Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Nonmassacre AU.
"Itachi, you are to annihilate the Uchiha clan." Itachi stood before Danzou, openly horrified.
"Excuse me?" he whispered. Danzou sighed, obviously annoyed that he had to repeat himself.
"Kill your clan. Every last one of them." He paused, taking a long drag on his pipe. "Traitors do not deserve mercy. This is a mission, Itachi."
Itachi felt like he would cry. He knew that the Uchiha clan would be punished for their crimes when he started being a spy, but he never knew the consequences were this severe. His mouth suddenly felt dry, unable to salivate. His throat was collapsing on itself. "Very well," he answered coldly, concealing all emotion. Receiving the mission scroll and stuffing it in his pocket, Itachi exited the room. Each step shot emotional pain that presented itself physically throughout his body. He knew he would break down eventually. The question was when. Would it be after he killed his family and friends or before?
Or would he even have to?
Sarutobi was beyond furious. There were no words to describe his anger. After Itachi had told him everything, the boy had just broken down and wept in front of him, not bothering to hide the way he felt. That was the first time that Sarutobi had seen proper emotion displayed in the boy.
"Explain to me, Danzou, why you found this necessary to conduct without my permission." Danzou looked into the eyes of the Hokage.
"Why, Sarutobi, you know that you wouldn't have done anything about the coup d'état. I am simply playing my part," he replied. Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at him.
"I see, Danzou." Sarutobi stood up and walked to the door. "You are dismissed." With that, Sarutobi hurried to gather his most discreet assassins.
Danzou was mysteriously murdered later that night.
"Father, look at my test! I got the best grade in the whole class!" Sasuke chirped. Fugaku grunted, distracted by his thoughts. Sasuke's mouth quickly tugged into a frown. He so very badly wanted his father to acknowledge him, but in the end, he was still only interested in Itachi.
As Itachi came through the door, Sasuke's mood quickly brightened. "Brother, look at my test!" Itachi smiled as Sasuke rushed toward him and shoved the piece of paper into his hands. He got 100 percent.
"Very good, Sasuke," he laughed, poking his sibling in the forehead. Sasuke grinned, showing a gap between two of his teeth.
Itachi was so relieved. Negotiations were going smoothly, and it seemed as if his father was going to give in to them very soon. The Hokage had offered the Uchiha a permanent place on the government, a very influential position. The two men knew the war would be a bloodbath so they were trying to avoid it as best as they could. It took some stress of Itachi's shoulders. Sasuke was safe.
At least, for now.
Eight years later...
"What the hell do you want me to do?" Sasuke screamed at Fugaku. Fugaku's jaw clenched tightly as he glared at his son.
"Maybe, for once, you should take responsibility. You- Are you listening to me, Sasuke?" Mikoto stood timidly in the corner as her husband and son quarreled. The fights had never turned violent, but she knew someday, they most likely would. And to think this fight was a milder one. "You have no respect towards your mother or me. We let you live here, and you leech off of us. The least you could do is show a little courtesy," his father sternly said. Sasuke sneered at him.
"Perhaps you should show me some respect as a shinobi, Dad." Fugaku's eyes turned dark.
"You are too young for ANBU," he said lowly. Sasuke's face immediately contorted with anger.
"I am older than Itachi was when he joined ANBU! Why am I not allowed to go in? You are even the head of the police force itself!" hissed the angry boy.
Fugaku shook his head. "You are not ready, Sasuke." Clearly not agreeing with his father, Sasuke spat messily on the floor and stomped up to his room. Mikoto kneeled to the ground with a rag and wiped the saliva up while sniffing back her tears. Her husband, eyes softening, kneeled down with her and pulled her into a tight embrace. It wasn't her fault; none of this was. It was his, but he was trying to rectify it. Poor Sasuke just didn't know how to handle it.
"We're almost there!" called out Shisui. "Whoo, boy, am I glad to see home!" Inwardly Itachi agreed. It was pleasant to see the gates of Konoha after so long. He was anxious to see Sasuke and his parents. Picking up the pace, they reached Konoha in no time. "Finally!" Shisui moaned, reaching up and stretching his back in a catlike way. "Home sweet home!"
"Indeed," Itachi said, holding back his wish to hurry to his house to greet his family. "Let us hurry to the Hokage tower." Shisui winked at Itachi and grinned gleefully.
"Agreed," he said playfully, punching Itachi in the shoulder. Smirking, Itachi knew that his cousin had just challenged him to see who could reach the Hokage tower faster. Perhaps Itachi would win this time...
"Haha! I have won again, baby cousin!" Shisui called out proudly. Itachi, not even panting, smirked,
"Perhaps I let you win, dear Shisui," Itachi cooed. Smiling, Shisui shook his head.
"Nah, you'd never do that Itachi-chan!" He stuck his tongue out childishly. "Come on, let's hand in our report so we can get the hell out of here!" The two of them leisurely walked to the Hokage's office, chatting about unimportant things as a distraction. Upon reaching it, they heard a flurry of swears escape from a female's mouth.
"Oh, shit! It died again," the girl hissed. A heavy exhale was heard.
"Sakura don't you think you've done enough for one day?" the Hokage's voice came. Shisui peeked inside the office. Itachi raised a brow, but Shisui ignored it and beckoned him to come look as well. Sighing, Itachi gave into to his temptation and looked inside.
"Shishou, I won't stop till I get it right," the girl replied. With the exotic pink hair and viridian eyes, Itachi was sure that he was looking at his brother's former teammate Haruno Sakura. He noticed that she was pretty. Not drop-dead gorgeous, but pretty nonetheless. It was a shame his little brother hadn't taken a liking to this girl. Itachi immediately liked her for some reason.
Trying to keep another fish alive outside of water again, the girl failed two times, and her teacher had to save the fish herself before tossing it back inside the water. On the third try, she succeeded and let out a cry of joy. "I did it!" She hugged her Shishou, who simply smiled, and then hugged Shizune.
And that was when Shisui had to go ruin it all by applauding and cheering. Sakura turned to look at him oddly, a blush coloring her peachy cheeks. "Go, Sakura-chan!" Shisui complimented, strangely without innuendo hinted in his tone. "Do it again!" he urged on, and the Hokage simply chuckled.
"I see you two are back from your mission." Nodding enthusiastically, Shisui skipped over to Sakura and ruffled her hair roughly. Sakura protested, but Shisui paid it no mind.
"Yes, we are! And it went A-O.K." he chirped. "Do I get a reward?" he coyly said, nearing Shizune and pouting his lips. Turning a vibrant red, Shizune shied away from Shisui.
"You'll get money," Shizune grumbled, looking slightly disappointed. Holding back a smirk, Itachi knew that Shisui had little luck with the Hokage's assistant for the past two years due to his flirtatious nature.. Still, he made great effort. A great effort on Shisui's part anyway.
Tsunade waved her hand at Shisui. "How did the mission go?"
"It was completed with minimal injuries. The threat has been eliminated completely." The Hokage gave him a skeptical look.
"Minimal injuries?" she asked. Shisui snickered while trying to get closer to Shizune.
"The stupid idiot was the only one who got hurt!" he gloated, wagging his tongue out at his younger cousin. Itachi merely glowered at Shisui, his eyes threatening punishment for revealing that embarrassing fact.
The Hokage paid them well and dismissed them lazily from her office, not even bothering to have someone escort them out. Shisui began chattering away about how fun it was to tease Shizune when the pink-haired apprentice ran after Itachi. "Wait, Uchiha-san!" she called out. He stopped for her as did Shisui, directing a questioning stare at Itachi's back. "You're hurt, right?" she inquired somewhat loudly, causing Shisui to giggle at all the stares they received. However, Itachi took a hit to his manly pride.
"...yes," he answered. "Is there a problem?" he asked. Sakura shook her head and a faint red colored her cheeks.
"Um...no. I was just- y'know what? Never mind. Forget that I said anything." Itachi nearly smiled.
"No, it's alright, Sakura-san. Please finish what you were saying," Itachi warmly commanded. Her cheeks turned even redder.
"Um... I was wondering if I could practice on you. If...ah...if that's okay with you," she finally mumbled out. This time Itachi did smile.
"I would love to help you, Sakura-san." Shisui smirked and winked at Itachi, who rolled his eyes in return. His cousin had his mind in the gutter nearly all the time; it was no wonder he hadn't won Shizune's heart yet.
"I'll leave you to your little tryst then," he cheeped, insinuation seeping through his voice. "See you later, Itachi."
"Hmm," replied the stoic Uchiha. Emboldened by his acceptance of the offer, Sakura grabbed him by the hand.
"This way, Uchiha-san!" Slightly put off by the way she was leading him as if he were a invalid, he decided to tease her a little bit. He traced the lines on her palm with his calloused index finger and brushed his thumb achingly slowly over the tops of her knuckles. Sakura gasped openly and quickly dropped his hand. "S-sorry," she stuttered, looking away sheepishly. This really made Itachi smile. He decided he would make a habit of teasing this girl.
He followed her into a clinic room. "So, where is your injury, Uchiha-san?" Sakura asked happily. She cleared the bed for him and motioned for him to sit on it. Easily hopping up on it, he smirked slightly, making Sakura glare at him. "Uchiha-san," she said impatiently.
"...it is on my back," he answered. Sakura clapped her hands together.
"Okay! Uchiha-san! Please take off your shirt."
Itachi was horrified at her command. He did not enjoy showing his skin. Especially to females, all too willing to 'help him make an heir' or rather, jump him. He sat still for a few moments in contemplation. "...is it necessary?" he asked finally. Sakura crossed her arms.
"You promised that you'd help me," she pouted. "Now don't be difficult. It's not like I'm going to have my hands all over you." Itachi was silent still. Eventually, he grasped the edges of his shirt and pulled it off of him. The fourteen year old girl smiled. "That's better," she chirped. She came behind him and examined the wound. "Hmm...it's not too deep, but it'll scar if it's not healed." Her hands glowed a vibrant green. "This might hurt at first, so don't be too surprised," she warned. Itachi nodded.
When she placed her hands on his back, it did indeed, as she said, sting like hell. Itachi gritted his teeth together to keep from making a noise. Eventually, the pain of the healing lessened and even became comfortable. Her hands were cool on his back, but the chakra was warm, and it made a lovely contrast that nearly made Itachi shudder.
Sakura scrutinized the mending skin. It was healing as it should, and there didn't seem to be any abnormalities. "All right, you look like you're all set to go!" she cheered. "I think I did a pretty decent job at this," she praised herself. Letting out one soft chuckle, Itachi shook his head.
"Do you not think you are too confident, Sakura-san?" Sakura smiled bashfully.
"Perhaps, Uchiha-san."
"Just Itachi, Sakura." Sakura grinned at the sudden familiarity.
"See you later," she said cheerfully.
"Indeed," he said, waving one hand at the pretty apprentice.
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