carried out by Danzo, though, and the man would never have left any loose ends like Shisui alive. Nothing was taken; could this be some new thre-
His train of through it cut off by the sound of his cell phone going off, an annoyed huff slipping past his lips. What now? They really couldn't avoid another hit like this tonight. 'Dobe.' If he ever got home to sleep tonight, it would be on the couch if he didn't answer the blonde, so he reluctantly pressed the 'accept call' button, hardly lowering his guard as he finished up his search while he spoke, "Now isn't really a good time, dobe. What is it?"
Charcoal eyes snapped open wide in instant recognition as he heard a low chuckle from the other end of the line, the chilling sound one that still haunted his nightmares. "Oh Sasuke, you're so cold to your poor little lover."
"Orochimaru," Sasuke snarled the name like it was acid on his tongue, previously owlish orbs narrowed in a deadly glare most feared.
Oh yes, those two had a history together, one that the younger Uchiha brother was perfectly content forgetting. It had been earlier on in his career, he'd gotten cocky and at sixteen years old paid the ultimate price for his arrogance- still had the mark on his neck to prove it. It had taken four long days before his brother finally managed to track down their location. Even four years later the horrible dreams hadn't completely vanished. Some scars weren't meant to heal.
"If you lay a single finger on him, I'll rip your entrails out through your throat." The raven's voice was deadly, an icy cold that easily told he wouldn't hesitate to make good on his promise.
"Don't you worry little Sasuke," the man purred, Sasuke's grip tight enough on his phone to break it, "I have no intentions of bringing any physical harm to your precious plaything. I simply wanted to show this pretty little face here just how much of a pathetic little whore you are."
Interrogation. Splitting up their forces. They were trying to break Naruto. Fuck. He suddenly felt like breathing wasn't possible. He hadn't even known there had been a video, but he knew he couldn't let Naruto see it. "What do you want from me?" He demanded in a growl, fighting back the undertone of desperation that wanted to creep into his voice. He was far less apt at controlling his emotions than Itachi was, especially where Naruto was concerned.
"Just an answer as to if you've reconsidered that offer I made you or not."
So Orochimaru was actually after him? If there was any way to make the younger Uchiha a little more open to persuasion, it was certainly through Naruto. The raven shook his head quickly, yelling at himself for even considering saying yes. Men like this were never men of their words- him agreeing to this offer wouldn't result in Naruto's freedom like the man was implying. "I'd sooner die than join you."
"That can certainly be arranged, dearest Sasuke," the man replied smoothly. "You know how to reach me if you change your mind though I wouldn't advise waiting too long." A threat, one that sent Sasuke's heart racing. Silence followed as the line went dead.
Deep breath; think rationally. Orochimaru has Naruto, that must mean it was ROOT who's taken Asami. Their two biggest enemies were teaming up.
The deadly enforcer moved swiftly back into the entryway where Itachi had managed to calm Shisui down, the older's onyx eyes flickering up to meet mirroring dark dues, a silent question written within them as to why Sasuke looked like he was having trouble catching his breath.
"We're calling in the Akatsuki. Orochimaru has Naruto."