A/N: Standard disclaimer: I wish I owned Naruto and everything in it, but unfortunately, I don't and Kishimoto-sensei does... Blast it!
Chapter 4: Storm Clouds Chasing Shadows
Sakura sat stiffly and quietly behind her mother in a large private dining room of a restaurant, as her mother discussed business matters with other bank CEOs. She could hardly keep up with the finance terminologies and jargons they used in whatever heated debate they were having, limited as she was in her vocabulary. All she heard were bits and pieces such as "suspicious transactions", "is that company worth buying shares from", and some words she learned just yesterday: "overdraft", "asset", and "dividend". Sakura sighed into the plate of food in front of her. As proud as she was to catch at least that much in the conversations, she was quickly growing bored from her inability to understand it in context.
Stabbing at the perfectly grilled kampachi fillet in front of her in an unladylike and depreciating manner, she couldn't help but be hyper aware of the near frigid temperature of the air conditioned room and the stiff feeling of the zabuton cushion she sat on, legs tucked neatly under her in a proper, elegant fashion. The coolness of the tatami mats seeped through her tabi socks and nipped at her toes as she struggled to remain properly seated without fidgeting. She couldn't lean against a table either, as she usually would, because this restaurant was extremely formal and traditional, down to serving their food on individual hakozen trays, which made it impossible to lean on anything. It also regulated her into sitting a respectable four feet behind her mother as opposed to sitting directly to her right.
Two deliberate coughs coming from the front of the room killed off all conversation instantly and brought everyone's attention to the man sitting at the head of the meeting. He was in his late fifties, well-built if not for his slightly protruding belly and squinty eyes behind a set of thick and expensive looking, gold-plated glasses. Like everyone else in the room he wore traditional garb, made of silk dyed a dark forest green. His deep blue haori overcoat was draped elegantly over his shoulders and the family crest sewn onto both flaps of the collar signified his role as the head of Konoha's civilian banking association; a white circular crest resembling that of the yuan coin, the five petaled plum within the circle, a black full moon with the right and left side eaten away was within the square at the center, and finally, the five leaves of the Aesculus tree on each of the flower petals. Sitting in the formal seiza position, he held the aura of authority and intimidation as he slowly observed the people seated before him and when his eyes looked upon her mother and then, on her, the pinkette couldn't help but shiver slightly at the intensity within his gaze. Finally, after a pause in the silence, he spoke.
"We have two important matters to discuss tonight which are imperative for us to come to a conclusion on or a plan of action. As much as I wish to have you enjoy your meal for a while longer, the night does not wait upon us." His succinct and controlled voice echoed slightly across the room and as softly as he was speaking, it resonated as if he was shouting. "The first matter at hand is of Kasamura Engi-san's absence in today's semiannual meeting, I'm sure you've noticed. As of today, he is declared missing, as well as his entire family within three generations."
The room erupted in anxious whispers and suppressed cries of disbelief and apprehension. Sakura herself, was shaken. She knew Kasamura oji-san as a quiet but insightful and patient man, who valued quality and dedication. He also looked after and checked up on her once in awhile on the occasion her parents went on long business trips out of the village. For him and so many of his family members to be missing so suddenly was both mind boggling and worrying.
"Quiet."
The crescendoing whispers died down immediately at the command.
"I am currently cooperating with both our police as well as with the Konoha Keimu Butai, with the consent and knowledge of Hokage-sama. For the vice- chairman of this association along with such a large amount of family members to go missing in one day is both disconcerting and dangerous. If any one of you have information, you are to report it to me immediately and have a written document ready to be handed over to Hokage-sama, is that clear?" Everyone quickly nodded with murmured affirmatives. A hand shot up quickly from across Sakura's side of the room, causing the little girl to peer at the woman wearing a burgundy colored kimono decorated by cranes, holding her family plaque up into the air.
"What of the position then, Kagomori-sama? We cannot have it remain empty! Leaving that position unoccupied will surely cause chaos!"
"I was about to address that matter, Tsuruta-san" He looked sharply at her and she quickly retracted her hand in embarrassment. "As I had mentioned before, both our police and the Konoha Military Police are actively investigating into this incident. I received a letter yesterday evening from Hokage-sama containing a will Kasamura-san wrote and hid within a safe in one his banks. Among the things listed in his will, he also wrote down who he would like to take his place should he either pass away or step down." There was a strained pause as everyone waited intensely for Kagomori to announce the successor.
"He has named Haruno Mebuki-san as his successor."
"What?!"
"Impossible!"
"Why?!"
"How does that make sense?!"
The sudden explosion of shocked exclamations had Sakura jumping out of her seat, her numb legs knocking into the hakozen and spilling her unfinished soup onto the tatami. She quickly wiped it dry with her napkin, with shaking hands and a trembling body. Her mother was no different when the girl chanced a glance at her stiff form. The pale-haired Mebuki was trying to control her trembling back and to clear her face of the frown threatening to form, thinning her lips in a firm line and her eyes turning into a look of steel at the onslaught of protests and questions.
"Silence! This was written in Kasamura-san's will and as unorthodox as it may be, there is no other person within his remaining family members suitable for the position, nor is there anything about Haruno-san that would be a cause for worry in considering her as a possible candidate. Unless any of you have reasons to go against Kasamura-sans's will? If you have, please, do raise your plaques and voice your objections."
For a brief moment, every member in the dining hall looked warily or glared at Mebuki, who in turn, tried to burn a hole in her hakozen, though the rest of her face was devoid of an expression. Sakura looked worriedly at her mother's rigid back, imagining all the aches and pains her mother might be causing from sitting so. However, when no one raised a plaque, Kagomori huffed slightly through his nose in irritation at the spectacle.
"Now those who agree to follow and acknowledge Kasamura-san's will, naming Haruno-san as the vice-chairman at least until Kasamura-san is found, please place your plaques in front of your hakozen to be recorded by the scribe."
The dull thud of wood meeting the tatami floor followed the request and soon, every one of the plaques were in front of their owner's hakozen, while a scribe whom Sakura now realized was sitting in a corner in front of the room, went by each plaque and wrote down the family name as well as requesting each member to ink and stamp their seal next to their respective names. The process took a few minutes and when it was over, the scribe hurriedly tiptoed back to his seat behind the writing table, poised to continue recording the meeting as the room settled down.
"The second matter is of the recent rise in power of a certain tycoon I'm sure you all know the name of. From our records, there have been some very frequent and questionable transactions happening through several of your banks, involving abnormally large sums of money. I want those who have accounts opened for him to be vigilant in observing this company and document the amount of money flowing in and out of those accounts, from whom and to whom. Those who do not, I expect his portfolio or anything you can dig up and find, whether it be information on his assets, any growth stock or investments he has made within the past ten years. As the new vice-chairman, Haruno-san, you will be reviewing these reports and forwarding them to me. Are there any questions?" When no one moved, Kagomori tapped his plaque and nodded his head. "Then I officially end this meeting and I implore you to continue to enjoy your meal as well as the provided sake and shochu." He clapped his hands loudly twice and attendants came rushing in to provide fresh food and bottles of heated sake and shochu. Sakura glanced up as her mother turned slightly towards her.
"We will stay a little while longer and finish eating." She murmured in a tight voice. "We will leave as soon as etiquette allows us to without seeming rude." Sakura nodded and Mebuki hummed in approval before turning to her own fresh dishes. The pink-haired girl quickly (but not too quickly, of course!) began eating her now demolished and cold kampachi fillet and any rice or pickled vegetables left on her plates before the attendants came and replaced those dishes with three new ones: they contained seasonal simmered mushrooms, broiled eggplants with a miso glaze, and two wagashi made of red beans respectively. They also placed a cup of hot genmaicha tea to replace the cold one and Sakura thanked them quietly. The attendant smiled gently, nodded and left to serve the next person, leaving Sakura to dwell on the announcements and the aftermath of the meeting, what it might possibly mean to her family…. and to her own position as the family heir.
"Sakura!"
"Sakura, pay attention, seriously!" The voice of a young boy broke through her thoughts, bringing her back to the present, only to realize that she managed to trip over her own legs and fell over in a tangled heap.
"Ow!" Sakura groaned dazedly and heard the voice from earlier let out a defeated sigh next her before a hand in front of her caught her attention. Looking up, she recognized that the voice as well as the outstretched hand as belonging to Sasuke and quickly took the proffered hand to get up off the ground before he grew impatient. It was then she remembered what she was doing. She was supposed to be jogging around the schoolyard with Sasuke coaching her.
After their first meeting, Sasuke complained that she lacked stamina and strength, and demanded that she start jogging in the early morning if she wanted "to be friends with my awesome aniki too!". Itachi also came by to watch occasionally on the rare chance he wasn't on a mission. He would quietly give pointers to her in terms of jogging or kata forms and when she was busy with that, comment on Sasuke's kunai throwing, much to the young boy's delight and fed the growing tree that was his hero worshipping of his older brother.
Sakura stuttered in embarrassment, "S-sorry, Sasuke-san! I did not mean to lose focus when you have been so willing to help me!"
Sasuke scowled at the pinkette's use of extremely formal speech. "Sheesh, didn't I tell you to drop the stupid formal speech already? And stop with the "Sasuke-san". It's annoying. Just Sasuke is fine, since I know you're not one of those crazy girls who waste too much time making my life miserable instead of training to at least pass their classes." Sakura giggled slightly at Sasuke's way of pouting, watching as he glared to the side with his arms crossed in front of his chest in a show of annoyance. At least he finally acknowledged that she wasn't one of those harpies and was now much more friendly towards her, if not blunt.
But you still need to maintain a certain distance. Inner pointed out, Be seen being overly familiar with Sasuke and you're going to be tied and roasted above an open fire pit in ten seconds flat by those chits. Dancing and singing to some random sadistic god too, to prolong your agony.
I know that, Inner! Sakura snipped. Her relaxed expression went back that slightly frowning, far-off look that had Sasuke annoyed in the first place.
"Oi! If you can't concentrate, then forget it! You can't even jog properly without you tripping on dust." Sasuke grumbled. Sakura quickly jolted and sent him a pleading look.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke-sa- , sorry! I really am!" Sakura cried out desperately, "I really do want to get better and stronger!...It's just that there's been a lot on my mind…. but I know that shouldn't be an excuse." Sakura trailed off and the raven-haired boy squirmed at the pitiful look on her face. What if she started crying?! That was the last thing he wanted on his hands- his older brother would surely box his ears thoroughly for making a girl cry.
"Uhh, let's just take a break then." he said as gruffly as an eight-year old possibly could. "Let's sit by that tree", pointing to a massive oak to their left. The girl nodded and soon, they were leaning against the rough and firm trunk. "... What's up with you?"
Emerald eyes kept their gaze on the dry, dirt ground and the roots of the massive tree which traveled beside her thigh before disappearing into the ground. She felt like disappearing into the ground as well. As much as she wanted to disclose and open the floodgates which held back the mighty torrent of chaotic thoughts in her head, the logical part of her mind knew that there were many things she couldn't just callously share with him. And too many things have been happening in her life as of late, so even if she was allowed to share, she didn't even know where to possibly begin. She had never felt so isolated as she did now. Just as she opened her mouth to answer his question, Sasuke beat her to it.
"Wait, are you worried that you'd get bullied even more if you were seen with me?!" Sasuke demanded, scowling at the idea. "Just work harder, get stronger, and you won't have to worry about being helpless, right?"
It was what had been on her mind at that moment, true, but Sasuke's solution to that problem was much easier said than done. And a part of his statement hurt Sakura more than she thought it would too, because they rang true. She was helpless in many ways. She was not very strong at this point and despite having resolved to become better, she still hesitated, wondering if she really was able to follow through. She was short for her age, and as a girl from a civilian family, it was hard to improve as quickly as she could have, had she come from a shinobi family who would be able to guide her smoothly outside of school time.
And then, there was what was going on in her family. With so many sudden issues springing on her and her family left and right, in both their occupation as well as in the domestic arena, she felt so helpless with her life; she'd struggle to grasp onto to any semblance of familiarity and security, only to be swept into a raging current she could not get out of. Her issues with bullies were the least of her problems.
But she smiled genuinely at Sasuke, grateful for his concern, as reluctant and awkward as he was in expressing it. And she certainly wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth; he had given her the way out of her predicament in whether to tell him her troubling situation or not.
"I… well, I guess so. It's just… I guess I'm having friend problems. There's Ino," Sasuke immediately scowled at the name, remembering the loud and overly touchy-feely blond who made it her mission to jump him whenever she caught sight of his unruly hair within a mile radius. The pink-haired girl watched him shudder at the thought, in both amusement and sympathy, and quickly tried to ease his discomfort. "I know she's always very blunt and can be loud ("that's saying it nicely" Sasuke groused), b-but she really likes you…and I don't want to upset her… N-not that I don't want to be y-your friend either! I do! But she always jumps to conclusions so easily..." Sakura pulled at her hair and sighed dejectedly. Why was life becoming so much more complicated as she grew older?! Why couldn't she seem to find a way to be friends with both of them without having to worry about negative repercussions?!
"Look, let's just deal with that when it gets there." The boy sighed impatiently. "Besides, if she really wanted to be your friend, don't you think that she wouldn't hold petty grudges like that?"
Sakura stared at him in surprise at the mature advice coming out of his mouth, to which he abruptly grew pink in the ears with embarrassment and promptly pushed her none too gently by her shoulder and gruffly told her that break was done, and that she had better get herself together and focus on her running. Sakura smiled hesitantly and nodded before the both of them went back to their exercises. She had a lot to sort out and think through, true, but for now she'll try to face her problems one step at a time.
There'd been just something about the recent clan meetings that unsettled twelve-year old Itachi. The elders of the clan would normally drag the meeting out for as long as possible to huff and complain about their mistreatment by the Konoha leaders, about the Hokage being inadequate and unfit to be a leader. Why wasn't an Uchiha ever mentioned as a possible Hokage candidate? Why weren't the Uchiha allowed to enter the Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai as often as other shinobi? Why weren't the higher ranked missions made more available to the Uchiha? Why did they have to relocate those years ago, made to be isolated from the rest of the village? Why did they have to be blamed for the Kyuubi attack seven years ago? Why, why, why?
Their complaints were a never ending list of 'why's' and 'what if's', as well as a whole plethora of questions against the Hokage, enough to indict them with treason. They would then pester the head of the clan, his father, Uchiha Fugaku, to make sure Itachi climbed the political ladder to more power faster. As a member of the Black Ops, Itachi already broke the record of being the youngest to ever be admitted into this elite group, despite the Hokage's displeasure at the idea of having such a young child being in an extremely demanding and brutal environment that was Anbu. But it wasn't enough for the group of wrinkled men and women who claimed to act for the sake of their clan's well being. It was never enough. They needed more power, more strength, more influence in order to bring back the glory to their illustrious clan. To bring back honor to their name as a co-founder of this very village.
But the meetings in the recent months were rather short, and held an atmosphere so stifling, heavy, and cold that comparing the previous meetings to this, was akin to saying the kyuubi had just been an overgrown pup romping into Konoha looking for playmates that night seven years ago. There was something about the way the elders were looking at his father, who would scowl fiercely, and himself that alerted the young heir to something foreboding. The elders were planning something, and his instincts as well as observations were telling him that it was most definitely a dangerous venture. And he needed to know exactly what it was the clan elders were brewing, if it were to potentially put Konoha at risk.
Pacing himself with calculated steps, he observed the villagers flitting about doing their daily tasks as he leisurely walked back to the Uchiha compound from his post-mission check up at the hospital. There were laughter and chatter among friends hanging out after school or neighbours bumping into each other while grocery shopping, savory aroma from nearby food stalls, brilliant array of colors from clothing and bookstores, and gift shops. All of these simple things in life he loved and cherished. This was his Will of Fire, to protect and to safeguard the happiness he sees each day as he walks through the village; it's also the reason why he would often walk at a civilian's pace so he could remind himself, as he watched, why he completed his missions, no matter how gruesome and against his pacifistic nature they may be.
He was close to the compound gates when one of the Uchiha gate guards noticed him and quickly approached him, relaying quietly that his father has summoned him to his office at the military force headquarters.
"Otou-sama" Itachi greeted quietly when he heard the command to open the door at his quiet knocking. His father's office was near spartan in appearance, with only the bare essentials to allow the head of the Force to do his work; a large oak desk buried in papers, manila folders and scrolls, two chairs facing each other across the desk and black bookshelves lining nearly all four walls stuffed with more books and scrolls. There was no carpeting, no cushion, no plants on the window sill, nothing to give the dreary office some color except for a single dark blue photo frame on the desk Itachi knew held a family photo they had taken in the photography studio. He'd been six and Sasuke had just turned one year old.
"Itachi." Fugaku greeted, his posture stiff and tense. His shoulders were broad and the years of being a shinobi who served in both the Third Shinobi World War and during the Kyuubi attack, and later, as the head of the Konoha Military Police Force, made his lips turn down in a perpetual frown. But today, that frown seemed to be fiercer than usual. "Have a seat. There is something that I'll be assigning you to investigate."
"Hai." Itachi quickly did as he was told.
"I have been notified that a disturbing incident has occurred in the civilian's district that has even the Hokage unsettled. For this investigation, we will be cooperating with the civilian police force… and if things take a turn for the worst, even the Anbu will be mobilized."
Itachi stiffened at the mention of Anbu being involved, before his eyes narrowed slightly in calculation. The Military Police Force and the Anbu being involved meant the incident was no small matter, and that it dealt with the involvement of potentially A-ranked or higher shinobis.
"This incident involves the disappearance of the vice-chairman of the Konoha's Civilian Banking Association as well as a large number of his family and relatives. The report was filed five days ago and a total of thirty-three people went missing in a single night, with no signs of struggle. What made this circumstance suspicious is that, there was no record of them leaving the village nor was there anything taken that would indicate so, such as leaving for a vacation en masse. The things which were missing are documents pertaining to the civilian banks established within this village, as well as branches opened within other parts of Fire Country." Fugaku sighed inaudibly at the huge headaches that was this case. "For so many people to disappear in one night without raising suspicion is abnormal under civilian circumstances. Hokage-sama thinks so as well, which is why he spoke of the idea of involving Anbu. The two most likely hypotheses are that this family is working with shinobi spies or that high ranking shinobi are involved in a mass kidnapping. Your assignment, Itachi, is to investigate and gather as much information about the circumstances of the incident, the backgrounds of the people involved, and if possible, find out what documents were missing." Fugaku picked up a white scroll with the Police insignia sealing the document, and lightly tossed it to Itachi, who caught it on instinct. "The details are in this scroll. You know the procedures in dealing with the scroll after reading it."
Itachi stood up and bowed. "Hai, I understand, Otou-sama."
"I'll be seeing you at home."
Itachi frowned subtly. That could only mean his father had more things to divulge, but could not be discussed here. His statement meant Itachi was to see his father in his study tonight and his clansmen could not be present to hear it. Could that mean his father suspected his clansmen being involved? Or was there trouble within the clan that was just as troubling?
Itachi quickly bowed again and murmured a quick "please excuse my departure", and headed swiftly for the exit, scroll in hand. His relatives bowed in greeting to the young clan heir and he nodded back in acknowledgement as was normal, his face a mask of detachment and professionalism.
There was definitely more to this case then what met the eye.
"He's a monster! Get away! The freak's here!"
The group of children playing at the playground had suddenly found themselves in the presence of one whiskered Uzumaki Naruto, panicked in their fear and disgust of him, and fled. Said blond just stood stock still in shock and hurt at the sudden proclamation as he watched the others run like the devil was chasing them, some stopping to pick up stones to throw at him to discourage him from chasing after them. Not like he would anyway. He had lost count of the number of times this happened whenever he wanted to play in the park near the academy during the weekends. It was either of the two extremes when it came to the people's reaction to him; scorned and called names, sometimes being smacked around like a rag doll or ignored when at a far enough distance away from them and flee from him should he be a little too close for their comfort.
It was nothing new to Naruto but it was frustrating and painful all the same. He had no idea what to say and what to think as to why they called him such names. What had he done to be called a freak, a monster or a fox demon? Nothing that he could think of. He'd always minded his own business and tried to make friends by saying hello to other classmates at the academy. But it was to no avail and he was shunned by the whole village for absolutely no reason of his own making.
The unruly haired blond looked despondently at his feet as he scuffled the dirt covered ground with his well-worn shoes. With not a single soul in the playground to play with, he trudged slowly towards the swing set and sat there dejectedly, rocking the swing half-heartedly without exerting any strength to push it into motion.
"Um… hello there. Y-you're Naruto-san, right?" A timid voice reached the lone child's ears and he quickly looked up to see the girl with locks of hair the color of pink clematis flowers, looking at him hesitantly.
"Why are you sitting here alone? Are you… okay?"
For the months after his encounter with oddly colored girl and her violent blond pig-tail of a friend, he rarely got to chance upon the one person who he believed he could have made friends with. But each time, he did catch a glimpse of her, the groupies she was surrounded with, who were definitely the blond girl's friends, would drag her away before Naruto could even be within five feet of her while whispering in her ear and sneering in his direction. No doubt they were telling her all sort of rumours surrounding him and the names he was called in the hopes of discouraging her from approaching him.
For Sakura, the young girl had been trying hard to find an opportunity to speak with the blond boy for months. But each time, she became even more hesitant than the last as questions continually formed in her mind from all the things she had heard about him. Why was he called a fox demon? Why did they sneer at him, taunt him till he looked near bursting into tears? And it wasn't just the group of girls Ino tried to make her be friends with, who were telling her those things, but the adults as well.
When she hesitantly brought up the topic to her mother and father, her mother immediately clammed up, smiled warily at her and tried to steer her child onto another topic. Her father just glared and demanded that she not speak of the demon child in front of him again, saying that he was a murderer and should never have been born.
Sakura still cringed at the memory. How could such a small, scrawny looking child be a murderer? It didn't make sense! He couldn't even defend himself properly when he was pushed around by those slightly taller than him. And where were his parents anyway?
And so when she spotted the whiskered boy slouched on the swing set and not quite swinging on it the way it was meant to be, she hesitated between going up to him to say hello, and heeding her father's warning as well as her friends' words. But when she noticed the pained look on his face, she couldn't help but squeak out a greeting. Those azure eyes which were glazed with tears, made her heart clench, reminding her of those not so distant memories of when she didn't have Ino as her friend and protector, before she got to know Sasuke and Itachi who supported her in their own way.
"It's nothing…"
Sakura frowned. "Then why do you look so sad?"
"I- I…" Naruto hesitated, unsure of what to say. Should he be honest and tell her he didn't understand the other kids' jibes at him or how he felt lonely? "I'm… I'm fine, dattebayou! I'm not sad, uh… Just sleepy!" He tried to grin comically. Sakura didn't seem to buy it, but dropped the question. Instead, she slowly approached the swing set and sat on the empty swing closest to her, which was on the other end of the set, three seats away from Naruto. Silence fell upon the two and nothing save for the sound of slightly creaking chains was heard.
"Anou sa…" The blond boy whispered, breaking the silence. "Do you… do you think I look like a… a d-demon fox?"
"What?" Sakura wrinkled her nose in confusion at the sudden question and turned her head slightly to study the boy on the other end of the swing set. "Well… you have whiskers like a fox… but a demon fox? No, you don't…. Why do people call you that anyway?"
"I don't know." Naruto responded in a tight voice. "I dunno, 'ttebayou! I wanna know why too! Why'd people ignore me? Why'd they hate me? What am I? I hate it! I bet ya if my parents were here, those bastards won't be so mean to me! But no one'll tell me where they are, 'ttebayou! They just keep callin' me an or-fan or some weird word, dattebayou!"
"You mean an orphan? Wait, you-"
"Sakura! Where are you?! Let's go hang out at my place!" Ino's voice suddenly cut off whatever the pinkette was about to say. "The other girls are here already! Sakura!"
Said girl jumped out of her seat nervously, looking between Naruto and the direction of her friend's voice. What if she was seen with the boy?! Ino would be mad at her! Sakura froze at that train of thought and Inner came to the surface of her mind.
You know that's kind of a shallow thing to say right? Just who are you trying to fool?
Sakura winced guiltily and glanced at Naruto, who just smiled defeatedly at her.
"Go, before ya get in trouble with your… friends, 'ttebayou. I'm fine on my own, dattebayou." I've always been alone. What difference will being alone right now make?
"Sakura!" Ino's voice yelled again.
"I-I'm coming!" Sakura called back, albeit a lot less loudly. She turned toward Naruto quickly and waved half-heartedly. "I'm sorry… I-I'll go first." She quickly walked to the gates of the playground and nearly bumped into Ino.
"There you are!" The blue eyed girl exclaimed, but stopped short when she spotted the whiskered boy on the playground. "Sakura! Don't tell me you were associating with the dumb freak again! How many times have I told you that it's no good to go near that monster! He'll be a bad influence on you!"
Sakura stuttered and fidgeted around with the hem of her skirt. "I-It's nothing… Let's just go, Ino-chan!"
Ino grumbled before directing a glare at the still seated Naruto, who reciprocated the action with glare of his own. "You better not go anywhere near my friend, you moron! You'll get it from me!" With that, she turned around and quickly dragged her guilt-ridden charge out of the playground toward her home, the Yamanaka Flower Shop.
With their departure, Naruto dropped his glare and turned away from the entrance, once again sobbing quietly to himself.
Itachi sat stunned before his father who was looking grimly at him. This couldn't be happening! If his father wasn't looking so defeated, so glum, but so absolutely serious at what he just revealed, he would have thought his father was attempting a rather inappropriate joke. But his father was never one for jokes, much less one as crazy and unbelievable as the one he had just heard.
When he had sat down in his father's study, Fugaku had begun to weave a long series of seals that made Itachi immediately stiffen, recognizing the silencing jutsu that prevented anyone from eavesdropping on their conversation. It was the same jutsu Anbu used, as well as the Hokage, when he debriefed high-ranked missions or held important meetings. For his father, who had been an Anbu himself once, to activate a jutsu as high level as this was alarming.
And then, his father proceeded to reveal that the clan elders were plotting a coup d'etat and were demanding their cooperation. They were plotting treason against their Hokage, against the very village they and their ancestors had sworn to protect with their lives. They now demanded for Fugaku to use Itachi as a spy within Anbu and to relay any weaknesses, or other relevant information about the Hokage to them while they slowly hedged enough funds, weaponry and power to proceed with the treacherous act. And because of the political power the clan elders held within the clan, Fugaku could not disobey.
This was the sad reality they now faced. For all that Fugaku was the head of the clan, he was not the one truly in power.
"I'm sorry, my son." Fugaku seemed to suddenly age a decade faster in a blink of a second. "To make you carry this type of burden… for all that I tried to protect you, making sure you grew strong, to steel your resolve so as to teach you to hold your own once you become the new head of this clan, it seems all for naught."
Itachi looked distraughtly at his father's haggard face, something he had never witnessed before. His father always had stood tall and collected, every bit of the strong Uchiha clan leader Konoha expected him to be. He never showed signs of weakness or weariness because to the clan elders and in the political world, to show weakness was to paint a target sign on one's back and encourage the hyenas to jump in for the kill. But now, his father's shoulders were slightly slumped, his expression openly displaying the agony of having to ask something so preposterous of his son as to be a spy for the clan against their own village. All just for the clan elders' thirst for more power and their unwillingness to let go of their deep seeded hatred and bitterness for the past.
"I will be a double agent for you, otou-sama."
Fugaku's head shot up from his own troubled thoughts in alarm and shock, his obsidian colored eyes locking onto ones so much like his own.
"I understand that as the head," Itachi continued before this father could protest the idea, "you will not be able to discuss anything or reveal any of this to Hokage-sama because you will be scrutinized should you ever ask for an audience with him. However, as the 'spy' in Anbu, I will be less suspicious should I ever approach Hokage-sama.I will try to work out a way for you and the clan to come to a negotiation. If the clan elders are truly disgruntled only because of the isolation they were forced into due to the Kyuubi attack, then a compromise between them would perhaps soothe their anger.
"I know for a fact that the hardest obstacle to overcome is the Konoha council of elders who disagree with the ideals Hokage-sama has for Konoha's future. I will relay information on the clan elders and their plans for the coup d'etat to Hokage-sama and set up preventative measures against any possible attacks they might make on the village. I will be your line of communication to Hokage-sama."
Fugaku studied his son in both shame and pride; shame at his own powerlessness and pride at how much his son had grown into the capable leader whom he hoped would be able to shoulder the heavy weight that was the role of clan heir. He steeled his own resolve and nodded in agreement.
"It is fortuitous for us that not all of the Uchiha agree with the clan elders' foolishness. They have been secretly meeting with me under the guise of reporting to me at the Police headquarters. I will try and gather as many supporters as possible and calculate my next move." Fugaku looked steadily at Itachi's face, studying the dull gray bags under his eyes and the deep tear trenches which drew a course down from the inner edge of his sons' eyes and alongside the bridge of his nose and cheeks. Since when did Itachi look so worn and stressed? Fugaku still remembered when Itachi would quietly laugh, stress free, open and innocent, as he ran around the backyard of their house trying to catch and observe the butterflies flitting across their flowering garden. That was before the clan elders forced his peaceful son- his nature-loving, quiet and gentle son- into the academy early. Only to make him graduate early, become a genin early, be promoted to chuunin before his peers even graduated from the academy themselves, and be enlisted into the hell that was Anbu when other children from clans were still fresh genin. Fugaku had only complied because he thought this would make sure Itachi could protect himself should he or his wife became incapable of protecting him, unable to shield him from the harshness clan politics brought on. But now…
What had he done? What has he done to his beloved first son?
"Itachi."
The long haired young Anbu listened attentively at the serious tone his father was saying his name with.
"I'm proud to call you my son and heir. Whatever happens, I will always support you and love you. Do what you need to do."
Itachi's heart clenched at his father's words as it was the first time he ever heard his father say them. He will do his best to preserve the peace of this moment, despite the dark situation they were in. For his father's sake, for his mother, for his brother, little Sasuke. For this village, he will do what must be done at any cost. He nodded, determination and conviction in his eyes.
"Hai, otou-sama. I will."
To be continued…
A/N: So sorry again for the much delayed chapter! As you can see, the story is starting to come together… I hope! There are a lot of points I need to set up before the tru action comes in, so please, please, please be patient with me! My goal is to make sure that I'm not giving too much attention to one particular character while by accidentally ignoring everyone else, so I'll try to balance the story out. Anyway,I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Unfortunately, due to some serious amount of classes and work I have to do, I will be even slower at posting the next chapter. So sorry! Fortunately, I have already jotted down what I want to happen in the next chapter so I slowly type bits and pieces as much as I can and post the next chapter when it is ready. Well, it's quite late now… stay tuned! Please review! Your comments, criticisms and ideas are only going to make this story richer and me more motivated to write faster! ; )