Chapter 10

Blood Paid

Itachi walked out of the forest numb and broken. He had passed the test, but at what cost? His heart ached and felt like it had been crushed. His inability to protect her, to stop it from happening, for not being able to see this from happening. Lord knew she had seen it. Her words came rushing back to him along with the memory of the muddy boot print across her chest. grief of his failures had clawed at him as he made his way home. Haku's friends had gone off in search for her, but he was unsure they would find her in time. He turned the corner into the Uchiha compound and heard a familiar voice,

"The job is done."

"Very good. Here is your payment." Itachi turned the corner and found his father handing over a small bag of coins to a strange raggedy man. Though the man looked very different Itachi knew his voice. He was one of Haku's kidnappers. Itachi's father looked surprised to see and gestured for the man to leave. The man quickly walked away with the bag of money stuffed in his pocket. Itachi was about ask his father what that man was doing here when his mother came around the corner and called him,

"Itachi." Itachi turned to his mother and waved and turned back to his father to ask him his question, but his father was already walking away. So Itachi went to his mother and asked,

"Do you know the man that father was talking to?" something akin to guilt crossed his mother's face.

"Sometimes in order for your father to do his job as police chief we must hire outsiders to take care of some problems close to home."

"Is that what he was paid to do? Take care of a problem."

"Yes, she was a potential threat to the clan." Something in Itachi snapped when his mother said she. Haku it seemed had been found out by his family. They had tried to purge her. He ripped the stone under his shirt and asked,

"Does everyone know about this?" His mother nodded absent mindedly.

"Of course." His mother paused and suddenly seemed to remember something. "I need to get something, why don't you head home and wait for Sasuke to get back, I'll be there shortly." Itachi nodded wordlessly and made his way home where his grief and anger over took him. He didn't even notice his mother had beat home even though she had walked away from their home not towards. His anger soon bloomed into a killing rage.

Mean while in a cell Haku was used the stone Itachi had to make a connection to watch Itachi. She watched through the stone as Itachi moved from family member to family member and killed them. She ended up screaming in his head to stop but he could not hear her through the blood lust. When she saw Itachi turn to his bother Haku remembered all the times Itachi had talked about his brother. She knew if there was someone on this earth that Itachi cared about it was this little boy. If she didn't stop him there would be nothing left of the man she loved. Haku screamed stop and that seemed to reach him this time. He looked down at his brother who was squirming in agony. He had used a power of the Sharingan and the horror of what he had been about to do crashed over him. He left leaving his brother alive. If he could not find and save Haku then he would gladly die by his brother's hand.

Haku slumped over in her cell. She was so weak from the attack and now this. Her body was wracked with sobs at what Itachi had done on her behalf.