Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I am not making any money off this. This is simply my take on the large blanks Kishimoto-san left for us in the Uchiha's history.
Warnings: This story spans from war to massacre to abuse of various forms. Topics in this may be unpleasant for the reader so reader discretion is advised.
Spoilers: This contains spoilers for Kakashi Gaiden. All other information referenced in the story should only involve episodes that have been shown on Cartoon network and Chapters that have been published in volume format in English.
I don't have a Beta right now. If this changes, this note will change
Notes: This was completed for National Novel Writing Month and is complete, it will be posted chapter by chapter as they receive their final edit.
The Uchiha Massacre
- Chapter 13 -
Two months later and Itachi returned to active duty. His former jônin sensei still trained him, but the man was already taking a new Genin team. Jônin who could train genin were still in short supply, so he was getting a new team as soon as the graduations happened in the next two weeks. Itachi had been added as an extra person to several teams in order to have a full team for missions. He did not consider those people teammates though. No his teammates were never going on a mission with him again. The people he was assigned with were just fellow leaf shinobi. He treated them with respect and always carried out his portion of the mission flawlessly. No one could complain. They did comment on the Uchiha heir being even more closed off than they had expected of a Uchiha.
He had also managed to grab an occasional solo mission. He made a point to always finish those perfectly and a head of schedule in the hopes that he would get more missions like that. He turned in his mission reports right away and no matter how difficult made them seem as if he had no difficulties with any of them, no matter how hard those missions really were. He was happiest on his own. He was away from his family and away from others that he could not trust.
On the four-month anniversary of the chuunin exams, Itachi received the news that he and his former sensei had been hoping for. Nobu had regained consciousness. After turning in his latest mission report, he excused himself from the makeshift team he had been placed on. He arrived at the hospital to see his sensei already there. Nobu was propped up in bed. Fresh flowers were on the table by the bed. As soon as Itachi entered the room, he knew that Nobu would never be a ninja again. The bandages had been taken from his eyes.
Itachi was a Uchiha, their eyes were everything. Without their eyes, the clan would have lost power long ago. Without their eyes the clan was weak. From their earliest days, they were protective of their eyes, knowing how delicate and vital those two small organs were. Nobu's … they were dead. The poison that had coursed through his body had completely destroyed them. Itachi sat there, mostly silent, but his teammate was used to that. Their old sensei covered the lull in conversation with his own talking. Itachi had never been expected to take part in casual conversation – they had had Sachiko for that.
By the time Itachi left Nobu's room, the pain he had bottled up inside had again risen to the surface. He felt her loss as clearly as if it had just happened again. He remembered carrying her body back to Konoha. He took a wrong turn in the hospital as he tried to leave. Guards quickly blocked his way, but not before those eyes of his caught a sign of the name on a clipboard a medical ninja was carrying. His old sensei, Morino-sensei.
Itachi gasped and looked at the guards, they were ANBU … he could not bluff his way past them. The only way in would be to attempt the truth. "Morino-sensei. He was rescued?" As he spoke, another ANBU appeared from the room that was being guarded. This ANBU had a shock of white hair and Itachi immediately recognized his as Hatake Kakashi. Holding up a hand, the masked teenage waved off the two guards. "The Uchiha was there was Morino-san was taken."
Walking past the guards and Kakashi, Itachi entered the room. His old sensei was there. The man was covered in bandages, and what wasn't wrapped was burnt and scared. Whatever had happened, the man was badly tortured. He would carry those scars for the rest of his life. Itachi looked down at the large man in the bed, captivity and torture had caused his frame to become gaunt, but it was the same strong man that had led him and his first team.
Morino Ibiki opened his eyes. Seeing one of his genin brought him some peace as he closed his eyes again. Itachi though, seeing his sensei whom at one point he had thought to be all powerful, brought down to this. It was too much. In his already stressed mental condition, he could not handle it. Eyes flashed to red and he fled from the room. He ran out a back door from the hospital and started just running through the town. He was unsure of his destination until he found himself at Sachiko's house.
Not thinking, he pounded on the door. When Sachiko's mother answered the door, Itachi was fighting back tears. He had kept everything all bottled inside for so long. He was still only ten years old. It did not matter that he was a chuunin or that he had been a shinobi for years. It did not even matter that he had taken so many lives in battle. Right now, he was a boy, alone and scared. His team was destroyed. Sachiko was dead and Nobu probably would have been better off dead than in this condition. He had even failed his old sensei.
Sachiko's mother brought him into the house. When he begged her not to tell his mother that he was there, she complied. She had never seen a Uchiha in this state. No one had seen the Uchiha heir like this. As tears flowed down his face, he explained how Sachiko's death was his fault. How it was the end of a string of disasters brought about by his weakness. It was his fault that he had not activated the Sharingan sooner. If he had, he would have been able to save Morino-sensei from being taken and then the man would not have been tortured. His original team would have been intact instead of the Inuzuka girl dead and the Shiranui boy serving food at a restaurant. If he had been stronger, he wouldn't have been injured in those caves, and they would have been able to take out everyone else, and no one would have died in the final exam.
It was his fault. His warning must have been too late to Nobu. It would have been better had he never given any warning than to see his friend in that condition. He explained how he should have known that Sachiko was too weak to defend herself after her second battle. He explained how he should have been faster and been able to save Sachiko. It was all his fault, yet for some reason, Sachiko's mother was hugging him and saying it wasn't his fault.
It was two hours later before he left her house. By the time he left, no one could have known that the stoic Uchiha heir had cracked. No one could tell he had cried like the child he was. He had lost the person he trusted most in this world, but it was not his fault. The girl's own mother could not blame him. Part of him knew if he had been stronger things would have been different, but it was not his fault. Rock ninja had killed her, and rock ninja would pay.
His conviction to bring about the destruction of Rock lasted until he reached his house. Seeing Sasuke practicing his kunai skills reminded him, there was evil just as vile, if not worse lurking right there in Konoha.
Life continued in the village as if nothing had happened. Every day, Itachi either trained with his cousin Shisui, or he visited Nobu in the hospital, or he went on a mission. Five months after his return to active duty, he had gone on more missions as a Chuunin than was required to submit an application to ANBU. By the time the six-month mark was reached, Itachi had celebrated his eleventh birthday and turned in his application to be one of the youngest ANBU members ever.
As expected his first application was turned down and he was encouraged to try again in another six months. Another six months of relentless training and missions and he found himself in the basement of the Torture and Interrogation building stripped of his shirt as the bright red tattoo was added to his arm. It was unusual, but not unheard of, for chuunin to be accepted into ANBU. That he had been accepted, not only as a chuunin, but before he had even turned twelve was a testament to his hard work and skill. Soon the red tattoo was finished and Itachi was given his mask. He looked at the feline visage looking back at him. The red marks on the white porcelain matched the Sharingan eyes he had activated near constantly now.
As a new recruit to ANBU, he would be paired with a more experience Shinobi. He did not know who, and he had no say in the matter. The pairing would last for another six months where he and his mentor would take missions as a pair and as part of a larger team. He would be taught secrets known only to the special forces of Konoha from that mentor and be guided through his assimilation to the group.
Itachi prepared himself for the worst. He was expecting the mentor to be another Uchiha. Since so many of their skills were dependent on the Sharingan, it only made sense for Uchiha to mentor other Uchiha. It was another thing that kept the clan close to one another. It kept their secrets safe that each Uchiha's destiny seemed to be linked back into the clan. He waited for his mentor to arrive. The ANBU uniform felt good. The tight black clothing moved with him effortlessly. The sandals had near perfect traction even without any chakra coursing through them. The armor even felt like it moved well. He was not sure how much real protection that armor provided, but it seemed to match his body weight well.
The clothes were definitely custom crafted to each member's dimensions. While it would surprise some people that ANBU was able to get exact measurements for a new recruit, Itachi expected it. Several members of the Uchiha clan were in ANBU, and to know sizes was nothing for their eyes. The fact another Uchiha had spied on his at some point to get his measurements did distress him though. There was nothing that could be done about it though, although he was determined to figure out how the ANBU could watch the village so effectively. He had not sensed anyone watching him, and that disturbed him.
The door opened and the Uchiha heir's eyes flew to the man walking in. He had not heard the other approach. He had not sensed the other. Itachi's eyes immediately reverted to the Sharingan and red eyes met mismatched eyes of blue and red. Hatake Kakashi looked back at him from the other side of a porcelain dog mask. For a moment, Itachi thought the other was there to lead him to his mentor – then he realized he had escaped being assigned to another Uchiha.
Kakashi led him from the room, walking through the halls as he started to show his young charge around. The people in charge had thought it best that Itachi be assigned to another ANBU member that not only knew how to use the Sharingan but also knew what it was like to loose teammates that were close. Although Itachi thought that his first rejection was due to a lack of experience, the true reason was that they were worried about his mental stability with having lost so many teammates. Also, the boy's reaction to the death of his teammate Sachiko had struck alarms in many people's heads.
However, in the past six months the relationship that seemed to be forming between Itachi and Sachiko's mother was seen as a positive. To see the boy forming a bond where he showed up at the woman's house occasionally to drink tea in her garden was approved of. Yes, ANBU members had been keeping an eye on the boy ever since he had placed in his first application. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before the Uchiha heir was accepted into the organization, so the people in charge wanted to make sure they had as much information on the boy as possible before they allowed him within their ranks.
All of Itachi's training was monitored, his interactions with people in the village. Many of his missions even had someone on them that reported back to the ANBU leaders. The only place that Itachi was not monitored was when he was in the Uchiha compound. Too many former ANBU lived in that area and too many pairs of observant eyes would be watching for them to risk trespassing on Uchiha ground.
The next two weeks seemed to fly by. Now that he had been accepted into ANBU, Itachi's schedule was hectic and erratic. He worked in training with his cousin still, and he found time to spend with his little brother, however he spent a lot of time away from the compound. His mission schedule was classified now, so his father had no way of knowing when he was on a mission and when he was not. Itachi spent many nights away from his room to go and train in the woods instead of being where that man could find him.
This did not go unnoticed by his mentor. When they were training, Kakashi stopped the practice. The Hatake boy was not one to often talk, however, he had to say something. "You are not getting enough rest at night."
Itachi did not let his face betray a single emotion. He had grown too used to dealing with other members of his clan for the Hatake's Sharingan eye to be able to discern his emotions. "I have never slept much."
Kakashi nodded. "My window is always open. There is a bedroll on the floor." He did not know why the boy did not want to stay at his house. He had not been able to figure it out yet. Since that day Itachi had run from his room in a panic, Kakashi had been watching the boy. Whenever he was gone from the village, the young Uchiha was more relaxed. When he returned to the village, that stress went up. When he left the Uchiha compound in the morning … or sometimes the night, it was quickly. He never was in a hurry to return though. Something was causing the boy not to want to be there, and Kakashi was determined to figure out what. This boy was his student; he was responsible for him now. He owed it to Obito to keep Itachi safe.
Kakashi let the training resume. He knew he could not push the Itachi too far before the boy would completely close up. He knew it well because Itachi reminded him so much of himself when he was younger. They had both been thrust into the shinobi life at a young age. They were both sticklers for the rules. They both spent more time at the memorial stone than anyone their age should. In many ways, they were alike, but the darkness that seemed to surround the Uchiha was more ominous than anything that had plagued Kakashi.
It was three nights later when Kakashi was awoken to the sound of someone landing on his windowsill. The only reason the other had gotten so close was that he was so used to Itachi's chakra after all the training they did together. He knew that Itachi realized he was awake, so he opened his eyes and gestured to the bedroll. True enough, there was a bedroll in the corner of the room as if Kakashi had expected someone to show up at night. In fact, he hadn't known, but he had hoped. Itachi was cold and wet as he walked into the room. Kakashi had not been expecting that. "The shower is in there." He gestured at the bathroom. He had no idea why the Uchiha showed up freezing cold and ripping river water.
Itachi walked into the small bathroom without a single word. As Kakashi heard the water running, he dug around for the smallest pair of clothes he had. While Kakashi had always had a slim frame, Itachi's was even more slender. He opened the door to the bathroom and set the clothes inside along with a towel. With that, he climbed back into bed. If Itachi wanted to talk, he would talk. If the boy did not want to talk, at least Kakashi's student would have a safe and dry place to sleep.
As expected, Itachi emerged from the bathroom silently. His damp training clothes were draped across the back of a chair and then the bedroll was laid out on the floor. Kakashi was not sure how he had missed that before. The boy's clothes had been damp, as if he had pulled them on while his body was wet. They were not wet as if the boy had ended up in the river fully clothed. Whatever was going on, he was determined to figure it out. However, tonight he was going to let the boy sleep. He saw Itachi climb into the blankets, knowing full well that Kakashi was watching him. Itachi did not care. All he wanted was to get some sleep somewhere safe. This was not the same type of safe as he had grown accustomed to back when Nobu and Sachiko were his teammates, but it was as close as he could get now. He closed his eyes and was soon in a deep sleep, able to relax since he was away from his family.