Honorable grandson mentions:
To both Sam est classe and sjlovesstories for such inspiring and cherished reviews. Both of you wrote over 200 words! I nearly cried.
I read every review multiple times and every comment inspires me and challenges me to write more. To try better. I want to thank you all!
This chapter is a milestone for me. This is 10 chapters, 100k words and the 10th consecutive update. I know a month is a long time to wait but for those who return every single month, thank you so much. You are the reason I want to write. To take you on this journey with me.
Without further rambling.
Enjoy.
_〆(TーT)ꋧ\ "One person is all everyone needs." - Jiraiya
The village was the same as it had always been.
As if he hadn't left it behind.
As if he hadn't deliberately set the Nine-tailed demon loose in the middle of the night.
It irked him slightly, how well the village was able to rebound. Well, only its outer appearance had managed to make a comeback. If his information was correct, then the village was struggling economically, and a dark seed of animosity had been planted and fostered unknowingly by himself.
Tobi wasn't one to let an opportunity pass him by.
This opportunity was a chance creation of his own. It was his to exploit.
Tobi stood in the darkness within the bunker of the Nakano shrine. He had just paid a brief and unknown visit to one Uchiha Yashiro. For an Uchiha, the man was pathetic and easily scumbled to his Genjutsu. Though he may be pathetic, Yashiro had a loud voice in the clan. A voice of disruption and unease that Tobi was taking full advantage of.
The darkness did nothing to hinder the vision of his lone Mangekyo Sharingan. Before him stood the stone tablet, a clan secret and a sort of relic of the Uchiha. His eye glared at the letters. The tablet was a work of written art, but with his eye, it was an art that Tobi was only able to partially understand.
The incomprehensible letters streamed down the tablet in eight lines of linking parts. Without his Sharingan, they looked almost like a foreign language. With his base Sharingan active, small sentences were warped into something visible. But the Mangekyo revealed parts of its brilliance. Full sentences were made in varying directions, each giving hints to the fuller story of the tablets engraved history. Ironically, the obvious lines were the ones that escaped his understanding the most.
On the second line from the right, moving down to the left diagonal, was the sentence he had come here to read. He had seen it before, memorized it with his Sharingan, but he still returned to the stone tablet whenever he found his train of thought shrouded.
"When someone who possesses the power of Saṃsāra approaches the moon, an eye will open that is reflected on the moon to grant the eternal dream."
This one line had his mind-twisting over and over. They were words that he had first been told by Uchiha Madara himself. The power of Samsara. Madara had told him that it was the power of the Rinnegan. The entire thing made almost no sense, but it promised at something more. Somehow, Madara understood more about the wisdom behind the tablet. Tobi was simply following the plan laid out for him.
Madara's plan for peace.
Tobi would follow the plan, the Forbidden Individual Curse Seal on his heart wouldn't allow him to act against Madara's wishes.
So, Tobi would follow the plan, but the plan would slowly become his own. He had little trust in the integrity of Madara, a nagging in the back of his mind that glared at the manipulative nature of his predecessor. A small fragment the remained of Obito. That fragment was often cast aside. Madara trusted him, to some degree, to finish the plan. So, Tobi had been left with everything the man possessed as he willingly passed on. His possessions, his eyes and his name had all been given to Tobi as tools to enact the plan.
A shifting of familiar chakra pulled through the floor behind him. "Nagato has killed Hanzo." Came the dark voice of Zetsu.
Tobi turned his lone visible Sharingan eye to the creature, Madara had been convinced that it was a creation of his own will. Tobi wasn't so sure. Because of this, Tobi kept Zetsu close.
As close as possible.
And he watched.
The only thing that Tobi knew for sure was that Zetsu wanted the plan to happen. For this reason, Tobi didn't speak on his objections of the creature.
"Then we best not keep them waiting."
Zetsu sunk back into the ground.
Tobi left the building, no one was around the shrine at this time of the year, there was a festival in the streets of the village so everybody would be sufficiently distracted. He looked up into the clear skies of the land of fire and counted the seconds, giving Zetsu a head start in his movements. With a small spike of his power enhanced by his Sharingan, Tobi found himself comfortably pulled away into the space of his own being before reappearing alongside Zetsu in a cold room.
Before him stood seven figures, one with blue hair and the rest had similar shades of orange in varying lengths and styles. In the back of the room, cradled in the creator of impact, was the corpse of Hanzo the Salamander.
Tobi smiled in satisfaction behind his mask, "Finally, your dreams come to fruition…" The Hidden Rain now belonged to Nagato, the crowd of seven turned to Tobi as his voice boomed deeply through the room. "It was worth all the sacrifices it took to get here. It was a long journey, but… This is the end of the eternal warfare of the Hidden Rain."
Zetsu pulled himself entirely out of the ground to stand in his Akatsuki cloak, solid black decorated with a few simple red clouds. The entire room matched in their cloaks, everybody, except for Tobi himself.
The body of Yahiko stood at the forefront of the group, Nagato's favourite little puppet. Tobi addressed him directly, "All that is left is to conquer the land and create the world we want. Now I need to ask the both of you to help fulfil my dreams." He asked the two original members of Akatsuki because despite there being seven figures, only two people actually there.
His eyes flickered over to the blue-haired woman, Konan. She stood by passively, watching Tobi and Zetsu with no clear emotion on her face. Nagato's projection controlled the six orange-haired husks. His Rinnegan, formally belonging to Madara, allowed Nagato impossible feats. His blood of Senju and Uzumaki could not only sustain the powerful oculars but also harness it in a way that could help push forward the plan.
"I believe that was the promise." Tobi finished. In exchange for ridding the Rain of the killer of Yahiko, Nagato's dearest friend and the former owner of the body Tobi spoke to, the Akatsuki would aid him in his plots to reform their world.
"I understand," Nagato spoke through Yahiko, newly named Pain. "So what do you specifically require?"
"First is members. In order to move as 'the Akatsuki', I'd say we need to gather…" He pondered the number briefly, small enough to be contained but still be large enough to pair off into teams. "Let's say ten members, not including me."
Every pair of eyes analyzed him, Tobi's blazing Sharingan watched them right back. "In the Akatsuki, we already have you and Konan," Tobi said, grouping all of the orange-haired Paths as simply Nagato being one. "With Zetsu, that makes three." Zetsu would be keeping his eye on their movements in times that Tobi could not since Tobi had decided to act from the shadows for now. "Go and gather seven others." He ordered.
"Why not count yourself among us?" Pain asked.
"I need to take care of things behind the scenes. When the time comes, I will join the Akatsuki but until then… You will be the leader."
Silence hung in the room for a contemplative second.
"Understood." Pain replied. "Originally, your plan was one of my goals. It's good to know that we're both on the same page."
Tobi couldn't help the pleased grin that formed and the small "Heh." of his weak amusement.
"So what are we going to do about finding other members?" Asked Konan from the other side of the room.
"I already have my eye on some. It would be a tragedy if any who were unworthy joined." Tobi spoke in an indirect warning.
Konan stepped forward, "Who are they." Clearly she was demanding the information, but if it would aid him in the long run then so be it.
"I have three in particular in mind." He began, holding his fingers to indicate the number more clearly, as if he were speaking to children. Tobi was actually younger than them but everyone else except for Zetsu believed him to be Uchiha Madara. He'd need to sell the act as such.
"One stole the Hidden Waterfall's secret technique and is now an immortal, Kakazu. Second, a rouge of the Sand, a puppeteering genius, Sasori. The third and final one is someone not too distant from me…" Though the third still needed to be pushed and swayed much. "I will bring him in myself."
Tobi turned to the smirking creature behind him, "Zetsu here will be your guide to contact each of them. Bring them into the Akatsuki."
Tobi grinned, "Now go. Complete your assignment. For our ambitions."
With a tug and pull of his chakra, his body was gone in a vortex.
_〆(TーT)ꋧ\ "One person is all everyone needs." - Jiraiya
The sun was gone and the shadows grew over the park he liked to visit. It was one of the most busiest parks in all of Konoha.
And it was the only place where, some days, there were some kids that would let him play with them. This wasn't one of those days.
He stood on the swing, a hand wrapped around each of the chains to keep his balance as he laughed as loudly as he could.
"I'm telling you, you guys don't have a chance against the great Uzumaki Naruto." He declared in a loud challenge. The three kids didn't reply, didn't stop, they didn't even turn around to give a sparing glance or a roll of their eyes.
With the other kids gone, he was along again.
Naruto lowered himself to sit on the swing, the overwhelming loneliness hung over his head like a looming cloud and siphoned at his energy. Maybe he should just go home, but then it wouldn't really be any different. Then again, somehow his room felt even more cold and dark than the night. Although, it was summer and it was still warm, even with the sun halfway past the mountains.
Naruto looked up briefly from glaring at the ground.
Beside him sat a boy.
Naruto felt his heart jump into his throat in pure fright. "Woah!" He yelled out, nearly falling right off the swing as he recoiled in shock. Only by flailing his arms out did he manage to keep from rolling backwards into the dirt.
Naruto turned his eyes to the boy next to him with squinted, suspicious eyes. "Don't go scarin' me like that." He demanded.
Naruto could see the amusement in the boy's dark eyes, "Sorry." He said gently.
Naruto couldn't ever remember that tone being directed at him. His eyes widened in surprise.
Well, that's weird. Good weird, but weird.
"So, like, who are you?" Naruto said, trying to get the guy to talk so they wouldn't leave too soon.
The boy pushed off from the ground and rocked in the swing, pushing it to move. "It doesn't matter who I am, does it?" The boy replied.
Naruto returned to watching him suspiciously. The boy was older than him by a few years, he noticed. "My mom says I'm not s'posed to talk to strangers." He lied.
"She's gone, though?" The boy replied in quiet confusion.
Naruto chuckled in a bashful smile and scratched at the back of his head in embarrassment. "So, you know that?" He admitted, feeling the familiar pang in his gut.
"Uzumaki Naruto is a famed prankster."
At the older boy's words, Naruto felt a sense of pride swell up in him. "Am I that famous?"
"In a certain sense."
Loud and proud laughter swelled up and burst from him in his sense of accomplishment. Now that he was famous, it would be impossible for anyone to just outright ignore him. At the very least, they'd be on their guard against his pranks.
"Your friends ran off."
Naruto's mood immediately plummeted again, he pushed it aside. "If they don't get my pranks, then they're not my pals." He said in a happy tone.
The boy didn't reply.
He no longer fueled the back and forth motion of the swing and eventually began to slow.
Long hair tied back into a ponytail had swung free from beneath the high collared shirt. His black shirt looked clean, but Naruto could make out small tears that had been re-sewn and the sleeves at the beginning of his elbows looked to have taken some damage. The boy was also wearing dark pants that were strapped at the bottom of his shins and shinobi sandals. His clothes screamed ninja.
"Bro!" Naruto said loudly to catch the attention of the boy who had lost himself in the depths of his mind. A coldness had formed in the boy's black eyes. A coldness that Naruto was familiar with being directed at him.
"Hm?" The boy sounded, when the cold black eyes turned to look at Naruto, that coldness melted away as if it had never existed. To be looked at like he was someone was all that he wanted. To have that coldness melt from their gaze like it had with this random big kid. Naruto wondered. He stewed about in his own mind all the time. Why did people stare at him like that? What had he ever done to them?
But now he thought, what had this boy thought of that made his eyes turn so freezingly piercing? Only then to turn to him and have it all fade away?
This boy knew him. Had known that he had no mother and about his drive for pranking.
The boy tilted his head in question.
"You got real quiet all of a sudden. You all right?" Naruto asked.
The boy smiled a little, "I'm fine." Naruto didn't believe him, they were words that were simple to say to others. He used them all the time.
"All right, good." He didn't believe the boy was fine, but he wouldn't butt in on whatever had turned his kind gaze to something like the blade of a Kunai.
The boy turned away and looked to the fading orange of the sky. "It's probably time for you to be getting home." He said.
Naruto kicked at the ground, he knew that. But what was the point of going home when there was nothing to do and no one to talk to? There was just a dark and empty room. "I can go home, but it's not like there's anyone there," Naruto admitted, burying the pain of the truth as much as he could.
The boy stood from the swing, "Then I'll go home."
Dread, confusion and surprise set into his gut and sounded in his voice. "What?"
"Keep fighting." He said.
Keep fighting. The words echoed in his head. His academy teacher said it all the time whenever they faced a problem on paper or if people tried to give up in running laps around the track. This was the first time that those words actually began to mean something. To keep fighting meant to do your best, to keep going, to never give up.
Naruto chuckled to himself, rubbing at his nose with a finger. Coming from this boy, those words sounded cool. Naruto didn't want to forget this boy and didn't want the boy to forget about him either.
Naruto launched himself off of the swing and jabbed his thumb into his chest.
"My name's Uzumaki Naruto. I'm gonna' be the Hokage someday!" Naruto declared.
"You are? Hokage, huh?" The boy smiled proudly, and a light ignited in his dark eyes. "I hope you are."
"I totally am going to be Hokage, remember me till then, bro!" Naruto hoped. He wanted to show that he could. That he would. Naruto watched as the boy disappeared into the night with a wave goodbye.
The park was empty, the stars in the sky shone brightly and Naruto couldn't help but smile up at them. The smile slipped a little as he shoved his hands behind his head and strolled down the street.
He didn't want to go home just yet.
Naruto pulled out his orange froggy wallet and sighed at the sad amount of coins he had left. Only enough for one bowl of ramen. He'd be eating the cup stuff for the rest of the week, again he sighed loudly to himself.
His feet carried him to his favourite place in the entire village. The ramen stand was bright and inviting in the early night. The village was still busy despite the sun being gone. Lot's of restaurants and stands were at their busiest at this time. Naruto wasn't surprised to see another customer in Ichiraku Ramen. It was the best ramen in town after all, if Naruto said so himself.
"Welcome!" Old man Teuchi bellowed from behind the counter, moving the noodles with his super long chopsticks.
Naruto climbed up on the tall stool, if Naruto stood beside it, the red seat came to his shoulders. He could remember not long ago, the seat had been almost as tall as himself. Naruto grinned at his growth, it felt like an accomplishment.
"Oh, it's you, Naruto!" Teuchi grinned and Naruto grinned back. "Yup! One bowl of Pork Ramen please!" Naruto asked.
"Coming right up."
Naruto glanced beside him, one seat away sat a girl who looked like she had only just got her ordered bowl. Naruto was proud of himself when he only needed a glance at her bowl to know that she had ordered Miso Ramen. She glanced to him and caught his staring eye. Naruto chuckled in embarrassment and looked away. He felt her stare burning on the side of his head, but Naruto tried his best to ignore it. It was easier to ignore the feeling when his own bowl was set down on the counter in front of him.
Three slices of pork, fish cakes and spring onions sat on top of fat ramen noodles and soaked in the broth. He could smell it and his mouth was watering.
Naruto grabbed a pair of chopsticks and clapped his hands together when he saw Teuchi staring at him from the corner of his eye. "Thank you for the meal!" Naruto shouted out, making the old man smile. "Dig in!"
It was the old man that had taught him that. On the very first night Naruto had come to the ramen stand, enticed by the scents and promise of shelter from the rain. It was that night, and a free bowl, that started his love for all types of ramen.
Naruto slurped down his noodles greedily, tactically saving his meat for later when he would enjoy it the most. Naruto listened to the bustling streets as he made the effort to chew the noodles before swallowing, doing everything he could to make the noodles last. It wasn't working very well. It just wasn't normal to eat ramen slowly, that and Teuchi would probably scold him.
"Two more bowls please." The girl ordered. Naruto stared at her with bug eyes. Two bowls? But she had already eaten one! Weren't girls supposed to be light eaters and go on diets and stuff? That's what all the girls in the academy whined about anyway.
The girl met his wide-eyed stare and smiled partially before turning back to the old man. "One more for me and one for him."
Even Teuchi paused to look at the girl, "Sure thing!" The old man said loudly.
Naruto openly stared at the girl. Dark eyes looked back at him.
"Why?" Naruto asked, the noodles abandoned by the chopsticks in his grip.
"Because you remind me of someone." She said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Naruto frowned at the answer, "Who?" He asked.
The girl ignored his question and pointed to his bowl. "Better eat that before the next one comes."
His eyes lingered on her, she was dressed in a tan-coloured shirt with a green jacket over the top and black shinobi pants. Around her neck, his eyes lingered on the Regulation ninja head plate. He met her eyes again to find her smiling as he analyzed her.
She was a Kunoichi.
Better yet, she was paying for his next bowl of ramen.
Naruto averted his gaze and quickly finished off his bowl just as another was placed beside him.
"So, who are you?" Naruto slid his new bowl closer to him and shoved the piping hit noodles in his mouth eagerly.
"Introduce yourself first, manners matter, Naruto." She lectured.
Naruto scrunched up his nose, "Why do I need to introduce myself if you already know my name?" He asked.
The girl just rose a lazy eyebrow and peered down at him. Naruto averted his eyes from her probing stare. Ah! Whatever!
He turned back to her, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage!" He declared.
A blink was the single reaction he earned from the girl. She turned away from him and smiled to herself.
"Well, Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage, I'm Kyoko." She said as she picked up her chopsticks and pulled ramen from the broth.
Naruto returned to his own meal. He managed to eat half of it before his curiosity peaked, halfway into the second cut of pork. "So, you're a ninja?" He asked, making an effort not to look in her direction so he could seem uninterested.
Kyoko turned to the boy in slight surprise, "Oh." She touched at the head plate tied around her neck and chuckled. "Yeah, I've been a Shinobi for a few years now." Naruto briefly wondered how old she was but didn't dare to ask. He knew that some women were touchy with their age, so he just hummed a reply.
Laughter came from the girl beside him.
"What?" Naruto demanded.
She just chuckled and shook her head. "Nothing."
This girl was almost as weird as this day had been.
"Wanna' hear some cool ninja stories?" She asked with a grin. Naruto's attention snapped back to the girl with a splitting grin. "Heck yeah!"
That night, he went home with a full stomach after having eaten four bowls of ramen. He fell asleep almost as soon as he hit the bed, dreaming of a wild battle between himself and a Ninja Panther. A dream not unlike a story he had just been told. He woke the next morning, eager for classes for the first time in a long while.
_〆(TーT)ꋧ\ "One person is all everyone needs." - Jiraiya
Kyoko felt good about herself. Last night she had finally talked to the boy. The son of the fourth Hokage. It had taken her a long time to piece together the puzzle.
The swirling chakra of the demon fox was meticulously hidden in the pools of the boy's own life force, which were massive for a child his age.
The rumours that the boy had been the cause of Lord Fourths death.
The gag order on the Nine-tailed demon.
The uncanny resemblance between the father and son.
But it was his chakra that made her realize. Not the monster fox hidden beneath but the natural chakra from Uzumaki Naruto. He and his father shared more than just a physical resemblance. The chakra was distinctly similar in their feel. Like a warm summer's breeze that flowed on a controlled path.
Although Kyoko estimated that Naruto would have much more chakra than his father had by the time the boy grew older. Judging by the overwhelming natural reserves for his current age.
"Oi, let's have a little chat, yeah?" Came the voice of her Captain.
"What do you need, Kakashi-senpai?" She felt the irritation flicker in his chakra at the nickname Team Ro had slapped him with. It was the only form of revenge they could get away with from their demanding Captain.
"We need to discuss your fighting style."
Kyoko frowned behind the mask and turned directly to her Captain. "What needs to be adjusted?" she asked seriously.
"Honestly?" He placed a hand on his side in a way that made the silver-haired man look… Sassy, "Everything."
Kyoko's eyebrow twitched in annoyance but remained silent, waiting for some type of elaboration or reasoning.
"You're too reckless."
"You're going to need to explain better, Senpai." Kyoko bit back, trying to restrain the building attitude from her voice.
"Your abilities are better suited for long-ranged battles and quick executions. Yet you dive blade first into close combat and never properly utilize your abilities. I can count on my hands the number of times you've used your clan Jutsu despite it being better suited for our missions and arguably one of your better Jutsu. Not only that but you seem to willingly forego using anything that you think is boring."
Kyoko had long since averted her gaze from the ear bashing she was getting. She knew. Of course she knew, she wasn't dumb, that she preferred to fight in unconventional ways. Only when she had been forced into a corner would she use her other abilities.
Kakashi had already stated the only reason loud and clear.
It was boring.
There was no fun in sneaking up behind someone and slitting their throat in silence. There was no exhilaration in standing ten meters away while her Jutsu snapped her opponent's bones for her.
"Kyoko's weird." Came a voice from off to the side that had apparently been listening in, despite being in the middle of a spare with Ko. "She enjoys fighting," Itachi said.
Kakashi sighed and rubbed at the back of his head, "So I've noticed."
She stood there, like a scorned child, waiting for her captain to continue. "Either adjust your style or improve." He said.
"Improve how, specifically?" She asked, almost eagerly. Kyoko was more than happy to improve, delighted to train more and more.
Her captain regarded her quietly for a few seconds. "You prefer Taijutsu and Kenjutsu most, don't you?" Kyoko nodded her reply. "I have a few friends that owe me favours, I'll have you train with them for a short while, see how that works out. But if you don't improve, I'm removing you from Team Ro. As you are now, you're a liability."
It was a heavy price to pay if she failed but Kyoko had no problem with the deal.
She also had no idea what she was getting herself into.
She should have known, Kakashi was somewhat off the normal train so she should have expected that he would wind up being one of the normal ones of his friends.
Hayate Gekko was a genius with blades. Though, he was no less of a demanding slave-driver than Kakashi was in training. He drove her ruthlessly into the ground if she dared to under perform. Other than being mercilessly thrashed, both verbally and physically, Kyoko respected the sleepy-looking man. He was the teacher of Yugao, one of her old Anbu squadmates, for a reason.
Kyoko improved rapidly in her blade work in less than a month.
Maito Gai, however, was a monster. A monster of pure determination, resilience and dedication. Proof that you can, in fact, get by on hard work alone. That talent isn't always needed. He was the top Taijutsu specialist of the village, she had come to realize. Gai often called himself her captain's rival. He would rant on and on about Kakashi or youth or give annoying encouragement as he ran beside her in laps around the village with double weights strapped to every limb. Or walked fifty miles on their hands. Or did a thousand sit-ups in ten minutes. And if she couldn't complete one task, another equally ridiculous goal was set until Kyoko found herself collapsing into a shaking, aching mess on the grass.
To have her knowingly subjected to this, even stop by to watch, Kakashi was brutal.
But, eventually, it paid off.
Her captain began to demand her on the front lines of their team. The first to throw the punch. Sometimes putting her in the most desperate of positions as nothing more than a decoy.
She loved every moment of it.
She had even been gifted a katana, her first katana ever. With her old tanto willingly lost, it was time that Kyoko moved on from the dagger. She had grown from the seven-year-old that found the blade heavy. The tanto had long since begun to feel small in her hand anyway. But a katana had so much more reach, and she had so much more raw strength ready to pair with it.
"She'd marry the damn blade if she could," Itachi said exasperatedly to an amused looking Shisui as the three of them rested on the grassy edge of the cliff.
"I do." Kyoko joked with a grin and Shisui barked a laugh. They hadn't seen each other for a while but it was like nothing had changed. Like they weren't growing up at all, like their problems had never existed in the first place. These times were among her favourite in recent days. Right up there with girl time, spent in the company of Inuzuka Hana and Uchiha Izumi.
"Speaking of marriage - " Shisui said carefully.
"Don't." Itachi hissed.
Kyoko stared wide-eyed at the boy's, she knew that they kept her in the dark about their clan troubles but never before had she heard that tone from Itachi.
"What's up?" she asked.
Itachi glared at Shisui then sighed. "My father started looking into candidates for an arranged marriage."
Kyoko winced, "Why?"
"I was naïve and spoke when I shouldn't have. Something I must've picked up from you." He caught the first launched in his direction and smirked. She tsked and dropped her hand back to the ground.
"You and your dad are butting heads?" Kyoko asked.
"Something like that," Itachi replied and Shisui flopped back into the grassy ground.
"Is it about Anbu?"
Itachi shrugged, one of his signs that he was uncomfortable with speaking about it. A plea to drop the subject.
"Why don't you two just elope? That way, neither of you would be forced into an arranged marriage. I mean, you'd already be married and there'd be nothing they could do about it."
Silence hung in the air and Shisui sat up quickly, "Clarifying! That was a joke! You two need to stop taking me seriously!"
Itachi snorted, "We already know not to take you seriously. Not with that hairstyle, anyway."
Shisui glared at Itachi half-heartedly and ran his fingers through his messy mop of hair. "You're just jealous, ponytail." Shisui flopped back onto the ground with closed eyes. Itachi had recently started tying his hair back as it slowly grew longer.
Itachi glanced at Kyoko and she met his gaze.
She understood.
Shisui's ideas were often ridiculous and near impossible, despite his complaints whenever Kyoko managed to pull one off. But this was a plausible back up plan if nothing else, hell, it was a clean loophole that was exploitable whenever it was needed.
Kyoko had almost forgot, with all her missions and training and simply trying to keep a social life in her spare time, she was still the heiress of the Nara clan. That needed to change before events beyond her control played out.
Itachi sighed and followed Shisui's lead, laying back on the ground. His eyes closed and brows furrowed in thought, she wanted to know his thoughts in that moment. She buried the feeling of a rising blush and threw herself in between the boys, crashing harshly against the ground.
A hand found hers and chakra lightly pulsed against it. Kyoko remembered Ninshu. The experience was so strange that the feeling was etched into her memory.
She pushed her chakra to link with his own. When that connected feeling clicked into place, Kyoko sighed.
His emotions were powerful, he felt more deeply than her. His joy, his anger, his determination. She felt like she could get addicted to the feeling, when recently she had been losing touch with her own. The Anbu hadn't yet numbed Itachi any, if anything he was more. More determined, more angry, more accepting. He wasn't thinking, she felt none of the thoughts as she had last time.
She searched his emotions and basked in the comforting way they reassured her. She had never been alone, thanks to the two of them. She found herself at peace, drifting off to a sleep lulled by the push and pull of their chakra.
Itachi was her best friend, she thought dearly, she had no problems sharing her future with him if he needed it. His chakra rippled from her thoughts, but Kyoko was already asleep.
_〆(TーT)ꋧ\ "One person is all everyone needs." - Jiraiya
Anbu was really something else. Even after all these years, Kakashi had never been able to justify some of his missions reasoning.
He tried not to put labels to anything.
Revenge.
Justice.
Necessary.
But sometimes he found himself thinking. Am I really preventing another war? Is this what's best for the village? Should I even be here? Alive? After everything that's happened?
They were all excuses.
But making excuses wasn't his job. He followed orders.
Kakashi watched with diminished hope as a party of ten Hidden Frost shinobi rushed for the four-man team of Chunin from Konoha.
Kakashi's team wasn't ordered to save them. They were there to watch them die and act on revenge. Those were his orders.
They had been two weeks away from solidifying an alliance with the Hidden Frost. But apparently, there were other ideas brewing. The Leaf ninja were ambushed and killed swiftly. Kakashi stood from his crouched position up in the trees.
"So this is how it's going to be, huh?" Kakashi mused out loud. Sometimes, these situations just couldn't be helped. It was the reason Kakashi and the rest of his team were needed to watch from above.
Kakashi pushed out from the trees as he took the lead. His hand tingled and chirped with the lightning chakra. He aimed for the centre of the group of Frost ninja.
His hand sunk through flesh and blood, tearing a hole where his victim's heart should have been. The man was silhouetted by the bright blue light of his Chidori. An achingly familiar sight.
Kakashi both cherished and loathed his best technique.
As he pulled his blood-soaked arm from the body, Itachi landed in the midst of the startled Frost ninja. He was followed closely by Tenzo and one other.
Kakashi knew that all of Danzo's subordinates didn't have names. They were given a new name for each mission. But Kakashi knew this Aburame, even if he introduced himself to the squad as Sugaru.
Sugaru was nothing more than a code name.
"Konoha Anbu!" one of the Frost ninja yelled in warning. With a quick hand sign from his left, a large tree branch tangled around the man's throat and tightened like a snake until the man fell limp.
Tenzo's Wood style Jutsu was as multifunction as always. It was a prize of the village, born of Orochimaru's disgusting experiments.
A blue-haired Frost ninja glared in Kakashi's direction. "The Leaf never had any intention of making an alliance with us, hm?" He spat.
Kakashi kept his tone dry, "You came at us first."
Leaving no room for any response as the lightning of his hand buried in the frost ninja's stomach.
From behind came a loud shriek of an enemy charging for a relaxed-looking weasel mask. Kakashi's Sharingan watched as Itachi intercepted the raised long sword intended for the boy.
A simple grab at the wrist halted his opponent. A single glance of Itachi's Sharingan had the man falling to the ground like a puppet cut loose from its strings.
A blade ran through the man's neck sending the Frost ninja's head rolling on the ground.
Kakashi stopped to watch, Sugaru turned to Itachi and murmured quietly. Kakashi couldn't hear what was said but both turned away in search of a new enemy. Going from the tightening of Itachi's grip around his Kunai, it wasn't anything friendly.
Kakashi watched the area. Sugaru decapitated an enemy begging on his knees. Tenzo took care of a Kunoichi trying to flee. The second to last enemy yelled at Kakashi is desperation. "This will make the land of Frost and the Leaf enemies!"
Kakashi resparked his Chidori and replied gently, "Your lives will prevent that." As he tore open his enemy's celiac plexus.
"Oi!" Tenzo shouted in warning.
Kakashi pulled his arm form a cooling corpse for the third time that day and turned in time to see a boy, even younger than Itachi was, scream a war cry as he plunged his Kunai into Itachi's stomach.
Kakashi couldn't help the slip of worry as he called out.
"I'm all right," Itachi said his eyes not moving from the younger boy. The Frost boy began to shake and sob, knowing the fate he was about to come to. The boy whimpered sounds of fear as he choked through his tears.
"You're a proper ninja now. Be strong." Itachi said quietly, kindly. Sugaru made to step forward but Kakashi held out a hand to stop him. Tenzo stood by his side watching quietly. Killing children was one of the most despicable tasks of the Anbu. But it still had to be done.
"You didn't run away; you came right at me. So I want to treat you with the courtesy a full-fledged ninja deserves." Itachi explained to the shaking boy. From behind, Kakashi could see Itachi grasp at a Kunai. In a single movement, the Frost boy's throat was parted.
Itachi stepped back and gently pried the Kunai from his stomach.
Kakashi approached Itachi who stared down into the empty abyss of the Frost child's dead eyes. With his eyes on the bloodied Kunai, Kakashi rested a hand on Itachi's shoulder.
"It isn't deep," Itachi said distantly.
"Still, let's head back and get expert eyes to have a look, yeah? We're done here." Kakashi gave a side along look to Tenzo, who nodded back to him.
The day was almost over, Kakashi thought to himself.
_〆(TーT)ꋧ\ "One person is all everyone needs." - Jiraiya
Sarutobi Ruma, the eldest son of the Third Hokage, had very few moments of pride in his line of work.
While his two students argued over the pros and cons of which 'Run' they thought was best for this mission, Ruma smiled. It was good to have his team back.
Ruma had not worked with Kyoko on a mission since her invitation into Anbu. Ko, on the other hand, joined in on a few missions posing as his canine counterpart.
But now their unique combination was needed in a precarious mission.
Orochimaru was finally back on the move. The Leaf had been following him as much as possible, but that snake had far too many holes to hide in. But now they had a lead.
Orochimaru had been lurking around the village. For what reason?
To obtain that reason was their job.
Ko and himself were more focused on the physical tracking, Ruma had spent more time pounding information on hunting down a ninja than anything else into the boy. If he weren't lacking in some questionably important areas, like Taijutsu and experience, Ruma would recommend the boy for the Special Jounin exams.
That way, the boy could surpass his hurdle of Chunin.
Not that he couldn't become Chunin if he just took the damn exam, but Ko refused the nomination that had been given just a few weeks ago.
The next exam was only months away.
Ruma discarded his train of thought.
"No 'Runs' today. We'll be doing this a bit differently."
His two bickering students turned to him in confusion.
"How different?" Ko asked suspiciously, giving a weary frown.
"Our target is Orochimaru the Snake Sannin, he isn't someone who leaves decoys to throw pursuers off of his tracks. He cleans his tracks like we breathe." Ruma let this snippet of information sink into the young heads.
Ruma had already informed his little minions on the mission. Orochimaru was hiding away in a nearby town. They needed to find him so that Kyoko could learn the snake's chakra. That way, they would be able to monitor who he wanted to contact within the village. That should allow them to begin hypothesizing the reason that would attract Orochimaru back to the village.
One thing was certain. Whatever interested Orochimaru to bring him so close to danger, it couldn't be good.
Ruma and Ko took the lead. Like hound and hunter, they scoured the town in search of Orochimaru, Kyoko wisely followed behind. She knew her strengths and trusted in theirs.
They made swift work of finding the Sannin. Though, he wasn't exactly being discreet. It was almost like he was intending to be found. Ruma frowned from the cliff edge they stationed themselves on, Orochimaru was deftly intelligent. A genius when devoted. Dangerous when intrigued.
"Got a feel for it yet?" Ko asked in a hushed tone. Likely, the boy was asking about the Sannin's chakra.
Kyoko nodded, "I've got it."
"Now what, Sensei?" Ko turned in his direction, looking across Kyoko from her other side.
"We follow at a distance and take note," Ruma said.
"Distance specifically would be…?" Kyoko trailed off in question.
Ruma shrugged, "Ideally, we'd want to keep him within sights but," as if on que, Orochimaru stepped from the cabin lodge he and his followers were staying in. Orochimaru had three lackeys with him. "The chances of a man like him staying out in the open is slim at best."
"So, this part's on Kyoko?" Ko asked clicking his teeth in annoyance, "How boring."
"Count yourself lucky, brat. What would we be doing if she didn't have her broken ass ability? We'd be getting very close and personal with the snake."
Ko didn't reply, he just turned his gaze to their target with a 'hmph' sound.
Orochimaru and his lackeys stood in bright daylight looking around the surrounding area with a perception hidden behind a casual façade.
"What are they doing?" Ko asked in confusion.
"They're waiting," Ruma said.
"We have a third party approaching the target," Kyoko said.
Let the mission begin.
The third-party arrived in a group of three, their heavy cloaks obscured Ruma's vision from being able to identify any affiliation. Ruma turned to his youngest student.
"Do you have a read on their chakra?" he asked the stiff-looking girl.
"Uh… yeah, more or less." She replied. His eyes traced over tense posture, her high alert attention was solely for the seven ninjas gathered in the distance.
Something was wrong, her mannerisms alone were enough to tell him that. But why hadn't she said anything?
She stiffened again and shot up in alarm. "They know we're here!"
Suddenly, their targets were gone in a puff of smoke the two groups had divided amongst each other and disappeared all in different directions.
"Keeping tabs on Orochimaru is our top priority! You two will follow him but keep your distance and keep hidden." Ruma ordered urgently. "Which way did he go?"
"North, towards the village."
With a single hand sign and almost half of his chakra, four clones appeared, "I'll follow the others." He left no time for his little students to argue as he and his clones scattered. He had faith that they would at least keep each other safe.
_〆(TーT)ꋧ\ "One person is all everyone needs." - Jiraiya
Kyoko knew this chakra.
She stood in the shadows, high in the rafters of the immense building. Hidden amongst several other Root Shinobi who didn't have a clue that she was less than a few meters away. Kyoko had never stepped foot in the Root building before, but she had watched over it for a long, long time. Months of continuous, unending, demanding focus.
Shimura Danzo had a distinct chakra. Like a heavy wind that only existed to add pressure. Kyoko had been ordered by the Third Hokage numerous times to monitor the man's movements.
He was the leader of the separate Anbu faction, Root. Usually, he had his subordinates do his dirty work. So when he had shown up in person to meet with Orochimaru, Kyoko was immediately alarmed.
Kyoko knew the types of things Root got up to.
She knew and yet she couldn't tell a single soul. Lord Third had silenced her with an SS-ranked gag order. The only person whom she could relay her information was the Hokage himself.
This left Kyoko in a very delicate situation.
She had information that even the Land of Iron would want, and those Samurai wanted nothing to do with the Ninja nations. She not only held information on the actions of Root and a fair amount of their recent movements but many other secrets as well, secrets Kyoko would die before uttering.
She had learnt her lesson very quickly when she had first joined Anbu.
Information was worth more than lives.
The cost of information was worth thousands of lives. Civilian and Shinobi lives alike were taken ruthlessly in pretty bouts of information warfare.
That information would determine the lives of a thousand others.
But this, this was something else.
Kyoko watched as a jar was set on top of the table beside the two men. The lackeys long dismissed further into the depths of the Root headquarters, the Foundation.
Kyoko stood alone, Ko had stayed outside like the good little dog he was pretending to be. His eye waited for their target outside in case something happened to Kyoko while she was busy being a fly on the wall.
Their mission was to gather information on Orochimaru. And this information was judged more important than their lives. But Kyoko had faith in her abilities. Her stealth beyond her peers and her sensor abilities only aided her in suppressing herself. She matched her chakra flow equally to that of her surroundings. It was more of a camouflage than general suppression.
The best way to find someone who was hidden was to find a space of chakra that was muted, dull or just blank compared to the rest of the space around them. She had learnt that back in her Genin days, when she had first asked Ruma-Sensei to teach her how to hide her chakra better. Those days were now nothing more than references and fond memories.
Kyoko had figured that rather than hiding her presence, it was better for her to become like a shadow in the shadow. Undifferentiated from one another. That was her logic, anyway.
Orochimaru picked up the jar that seemed like a trophy between them. The contents inside that jar made her stomach swirl with disgust. A small circle bobbed in the liquid, the Sharingan iris all but glowed in the low lighting.
Kyoko was angry, disgusted and unsettled. She buried the emotions; they'd only get in the way of the mission.
"This is a good sample." Orochimaru twisted the jar about as amusement glinted in his eye.
"It was obtained three days ago, a recently deceased Uchiha," Danzo informed in an almost proud tone.
"Yes, there is evidence of age and wear. But the extraction is near perfect. The optical nerves were flawlessly severed." Orochimaru set the jar back onto the table, "There shouldn't be any problems with reconnecting the nerves."
"That boy you've lent me did quite the job, I'll admit. A boy of talent. Not unlike your old teammate." Danzo praised with an ambitious glance to the snake Sannin.
Orochimaru chuckled, "I doubt he'll ever reach Tsunade's level."
"With the fresh blood these days, you'd never guess their limits," Danzo said cryptically.
"Are you talking about Uchiha Itachi?"
"He could be a good example." The nonchalance in his tone was so obviously fake, he didn't even bother to try and seem any less eager.
"I have also witnessed the boy's abilities myself a few years ago, before my departure from the village, and I must agree with you."
Orochimaru pulled out a scroll from the folds of his robe. A simple sign and flex of chakra had an array of tools spilling from the scroll in a neat order.
"Although, the Nara child is just as interesting."
Kyoko felt the ice solidify in her blood as Danzo turned a questioning gaze to Orochimaru. "Shikaku's girl?" he asked.
Orochimaru hummed his confirmation to the question. Danzo scoffed, "That girl is nothing more than a collar that ties Itachi to Hiruzen's Anbu. The boy is blinded by their friendship."
Kyoko frowned, feeling more than a little pissed off at the old man's words.
"Oh?" Orochimaru paused and turned to the bandaged man, "Are you sure it isn't you who is being blinded?"
"I have a foothold in their Anbu squad. The information I have received on the girl has been nothing but notes and comments about how unremarkable and unsuited for Anbu she is."
Orochimaru glanced over the man one more time before turning back to the equipment before him. "It seems that my old Sensei has you fooled."
"Hiruzen?"
Orochimaru shook his head in what looked to be exasperation, "Did you know that he has made Uchiha Shisui an Anbu in name so that the boy may move freely among the Uchiha?"
Danzo's silence spoke for itself.
"Perhaps now is a good time to recheck your facts?" Orochimaru turned to Danzo, "But for now, shall we start?"
With a sigh, Danzo began to unwrap the bandaged around his face.
"Of course."
Three hours she stayed hidden, watching in mortified interest as the Sharingan eye was implanted into the empty socket of Shimura Danzo's right eye.
_〆(TーT)ꋧ\ "One person is all everyone needs." - Jiraiya
Hiruzen sat in the quiet room of his office, pulling in a long stream of fresh nicotine into his lungs. He exhaled into the open space between himself and his old friend, knowing that it would agitate Danzo.
After the reports Hiruzen had received from his son that Root was the reason behind Orochimaru's recent movements, Hiruzen felt like he owed his old friend a lot more than simple irritation. He did wonder, for what reason would Orochimaru try to contact Root?
He set his wandering train of thought aside.
Hiruzen knew exactly why Danzo was here.
"Six months since he's joined Anbu, hm?" There was no need to clarify who he was referring to. Danzo would give himself away eventually.
"What are you talking about?" Danzo said casually, leaning back into the chair across from the small table between them.
Hiruzen raised a brow and pulled the pipe away. "Don't play dumb. I'm talking about the boy you have your eyes on."
Danzo stared at him with narrowed eyes. "Hmph!"
Hiruzen baited him a little further. "He's carrying out his duties faithfully."
"I see."
"Didn't you come to talk about him?" Hiruzen asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It appears you now have an Uchiha directly under you now, hm, Hiruzen." Danzo said.
Hiruzen returned the pipe to his lips in an effort to hide the irritated smile that threatened to stretch across his face. He didn't bother to retain the pointed look he shot to Danzo.
Danzo ignored him and continued, "I hear you've removed Uchiha Shisui from his regular duties, and have given him permission to move at his own discretion and judgement? And that, in name at least, we have another Uchiha in Anbu." Hiruzen could hear the negative opinion in Danzo's words.
"Shisui wanted me to give him the freedom to act. I simply opened that road to him."
"So now the Hokage is listening to the mere whims of his ninja."
"I simply took into consideration the feelings of someone worried about the Uchiha clan."
"If you gave the same consideration to every single person, the village would fall apart," Danzo argued.
The irritation had reached its breaking point, "I know. I don't need you telling me that!" He shouted. How could Danzo compare the current situation with the Uchiha to the petty matters within the village? The Uchiha were their greatest asset on the battlefield. A double-edged blade that quietly threatened civil war.
"How about you stop beating around the bush, and tell me already? What exactly have you come for today, Danzo?" Hiruzen took great annoyance in the microscopic smirk Danzo held.
"Just as you have one of the Uchiha clan under your control, I should like one arranged for me."
Hiruzen couldn't help the disgust from filling him at Danzo's words. Danzo treated the Uchiha as nothing more than shiny toys. Like a child, he wanted what Hiruzen had.
Control, he had said.
Hiruzen didn't have control over his Shinobi. They weren't his puppets or his servants. They were soldiers. At the end of the day, they were the ones that chose who and what to give their lives for. The only control Hiruzen had over them, was their faith as their leader.
"You're saying to give Itachi to the Foundation?" Hiruzen asked. That would never happen.
"The thought never even crossed my mind."
"Didn't I tell you to stop playing dumb?"
"I am not playing dumb." Danzo asserted.
Hiruzen didn't believe him any but took his lies in stride. "What are you thinking, then?"
Danzo leaned back into the chair, "Why not promote Itachi to Team Leader?" He suggested.
"He's still only eleven." Hiruzen reasoned. Itachi, while skilled enough, lacked in the experience that came with age.
"And Anbu team leaders are to be thirteen or older," Danzo said with a thin smile, "You do have that rule there somewhere, hm?"
Hiruzen was losing this debate. "The Anbu are a division directly supporting the central pillars of the village. The team leaders who rule over them must have sufficient judgment. Thus, the requirement that they be at least thirteen." Hiruzen stated the facts in hopes that they might deter his old friend a little.
Danzo had little regard for rules, he scoffed. "Sufficient judgment. Itachi already has that."
"That's not the issue."
"Age and the like are meaningless before actual ability."
While Hiruzen agreed to some extent, that didn't mean it was right to push a child into a role that may hinder his future growth as a person. Danzo only saw puppets and Ninja. His eyes were closed to people.
"Are the rules that important, Hiruzen? The dissatisfaction of the Uchiha clan is already a nearly untenable situation. In order to break the status quo, we need someone in a position to make effective use of the will of the Foundation and someone connected with you." Danzo was baiting him with access to the Foundation through Itachi.
"You're saying put him between you and I, without having him belong to the Foundation?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Danzo confirmed, "No one in the Uchiha can match the abilities of Itachi and Shisui. If we can win those two over, it likely won't be difficult to prevent the explosion of their clan. Just as you gave Shisui special privileges, it is necessary to give a certain amount of the same to Itachi."
"But eleven is simply too young to lead a team."
"Unless you have someone in Anbu that could make more use of the Foundation than Itachi?"
That question was a trap. There was no right way to answer it without giving Danzo the answer he wanted. Hiruzen did in fact have someone with a better mindset fit for the Foundation. Kyoko would thrive, he had no doubt, but not in the way Hiruzen had planned. Her Will of Fire, that he had spent years cultivating, would be snuffed out within a week.
Danzo had finally torn his eyes from the dazzling light of the Uchiha just enough to hint at the little Nara's position.
If he was being honest, Hiruzen was surprised that they'd managed to deceive someone like Danzo for so long. But now, it seemed like it was time to set his plans into motion.
Hiruzen stayed quiet, refusing to answer as he slowly dragged smoke from the pipe until his old friend lost his patience with him.
"Then, what if Itachi were twelve?" Danzo offered as a final push. And this was something Hiruzen could work with. "Itachi's publicly disclosed age goes up a year, and that neatly takes care of the rule, don't you think?"
When it came to loopholes and scheming, Danzo was a creative genius. But Hiruzen couldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that. Not today.
"Let me think about it a little more," Hiruzen said.
He'd let Danzo stew in his impatience and toy with him a little while Hiruzen put his steps into play. Danzo would get what he wanted when Hiruzen needed the man distracted. Getting to play around with Itachi should be entertaining enough for the man to keep him in good spirits. Hiruzen would need his friend sufficiently distracted and complacently agreeing very soon, while he planted the seeds for the future of the Leaf.
"Understood." Came Danzo's reply as he stood and made his way out of the room.
"Spider," Hiruzen called after a single minute or rearranging his thoughts. The Anbu girl landed gracefully in a knelt position.
"Starting from next week, you will be reassigned."
"I'm being moved from Team Ro?" She asked.
Hiruzen nodded, "You'll be serving me directly as both Anbu guard and my aid."
The girl did not move, "Sir?" She questioned.
With a wave of his hand, the spider was gone without her answer.
_〆(TーT)ꋧ\ "One person is all everyone needs." - Jiraiya
"Shisui? Is something wrong?" Kyoko asked from across the tree. Itachi sat quietly, his eyes watching his two friends.
"Can't ever get anything past you, can I? Kyoko?" Shisui said with a small smile.
Itachi let his eyes scan over Shisui. His friend had seemed fine all day, a bit quiet but otherwise normal. But Kyoko's sensor abilities were so in tune to their chakra that she could tell when something was amiss.
Usually, Kyoko left people to their privacy, not being one to pry into another's personal affairs. So, if Kyoko had mentioned it, the disruption in their friend must have been immense.
"Shisui," Itachi said encouragingly. Prompting their older friend to confide in them.
Shisui heaved a great sigh, slumping against the strong wood of the tree. "Last week, my father passed away."
Itachi blinked in surprise and, above him in a higher branch, Kyoko stiffened and her skin turned ashen at the news.
"I mean, I was expecting it. He was fading little by little over the last few years. But now…" Shisui trailed off, "I don't even feel saddened. It's like he had already died years ago. Doesn't exactly sit well, not feeling much after my father had just died. What type of person does that make me?"
Itachi didn't know what to say.
"Mother won't be far behind either. She's not eaten since father passed."
"Shisui…"
"It's okay." Shisui straightened from his position, "I have a few things I need to do. I'll see you guys later."
And like the wind, Shisui was gone.
Itachi turned to his other friend. Recently, he hadn't been able to talk to her properly. Something just didn't sit right anymore. A nervousness he didn't know would settle in his gut and an awkward anxiety would get in the way of his words. He missed being able to talk to her. To be able to say anything at all and have her just listen.
But now… Things between them were odd. Despite this, the two of them were master actors, pretending nothing was bothering them at all when they were around others. But when they were alone…
"I have to go, too. Lord Hokage is reassigning me in a few days. I need to prepare."
"You're being moved from the Team?"
"Apparently."
Kyoko left with a slight wave and a flawless body flicker that Shisui would be proud of.
Itachi sighed and looked up to the sky, the sun was high overhead. Itachi's thoughts trailed back to the park where he had met a small blonde boy. Sometimes, his thoughts would wander to the host of the Nine-tailed Fox.
Maybe he could take Sasuke to the park today? It would be good if Sasuke made a friend outside the Uchiha clan and himself.
With a new objective in mind, Itachi headed home, grabbed an excited Sasuke and spent the next few hours training his energetic and diligent little brother. Doing his best to set aside his worries for the both of his friends.
Afterwards, Itachi bought them a cold can of juice to chase off the heat of the day and their exercise. Itachi sat with Sasuke, asking about the younger boy's classes and listening to Sasuke's complaints of the lessons and classmates alike.
It left Itachi pondering on how alike he and his little brother were.
Itachi used to rant not unlike this to a grinning Shisui back when Itachi himself was but a child still in the academy. The warm evening passed peacefully as Itachi found his worries fading to the back of his mind, his laughter bursting from him at the shrivelled up face Sasuke made when Uzumaki Naruto's name was mentioned.
When they arrived back home, reality was fast to sink in again.
"Take a bath then come and speak with me." His father ordered when the two brothers entered the home. They hadn't even taken their shoes off yet.
Itachi did as told with as little thought as possible, his mind only focusing on the goal of his mundane tasks. Once he finished washing away the sweat and grime of the day from his skin, Itachi wandered down the hall and pulled open the sliding door of his parent's room open.
His father sat waiting for him.
"Did you need something, Father?" Itachi asked from beyond the room. His father turned at his cold tone. Itachi didn't bother even trying to warmly greet his father anymore.
"Come in." His father encouraged. Itachi took small steps into the room, closed the door behind him and sat on his knees.
"I heard you went to the park with Sasuke." His father started.
"I did," Itachi replied shortly, he didn't come here to make idle conversation. That usually only led to a disagreement on either side between them. "I have to prepare for a mission tomorrow. I'd appreciate it if you could be brief about your business."
"Don't speak so stiffly." His father gave him a small, strained smile.
Itachi couldn't remember the last time his father had smiled; it just wasn't in his personality. It was the small hints od melancholy in that smile that caused Itachi to loosen just a bit.
"How is your work with the Anbu?"
"As long as I am putting into practice the things I've learned since graduating from the academy, there is no 'how'." Itachi gave his father what he would call a textbook answer that lacked any information or depth.
"Yashiro and Inabi aren't here." His father remarked in a surprisingly gentle tone, "I'm your father, and you are my son. Those are the only people in this room."
Itachi couldn't remember the last time he had spoken to the man in front of him as simply his father. As nothing more than a son. His heart eased from its guard just a little and a small amount of tension left his body. "Things haven't changed, really, from when I wasn't in Anbu." Itachi offered.
"You're not doing any difficult work?" His father's tone was held a small trace of concern.
Itachi immediately felt guilty. His mind travelled to a room in the Anbu headquarters where the surveillance of the entire Uchiha clan was closely monitored. The days where he was expected to monitor his clan were some of the most morally testing missions he had ever been assigned. For that reason, they were difficult.
"There is some of that," Itachi replied honestly, his gaze averting to the side as his father watched him with gentle eyes. Itachi steeled himself once again, turning back to his father, "Given that I'm in Anbu, no weakness can be tolerated."
"That's my boy." His father said.
Itachi remained silent to the praise.
"Don't worry about things at the meeting." His father offered.
"What?" Itachi said dumbly, his surprise had overtaken his mind for a moment. Those words were not something Itachi had been expecting from his father. If anything, Itachi had been expecting some form of rebuke on his latest outburst at the clan meeting.
"It's not as though everyone in the clan thinks the same way. I have no intentions of forcing our thinking on you. Rather than a stone drifting along with the strong current, I want you to be a man, like a rock that stands against the current, and pierces it."
His father's words meant more to Itachi than he had ever expected. They were the words Itachi had desperately been wanting to hear from his father, from anyone, all these years. To know that he wasn't betraying the expectations of his father but instead fulfilling them was a great unknown depression lifted from his slowly freezing heart.
"Father…" Itachi wanted to convey this feeling to the older man but the words wouldn't come.
"You do not need to yield in your own thinking. If you cannot accept what Yashiro and the others say, then stand up, and proudly assert your ideas."
Itachi's thoughts travelled to the previous meeting where Itachi had stood up, he had asserted his ideas and had escalated into a full-on argument between himself and Yashiro. Only his fathers shouted voice had quelled both sides of the argument.
"But it doesn't seem like they would tolerate that at the meeting." Itachi voiced a nagging part of his thoughts and his father nodded in agreement.
"It is indeed as you say." A sigh escaped from the older man. "The young people are moved by passion, and they lose sight of themselves. And they expel those who don't agree with them, charging forward toward what they believe to be lofty."
"Father," Itachi said, cutting himself off from the rest of his question.
"What? Say it." His father urged.
"Alright." Itachi resolved himself. Right now, this was a conversation between a father and son. His questions were safe here, in this room. "Do you have a different opinion than they do, Father?"
"I do not," Fugaku affirmed. "My feelings are the same as theirs. I am simply not so young as to cast out different ideas."
Itachi could not hide his disappointment. "Is that so…"
"I do not wish to hinder or cripple you, Itachi. In fact, my proposal of an arranged marriage is to settle people like Inabi and the others who are worried upon your entry into Anbu. They do not want you to sunder from the clan."
Itachi could see why his father would come to that conclusion. But… It was frustrating.
"Nn." Was Itachi's sound of acknowledgment.
"You should stay true to your thinking." His father encouraged, catching Itachi's hope and attention once again. "Fight, be confused, be lost, and come through to find your answer. And once you find it, make your decision, and do not waver from it. Find your answer, and be ready to follow through. That is determination."
His father's wisdom echoed a comforting song in his mind. "Determination…"
"Yes. There are few people in this world who live their lives with their own determination. They leave their decisions to others and avert their eyes from responsibility. You must not live like that, at least. Move forward in life, making your own decision." These were the words of Uchiha Fugaku's hopes for Itachi. Of a father's hopes for his son.
They were both on different roads in life. Likely on opposite sides of the coin.
"I understand." But this was his father. "I will never leave the decisions in my own life to someone else." It was the least Itachi could do to honour his father's hopes. Possibly the only wish that Itachi could fulfil. Itachi's resolve had been cemented in this.
"That's my boy." Pride glowed through the sentence and Itachi took a childish moment to bask in the praise for the first time in his life.