I don't own Naruto.
And a great thanks to AlmostElectric, for betaing this. If you haven't, you should check out her story Uzumaki. It's really quite something.
Chapter Ten
Coming Home
Walking back into Konoha was a relief for Itachi, because it was the first time she was allowed to walk instead of run during the three-day journey from Futatsuhama. So it was on unsteady, wiggling legs that she followed Kane and Yuugao through the great gates of Konoha.
Katsu-sensei, the bastard, didn't even look winded.
The village hadn't changed at all in the last week, but Itachi felt different, looking at it. D-ranks were missions, but they weren't really missions. A genin's first C-rank was the first tentative steps into the world of ninja, and, even to Itachi, it was something of a wake-up call.
Kane was quiet, like he'd been since the night when they'd cornered Komatsu in his suite and Katsu-sensei had snapped his neck. It had affected him probably more closely than had been apparent, then, but Itachi didn't really know what to say. It was something he needed to learn himself — the shinobi lifestyle was full of things like that, and the quicker he got used to it, the better.
Yuugao, on the other hand, was making more of an effort to be friendly — it helped that the charge back to Konoha was just as brutal as the one to Futatsuhama, so there really wasn't much energy for conversation. But still, Yuugao had been, if not more friendly, certainly more polite since their talk over Tetsu's cooling corpse.
Katsu-sensei stopped them once they got in the gates, his expression serious.
"We must go and report to the Hokage on a successful mission now, but first, I want you to think on something. I am known throughout the Elemental Nations for my skill in weapons, not just the club. As my genin, I wish to offer you the option for instruction in a weapon you choose. I will not have time to teach you more than one, so choose wisely," he said, his voice and expression grave. "I am asking you now to give you time to think it through. And you can always ask me if you're not sure."
Itachi instinctively nodded, mind already whirring with possibilities.
Kane asked, "Er, I don't really know that much about this, sensei. What kind of weapon would be a good choice?"
Yuugao rolled her eyes and looked like she was about to comment, but Itachi gave her a warning look, so she settled for a scoff. Itachi could see Kane's ears turn slightly pink, but he didn't look at either of them.
"I would advise you to choose something that suits you, Kane."
"But! I don't really have many strengths, sensei! I'm alright at throwing weapons, but I don't want to learn those," Kane said.
"So choose something you'd like to be good at," Itachi suggested.
"Huh," Kane said. "What are you two thinking of?"
"I'm not sure either," Itachi said.
"A naginata," Yuugao sighed dreamily, sounding more excited than Itachi had ever heard her.
Itachi was surprised — that was an attractive choice, and it would fit Yuugao's build. She was tall and thin, with longer limbs and the kind of grace that would benefit from a polearm.
"Oh." Kane sounded a bit shocked at that choice. "That's — that's cool. I know! I wanna learn how to use a katana!"
Itachi winced. Katanas were very common, notably among sellswords and samurai, but most shinobi found them too long and unwieldy to be very much use. It was considered a skill weapon, and her dislike of it was almost wholly practical — a tanto or wakizashi, or Sasuke's chokuto, would be far easier to use in the shinobi version of close-quarters. It was a skill weapon, a bold declaration that you were skilled enough to kill your opponent before he ever got close.
There was also the part of her that cringed every time anyone even used the word 'katana.'
"Kane," Itachi said, "Are you sure?"
"Of course!" he shouted. "This is a great idea!"
Itachi resisted the urge to facepalm, but it was a close thing. Goddamnit, Kane. Desperate, she looked at Katsu-sensei. He was looking at Kane speculatively, sizing him up.
"If this is what you truly want, I can teach you to use a katana," he said.
"I do! I'm sure! Nobody asked Yuugao if she was sure! Why are you all asking me!?"
"As you wish," Katsu-sensei said. "Now, we must report to the Hokage. Come."
They trooped dutifully afterwards, like ducklings following their mother.
Mikoto was just carefully laying the last bit of sashimi out for lunch when she heard a careful padding of footsteps. She knew it wasn't her husband — his gait was heavier, more deliberate, and he walked with a purposeful alacrity that her older son lacked.
"Itachi?" she called out.
He appeared in the doorway, looking tired and weary. He had always looked vaguely weary — the dark shadows under his eyes, present from even a young age, were even more prominent today. She could tell he was sore, too, by the way he moved; Katsu had worked them hard, then.
Mikoto knew that Honda Katsu was a man who demanded perfection. That was what she most admired about him. She could trust him to keep her son safe, and to treat Itachi the same way he'd treat anyone else. She expected no less.
"Hello, mother," he said, voice quiet.
"You're back, then."
He nodded. "It's lovely to be home."
Mikoto smiled. "It's lovely to see you. Although, I hear someone has been asking after you for days, Itachi."
"Oh?" He looked amused. "I wonder who that could be."
Just then, Sasuke appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. He looked over and spotted Itachi, and his whole face lit up, and he took an enormous breath, swelling up like a balloon.
"ITACHI-NII!" Sasuke shouted, and launched himself at his brother.
Itachi smiled, and was instantly crouching down to scoop Sasuke up in his arms. All previous traces of his tiredness, both physical and emotional, had vanished into the joy of seeing Sasuke.
"Hey, little brother," he said cheerfully. "How have you been?"
"Good!" Sasuke said. "Mom and I drew a picture of you!"
"Really?" Itachi said. "Can I see?"
"Yes!" Sasuke shouted. Mikoto saw Itachi wince a bit at the volume.
She coughed pointedly. Itachi looked up, but Sasuke remained fixed on his brother's face.
"Sasuke, maybe you can show me after lunch. Mom is saying that we should do that, first."
"Oh," Sasuke said. Mikoto had to marvel how easily he'd capitulated — usually he had to be persuaded to sit down for lunch. Sasuke lacked Itachi's ability to sit still — instead of the quiet seriousness of his elder brother, he was full of energy, always moving around and getting into trouble.
"Sorry, Sasuke. After lunch, ok?" Sasuke didn't look entirely convinced at that, so Itachi grinned and used two fingers to poke Sasuke gently in the forehead, in imitation of his and Shisui's genjutsu spars. Sasuke's eyes crossed and he pouted.
"Hey, no fair, Itachi-nii!"
"Come on, Sasuke, your father will be here in a minute. Sit down," Mikoto said.
Her younger son bustled to the table, his attention still focused on Itachi. Her older son, however, was staring at his hand, looking as perplexed as she'd ever seen him.
"Itachi?" she asked.
He started, and looked at her, confusion still wrought upon his features. "Mom. Sorry," he said. Then he visibly gathered himself. "This looks delicious. Let's eat."
"Yes, let's," Mikoto agreed.
"Is Father not coming?" Itachi asked, as they sat down.
"He had to work again today," she said. "I had planned to go and bring him some sashimi after feeding Sasuke. Would you like to come?"
Sasuke's eyes lit up, and Itachi's lips quirked into a small smile.
"I also have a surprise for you," Itachi said.
"Oh?" Mikoto asked, meeting his eyes and seeing—
"Oh." The sharingan.
Itachi's eyes glinted cool and red, one tomoe in each. Mikoto was proud — he was still seven, even if his birthday was in a week. At that age, even a juvenile sharingan was unheard of. It was another impressive feat to go with the exhaustive list of everything else he'd done so far. To say that she was proud would be an understatement.
"Well done, Itachi," she said. "Your father will be very proud."
He nodded, looking pleased.
"Itachi-nii! Can I see?" asked Sasuke. Itachi turned to him, and his eyes went comically wide with excitement. "That's soo cool! When will I get mine?"
Itachi's smile vanished. He turned back to Mikoto, his eyes black and his face impassive.
"In a few years, Sasuke." Itachi's voice was distant, a far cry from the warm older brother he usually was.
"Itachi?" Mikoto asked.
"I'm — It's nothing, Mother," he said.
"Really, Itachi-nii!? You think I'll be like you?"
"Yes, Sasuke," Itachi said tightly.
"Sasuke. Eat your lunch," Mikoto cut in.
Things settled into quiet after that. Mikoto pondered Itachi's strange reaction to Sasuke's question. Of course Sasuke would get the sharingan. It was practically a given, after Itachi. She eyed her older son across the table. He was sitting, concentrating very hard on his food, slumped forward in thought.
Or maybe...could Itachi's sharingan have been because of something that had truly scared him? It was possible, and Itachi was violently protective of Sasuke, so it followed that he might want to spare his brother the pain.
Itachi finally seemed to muster himself, and said, "Katsu-sensei asked us to choose a weapon to learn today."
"Oh?" Mikoto replied. "And…?"
Her son glanced at her, then around the room, and she could see the shrug in his expression.
"I'm not sure what to choose. There are many sensible options. A kunai, the traditional ninja weapon. A tanto, like the ANBU use, to prepare myself better for membership."
Mikoto frowned. "If you liked either one of those options, you would have chosen already."
He nodded. Sasuke looked very interested, watching their byplay.
She didn't say anything, meeting his eyes evenly. A silent prompt to continue.
"I simply wished to seek the wisdom of my elders," Itachi said, attempting to sound innocent.
Mikoto narrowed her own eyes. He had to have some thoughts about choosing a weapon.
Itachi's eyes flicked back to the wall, where a set of fans were hung emblazoned with the Uchiha crest.
She followed. "A fan, huh?"
"Yes, mother. A weapon like that would be...meaningful, to me."
"Meaningful," Mikoto repeated, eyeing Itachi. "Well, you have the grace for it. Men aren't as graceful as women, but you, Itachi, might just be graceful enough to make it work."
Her son twitched a bit, frowning, but he nodded. "I would like that, Mother."
She smiled. "Another thing I would be helping to teach you. Your poor father might get jealous at this rate."
Sasuke had finished his dinner at this point, and was looking a bit bored. "Why a fan?" he interjected. "Why not something like...a katana! Those are cool!"
"Not a chokuto?" Itachi asked, wry amusement in his tone.
"Those too! Why not a sword, Itachi-nii?"
"I want a weapon that I can integrate into my current style, not something that will require me to unlearn a significant amount of what I've learned so far."
Sasuke didn't look at all convinced. "But swords are so cool."
Itachi's smile was fond. "Well, when you become a ninja, then you should learn to wield a sword, Sasuke."
"I will! I'll be the best ninja ever!" Sasuke declared. "One day I'll be even better than you, Itachi-nii!"
Itachi's face looked just as cold, tired, and distant as before, but when he answered, his tone was full of warmth. "You will, Sasuke. Believe it."
Sasuke beamed.
"Come on, Itachi-nii! I want to show you my picture!" he said, dragging his brother up by the arm. Itachi quickly shoveled a last piece of fish into his mouth and got up, allowing Sasuke to pull him away from the table.
"Sasuke," Mikoto said sternly. "I need to speak to Itachi about something. I'll send him along to you in a minute, ok?"
"Why?" Sasuke asked. "Big brother has been away all week! I want to play with him now!"
"Because I said so, and I'm your mother," Mikoto said.
"But Mooooom!"
"No buts, young man. Go get your stuff together. Now."
Sasuke glared at her, sulking, but she stood firm. Itachi watched, impassive. Mikoto was proud of him, then, because of that impassiveness. But it was tinged with a bit of sadness, because it meant she couldn't read him as well as she'd used to be able to.
Sasuke eventually relented, dropping his eyes and huffing dramatically as he stormed off into the hall. Itachi watched him go, still quiet.
"Is everything alright, Itachi?" Mikoto asked.
"Of course," he said.
"It doesn't sound like it," she rebutted.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Itachi, I watched you talk to Sasuke there, about the sharingan. Something bothered you."
Itachi stared at her for a second, and then he looked down, cheeks coloring.
"You're not old enough to fool your mom yet, Itachi."
He smiled sheepishly.
"Sasuke's going to grow up," Itachi said.
"All children grow up, Itachi."
"It's more than that, Mom. It's what he's going to grow up to be, to do."
Mikoto leaned down and put her hand on Itachi's head. "Don't you think I thought that way about you, too? I have to worry about both of my shinobi sons."
He twitched. "I just...I wish that Sasuke could grow up differently."
"Itachi," Mikoto said. "How do you know how Sasuke will grow up?"
"I—" he started, and then stopped, and started again. "I don't know, no—"
"Then don't decide for him," Mikoto said gently.
He looked at her — her smart, capable, oh so mature, genius son — more helpless than she'd ever seen him. "I'm not — Sasuke — what this will do to him will break him, more powerfully and irreparably than you can imagine. Shinobi are those who must endure. How am I supposed to allow such a life to befall my little brother?"
"A shinobi must endure, Itachi," Mikoto repeated his words back to him. "But do not decide for Sasuke who he will grow to be before he does. Let him have a chance to be like you — that is his dream, no?"
"That's precisely what I'm worried about," Itachi said, morbidly.
"Itachi!" Mikoto said harshly. "What is with you today?"
He didn't say anything, just stared at her sullenly. "Did something happen?"
"How so, mother?"
"Don't close me out like this, Itachi," she urged.
"I don't want to see him suffer," he said, and his words were like lonely footsteps.
"Itachi, Itachi, Itachi," Mikoto said, and clutched him tight to her chest. Her heart went out to him. "Sasuke is a little boy still. You can't protect him from everything."
"I don't — I don't want him to become a ninja."
"But you can't make that decision for him, sweetheart. If I had my way, neither of you would be ninja at all." And she meant it — Fugaku had wanted an heir, yes, but it was more about Itachi's genius and their position at the center of the clan. Life had expectations for them all.
Itachi looked at her with watery eyes. "But — I'm not like he is. He's still innocent."
She drew back and poked his nose. "I'm not so sure about that, Itachi. Is this about your mission?"
Itachi looked past her. "They just...died." He paused, and his eyes looked far too old for his face. "I know it sounds...I knew they would die. I wanted them to. And it was fine when it happened. But I close my eyes...and I can't get it out of my head?" The question was quiet, frantic. "I keep seeing them, dead. Like that. And Komatsu — I had him killed. I didn't even hesitate. What am I turning into? What will I turn Sasuke into? Even if everything goes right, he'll still have to face this. The death. The inevitability. The fact that we are trained killers for hire, working in a world where the only true understanding of things comes from violence."
Mikoto wasn't quite sure what to say. Morbidly, she thought that other mothers didn't have to face this problem. Most mothers had to deal with eight-year-olds worried about having fun and their class rank in the academy, not the panicked existential horror of a too-precocious genius.
She sighed. "Itachi, I'm not sure if you can do anything to fix this. The only thing you can do is be there for Sasuke. Like I'm trying to be here for you. Now — no! Listen to me, young man."
Her son glared at her with half-glazed eyes. Mulishly, he nodded.
"A shinobi is a killer. This is a fact. You know this, Itachi, and I know this. And you can't escape it, any more than I could." Her voice turned wistful, but Itachi needed to know this. She reached out and touched his face gently. "I'm sorry, my son. But this is the world we live in. And no son of mine will allow it to crush him. You must deal with it. And maybe when you become Hokage, you can change it."
Itachi's eyes were again unreadable, like a mountain wreathed in fog. "Yes, Mother."
And as he got up, his body language telegraphing the fact that he was fine, she couldn't help but wonder if, behind those distant, unfathomable eyes, he wasn't.
Kane felt the nervousness twinge in his gut, the moment he rounded the corner towards the Uchiha compound. He reminded himself that Itachi had invited him, and that he was supposed to be here, but it didn't help much. The walls were high, and every segment was marked with the red and white fan of their clan.
He briefly pondered why they needed it every segment, but, upon a second thought, it made sense. The rest of them seemed always to be bragging about the fact that they were Uchiha. Their compound wouldn't be immune to that attitude, too.
It was strange, then, that Itachi was the heir when he was anything but stuck-up. He could probably do with being a bit more stuck-up, honestly, or at least, a bit more confidence in himself.
It seemed weird to Kane that a kid who constantly heard how great he was would have self-confidence issues, and Kane had initially thought that Itachi was simply very humble, but the difference was both small and significant.
Instead of taking in all the effusive praise and becoming entirely and irrevocably convinced of his own greatness, Uchiha Itachi saw all that praise as an impossibly high bar to set himself against. Instead of basking in it, he set himself against his own legend. Why, Kane wasn't sure. But he knew what he saw, and he saw that Itachi was deathly afraid of not living up to something.
Either way, he was invited. So despite how austere the compound looked, and how distinctly unfriendly the look the watchman was giving him was, he belonged there.
So he marched right up and told the man that.
"Really?" The man said. He didn't look impressed.
Kane stood up straight and gathered himself. "Uchiha Itachi is my teammate. He asked me to train with him, and that's exactly what I will do."
"Is that so?"
"Kane!" A shout jostled him out of giving any response. He turned.
"Yuugao," he breathed, more relieved than usual to see her.
"What are you doing waiting outside like a dumbass?" she asked.
Kane immediately clamped down the inner surge of self-admonition at her words, and said, "This guy doesn't wanna let me in."
"Is that so?" she asked. "Hey, you!" The man sneered at her. "We're Itachi-san's teammates! We're supposed to train with him! Are you going to let us in, or are you going to be a dick like usual?"
The man squawked in outrage, and Kane sighed. Now he probably wasn't going to let them in at all. But, he mused, as Yuugao opened her mouth to respond, at least this guy had to deal with Yuugao's brutal tongue while he did it.
"Fine," she said. "Go get him then. We'll wait. And then you can explain to him how you were too much of a stuck-up prick to let us in! Somehow, I doubt the fact that you were upset about getting stuck on guard duty will cut it."
"Perhaps I will, then," the man said. "Tekka! Come make sure this rifraff doesn't get in!"
Another, equally surly Uchiha, this man greying at the temples, came around the gate and stared them down. The first man went in through the gate, and they were left standing in awkward silence.
Yuugao, however, didn't seem content to let the silence slip. "What? Did you really think we were lying? Are you really risking getting in shit because you genuinely believe we're not telling the truth?"
The man didn't reply, just bristled a bit.
Yuugao raised her arms defensively. "Look, I'm just asking what your game plan is. 'Cuz it doesn't seem like you've got much of one."
"The plan is to not let just any jumped-up genin brat intimidate her way into our compound," the man shot back.
"Good thing I have permission, then."
"We," Kane piped in. "We have permission."
Yuugao shot him a glare, but she didn't disagree. The man just looked unimpressed, even as the silence built into a tense ceasefire, both sides eyeing each other distrustfully.
Kane felt like that was about as good as it was going to get, so he kept quiet. After a minute or so, there was a slight creak of the gate, and Itachi peeked around it, followed closely by the original gate guard.
The dark-haired boy laid eyes on Kane and Yuugao, sighed, and turned to the man beside him. "Inabi, these are my teammates. Please, from now on, allow them to pass through the gates."
The original guard, Inabi, looked thoroughly unhappy about this development. Itachi, however, continued to smile placidly as if he wasn't aware of the man's obvious frustration.
"Fine, Itachi-sama."
Itachi's smile didn't dim in the slightest. "Thank you for so diligently guarding the gate," he said, and bowed.
The man's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything. Itachi turned to them. "Kane, Yuugao. A pleasure to see you."
Kane burst into a bright grin, and even Yuugao seemed to soften.
"Let's go," Kane said, eager to get going.
Itachi nodded, and brought them into the gate. Inside was a clean, spacious district of people who all had the same looks — midnight-dark hair, darker eyes and pale white skin. Kane couldn't stop staring.
"We're going to one of the outer training grounds," Itachi said, setting a brisk pace. Kane wanted to stop and observe the place a bit, but Itachi was hurrying away, a bit pink around the ears.
Kane looked at Yuugao, but she was hurrying along after Itachi. He sighed, and jogged a bit to catch up.
After rounding a bend and passing through a row of small, quiet storefronts, they came to a small field. The grass was thick and tall, and it stood in what felt like the middle of the district as a central meeting place. Kane looked around, eagerly. This was where Itachi trained? It looked...well, it looked rather public.
"Not here," Itachi said, hurrying them along.
"Why not?" Kane asked.
Itachi was quiet for a moment, but he didn't slow. "This isn't the kind of training ground we want to have practice in," he finally decided on.
"Why not?" Kane repeated.
"It's not for practice," Itachi said.
Kane looked back at the field. "Then what's it for?"
Itachi huffed a bit, and muttered, "It's for showing off."
Kane thought about that. If it was a big field for showing off, then who would the Uchiha show off to? Themselves? Kane cocked his head. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The Uchiha were awfully good at showing off to other people so it made sense that they'd have to practice by showing off to each other.
Huh. So the Uchiha had a big field in their compound for showing off to each other. Kane rather felt like he could have seen this coming.
Itachi led them past the showing-off field, through another street of dark houses, until the homes became more and more sparse, and the little bit of urban development gave way into woods. The dirt path stopped once it reached a river, but Itachi dove right off, onto what looked like a rarely-used hunting trail.
It wasn't a place that Kane would have found himself, but Itachi moved with ease that suggested he took this route regularly.
The small path took them down to the river's edge, where a small trail of stones stepped carefully across the river. Itachi barely broke stride, dashing across nimbly.
Yuugao stepped out after him, and Kane scrambled to keep up. Itachi was as quick and agile as ever, but Yuugao was a little less so, and Kane was inwardly very pleased to be able to keep up with her.
Across the river, there was another ill-used deer trail through the woods, which opened into a small clearing, by the river. It was quiet, lovely, and isolated.
And there was a person in it. Not quite a man, but tall and slim and surprisingly wild-looking for an Uchiha. He looked up at them as he approached, and his face burst into a bright grin.
"Itachi-chan!" he crowed, flipping around the kunai in his hand. A collection of them were embedded into a stump, behind him.
Kane felt his jaw drop. He side-eyed a glance at Itachi, who wasn't annoyed or even frowning. He looked exasperated; but fond at the same time. Yuugao, on Itachi's other side, looked just as confused as he did.
"Shisui-sempai," Itachi said. "I didn't expect you to be here today."
The now-named Shisui grinned. "I got out of my mission early! And I heard from Mikoto-obachan that you were supposed to be training today, so I thought I'd come here and see you!"
Itachi frowned, and glared a bit at Shisui. It wasn't his full-on death glare, but it was his intense, scrutinizing glare, the kind he used when he thought people were lying to him.
"I see," he said, neutrally. "These are my teammates, Uzuki Yuugao, and Kasshoku Kane."
Shisui made a weird, high-pitched noise of excitement halfway between a squeal and a shriek that Kane had been sure he'd never hear anyone named Uchiha come close to uttering. First, 'Itachi-chan,' and now this? Who was this guy?
"He's my cousin, and my sparring partner, Uchiha Shisui," Itachi replied. It was only then that Kane realized he'd spoken the last question out loud.
He felt himself pale a bit from embarrassment, but Shisui just laughed.
"Man, your teammate is great!"
Yuugao, however, seemed to think this was vaguely insulting to her. "Are you even a real Uchiha? You don't sound like any of them."
"Hey, I'll have you know that I'm one of the best Uchiha. We have a rankings of the best Uchiha every week, and I'm in the top five every time. Right, Itachi?"
Itachi sighed, the edge of exasperation creeping into his tone now. "Shisui. Play nice. We're having a team bonding experience."
"Oh wow! I wanna play too, Itachi-chan!"
Itachi looked around, at Yuugao and Kane. Kane thought for a half-second that he was pleading for help, but after Yuugao shrugged, he realized Itachi was asking if that was fine.
"I don't mind, Itachi-chan," Kane said, letting a smirk curl his lips. Shisui guffawed from behind him.
"Fine," Itachi said, mouth set in a firm line. "Let's start with a spar."
Kane grinned, and reached into his pouch, and drew out a scroll, unsealing a long, thin sword from the depths. He'd brought his new katana and he was eager to test it out.
Itachi eyed it warily. Kane felt a cold curling in his gut. Itachi hadn't been behind the idea of the katana from the start. What if he really just thought it was dumb but was too polite to say anything?
"What are the rules?" Yuugao asked, breaking Kane from his worries.
Itachi glanced over at Shisui, who was eyeing Kane's sword. "I call him," Shisui said, pointing at Kane. "We'll do two on two."
Yuugao snorted, and then she grinned. "I like these teams. Now I remember — my sister told me about you, Uchiha Shisui. I'll stick with Itachi."
"So be it," Itachi said. "Nothing lethal." Then he nodded to Yuugao, and they stepped away from Kane and Shisui.
Shisui turned to Kane, and asked, "Ok, what's the plan, here?"
Kane shrugged. "Itachi's basically unbeatable, but Yuugao's not so good at jutsu?" he said, unsure.
"Nah, I can take Itachi," Shisui countered. "His problem is he thinks too much, and I'm faster."
"You do know he's got the sharingan, right?" Kane asked.
Shisui didn't say anything to that. Instead, he winked, and Kane saw the flash of red in his eyes.
"The jutsu thing, however, is useful," he said, brow furrowed in concentration. "Ok. As soon as we start, I'll hit her with a genjutsu, and then we'll both rush Itachi. Sound good?"
"Sure," Kane replied, looking over at the other side of the field, where Itachi and Yuugao huddled together, conversing.
"Oi! Tachi-chan! Let's go!" Shisui shouted.
The two looked up. "It's on, losers!" Yuugao jeered.
Itachi nodded as well, and then Shisui was darting forward, almost as if he was on fast-forward, and the rest of them were on regular speed. Kane rushed to catch up, but Shisui easily outpaced him, a kunai in his hand, sharingan whirling.
Kane looked to Yuugao, but she was staring off into space. Shisui must have already hit her with the genjutsu. Kane brought his sword up to guard, and moved to flank Itachi.
Shisui had closed to close range — he struck out with the kunai, but Itachi didn't as much dodge as flow around the swing. Itachi swung back, a deceptively graceful move that looked like a sloppy karate chop. Shisui didn't dodge, tensing his arm to receive the somewhat limp blow, when a fan unfurled in Itachi's outstretched hand and gouged the fan's razor-sharp spokes into Shisui's skin.
He hissed and jumped back, his retreat leaving a hole for Kane to come in with an overhand swing. Itachi, however, was already drifting past; the graceful follow-through on his strike moved him barely enough past the falling sword to avoid it. Whether it was a deliberate dodge using the sharingan or purely accidental, Kane couldn't tell, but the move was so smooth that the difference was indiscernible.
Kane felt his gut churn, but Shisui was already on his other side, kunai raised. Itachi aborted his movement, slamming the fan closed and meeting the kunai with its flat edge. Recovering with his sword would take too long, and Itachi was too close, so Kane lashed out with his foot. Itachi took the blow on his thigh, wincing.
"Come on," Shisui said, another kunai in his hand, slashing wildly in his haste.
But by the time Kane managed to gather enough momentum to attempt a second slash, Itachi had a fan and a kunai, and somehow the advantage. Then, he found that a properly wielded hand fan could in fact block a katana, before Itachi cornered Shisui, and held a kunai to his arm.
"Gotcha," he said. Shisui pouted, but then was over behind Yuugao a heartbeat later. She didn't wake until he held a kunai to her throat and pronounced her dead.
"That's not fair," she protested. "You used genjutsu. That's a cheap way to win!"
But none of them were paying her much mind. In the moment of Shisui's absence, Kane found himself down a dominant hand, as well, and he didn't know much about left-handed swordsmanship, so he found himself face-to-face with Shisui, Itachi at his back, a kunai pressed against his throat.
"You've lost, sempai," Itachi taunted. "If this were a real battle, you'd have to surrender so I don't kill Kane."
"Oh?" Shisui said, sounding deliberately airy. "But you let your teammate die to take my hostage, so I came off better."
Itachi scoffed, but Kane was fed up with this bickering. He bit his lip, bitterness gathering at the cold steel pressed against his neck. "Stop! I thought we were supposed to be training together!" Shisui seemed taken aback, and Yuugao, too, took note of the suddenly-tense mood. "This isn't — nobody's improving here!" Itachi's grip tightened for a millisecond, and then relaxed. "Itachi, we give up!"
Shisui looked vaguely mutinous, but he didn't protest when Itachi let Kane go. "What, we can't spar now?"
"That's not what he meant and you know it, sempai," Itachi said quietly.
Shisui crossed his arms. "Fine."
"All I'm saying is that we should make some ground rules. Yuugao didn't even get to do anything at all." The girl in question scoffed, but Kane could tell she was listening. "It can't be like this — we need a system that lets us learn something other than you two are really good," he said.
"That's a good idea," Itachi conceded. "A free-for-all is perhaps not optimal. What do you suggest, Kane?" Almost as an afterthought, he added, conciliatory, "I can show you some of what I know of the katana — my father taught me a bit."
Kane felt his face break into a small smile. Asking that was as good as approval from Itachi. He felt a wave of relief.
"I'd love that," he said.
Itachi nodded. "We can talk about that afterwards, though. Did you want to say something about our spar?"
And then, they were all looking at him, expectantly. Even Shisui, who he had only just met today, and Yuugao, who he was pretty sure hated him. He couldn't back down now.
"Well, let's start with the basics. Show me the rules of cutting off limbs or pronouncing people dead."
And miraculously, they all leapt to comply. It was a position that he wasn't used to at all, and that he quite liked — people looking to him for answers.
And it was where he found himself, time and time again, in the center of their team.
a/n: People re-reading will notice a lack of a cliffhanger in the end of this chapter. I felt as if Ch. 11 was enough of an emotional climax, so I'll use 12 as a building action. The timeskipping will remain the same, however - 11 remains an outlier/interlude, and 12 takes place three years after this.