There was expectation in the air but the teen let it hang there. He chose to stare at the floor, hunched and silent, seemingly uninterested in the world around him.
"Sasuke? Things are good between us again, right?" Itachi repeated. The little brother's indifference took him aback. He was prepared for a burst of anger. He hoped for a dose of affection. He feared Sasuke was broken and sought comfort. Al least he would know where he was standing with their relationship. It didn't cross his mind he would receive nothing. Was the stoic act a silence before a storm or a sign of something else? And if so, what attitude lay dormant in otouto?
"Sasuke, please, let us give a chance and start anew," he paused and then added in one breath. "I am sorry, really, I want us to be family again." If that was what Sasuke needed to hear to stop sulking, then the man could apologize.
"Mhm," the younger Uchiha finally murmured weakly, still avoiding the eye contact. Itachi hoped it was a 'yes', but couldn't read him at all.
"Listen, what's going on there?" changing the topic the man pointed at the council room. Communicating on practical matters was a far cry safer territory for both of them. It looked as if something just clicked in Sasuke and he made a decision to accept the presence of Itachi. He turned just a tiny bit towards him, granted him a few quick looks from under his fringe before he chose to stare in some undefined point in front of him again.
"They took me here, asked some questions, gave a moral preaching..." he said slowly, but undertones gave out his irritation."Now they are quarreling because Hyuuga wants me in his collection, but Ibiki likes his job even more. But you can hear almost everything they're saying if you focus," he spat, openly showing sparkles of anger.
That's true. The council meeting behind the door was definitely the loud one. Itachi didn't have to focus much to make out pieces of conversation.
" ...hoped he would be military useful in the future... if we apply appropriate measures and let him recuperate..." woman's deep voice reminded Itachi of a summer storm. That must be Hokage, he assumed.
"...it's irrational... he is not trustworthy... scum and without his chakra..." raspy male voice argued.
"... you have enough time... wasted it... and with or without his chakra, his skills are better than..." Tsunade retorted.
"... useful or not... possessing him, let him re-integrate... propaganda value... Uchiha clan residing in Konoha again..." younger male voice cut in; this one Itachi recognized as belonging to Hatake Kakashi. As awful as it sounded, he felt so lucky now to be in jounin's good books.
"...show other towns ... deal with our rough, tame every monster... Kumogakure will never forgive him or us if we let..." said the first man.
Monster? Itachi didn't like the word describing his little brother but that epithet was painfully accurate. Not that he thought Sasuke was evil, but he understood why people were extremely wary about him. The boy's rebel nature only added up to their believes. Sasuke hadn't shown any signs of remorse, had never apologized to anyone. Maybe really there had been no other way to make Sasuke understand his mistakes than the imprisonment? - Itachi wondered.
"... appropriate... such as a clan... keep him under control...my clan gives the best guarantee..." said another voice, full of regality and composure.
"Impartial supervisor is needed, my lord, other clans won't have it that you take the custody of the Sharingan. Neither his o-nii-sama," Hokage commented.
"Hokage-sama, my lords, let's think about... " a forth male voice talked for a bit in an explanatory tone. The discussion get quieter and one could only hear muffled sounds.
The time passed terribly slow in the corridor. Sasuke still stared through the window, not acknowledging Itachi's presence. Maybe that way it was easier for the boy to stay calm on the surface, so the older sibling didn't insist to keep the inane conversation going on. If he himself was a bundle of nerves today, then Sasuke probably felt ten times worse.
Besides, what could he tell otouto to lighten the mood? That everything would be ok and they were heading home afterwards? Itachi's practical mind knew well that the Small Council was rather a formality to sanction the backstairs decision. The formality nonetheless much needed. It was also the final time the opposing opinions be voiced and the supporters have a second thought, after seeing Sasuke in person.
Younger Uchiha was to be taken off the strict regime, that was more or less sure, but the possible working conditions of the release were a palette of options: from a half-open incarceration, where convicts do community services in daytime and come back to prison for the night, through a parole with a variety of days out and in custody and obligations to report, to a complete pardon. Nobody seriously considered the last option. Itachi hoped, and, after Hokage had given him the green light, actually applied on Sasuke's behave for a possibility to take him home permanently and assume a position of his guardian, with parole obligations set in a way Council sees it fit. He asked for much, but he had been working for it the whole year, earning society's trust, good reputation and strong position in a new policing unit. Besides otouto couldn't use his chakra, and as horrible as it sounded, this fact played to his advantage now.
The door finally opened and a guard came out to call Sasuke in. The boy entered obediently, a little bit paler now and his shoulders hanging more than ever, ignoring his older brother who followed him nonetheless. Obviously, Itachi was not to defend or justify Sasuke's deeds, but he wanted to show – to his brother as to all the other people - that Sasuke had his support. He would be the adult that could take responsibility over him.
"Uchiha Sasuke, come closer!" Tsunade's order was the first thing that reached their senses."Itachi-san, welcome," she swiftly changed the hard tone for a polite greeting.
The fifth Hokage was sitting in the official white-red robes behind a long table. On her left were Nara Shikaku and Kakashi, on her right Hyuuga Hiashi and Morino Ibiki. The members of the Small Council symbolically represented regular shinobis, clans, and special units. The chamber was rather small and created the atmosphere of a low key meeting, despite the fact that Sasuke's release was the talk of town for weeks.
The elder Uchiha went to the side of the room, but it was so small that he was no more than a few steps away from his brother. It turned out to be a great point to observe Sasuke's profile, what he hadn't dare to do so openly before. The boy's face seemed tired, some strands of too long hair stuck to his chin. The visible cheek was covered with black patterns that sealed Sasuke's Sharingan. Itachi knew that there were also other seals on his torso blocking his chakra. Memory of how this happened flashed through older Uchiha's mind, giving him an uneasy feeling in his guts. But soon he recalled that it's all the consequences of Sasuke's choices, this idiotic brother of his, who apparently hadn't learnt much in prison, because now he was arrogantly eying Ibiki.
"Why nobody informed me about the hour change?" Itachi asked in a firm tone to state that he was not somebody you could ignore, especially if it was about his little brother.
"You managed to be in time," Ibiki shrugged his shoulders. He didn't like the Uchihas and showed this on every occasion.
"Itachi-san, we had to rush the meeting due to a Suna emissary's visit. I sent an ANBU to you, but I see he missed you," Tsunade explained apologetically.
"What is the decision about my brother, then?"
"In short? Please stand up."
When everybody complied and the room became silent again, Tsunade cleared her throat and hit the official tone," Uchiha Sasuke. Hokage accedes to your request. From this day on you are released from prison and you serve your sentence on a parole. As an ex-ninja of Konoha, you stay under my command, exercised directly by myself or my supervisor and your future misdemeanors will be judged according to the Shinobi Code. As to the parole conditions: you will complete full-time community services, assigned by the supervisor, you are to report to him daily. You are prohibited from leaving the village without prior consent, possessing weapons, participating in military or paramilitary activities and that includes training as well. I uphold the deprivation of public rights."
The council members sat down and quietly commented the decision to each other, while Tsunade continued explaining reasons behind the ruling - Sasuke's overall decent behavior in prison, no pressure from other villages to keep him imprisoned, a chance for the parolee to do something useful for the village and repay for the harm, an available family member that could positively influence him, etc. etc.
Itachi felt a wave of relief washed over him. That was... just. Sasuke was not pardoned completely, nobody expected it, but he wasn't going to root in cell either. He might still change, atone for his mistakes, rebuild his life in Konoha - at least that's what the older Uchiha hoped for.
There was only one question from the newly declared parolee.
"How long?" he was stiff, face unmoving like a mask, just as if he didn't really care what was just said.
"Oh, that only depends on you," Hokage came back to unofficial tone. "The rules are simple –you make troubles, you're back in prison. Or worse. Try to convince us we didn't make a mistake by being so lenient with you. Behave well so we will give you more freedom. The next council will be in 3 months and we will revise parole conditions. Today at 3 p.m. you are meeting your supervisor, captain Yamato."
"What?!" two voices simultaneously yelled. Ibiki and Hyuuga stood up in indignation. Kakashi was just staring at Tsunade; his face, hidden under the mask, didn't reveal any emotions. Only cunning smirk of Nara gave away that it was not a spontaneous idea.
"I said what I said," she ended discussion. "The Council meeting is over, you can leave now."
Sasuke didn't need to hear this twice. He strolled out, ignoring the judges engrossed in the argument. Itachi wanted to do some small talks with the council members, to guess their attitudes about Sasuke, but he had to run after otouto.
"Aren't you going to wait for me?" Itachi yelled, seeing Sasuke already on the stairs. The boy stopped, but instead of answering he just shrugged his shoulders without looking at his older brother.
"Just don't start with this attitude, please." Itachi was already frustrated, interpreting his behavior as just another act of defiance. They had just met after the whole year and he really hoped they would have a new start, but no, his brother can't even try to play nice! Bottled emotions sprang out. "You always need to be against everything and everybody and then you wonder why things go wrong," he said in a low voice that was supposed to be calm, but turned out strangely hectoring.
Maybe that was too much. Sasuke lost his self-confidence, put his hands in the pocket and hunched a little bit. "I just wanted to breathe some fresh air," he murmured.
"Sasuke. I am sorry. It's just this whole situation..." Itachi's cheeks burned. He misjudged little brother's attitude.
"Yeah... " the boy grunted and let the man caught up with him, although he didn't grant him any eye contact. He silently kept watching the road ahead of him, as they were walking alongside.
To Sasuke's discontent, there was yet another interruption. When they went down the stairs, somebody called from above.
"Uchiha-san!" both brothers turned their heads, hearing Kakashi's voice. But the interlocutor was interested only in one of them." Good, I thought I'll never catch you," Sasuke's former sensei said cheerfully to Itachi. Silver flame of his head popped up over the railings.
"Hatake-san," the older Uchiha hit the official register in answering the friend, as not to upset Sasuke. Kakashi has no sense of tact, really, or was he doing it on purpose? -Itachi wondered.
"Itachi-san, I wanted to ask you... maybe you could help me like the last time," he was choosing his words slowly ."Maybe you could find some time to visit me soon - of course if you are not too busy with your stuff," he slightly pointed his head at Sasuke.
"Sure, I'll come," yes, Itachi was very curious to learn what happened behind the scenes of today's council. He moved his head in gesture of goodbye.
"Come on," he said to Sasuke, who was glaring at Kakashi accusatorily. In contrary, his former sensei completely ignored his existence.
Itachi spun on his heel. Sasuke followed his brother, but he left a few steps of distance between them, again acting withdrawn, shoulders hunched and hands hid in his pockets. When they reached the main alley it was obvious he was disgruntled. Itachi tried to start a conversation, but "Are you feeling all right?" and "So what did the Council ask you?" remained unanswered.
After a few minutes of sulking Sasuke finally burst out."So what, you're dating Hatake now?" he mocked. Itachi noticed he referred to his sensei with the family name.
"Sasuke, we haven't seen each other so long. Please, I don't want to fight," Itachi stopped and turned back.
" It's just... this man makes me so angry!" the boy was still looking away, this time somehow abashed by Itachi's serious reaction.
"I'm sorry. There's a lot of things we have to talk about. Kakashi, he is collecting mementos about Obito. He asked me for help once," he came up with an explanation that wasn't actually a lie.
"Ok. I don't want to talk about this man," he cut the conversation and vented his frustration kicking a nearby stone down the road.
"Let's go home," Itachi tried to put an arm around him, but Sasuke avoided it and sped up.
"You mean...?" he asked, finally showing some interest.
"This way, I've written you that I've been renting a flat near the park, it's tiny but you'll like it."
"I hope you did cook dinner," Sasuke tried to joke but there was no laughter in his voice.
"At this hour? You mean breakfast..."
"Tse, whatever."
AN: Hey there, thanks for reading. Did you like it? Did something spark your interest? Please let me know. I constantly work on the story, publishing new and fixing old chapters, so any feedback appreciated :) Cheers
This is the re-writen chapter 2 v2.5. updated 01122018 2.6 20190603