This particular Past Circumstances deals with Sasuke.
I do not own anything!
Past Circumstances 2: Chapter 1
-X-
Sasuke was up in his bed in a hot sweat, sheets clinging to his body as he stood up to go to the shower. His feet slapped the cold tile floor, twisting the nozzle for a cold rain to fall onto him when he had entered the shower. This was the third time this week that he had had this nightmare, and he always awoke on the one part. The part where he ran into his house and saw his mother and his father lying in their mixed pool of blood, and then, when he looks up, he sees his older brother, Itachi, looking down at him. Every single time he'd wake up to that part, drenched in a sweat. He took steps to make sure it didn't happen again, the nightmare, but taking a shower in cold water, and keeping the light on just couldn't keep the monsters from returning. Finally, as a last attempt, Sasuke swallowed his pride and decided to use his old method of controlling nightmares. Sneaking back into the village would definitely be a challenge, he mused, seeing as he had already left in pursuit of Orochimaru's power.
When he started to get nightmares, way back when he was little, he would just sit in the light, and look over his shoulder as if Itachi was going to be there, waiting for him. He decided to confront the dreams by talking to someone, and since he had no want to talk to someone alive, he decided to go to his mother. The instant he went back to sleep after conversing with her, all the monsters of the dark were gone. It was something he'd rather not do now, seeing as he was so grown, but when he hit the graveyard, that thought disappeared.
Even for the long years he hadn't visited the grave he still had a map imprinted in his head, showing him where he needed to go. Her grave was dusty and filled with cobwebs; it lacked the presence of visitors. Sasuke laid down the flowers he had swiped from a bush on his way here and kneeled. The boy closed his eyes, not sure of what to say now. After taking a breath, Sasuke settled on not saying anything. Looking back on the good times he had with his mother, and the occasional good times with his father was good enough for him. A smile ghosted his lips, and behind him, the sky had gotten darker, and the air, colder. Sasuke shivered involuntarily, but kept his eyes shut. Still trying to focus on his mom, Sasuke shot his eyes open after feeling a warm embrace, so to speak, wrap around him. His eyes grew heavy, and he fell onto his side, in front of his mom's grave, as his vision grew dark.
-O-
Sasuke was still on his knees, praying and wishing about something, but about what? He didn't remember why, but the moment he heard the woman's voice, he knew something was wrong… or really right. Sasuke turned around, looking at the woman who stood in front of him. She was just like he remembered, face full of light and comfort. "Sasuke," she said with surprise, "what are still doing here, you're going to be late for school." The boy could say no words; he was too shocked for that. He closed his eyes, bringing himself to talk to her.
"Mom?" he said. The way his voice sounded when it reached Mikoto's ear caused her to look at him with worry.
"Are you okay? You sound…" Sasuke smiled, turning his head away from his mother and grabbing the school bag that was on his bed. "Sasuke…?" she asked after he had gotten up.
"I'll be late for school mom, bye," he said as he ran out of the house. He hurried onto the direction of school, stopping and hiding in the forest that was close to it. He sat down at the base of a trunk, wondering how he was able to see his mother. "It has to be a dream…" whispered Sasuke to himself… "It has to." He looked around, looking at a leaf that had been filled with rain from the other day. He pulled it closer to him, inadvertently gaining a reflection from the water.
Sasuke was a factual person, never believing in things unless they had been proven, but when he saw his face in the water pooled in the leaf, he almost lost all sense of what was right. His once sharp face was returned to the baby face he had when he was about eight years old. He still couldn't understand; how was it that his mind was still at his present age, while his body had reverted back to a younger time? He shook his head, throwing the water onto the floor. "What is going on?" the boy yelled into the sky. "Mom was here, and that means that dad should be alive, somewhere…" He remembered the faces of the Uchihas he had met on his way to the forest. "They were all there on that day… and even…" He gasped, breathing hard now that the reality of things just hit him. "Auntie and Uncle… they said those words to me that same day… This is the day Itachi murdered our family!"
Sasuke stood up, barely stopping himself from falling by grabbing onto a tree. If this was all true then that means he had truly been given a second chance for revenge… He could stop Itachi before he could kill off the clan. Sasuke smiled evilly; Itachi was going to get what was coming to him, but not only that, he'd never see it coming.
Fugaku was sitting in his office, looking over the file that sat on his table. There was a knock on his door, and with one look through the window, he motioned for the man to come in, putting the files away as the man came closer. "Sir, your son says he needs to speak to you. Says it is urgent." Fugaku was surprised; Itachi never spoke to him at work. He told the man to let his son in and how shocked was he to learn that Sasuke was the one who asked to see him.
"What the hell are you doing here Sasuke? You will never be as good as your brother if you decide to skip school. Now go back and talk to me later, I'm busy." Sasuke clenched his fists. It had been so many years that he hadn't seen his dad, but even so, the harsh days of training, just to get a simple "good job son" from the mouth of his father had been etched into his mind.
"I can't. I need to tell you something…"
His father interrupted him. "Are you defying me? I always knew you'd never be as good an Uchiha as your brother. Look at you, still in the Academy… hadn't Itachi graduated a year before you did?" Fugaku turned away from Sasuke, turning his attention to a few other folders that he had been investigating.
"No Father, I'll talk to you now. Itachi is going to kill the clan!"
The shock that Fugaku had about Sasuke talking back to him had been overcome by the shock of the information Sasuke just told him. His voice had gotten real low. "What makes you say such an accusation?"
"I know he's up to something and he's planning on taking you out today!" Fugaku had gotten quiet, almost pensive. "Father, we have to go and stop him!"
Fugaku looked at his youngest son, disgust and anger filling his visage. How dare Sasuke speak out to him like that, not only that, but to accuse his brother so blatantly like that…
"I am going to tell you one more time Sasuke, go back to school now."
"But dad…!" Sasuke started, but he was shushed.
Fugaku called in two men from the front. "Get him out of my sight now." Sasuke watched with even more rage, his father ignoring his admonition. One of the men walked closer to said Uchiha, preparing to get him out of the office. Sasuke dodged the man, and walked out himself. If his dad didn't want to help him stop Itachi then so be it. It wasn't as if his dad had ever helped him before, and plus, Sasuke was sure he could take out Itachi with his future skills considering he was up against the past Itachi.
Fugaku waited until the door had slammed shut, before looking up at the two men. "I didn't think it was possible…" started Fugaku, "but all this time watching Itachi and finding nothing… even Sasuke is suspecting him."
"But Boss, he may be wrong. There is no way Sasuke would rat out Itachi! He loves him. How would he notice anyways, if it were true?" Fugaku looked at the man before speaking, taking out the files he had earlier put away.
"Yes, I see what you are saying. We, clearly more advanced shinobi, can't even tell how or why Itachi does what he does, but Sasuke, an Academy student can? Think about it. Sasuke spends the most time with Itachi, he knows him more than anybody, so that is why I believe Sasuke's words. He would never give his brother up if he wasn't going to do something as terrible as this." And that was the truth. It was the sorrow that he heard in his son's voice, something that was also tinged with aged resentment that allowed him to believe his son's words. "Now go and find Itachi," spoke Fugaku, "tell the men that we have to take him alive."
-O-
Sasuke ran out of his father's office with a furious look on his face. What was he hoping for anyways? He knew the nature of his dad. He was a "do, don't tell" kind of guy. Never would Sasuke be able to get an acknowledgment if he had only told his dad that he was able to do something, or that something happened. It was like that one time when he was learning his fireball jutsu. Back then all his dad had cared about was the size and the amount of power that he was able to incorporate into the jutsu. At the dinner table, when he made the comment that he could actually do the jutsu, only his mom responded. His dad didn't even bother giving him a second look. Only when his dad was entering the meeting room, and Sasuke showed him what he could really do, did he even get something kind of like a compliment. In those days, he was only looking for praise from his dad, but this time he could care less. He was only taking Itachi into his own hands because he knew that he was the only one who could stop his brother. In times like this, his dad's ways were best to be followed.
Sasuke went back home, making sure to be as discreet as possible about coming home early when school was still in progress. He went up to his room, only to find his mom there cleaning the mess that had remained since who knows how long. Sasuke hid behind the window waiting until she left. She was picking up his clothes, and found four bloodied kunai under them. "Oh Sasuke," she said laughing. "He works so hard…" she said proudly before leaving his room. When he was sure it was safe, the boy ran inside and searched desperately for a flash light. If he was going to go into Itachi's room he would need one, especially since his mom would be back and forth in the rooms. If she saw the light on in his room she would surely want to talk; she always wanted to talk to her kids.
Sasuke still remembered Itachi's schedule after all these years that had passed, so he was certain that the elder Uchiha wasn't going to show his face around the house anytime soon. Itachi would always be gone from early in the morning and then he'd make it home for dinner, and then leave again or go straight to sleep. It is true that Sasuke spent the most time with Itachi in the family, but he still didn't have as much time as he would have liked with his older brother. Putting the sentimental thoughts to the side, Sasuke went into Itachi's room, finding it as dark as he now knew Itachi to really be.
Curtains covered the sun, blocking out any form of light into his room. Sasuke crept inside, closing the door behind him. The room was relatively clean, meaning Mikoto had already cleaned her son's room and she wouldn't be bothering Sasuke anytime soon. Papers still littered the small desk with the small desk light, as well as thick folders that were neatly stacked on one side of the desk. Sasuke searched through the folders, hoping to find something, but what was he thinking? Itachi was way more careful than that to just leave his papers out in the open if they were that important. What was Sasuke looking for anyways? Surely if he was looking for the person's whereabouts he would have to use someone who could sense him.
Sasuke sighed and replaced everything as he had found it. He clicked the flashlight off and started for the door, but then he stopped. He sensed that he should. Moving into the shadows, Sasuke hid from view as his mom opened the door. She had a fresh load of clean laundry in her hands which she set onto the floor next to the bed. She reached into the basket and pulled out a few clothes. Making her way to the side of the bed closest to Sasuke, she reached down to place the clothes in the drawer. Sasuke wanted to take a chance and make it out of the room before she noticed. He had only contemplated this thought when he saw a kunai reaching for his throat.
"Take a step out now." Sasuke was astounded. "Now Sasuke."
"How did you know it was me?" he said defeated. His mom was better than he remembered.
"You really don't think I can sense my own son? Though I did think for a moment you were someone else…" she mused. Then she looked at him and spoke sternly. "Why are you out of school?"
"Mother, there is something that I have to do. I can't go back to school."
"Why Sasuke… is there something wrong? You seem different…"
"No I'm okay mother. I just wanted to get back home."
"Okay, but only because I know you are doing so well in school will I accept this; this is the last time though, okay? Now why were you in your brother's room? Why did you have to sneak in here? And I want the truth."
"Mom… I cannot tell you I am sorry." Sasuke sidestepped her and went through the front door. His mom was right behind him. "Please don't tell Itachi or dad that I was here." Mikoto looked at her son as he ran away from her. There was something up with him, and she was going to make him tell her if it was the last thing she did. She locked up the door, and followed Sasuke.
Sasuke ran as fast as his eight year old legs could take him, panting outside of the Uchiha compound. Who would be able to find Itachi? If he asked around he would just be giving his plans up to Itachi. He walked over to the training field trying to figure out his next course of action. Who would be able to help him? Not only that, but who would be able to help him and take the dangers of being involved? At first he had thought of Kiba. He was brilliant with his dog and his own sense of smell, but when it came down to battle… Sasuke wasn't sure he'd be the best choice. Also, Kiba was impulsive; if he took him into battle there was no telling what he would do. Sighing and walking further into the training field, Sasuke saw his answer.
Training with a handful of sparring dummies, Kakashi was seen working on his chidori. Sasuke smirked and walked up to his sensei from back in time.
"Hello Kakashi sensei… I mean Kakashi. I need a favor from you."
"Sensei? I am pretty sure I am not a sensei…" he said then looked at the younger boy. "And what can I help you with?"
"I need to borrow one of your dogs. Preferably Pakkun…"
"Pakkun… huh? Hey, how do you know that I had Pakkun? I am sure you've never seen my jutsu before…"
"Kakashi, I don't have time to explain anything; are you going to help me or what?" Kakashi looked at Sasuke again, hard eyes contemplating on what he should do. Kakashi moved his hands to his holster, grabbing a kunai and attacking Sasuke.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"I want you to tell me the truth as to why you know so much about me."
"I told you… I can't!" he yelled grabbing his own kunai and blocking the attack. By this point Kakashi had been done with conversation. He was suspicious of the young Uchiha. He had been an ANBU Black Ops, and that move was specific to those missions. The only way for him to have known that meant he had to be a spy.
"Alright," said Sasuke after a few bouts of dodging, "I'll tell you all you want to know."
"See now was that so hard?" Kakashi looked behind Sasuke towards the brush, a smile not seen on his face because his mask. "Sit and talk now."
And Sasuke did. He sat down under the hot sun, telling his sensei the tales of what was to occur. Naturally Sasuke would've wished he could've kept all this to himself, but Kakashi was his best bet and best help. He knew that the man took teamwork and companionship to a whole new level; if he was going to have a partner in taking out Itachi, he was glad it was at least him. The Uchiha looked back to Kakashi, waiting for a response.
"Wow," he said, "I actually believe every word you said…"
"So can we go now? Can we go find Itachi so that I can bring him down?"
"One thing Sasuke. What are you going to do when you find him? Revenge is never the best option. You'll only lose yourself in the end."
"I don't care. I have to stop him."
"Oh boy," said Kakashi, "I bet I have a hard time with you in the future…" He made a few hand signs, summoning Pakkun onto the field in front of them. "Pakkun, I need you to look for someone…"
-O-
Mikoto followed after her son, expertly. Though she may have been a housewife, she was still a kunoichi and an Uchiha deep down. Sasuke hadn't at all recognized her as she followed him even to the person he called Kakashi sensei. Now she knew Kakashi, at least everything she heard from Minato and the rest of the village. He was praised as one of the best shinobi since the Fourth became Hokage, and he was always getting better with every mission he completed. Sasuke stood in front of the man asking questions, and making statements he shouldn't have known. Unless he was sneaking into the Black Ops directory while he was in school, the man should have been a secret, that much even Mikoto knew.
She continued to listen to the bandy of words they both spoke, until Kakashi attacked her son. She was about to jump into action, and perform the acts a mother does to protect her children, but she willed herself to stay put. Something was up with Sasuke, and she knew she'd find out more about if she stayed and listened. She looked up again and saw that Hatake, Kakashi had not been looking at Sasuke anymore. He had his eyes locked on hers, and she knew even beneath that mask that the man was smiling. How had he sensed her? She was sure she had been careful… she waited for him to call her out, tell Sasuke that his mother had been following him, but he didn't. He sat down with Sasuke and listend to the tale.
"…and he betrayed my clan. I need to find him before he begins his rampage and I'm pretty sure I only have a few hours left!"
Mikoto had barely been able to stand. Itachi… betraying the clan… Was she really surprised? The clan had always suspected him, but how could it be true? Did she not believe the words of her son from the future? From what she understood, he suffered a lot, thinking only about revenge. If he didn't lose that mindset, he would surely plunge into the deep dark recesses of Hell; if his mind didn't change, he would never be able to be saved.
The others stood up, Kakashi telling Sasuke one last piece of advice. It was the same as what she had been thinking… had he noticed the fear in her eyes as she thought of her son's consequences? After Sasuke's response, Kakashi produced the dog named Pakkun.
"I need something of his…" spoke Pakkun.
"I am already prepared." Sasuke pulled out a shirt of Itachi's and gave it to Pakkun. "We finish this tonight," said Sasuke as they headed in the direction of the Leaf's Hokage building. Mikoto sighed, saddened by this information, but she had to go. She was going to talk both her sons out of their actions.
-O-
Fugaku was still in his office. Two men walked in. "What did you find?"
"Well, Itachi was nowhere to be found… and I checked everywhere I could think of…"
"And what about you?" said Fugaku hoping for better results. He knew it wouldn't be easy to find Itachi. He was his son after all. A smile tugged at his lips but he didn't feel the need to smile. He waited for the man to answer.
"Well sir, I was looking for Itachi when I saw Sasuke go into the training field. I was going to stay and follow him, but…"
"Why didn't you?! Surely you know that Sasuke is most likely able to get a hold of him!" yelled Fugaku.
"Yes," started the man, "but he was there with Hatake, Kakashi…"
"Kakashi… why would he…?"
"There's more actually sir." Both men looked at the man that had been talking.
"What is it?" said Fugaku deadly.
"Mikoto was with them…"
"What? What the hell is she doing with them?"
"I don't know but…"
Fugaku's face had turned hard as stone. "We follow them and get to Itachi first. Then while we are at it, we attack the Leaf as originally planned.
"Sir! We can't! If we do that now…"
"Do you have a better plan? If it is true Itachi is supposed to kill off the clan today like Sasuke said, than it must mean he was a spy. The Uchiha way to deal with spies is to kill them. We will attack the Leaf and kill Itachi as well; two birds with one stone." The men looked at their leader, scared to death of his aura. "Go, tell the Uchiha clan to prepare for war."
-O-
Itachi bowed to Danzo before exiting the door. He had just finished relaying the finality of his plans to the man, and now he was already prepared for what he had to do. All he had to do was wait; in a matter of hours, his clan would be gone, everyone but his dear brother Sasuke. He had planned for Sasuke to be alive since the beginning, the only one in the whole entire clan that was actually innocent to all that was happing. The present state of the Uchiha clan may have seemed well, but in truth they were preparing to expand their power. Itachi hadn't wanted that to happen; surely those who had power and gained more and more power without control would lose control of it eventually! He had seen this in the heads of his clan, their insatiable appetite for supremacy, and he wanted the Leaf to stay an ally. If the country were to be taken by them, then the Uchiha clan would only continue thriving for more, possibly attempting to go after another country if they could. So in siding with Leaf, to eradicate the danger before it happened, Itachi would save the Leaf a harmful civil war, as well as his clan from a disreputable reputation. The Leaf hadn't fully recuperated from the battle that had happened with the Hyugas either way, and although the third Hokage had wanted to talk, Itachi knew better; he knew his clan all too well, and so did Danzo. So with only a few more hours to go, Itachi hurried over to the compound.
The weapon whizzed by Itachi's face so fast, but even with that amount of speed he was still able to dodge it. He was glad that he had been away from Roots' headquarters; if Danzo knew that they had followed Itachi, everybody probably would have died. Itachi turned, throwing a kunai back at the source, catching Sasuke in the arm. "What are you doing here Sasuke?" asked Itachi with no surprise in his voice, though he truly was surprised. Why was Sasuke attacking him? He looked to his left, just in time to see another kunai fly toward him. He flipped away, landing gracefully onto the ground below. "So where are you Kakashi Hatake?" said Itachi looking around cautiously.
Below the Uchiha ninja, a hand was produced and it grabbed the man at his ankles, pulling him deep into the ground. Kakashi reappeared above the earth looking down at the man, only to have him disappear before him. Kakashi looked up into the trees surrounding them, smiling.
"Oh, it seems you found me out Itachi."
"How could I not? Why are you here Kakashi?"
"Oh no reason, I just want to clarify some things that Sasuke spoke about." Kakashi threw some kunai, following them with shuriken.
"And what would that be?" replied Itachi. He dodged them, landing straight in front of Kakashi, ready to attack him with his own kunai, but Sasuke appeared again and used his fireball jutsu to surround him in a wall of flames.
"I have no questions to ask Itachi," said Sasuke full of rage, "I only want to stop you before you kill the clan."
Itachi looked at his brother, at a loss for words as to how they knew his plan. He squinted his eyes especially to Kakashi, knowing full well that his brother couldn't have figured it out. "How did you find out?"
"I told you already…" said Kakashi circling behind Itachi, "you should really pay more attention."
"No, how would Sasuke find out…? You must have…"
"No brother, it wasn't him at all, but you don't have to worry about that. I will kill you right here."
Itachi watched as the curse seal on Sasuke's neck started to grow over his face, covering his body in a black swirl design. He looked at Sasuke.
"What is that?" he asked. He had never seen anything like this before.
"It is the reward for the path that I had taken in order to beat you." The words weren't lost on Itachi. He had definitely heard his brother talk in the past tense. Itachi took stance as he saw the boy's hand signs. Sasuke ran through the wall of flames, a chidori singing in his hands.
"So I really was his teacher…" mused Kakashi as he saw the chidori in his future student's hand. Itachi moved to doge the blow, but he was blocked by a ninja star in his path. Sasuke used this diversion to continue attacking and killing his brother once and for all, but like the time in the room, his mother had gotten in the way. She moved the boy's hands away from Itachi's chest and soon enough the electrical energy in Sasuke's hand had dissipated.
"What the hell do you two think you are doing?!" she said yelling at both of them. She was usually a calm, soft spoken mother, and the brothers stared at each other as their mom screamed at them. They were too surprised to even wonder why she was there. "You need to talk to each other and find out why this is happening. Now," she said turning to Itachi, "what would you betray the Uchiha clan for?" she asked straightforwardly. He didn't answer her; he didn't look at her. She hugged him. "Itachi…" She was about to say something when Itachi pushed her out his way. A paper bomb had exploded in mere seconds. He jumped into the trees as a barrage of fireballs chased after him. He looked at his mom for the last time, and then at Sasuke, before he went on his way.
"What is this?" asked Mikoto when Kakashi stood in front of her.
"I am guessing the Uchiha have found out about Itachi."
"Mom, I am going after Itachi okay?" said Sasuke running after him.
"No," she said, stopping the boy in his tracks. "He is not able to get to the clan right now. Now it is something bigger. We are probably going to be fighting the Leaf, an all-out war I am guessing…" Sasuke and Kakashi looked at her. "That's why I wasn't too surprised that Itachi did what he did. For years the Uchiha clan has wanted to gain the power of the Leaf Village. I didn't know that Itachi was a spy, but if it's true that they are after him, then the Leaf is probably being attacked as well."
In a matter of seconds, a barrage of ninja come running from the surrounding area, a good lot of them following after Itachi and bringing the battle to him even as Itachi ran. The other group, consisting of at least ten Uchiha Mikoto knew closely, stood around her and the two boys. "Very good Mikoto…" she heard, and Sasuke and she turned to the voice.
"Dad," Sasuke seethed.
"Fugaku," said Mikoto not at all walking over to him. "What are you thinking?"
"You know very well what we are here for. Itachi has been branded a spy, and I am going to take over the Leaf today."
"You can't! I was going to talk to him…"
"Talk? There is no talking to that boy. He is a spy, and he will be killed." Fugaku walked to Sasuke, patting him on the head. "You did good work trying to stop your brother from betraying his clan. Now why don't you follow this through till the end?" Sasuke looked at his dad, excited, but his mom's face was another story.
"Fugaku? You wouldn't actually be trying to pit two brothers against each other! No, they cannot, Sasuke and Itachi have a special bond and I will not allow my son to kill his own brother."
"You talk as if you have a choice." Fugaku turned from his wife, looking back at Sasuke again. "What is your decision?"
The pleading face of Mikoto pained Sasuke, but he wasn't about to let this Itachi win when he was given a second chance. "I will kill Itachi."
"Good, now let the rest of you go into the Leaf and help our comrades."
Kakashi stepped up after hearing this. "I'm sorry, but I cannot let you get away with that. I have some precious people that I have to protect in this village."
"Take him down too. Let's go Sasuke." Sasuke looked back at Kakashi fighting against those in his clan, but he had something to do. The world would change for the better if Itachi was gone, so no matter what sacrifices he made in this time, he was sure he could forgive himself in the end. He turned away and followed after his father.
"So what are you going to do?" asked Kakashi to Mikoto.
"I don't want to leave you behind, but I am the only one who can talk sense into my sons. I wish you the best Kakashi."
"It's no problem." Mikoto ran ahead, leaving Kakashi alone with the ten Uchiha.
-O-
The shop-owner looked at the man walking up to him slowly. He turned around, and locked his shop up, getting the man's attention. "I am sorry sir, but my shop has already closed for today." The man had said nothing, so with a sigh he bid farewell to the Uchiha. In no time, as the shop-owner turned to leave, both he and shop were encased in a burning inferno. He floundered about on the ground as he tried to diminish the flames, but it was just too hot and too much. He fell still, and soon the building had already exploded, creating more flames that also engulfed the building structures they destroyed. Two jounin who were coming, walking home from a delicious bowl of ramen, ran to survey the damage.
"Hey, what happened?" said one of them to the Uchiha standing in the middle of the fray. "What did you do?"
"You could say," he said creating his hand signs again for the Phoenix flower jutsu, "I just declared war!"
-O-
Itachi and the other Uchiha were locked in a battle of Sharingan. He knocked down the first group that was all close-range fighters, moving his eyes to the mid-range and long-range fighters that were waiting for the right time to attack. Itachi moved away, evading the punches of the close fighters. "Squad One, move out of the way!" yelled a voice that Itachi may have trained with in the past. The squad did, and the second group made their way to him. Here flurries of fireball jutsu were thrown at him. He jumped up to the nearest branch, facing forward and throwing a paper bomb into the flaming balls that headed towards him. The team that had reappeared in order to detain him, had gotten caught in the explosion. Even Itachi was hit by the aftershock, flying only a few feet into the forest. He fell onto a branch, and as he tried to make himself get up, he felt a foot pressing onto his hands.
"We have you now Itachi Uchiha." The man kneeled and smiled at Itachi. "Looks like you won't get to see your precious Leaf lose the war!" As the man let go of Itachi, placing him into the hands of the other handlers, he disappeared. White smoke replaced his body and he was already back in the covers of the trees. "Damn him! Everybody find Itachi now!"
The men readied their formation to go after Itachi when one of the men yelled out "Sir!" It only meant that Fugaku was here. The man that had stepped on Itachi's fingers moved so that he was face to face with his boss.
"Leave this to Sasuke and me." The men had opened their mouths, but knew better than to say anything to defy their commander's wishes. After Sasuke and Fugaku had left the scene, the man turned to the Uchiha ninja.
"The only thing we can do now is help the others with the Leaf takeover. Dismissed!"
-O-
The area was empty, only a barren field with a few sprouting flowers. Itachi stopped, realizing for a while now that his fellow clan members were not chasing him anymore. He looked back into the place he had just exited from, waiting for when the two would show their face. Of course just because they were his father and his brother, he couldn't just relax. His father was definitely going to be a problem, and even Sasuke. When he was fighting with Kakashi, Itachi noticed that the boy had skills well beyond his time. There was something amiss about his brother, but he still didn't know what it was.
Finally, after contemplating the many things that could have happened to Sasuke, Itachi sees his brother and dad walking out with caution. His father is the first to talk. "Itachi, you will regret your decision and watch as the Leaf falls to our feet."
"Itachi…" said Sasuke, walking up to him with his kunai held up, "I want to know something. Earlier Mother said that the Leaf would be in a war. Why would you side with them when you are an Uchiha?!" asked Sasuke. Itachi looked at his brother sadly and ignored the question. "Answer me!"
"I can't. When the time comes you will learn about it yourself, and make your own decisions."
Sasuke snarled, and then ran to attack his brother first. He didn't know why he wanted answers first. Ever since that scene of Itachi killing his family had begun, he had only wanted nothing but revenge. Now, as he stood in front of his brother, watching the pain that was evident on his face, he couldn't help but to think that he was faltering! But why? The ninja boy, in an effort to clear the tumultuous feelings in his heart, started after Itachi.
Itachi moved away from Sasuke as if all the moves had been predetermined, and he knew exactly what to expect, and when to expect it. Sasuke punched the ninja, but Itachi had blocked each and every one of the moves flawlessly. Fugaku had withheld from fighting straight-off, wanting to allow Sasuke to encourage the hatred he had of his traitorous brother even more, but as it became apparent that he was doing nothing more than wasting valuable energy, Fugaku stepped in.
Both Itachi and Sasuke stopped in their tracks as they saw their dad walk toward them. "Father, I can do this…"
"No you can't. You have taken way too long already. Let me handle this." Fugaku faced his son, disregarding the complaints that Sasuke was giving him. Without a word, the man made hand signs and started off with his Sharingan; Itachi smirked, showing the red in his eyes as well. Both parties left their locations and made contact with the other's kunai.
Sasuke watched with livid eyes, the battle happening with Fugaku and Itachi. It was only one thought that got him to run into the battle in a full on rage, and that was: that it was his battle to finish. As selfish as it may have seemed, Sasuke was the one to survive in the past, and he was the one to suffer with the pain of having an older brother whom he looked up to be branded a killer. It was he who grieved the loss of family members, growing up in isolation and loneliness. It was he who had chosen to become the avenger for his family; seeing Fugaku take on Itachi had sparked an anger that not even Sasuke knew was there. He yelled loudly at the duo, causing them to stop and look at him.
Black swirls from the curse mark had begun to appear again, and his eyes were set solely on the younger Uchiha. "Sasuke…" said Fugaku stumped.
"I will take Itachi on dad!" He didn't even wait for a response. The boy ran forward and attacked with renewed energy. He threw a shuriken, at Itachi, jumping up in the air and encasing it within a shield of flames. Itachi, smirked, and jumped away, not only avoiding the flaming weapon, but also returning it back to the owner. Sasuke, who had anticipated the avoiding of the weapon, appeared behind Itachi, and attacked him with a fireball jutsu. Itachi was hit, dead and center, and he smiled at Sasuke.
"Wow, you have gotten better haven't you? Well, I think I am done for now. I surrender."
"What are you up to?" asked Sasuke walking toward Itachi. "When do you ever give up?"
"Sasuke, you give me too much credit." Fugaku smirked, talking about something that had to do with him always getting what he wanted in the end. As Itachi was captured and hauled away with his father, Sasuke couldn't help but think that something was wrong. It was too easy to defeat Itachi, not that he defeated him, but even so, why would he surrender? Before the two completely disappeared from Sasuke's view, possibly heading to the Uchiha compound to interrogate Itachi, Itachi looked back and smiled at him. Sasuke was flabbergasted, only trying to think what was going on.
-O-
Mikoto ran on as fast as she could, but by the time she made it to the rest of her family, her son was already incarcerated, being brought over to the police department that her husband was the chief of. She stopped in front of them, panting hard. "Fugaku, why? We have to talk to him…"
Just as Fugaku was about to retaliate, Itachi smiled at his mother and spoke to her, no concern lining his voice. "Mother, everything will be okay." She ran over to hug him, and after she had let go, he and Fugaku walked into the forest and out of sight. Sasuke ran to Mikoto, and she hugged the boy.
"Sasuke, I don't care what past you and your brother had. I just know that he didn't do what he did back then now, and so there is still a way for him to be stopped. I will not give up on him, no matter what," she said.
-X-
A/N: Haha this was a challenge for me to write, especially when I had to add Mikoto into it. I feel that she is a good, strong mother, but nothing is really known about her, so I had to incorporate what I thought her personality would be. She will play an important role even more into the story; Itachi fight scenes, Uchiha fighting in general were hard especially, so sorry if they seem a little rushed, the fight scenes. After that it is the war scenes that I didn't touch onto in this story, but mostly because I really REALLY do not like writing war scenes but there was more to it than just that. Anyways continue on to the next chapter.