Itachi left early the next morning, but Sasuke woke up to see him out to his car. The whole weekend had passed in a flash, it almost didn't feel real. But that was the way interactions with Itachi always seemed to work.
Hugs, or any kind of emotional goodbye, weren't Itachi's style, so Sasuke got a handshake from him on the sidewalk as his car pulled up to the curb.
"Thank you again, little brother," Itachi said.
"Thanks for coming," Sasuke said, knowing better than to say 'come back soon.' He doubted Itachi would be back for months. Unless, of course, something of note happened because of Madara.
Itachi turned back to Sasuke just before getting in the car. "Mom would've loved Sakura," he said, smiling slightly. And then he closed the door behind him, and the car was off without another word. Sasuke watched it disappear around the corner before going back inside, Itachi's words echoing his head. He always loves having a dramatic exit, Sasuke thought, but he was more amused than annoyed.
On second thought, maybe this weekend did feel real. He knew what he had to do.
Taking the elevator up to Madara's office, Sasuke couldn't help feeling slightly anxious. No matter how sure he was about this decision, facing Madara was never ideal, particularly in this situation. His uncle was liable to tear him apart verbally, and Sasuke didn't really know how he would feel when he left the office.
Still, he approached the closed door with confidence.
"Sasuke," Madara said when he entered, sitting back in his chair, and Sasuke had a nagging (and paranoid, he thought) feeling that his uncle knew exactly what he was coming in to say.
"I have to talk to you about something," Sasuke said.
"I assumed so," Madara said, smiling slightly. "Otherwise why would you be here? Have a seat."
Sasuke moved farther into the room but didn't sit down. "I'm not going to follow the law track anymore at KU. I don't want to join the firm."
At his words, a ripple crossed Madara's face, disrupting his carefully neutral expression. "That's quite a dramatic statement, Sasuke," he said, his voice controlled. "Perhaps you'd like to enlighten me...?"
"I don't want to be a lawyer," Sasuke said. "I don't think it requires much more of an explanation than that."
"Oh, but it does," Madara said forcefully, and already Sasuke saw his façade starting to wear away at the edges. "This is sudden. You have never been the type of person in this family to break with tradition. At least until this summer, I suppose." He shook his head slightly, and Sasuke frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
"The girl. This is about the girl, after all, isn't it?"
"No. It's not," Sasuke ground out. He'd expected Sakura to come up in this conversation, but the question ignited a match dangerously close to the fuse inside him.
"I let you have your fun this summer. And trusted you not to be influenced by her," Madara said. "But somehow it happened anyway."
"She didn't influence me," Sasuke said, trying not to let himself be affected by Madara's words. "This was my choice."
"Of course she influenced you," Madara said, sounding almost disgusted. "Why else would this happen now?"
"Because I made up my mind. She had nothing to do with it, not in the way you think."
"So what did she have to do with it, then?" Madara was leaning back in his chair, surveying Sasuke as if he were a witness on the stand. It was a typical tactic, and Sasuke wasn't intimidated.
"She made me realize what I want," Sasuke said, eyes narrowed.
"Well. How fortunate for you," Madara said, his words dripping derision.
Sasuke said nothing.
"I cannot believe you would let your judgment be so affected," Madara said, his eyes cold. "Honestly, Sasuke. I shouldn't even have to say this, but take a minute to think about what you're saying."
"I have," Sasuke said. "You think I haven't thought about it?"
"Well, reason begs that conclusion," Madara said. "But you have never acted like this before, which is the only part of this that confuses me. You've changed, and not for the better."
"You don't even know me," Sasuke said, and he'd never said anything more true. "You've never known me."
"I know enough to be disappointed that you're using a ridiculous, typical excuse such as that," Madara said.
"It's true," Sasuke said through gritted teeth. "And I'm not the first one to do this." Immediately, Obito was a third person in the room, in both of their minds.
Madara said nothing for a moment, but his eyes were slits. "You're incredibly foolish if you think following in Obito's footsteps is something to be commended. He had everything in front of him, and he pushed it all aside. His whole life was rash and careless. Your father and I had to forgive him in the end, because of the illness, but it wasn't deserved. He wreaked havoc in our family."
"That's ridiculous," Sasuke said.
"I held the truth from you, Sasuke, because this family is better than that," Madara said. "There are standards."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke said coldly. Clearly any opinions Madara had expressed about Obito in their other conversation, weeks ago, had been lies. Sasuke realized with disgust that he shouldn't have taken anything Madara had said at face value.
"Uchihas hold themselves to a certain level," Madara said. "Obito disregarded that completely, and shamed the family because of it."
"Because he didn't become a lawyer?"
"Yes. Along with the rest of his choices. And to think I thought you were headed along a straight path. It turns out he's become your role model. You've chosen him over your own father."
Sasuke knew Madara would do this, twist his words, but it stung all the same. "I don't have role models," he said, eyes narrowed. "This has nothing to do with my father. But I know what I want, and it's not this."
Madara just stared at him for a second. Then he raised a skeptical eyebrow. "And when will you tell Itachi about your grand plans? I know you respect him more than I, so what do you think he will say?" He was smiling as if he knew he'd cornered Sasuke. It was his smug look of triumph, probably reserved for the closing argument of a case he thought was an easy win.
Watching that expression slide off his uncle's face satisfied Sasuke more than anything. "He already knows," Sasuke said, locking eyes with Madara. It was the first time he'd ever seen surprise flicker in his uncle's eyes.
"Don't play games with me, Sasuke," Madara said. "Your brother would never stand for this."
"I told him last week," Sasuke said. He frowned. "You don't know him, either, do you."
Madara was seething. "So it's come to this, then," he said after a moment. His hands straightened the papers on his desk mechanically. "I control your savings until you turn twenty-five. You have access to basic finances, of course, but your inheritance remains under my power. You know that is the money used for your education. Suppose I cut it off now?"
Clearly he expected Sasuke to be taken aback by this, but Sasuke had known that a threat like this was likely. "You really think that bothers me?" He raised his eyebrows. "I don't care. And even if I did...You're not the best lawyer in the family." Itachi would take his side in a lawsuit, and there was nothing Madara could do about that. Sasuke almost smirked in the face of his uncle's anger.
"Leave my office," Madara said coldly. "Take some time to rethink your ridiculous ideas. I will send a message in a few days regarding the future."
He meant an ultimatum, and maybe it was cavalier, but in that moment Sasuke couldn't care less about its contents. He turned and walked out of the office without another word. He left the glass entrance doors behind in a haze of mixed emotions: anger, satisfaction, and a slight, stinging pain that somehow flared stubbornly deep inside him.
"How did it go?" Sakura asked when he called her later that night.
"How I expected," Sasuke muttered.
"Are you okay?" He could hear her frowning.
"Of course," Sasuke muttered.
"Just making sure," Sakura said. "So...What now?"
"I don't go back to the office," Sasuke said. Probably ever. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Madara's face was still emblazoned in his brain, radiating anger and disapproval.
"Sorry, I don't know what to say besides 'good riddance,' honestly," Sakura said, and Sasuke smiled involuntarily. "Are you free tomorrow?"
"Now I am." Sasuke realized that as he said it. He wasn't about to show his face at the firm; that was all finished now. Before today, he thought that would feel good. Instead, he just felt unsure about everything. "What did you have in mind?"
"You'll see. Just...Go along with me, okay?"
"Okay..." Sasuke had no idea what she meant.
"Meet me at the garage around ten?"
"Aa." At least seeing Sakura would make things feel more grounded. There was going to be a new normal in his life, and right now she was the only thing that Sasuke was really sure about.
A/N: I realize it's been a while. I'm having some trouble finding solid writing time (and inspiration tbh), but hopefully I'll sort that out as the year goes on. College is cool but also time-consuming haha.