Act of Mercy: Chapter Three
Though the days that immediately followed his announcement had given him hope, the weeks that followed them taught him that optimism was a trap and he was a fool to believe that anything would ever go smoothly. Yes, his clan was not dead. Yes, they had taken on a wait and see approach. Yes, he was rapidly learning all the administrative laws and such he would need when he stepped into his new position. And yes, the council of elders had been stifled for the time being.
Unfortunately, his hopes where Madara were concerned had been more foolish than any others. He knew, without even a hint of reservation, that the man had been in contact with some of those in his clan. He knew, with sinking certainty, that there was a dark reason for some of the cautious, hard looks that a few of the older Uchiha had started to give him. He knew, with horrifying finality, that he could not risk leaving his family whole. But what he found out that drove these facts home had nothing to do with Madara at all, and that made it all so much worse.
It was about three months from the day he'd been given the original orders that he realized that everything was going to go wrong, no matter how hard he tried to handle the situation peacefully. On that day, he had realized that his choices were no longer to save everyone or to lose his clan. No, the delineation was harsher, now. He had to choose who needed to die and who he should save, and if he missed even one who should not, could not, live, then the rest would suffer for it.
The morning had not been exceptional. It had not been overly hot or cold, and the clouds overhead had promised that their intended rainstorm was still hours away. It was a morning when he was free of visiting the tower, and thus, he'd been out on a walk when he heard the words that led to some of the most painful realizations of his life.
It had been his father he heard first. "-and I've found some seals on the papers in his room."
The other voice was one of the older cousins, someone from his father's side of the family who his mother had never liked, and who he had never once been left alone with, no matter how desperately his mother might have needed a sitter. "And they've never been your strong suit eh? Cheer up Fugaku, you're in an enviable position here. Come on, he's going to be the next Hokage!"
"Daichi, that's not the problem. The problem is that I can't just trust my boy to do as he's told. I was worried about that even before his appointment, and his secretiveness has only become worse since he told us. He is drifting away from the clan, cousin, and I am afraid that drastic measures might need to be taken for the betterment of the family."
"Now, don't be like that, the child has been obedient all this time, why would it change now? You have excellent boys. If anything, he listens better than the little one does. Though, I could do something about that, if you wanted."
There was a pause, and Itachi stepped so he could see what their expressions were without being seen himself. The look that his father was giving the other man chilled him, and he couldn't help but wonder why. "I'd rather you not bring Sasuke into this. He's not one of your toys, and if we have to act, the clan will need him."
"Now now, you know that she-dragon you married hasn't ever let me near the brats so don't go looking at me like that. I do know how to keep to myself, thank you. What I was saying is that you probably won't need to go that far." The man flashed his father a placating smile, then laughed, as though the implications were all a big joke. "You just need to have a nice talk with the kid, that's all. I'm sure he'll realize what and who he's supposed to be loyal to."
One last hard look followed the laughter, and then his father seemed to let it go. "You weren't there when he was confronted about Shisui. He was... I have never seen the boy so utterly disrespectful in my life. I fear if he becomes Hokage he will turn on us all, and the things I have been hearing..."
The return commentary was much softer, almost... persuasive. Something about it made Itachi shudder inwardly, and he just barely caught himself from retreating away from the talk. No, he needed to hear all of it. "That doesn't mean you should think of death as the first option little cousin. Surely him just... disappearing would get the same effect."
"Damn it, Daichi, I got you off this topic years ago, why the hell are you bringing it up now?" The return hiss was annoyed, his father turned to face his companion fully. He honestly couldn't recall ever having heard his father curse before. "If, and this is an if, even if it's becoming depressingly possible, we need to get rid of the boy, he will not go to you. Find a plaything somewhere outside my immediate family and don't bring up the topic again! No, if it happens, it will be staged so that the coup can proceed more naturally, and not in any other way, which means he will be intact."
Itachi wouldn't, couldn't, stay after his father practically spelled out the situation between the two, and he backed carefully away so there was no risk of them detecting him. There was no ignoring the implications. So many implications.
Where before, he had been working on the strict guidelines of those who were aware of the coup and those who were not, this... this was not at all the same. If it had just been his prospective death under discussion, it might have hurt him, but he could have taken care of it without things getting worse. He could have kept up the uneasy truce that had sprung up between the family and the village until he could have settled out the disputes properly.
This though... somehow he'd never thought that his father, the Chief of Police, would be the sort of man to look away from something like this. He'd never once thought that the man wasn't a good man, just misguided and perhaps a bit too greedy. He'd always thought he had the best of intentions, and now, no matter what else could possibly happen, his father had revealed himself to be more concerned with reputation than protection.
Daichi was a first cousin of Father's, a close cousin, but that was no excuse for turning a blind eye to him. How long had his father known? Who else knew?
That thought was enough to drive him towards home, towards his mother. She had said, on that night weeks ago, that she could, would, help him now, but he had been wary to ask her assistance. The situation had been delicate, and thus, he had kept it to himself. Now, he needed to know. Was she aware? Was that why she'd been so defensive about a man his father was so close to? How many more terrible secrets had the clan let fester because of an overblown need to band together against outside forces? How much rot was there really there to clean away?
Pushing open the door his family home, he took a deep breath, then called out, raising his voice a little as he toed off his sandals. "Mother?"
Perhaps it was the fact that he'd called for her, or perhaps it was something in his voice, but the woman appeared almost instantly, and when she did, there was concern on her face. "Itachi? What is it?"
He made sure that the door was closed all the way and that they were entirely alone before his spoke, voice going very soft as he met her eyes. "I overheard Father and Daichi talking today."
She went still for a moment, letting him know that she understood it was significant, perhaps even why, and he stepped up out of the doorway to where she was standing. "Come into the kitchen and tell me. I'll dig out the almond cookies for you."
He nodded once and let silence wrap around them as he settled at the kitchen table, watching her collect cookies and his favorite brew of tea. She set them out on the table before sitting in the chair nearest to him, Sasuke's seat, and turned in it to look at him straight on. He didn't know how to begin, and thus, looked away for a moment as he composed himself, picking up one of the cookies to nibble as he thought.
His mother was patient, however, she also seemed to understand the problem that was leading to his extended silence. "What part of what they said upset you most Itachi?"
"Mother... what does Daichi want with me and my brother?" Perhaps he'd been wrong. Perhaps he had misunderstood. Perhaps his father -was- a good man and these things had not been allowed.
Her eyes closed as a pained look crossed her face, but when she opened them, she was resolved. "If I had thought I could get away with it, I would have killed that man years ago. Unfortunately, there's never been any proof that he's ever done anything wrong." It was a murmur, and she reached out, carefully taking his free hand in hers and making sure he was looking directly at her. "What did they say?"
"It was... more what father said. He told him to go find a plaything somewhere else." He took a deep breath, for once hoping that he'd misunderstood everything, though he knew it wasn't true, especially not with what she'd just said. "What did he mean mother?"
Her entire body seemed to still when he said that, and her eyes went hard and cold. "Your father is the one who said it? It wasn't just Daichi making inappropriate comments?"
Wary, he gave a slow nod.
"I see. Itachi, there has been a rumor for a very long time that Daichi was interested in... less than appropriate romantic partners. Your father always assured me that they were just rumors." He could honestly say, at that moment, that he'd never seen his mother be more frightening. It reminded him that, once, she had been a very good kunoichi. "And even though I didn't fully trust the situation, I was under the impression that he really did believe them to be just rumors and had looked into it accordingly."
He hesitated, but her protective, icy rage was real, and he felt, for perhaps the first time in a year, as though he could actually say something to his mother without it coming back and hurting him later. "It's not all he said. It... came up... because of what Father was saying about me."
The cookie, at this point, had been set back on the table and forgotten, which was good, because she took his other hand a moment later. The sensation of having his hands confined made him incredibly uneasy, but the fact that her anger wasn't directed at him was also... calming. "What else?"
Still, her anger, even though he knew it wasn't directed at him, further softened his voice, making him feel like a child for the first time in a very long time. "...Father has been through my things and was musing on if he'd have to have me killed."
Everything about her froze then, and her expression slowly turned into a comforting, but somewhat sharp, smile. He couldn't think of a single instance in which this smile had ever been directed at him. "Itachi, you know you're my child no matter how far away from me you get, don't you?" He gave her a single nod, unable and unwilling to respond verbally. "Good. Then you must understand that your father just crossed some lines that I will never ever forgive. You came to me because you needed me, haven't you?"
"Yes. I... can't let such things go on, if they're true. I didn't think that anyone in the clan was like that."
"Good. I'm glad you have that kind of faith in people still, even with all I know you've seen." Freeing one of his hands, she reached up and touched his cheek. "I'll start finding out who knew about this, because if your father knew, other people knew as well. We'll work together."
He hesitated at the unfamiliar touch for a beat, then let the warmth of it ease his nerves, leaning in against her palm. "I... I can't let them get back to the coup either."
"I know. I'll help with that too. We'll take care of it. All of it, and you won't be by yourself anymore."
"Mother..."
"Not anymore." Her tone was firm, and she gently took her hands back, turning her body to pour the tea, adding the requisite sugar to her son's cup and nudging more cookies at him. "Now eat, I know it will settle your nerves, and that needs to happen before anything else does."
"Thank you."
She stilled mid-motion, then just shook her head. "No, child, you should never ever need to thank me for doing what every mother should."
After that, they were quiet, but for once it didn't feel like there was so much distance between them.