Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (Or Itachi, sadly)
Normal
"Talking"
Thoughts
Mikoto gasped, her breath ragged and heavy as she held on tight to her husband's hand, to the point where she almost broke his hand, with said person wincing in pain.
"You're doing great," Tsunade assured her. "Just a little more…"
"AHHHHHHH!"
Soon, her cries of pain were drowned out by the cry of a new life as he drew in his first breath of air.
Fugaku smiled for the first time in months as their child was placed in his mother's arms, his crying dying away as Mikoto nursed it for the first time.
"Congratulations," Tsunade said, "you have a healthy baby boy."
Fugaku reached out to touch his son. The baby looked back at his father with curiosity, and it was then that he caught a glimpse of the first stage of the Sharingan, before they were replaced by wide black eyes, with a look of tell-tale intelligence in it.
It was in this instance of shock that Fugaku had decided upon a name for the baby.
"Itachi. His name will be Itachi." Fugaku said in a tone of confirmation.
Mikoto smiled then, approving of the name, before fainting in exhaustion.
Itachi. Weasel for intelligence. Fugaku thought, with a proud smile on his face.
After returning from a mission, Fugaku walked into his house to be greeted by his wife's flustered and tear-streaked face.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's Itachi, he…" Mikoto burst into tears once more.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"I was called for backup for the frontlines at the last moment… I left Itachi in the house and told him not to come out… but somehow he went out and….. And he saw everything…" Mikoto trailed off.
"What did he see?"
"While you were gone…our village was attacked. There were so many people killed…and Itachi…he saw it all and….and he activated his Sharingan… the first stage but still…" Mikoto was overcame by anxiety once again by this point of time, looking at Fugaku with worry-filled eyes.
"I'll talk to him, don't worry."
Fugaku walked into his son's bedroom. Itachi was hiding under the blue covers, a small lump in the thick fabric.
"Itachi, come out from there," Fugaku said in an even tone.
"No."
"Itachi, I need to talk to you." Fugaku's voice was stern.
Itachi poked his head out from under the blanket, even though he was still grabbing the blanket tightly, as if it were something that would protect him.
"Itachi. I will not tolerate this kind of nonsense of being frightened from you. You are my first-born, Itachi and you are an Uchiha. Uchihas are not cowards like what you are now. Get out from this room this instant!"
Finishing this, Fugaku walked out of the room, never once looking back.
If only that day, had he pulled his son in a hug, and comforted him, had he acted more like a father, Itachi might not have turned out like this.
That was one of his many regrets that Fugaku would later on realize.
Itachi smiled and waved to the crowd, dressed in a ceremonial kimono as he received his village headband, seven-year-old face beaming with pride as he joined the throng of about twenty other graduates, all older than him.
But he was stronger than they were, and that was all that mattered.
"Become a good shinobi and serve the clan well." Was all Fugaku said, before turning his back and setting for home.
Not a congratulatory word came out from him. Nothing like 'well done' or 'Great job'. Only like what he always said to Itachi, 'Become a good shinobi and serve the clan well.'
Something in Itachi's eyes hardened that day.
That was the day when Itachi stopped believing. Stop believing that his father had ever loved him, or treated him as a son.
"Itachi, you are the pipeline that connects the clan to this village. Do you know what that means?"
"You want me to spy on the village. You're planning a coup." Itachi said. Not a question. A statement.
"Yes. This is the most vital part for the coup to succeed. You must do this."
"…Yes, oto-san. I understand."
Fugaku could tell. He could tell that Itachi was unwilling to do this. To betray his Hokage and his village for his clan. He knew that the boy loved the village more than he ever did to the clan, except for Sasuke.
Fugaku always knew that his son did not love him.
Thinking back on that, he himself had not shown any kind of affection or any other emotion towards him that showed that he actually loved Itachi.
And he knew, he knew that Itachi would not obey him entirely. And that added to any of his regrets. His regret for not redrawing the plan of the coup.
"Like I've said before, appearances and preconceptions aren't going to tell you anything. For instance, you've made the mistake of assuming that I'm a patient man."
Itachi's rage was barely hidden by a forcibly calm voice. He trembled ever so slightly, anger showing on every inch of his body.
"The clan, the clan!" Itachi's voice oozed disgust and disdain. "You overestimate your own abilities, with no idea of the depth of my own. And look at you now, groveling in the dirt!"
His eyes narrowed with hatred. Fugaku had never seen his son this way, with contempt for his proud heritage etched onto his face.
"Obsessed with the organization. Obsessed with the clan. Obsessed with our lineage. A worthless compulsion that enslaves us, and limits our capabilities. Leading us to fear what we don't understand."
A kunai suddenly appeared in his hand. He thrust it into the clan crest, cracking the stonework. Fugaku narrowed his eyes, understanding that his son would no longer take part in the coup.
"I've had enough. There's no hope left for this pathetic clan."
It had taken the knowledge that his younger brother had witnessed his entire act to get Itachi to calm down.
Fugaku couldn't wipe that memory out of his mind, even now, as sleep evaded him. The coup had to succeed. The clan had suffered in the years, where they had been discriminated against, before and after the attack of the nine-tailed fox.
He knew, that the moment his son had said those words, it was his way of proclaiming that he would be against the coup.
Maybe, maybe if I had even comforted him or erased those memories from all those years ago, he wouldn't have become like this… Fugaku thought in his mind, getting out of the bed he shared with Mikoto.
Proceeding outside into the fresh air, Fugaku realized that Itachi was already out in the garden, gazing up at the full moon, a look with a mixture of emotions in his eyes.
"What are you doing awake, Itachi?" Fugaku asked.
"Nothing, oto-san."
"What is up with you these days?"
"What's up with me these days?"
"There's something wrong with you these days. Like that day for instance. Just what is wrong with you?"
Itachi turned around to meet his father's eyes, his own hard with disdain and hatred.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that this clan has lost Konoha's trust. Or, maybe it's the fact that the clan is planning a coup de etàt against the village when they know it could cause another god damn war!"
"Itachi, watch your tone!"
"My tone? In the midst of your clan planning a coup de etat, you're worried about my tone?"
"It's your clan too, Itachi."
"No, it isn't. It isn't anymore…" Itachi's voice was quiet, as he said this.
And that was when Fugaku felt fear. Fear as he felt his own son slipping, and fading away from him. Itachi wasn't the son he knew anymore, not the son he knew anymore as a father.
If only that day had he made a decision to stop the planning of the coup, he might have been able to save his son, to be able to understand him like he used to, many years ago, Itachi might not have turned out like this, and he might have been able to prevent the pain that was going to affect both his sons forever.
That was yet another of Fugaku's regrets, his regret that he did not cared for his sons more.
Mikoto was the first to die, between the two of them, and yet those words that she had said to Itachi, were full of love for him, even though he was the one to end her life.
Mikoto did not deserve this. She did not deserve to die for something she had been against to, die for something she was powerless to stop.
Pain shot through Fugaku's body as Itachi's sword stabbed through him. He looked up at his son, the son who was breaking in front of him, of which didn't happen for years.
"I'm sorry, oto-san. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Tears and blood streamed down Itachi's face as he watched his father slowly dying in front of him.
"I..Itachi… I'm so…sorry for… for everything… For not…. Being a better…. Father…" That was Fugaku's last words to Itachi, the last words that voiced out something that he wanted Itachi to know.
A father's regret.
That's the end for part one then! Part two will be Mikoto's POV, so check it out! R&R please~