Spare the Children
Itachi landed smoothly, silently, and neither of the bundles he held stirred; he knew they wouldn't; they were deep inside a genjutsu, and they wouldn't remember anything when they awoke. He walked steadily towards the door of the building, and then, gently set the larger of the two bundles down. A boy's face could only just be seen between the shadows of the building and the light of the moon. Itatchi turned silently away from the face, leaping until he could run across the rooftops again.
Two children on one night could raise suspicion. They had to be separated.
He finally reached his second destination, and even more gently than the last time, set the bundle down. A girl and a boy. Even if all else failed, it might not be the end.
He made his way back to the Uchiha compound just in time to see his brother enter, and so he hurried to his own house.
He would fight his brother, and win. Then, in what would be presumed by any investigators to be collateral damage from the fight, he would burn two houses.
It wasn't like the children would need them anymore, after all.
In a hidden village, being a ninja was the ideal career for almost every child from age four to eight. It was not surprising that the Academy's classes for these age groups were much larger than that of the older classes, as children dropped out, failed, and realized that their dreams lay in completely different realms than being a weapon for the village.
Toshi had been enrolled at the academy when he was five, like many other children. The stipend for orphan children was enough to cover the costs for the kunai and shuriken and books, and he quickly prospered. His teacher praised him as a model for the others; Toshi blushed modestly as Konohamaru had glared. For some reason, much of the work came easy to Toshi. He was not one of the drop outs. He graduated at the top of his class.
Kyoko had been enrolled when she was five, a year later than Toshi, and had only seen the boy once, and that by chance. They had never spoken. She focused on her work, and also excelled, though she never quite reached the top of her class. Her taijutsu was too weak, though her ninjutsu and genjutsu were better than average. It was just the flaw of being a girl, she supposed; but that did not mean she stopped trying. She graduated and was assigned to a team, just as Toshi had been a year previous.
Three years after Sasuke had left the village, it all began.
Toshi's team was given a B-ranked mission, as they had had a year's experience together, as well as the fact that Konoha still struggled to keep up with demand.
Kyoko's team was given a C-ranked mission within the same week. They had performed admirably in a multitude of D-ranks, and it was finally their turn to test their mettle.
Kyoko's team returned first; partially. Only she and her jounin-sensei could walk; they bore one of their comrades on a stretcher between them. The other had died in this C-rank turned S-rank.
The one who had survived would probably never advance as a shinobi due to his injuries, but he knew he owed his life to his teammate. If Kyoko hadn't gained the sharingan just in time, that sword would have ended his life rather than his career.
Toshi's team had a fairly normal B-ranked mission; unfortunately, it was meant for chuunin rather than a team of genin, despite their year of experience. They all survived, though they had failed the mission when they hobbled back. Toshi was partially responsible for their survival; he had held the enemies at bay while they escaped, sharingan glaring brightly in his eyes.
Tsunade tried to keep it a secret. Sakura herself was assigned as their medic, considering that she was both trustworthy and had seen two sharingan users frequently. The sharingan was real, she confirmed. Tsunade allowed the two to meet one another.
Tsunade allowed the two to access the Uchiha compound. They were to tell anyone who asked that it was a classified mission. But Konoha had grown paranoid. Rumors grew, that they were traitors, meeting Itatchi or Sasuke within the compound.
The name Uchiha had become synonymous with traitor.
Sakura and Tsunade could only watch, knowing that the village's wrath on these two children would only be worse if they knew the truth, if they knew that these two children must have been spared by Itatchi himself.
Sakura wasn't supposed to tell anyone. But watching the children, she felt pity. And so, she told Naruto.
It was a little over a month later when Naruto revealed this knowledge.
"You weren't the last Uchiha," Naruto said, looking directly into red sharingan eyes as the grass shivered in the wind. He couldn't help but imagine the other eyes Sakura had told him about—one frightened, but trying to be brave, the other failing to hide tears.
Sasuke gave him a sardonic, dismissive look. "Itatchi, then?"
Naruto shook his head. "There are two more."
Sasuke froze.
"They could only have been babies when the massacre happened," Naruto explained, his voice soft. "They only just unlocked their sharingan, on missions."
Sasuke still didn't move. Naruto could still read his friend enough to see the disbelief in his eyes; Naruto knew that if Sasuke allowed his pride to cover it, he would never change his mind.
"Come back, Sasuke. You've ruined their lives. The least you can do is make it better for them."
"I ruined their lives?" Sasuke laughed derisively. "I wasn't the one who killed everyone else in the clan. Blame Itatchi. Why don't you go ask him to apologize, Naruto?"
Naruto shook his head. "They never knew the clan. That doesn't matter to them. But you, Sasuke… you made the name Uchiha mean traitor. They can't embrace their heritage. But they can't change their blood. They're scared. If the village knew, they'd think those kids were about to become traitors. Just like the rest of the Uchiha."
Sasuke flinched.
"I can't make you do anything for them. I can't make you regret what you've done. Even if I beat you to the ground and dragged you back, it wouldn't help them; it'd only solidify the idea that the Uchiha clan of the old days, when it actually meant something, is gone. You're the only one who can change that."
Naruto smiled sadly at his friend. Sasuke frowned back.
A step forward was all that was required. At the same time, that was a lot to ask.
His goals: revenge…and to restore his clan. That one had actually destroyed the other… he found it rather dismayed him to think of it.
But if he returned… he was almost certain that it would be a long time before he was allowed to leave. He might lose his chance to kill Itatchi.
Still… if Itatchi really had spared two more of the Uchiha…did he really need to kill Itatchi?
He stepped out towards his friend…and his family.
A/N: Toshi - Mirror image
Kyoko - Mirror
Their names have to do with mirrors because they're foil characters; simply reflecting truths back about the major characters.