Chapter 28

The Uchiha ANBU (Pt.1)

Another year seemed to pass quickly since Itachi had been promoted to chunin. The missions had become acceptably more challenging and his various teammates had become more cooperative. It was a small mercy that the secret meeting at the Naka Shrine had been put to a standstill, but Itachi knew that, under his father's orders, they were waiting for the inevitable to happen: his promotion to ANBU.

It had been an unsaid agreement, just like when he would become chunin, that they wait until he was a certain age before they would consider moving him to a high-ranking position. Apparently, nobody wanted to wait more than a year for him to take that position, since both parties seemed to have less than moral motives behind his piece in the game.

Itachi dreaded when that day came…however, this could also be to his advantage. The key to setting things in motion, the doorway to his ultimate goal…

"Fugaku already told you, then. I assume you have agreed to join the ANBU."

"Hai."

"There's resistance from above at having an Uchiha in the ANBU. An achievement is required to show us whether ir not you are suitable for this organization."

"Do you mean a mission?"

"Precisely. I have already been put in charge of giving you that mission. There is a man in the ANBU, age thirty-four. From your perspective, he is already an old shinobi, I suppose. Although not as great your own, many have seen great talent in him, from the time he was a child. This man came up the ranks through genin to chunin without incident, and joined the ANBU at the same time as he was promoted to jonin. But—Recently, we learned he has been colluding with Kirigakure."

A traitor…

"Only a very few people in the village know of this man's collusion."

"So the one to take care of him is me—

"I'm not finished. Those who belong to the ANBU do their utmost to keep the people of the village from learning of their affiliation. On the surface, this man lives an average life as a jonin. He has a wife and two children, ages three and one."

What is Danzo trying to plant inside of me?

"Other than the fact that he was linked to Kirigakure, this man is capable, a great ninja, trusted by the Hokage himself. But if we permit this traitor, the village will never be strong."

"I understand."

"For someone as insightful as you, this tale is quite roundabout. Forgive me."

"Not at all."

"But it is all for the singular purpose of having to know this man. Kill him."

"Understood."

"It is likely obvious at this point, but I am convinced that the place you belong is the ANBU. You are permitted one comrade on this mission. I leave the selection of that person to you. Take whoever you trust the most.

"Peace is actually a troublesome beast. It is hard to produce, but maintaining it is next to impossible. People eat food. While one person is finishing that day's supper, another is suffering somewhere, with nothing to eat. When one person gets something, someone somewhere loses something. Bit by bit, these trivial inequalities warp the days of rest.

"There are always people suffering in the shadows of this fiction called peace. People burdened with darkness. Don't you think we should actually hold in contempt those who forget this fact, and simply gorge themselves on peace?

"Unless there is someone, someone totally free of emotion, to cut away the fraying bits on the edges of peace, this world will not see even a moment of tranquility. Previously, I said you were the bearer of bad luck. Your life will be ever shadowed by chaos. That's why you need to become strong enough to cut out the root of that chaos yourself."

"And you're saying the place where I can obtain that strength is ANBU?"

"…They say a wise man only needs a word, but you only need half a word—no, the first letter. But that cleverness will make you suffer."

"I'll suffer…"

"Stop trying to hide yourself in front of me. The desire for true peace, wanting a world without war, is making you suffer."

"How did you—"

"I know everything about you. The me who can bring about true peace is one who has the deepest darkness inside him. I believe you can become that person. Come to me, Itachi Uchiha."

"Itachi-kun? Are you listening to me?"

"…" Itachi blinked and looked over at Izumi, who was walking right next to him with a bounce in her step. Her eyes caught his and didn't release them. "You look lost. Are you okay?"

She had been chatting non-stop about something, yet his thoughts wandered by to the underground, where Danzo and his flinty gaze expected him. "I'm fine," he said, giving her a small smile. Or at least, he was now.

Hmm." She leaned towards him, and his eyes widened a bit. "You know, if I didn't know you any better," Izumi remarked, "I'd say you're starting to find me boring."

Itachi startled, feeling flustered. "That's not it! I was just––" He trailed off when watching Izumi's playful smile grow, the twinkle in her eye distinct. He looked away, scowling, feeling his neck neck and ears flush. "Hn! Don't tease."

"Well, how else can I get you to make a face that funny?" Even her voice had a bounce in it. "You're becoming harder to read these days. And it's not everyday that we see each other like before."

"We're both really busy."

"I know." Then she rolled her eyes. "Not all of it is rewarding, either. Gah!" Her foot got caught on a crack in the road, and Itachi quickly caught her arm to prevent her from falling flat on her face. Eyes wide, still held mid fall by her arm in the raven Uchiha's grip, Izumi blushed. "Heh...thanks!"

"You should watch where you're going, you know," Itachi remarked, pulling her back up. He let go of her arm. It really had gotten muscular.

Izumi straightened, rubbing at where Itachi's held her with a sheepish little smile. "Sorry, got distracted." Then realizing Itachi was giving her look without making a face, her eyes narrowed. "Don't say it!"

Her cheeks still puff up, he thought, suppressing an amused smile for her sake. "Say what?" he said innocently.

"You looked like you were about to––Never mind. Ignore me."

A ninja cannot get this distracted. By now, Itachi knew when to bite his tongue when it counted. You waver, you die.

Even if the thought turned his stomach over.

Izumi will be graduating soon...

"Hey, you wanna take a break over there?" Izumi pointed ahead to the tea shop ahead of them. The tea shop run by Shinko's family. "Maybe we'll run into Shinko. You remember her."

"How could I forget?"

They left the clan compound and come to the center of the village. Here, away from the clan, Itachi wasn't worried about what people think seeing them together like this, and he hoped Izumi felt the same, despite showing him that it didn't.

He was taking a walk with a friend. There was nothing else to it. Boys and girls can be just friends, right? They can eat at a table casually alone in the middle of a beautiful sunny day, catching up and spending time together, before they're separate lives caught with them, right?

They were only eleven, after all. While Uchiha tradition and the Ninja world can ignore the fact that kids can just kids, here nobody will overthink that logic…

"Two, please!" Izumi called, choosing to sit down on a long bench in front of the shop, where a scarlet scarf was laid out. Itachi sat next to her. Casually.

"Comin'!" A familiar voice called out from inside the shop, and Shinko came running up to them, wearing an apron and holding a notepad. She beamed at the sight of them and leaned on the fence as they turned to face her. "Well, well! If it ain't Itachi-chan?"

"Shinko," greeted Itachi, while Izumi waved.

"Been ages, huh?" His old teammate from his genin years hadn't changed much on the outside. One would hardly believe that she had suffered a traumatizing confrontation that made her give up her genin certification. "Still workin'. Business is thrivin'."

"So it seems."

Izumi watched Itachi talking so familiarly with older Shinko with a bit of hesitance.

"So? Girlfriend yet?" Shinko asked, eyes glittering as she set two cups of tea down on the bench.

Izumi blushed, and Itachi pretended not to notice, managing to keep a straight face. "Friend."

"Oh! I bet she's all disappointed now," Shinko teased, and Izumi jumped in surprise, now beet-red and spluttering, "N-No, I—Shinko!"

The older girl laughed and turned her eyes back to Itachi. "So, how's the year been? Saw that you made chunin! Nice!"

And I saw that you ran out of the stadium right at the end. "Thanks," he said. "It's been busy. The missions feel…almost as challenging as Team Two's had been."

"Which, in yer definition, ain't that challengin' at all," sighed Shinko. "But hey, no worries! My gut's tellin' me yer gonna be jonin before this gal here graduates to genin. That's coming up soon, right?"

"That's right!" Izumi nodded, perking up enthusiastically.

"I really wish ya luck, Izu-chan. But I just hope you know what yer signin' ups for, is all." Her smile seemed to strain now. "For me, I knew I chose right when I quit the ninja." She hugged the tray she brought the teas up to her chest. "There was all that with Tenma dyin', y'know, and that horrible genjutsu…"

Flashbacks of the orange-masked rogue ninja invaded Itachi's mind. His throat constricted. The sword, the blood, the threats…He had not forgotten. He had to force himself not to reach over to Izumi and pull her close.

"I remember, Shinko-san," said Izumi, quietly, sadly. "I know."

"But halfa reason why I quit the ninja was cos of you, Itachi-chan."

"Me?" Itachi blinked.

"Seein' a genius like you up close, I saw the limits of my own talents so clear, I hated it. An' then I got sad, y'know? Started wonderin' if I should really keep at it and all. So the very next day, after I finally left the hospital, I went and quit it." She laughed loudly before a voice called out to her from inside the shop. "Right, then. Can't be lazing about here. I'll be back when you've got your order sorted." She disappeared in the shop.

They watched her go, then turned back around. For a moment, after sitting quietly, Izumi murmured, "You really are amazing, Itachi-kun." When he looked at her, her face was turned towards the ground with her feet crossed, long hair draping over half of her face. "I don't have the kind of talent that would make anyone just give up being a ninja."

Before realizing what he was doing, Itachi reached over and brushed the hair back over her shoulder. This caused Izumi to stiffen, and Itachi wavered, wondering if he was overstepping.

He remembered doing something like this to her all the time when they were little. Back then, she had a terrible habit of attempting to yank her hair out when overly anxious, so Itachi was constantly take those hands and pull them down to keep her from trying again. He would also brush the hair out of her eyes, hold her hand, and sometimes touch her cheek when she was being cute.

Actually, it was Izumi who used to do all those things to him first, with playfully or comfortingly, without reservation, since the first night they met. Somehow, afterward, he just went along with it, becoming accustomed to her touch, and it became a familiar routine with one another when they grew closer. He even found himself missing it more than he'd care to admit.

But it wasn't like before, no matter how much they wished it to. Not only were they older, on the brink of adolescence, they had fallen out hard and had been estranged for an entire year before finally speaking again. Even now, after a year since they started reforging their bond, it still felt like they were missing something. Something that had taken that childhood familiarity away and replaced it with something else.

Something that needed to be filled, that burned with need, with longing…but also something that could easily break if they were not careful in mending what was broken before.

Yet there was more. It was dangerous, desirable…and as of now, forbidden. It was, illogically, terrifying.

All because Itachi knew his feelings now…though he sometimes wished that he could have remained as blissfully ignorant as before.

So Itachi slowly, calmly, let his hand drop until it rested next to Izumi's. Their fingertips were close, but not quite touching. "You're really graduating soon, aren't you?"

She was eleven now, so her graduation was about a year early. It wasn't as if she didn't have talent. Ever since they started hanging out again, he had seen first-hand the shadow clones she could perform since she had just turned ten. All her other jutsu had really improved, but her taijutsu had become unquestionably exceptional. While not able to beat him in hand-to-hand combat yet, she was now able to dodge with grace and exchange with him for a period of time without the use of her Sharingan. It was clear she had been working really hard, and some of Shisui's training could be found in her moves.

"That doesn't count as a talent, you know," Izumi noted sadly. "I mean, compared to how old you were, my graduation is not really anything special."

Good. Itachi felt a faint joy when he hear her say that. There had been plenty of times in his life that he wished to have been born ordinary. Someone from whom nobody would expect too much of, who could easily relate to others, make childish mistakes to learn from, grow up at a normal pace like Sasuke…and then he wouldn't have been placed in the Ninja War at such a young age. Probably.

No, he still would have been selected, like the other young Uchiha boys drafted around the same time he was…but then he too would have been among the countless, forgotten dead.

Half the reason Shinko quit was because of me…

So, if it meant his power had removed a ninja from the world, one fewer ninja meant one less fight. Shinko's confession was proof, albeit meager, that he was not headed down the wrong path.

"It's not too late."

Izumi stiffened, but Itachi continued, watching pedestrians pass by on the road outside the shop, "There is nothing wrong with having a normal life." Small children ran by, chasing a yapping dog with a flag tied to his collar, their joyful laughter ringing out from their game. "Find time to grow up."

"We're Uchiha, Itachi-kun," said Izumi quietly. "Our lives are never normal." Her voice was also stiff, in the shortness of her statement.

"I'm just saying that once you become a ninja, it will be facing actual battle."

"I know."

"Meaning you will have to be dealing with so many awful, terrible things all the time."

"I-I know."

She started to look hesitant, so Itachi pressed on, "A girl like you shouldn't have to go through all that."

Izumi finally looked up, but gave him a sharp glare. "'A girl like me?'" she repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Itachi almost wanted to take back what he said the moment he said it. He could almost hear Shisui's voice telling him to stop talking and leave the matter alone, to just be supportive and not discourage Izumi from what she was working so hard to be...

"I mean that you are a kind person," said Itachi, "but that kindness cannot always be afforded when in the heat of battle."

Izumi took a breath. "Itachi-kun," she said, "I thought we talked about this. I'm not changing my mind! I'm so close to graduating and it's obvious you're going to be promoted soon."

To ANBU, thought Itachi, careful not to voice the obvious. It was not a promotion that should be announced everywhere he went. His parents only knew because Fugaku had a hand in it. Now after that meeting many months ago, it wasn't that surprising that Izumi would eventually learn about it through Noriro and Hazuki. For the Uchiha, his promotion was apparently a widely-known secret.

"But you don't have to," Itachi pointed out. "It would be much better to do the smart thing rather than jump headfirst—"

Izumi stood up abruptly, looking ahead. Her eyes were covered behind her hair strands, so he couldn't see her expression. With a tilt of her head, barely glancing back at him still seated on the bench, she said, "I have to go," with a shaky voice that betrayed her tears. "I just remembered that I have to babysit for an old friend of Tousan's, and I don't want to run late...I'll see you later." She then walked away from the restaurant, not looking back.

While Itachi sat there, stumped at her reaction and trying to mull over what he could have said to upset her so, Shinko seemed to choose that moment to appear behind him.

"What's this? Made yer girl cry?"

"If you can hide your aura that well, maybe you should become a ninja again," said Itachi bluntly, though his eyes were still fixed on Izumi walking away at a quick pace, seeming to wipe at her face.

Shinko either missed or ignored his sarcasm. "No thanks!" Still fixed on the air of confusion hovering around Itachi, she let out a heavy sigh in slight irritation. It was situations like this that Shinko felt her former-youngest teammate was completely clueless about, and she didn't just mean social interaction. Shaking her head, she promptly placed down the two steaming dishes of dango sticks in front of him, before turning around to let him figure it out on his own this time. "You really are a dummy, Itachi-chan!"

"Assassination, huh?" Shisui murmured, as of to confirm the story Itachi had just told him. They were facing each other on top of the cliff that only they knew about, but Shisui made no move to look Itachi in the eye. He kept his gaze focused on the ground to one side, as he quietly thought the situation over.

"When he told me to take someone that I trust, I thought of you,' said Itachi.

"This guy…he's a pretty decent ninja," Shisui the of the Body Flicker noted, having himself grown up into a leading shinobi in Konoha, before falling into thought again.

"I don't have any right to ask this of you, given that you're not connected with the ANBU in any way. But I don't know anyone in the ANBU, and there's no one else I can trust with a mission like this."

"That's 'cause you're bad with people," said Shisui with a grin. "I can't believe he's secretly connected with the Mist."

"What's he like?"

"He might be ANBU, but he's also a sharp jonin. He does regular missions, and the Hokage really trusts him. He was definitely following his orders as an ANBU when you were guarding the daimyo."

So that meant he had been there when they were attacked by the man in the mask. Itachi knew that other than Kakashi Hatake, the ANBU has been caught in the masked man's genjutsu. And he had been one of them.

"Do you know anything g about him be susceptible to genjutsu?"

"It's not like we go around telling each other our weaknesses, you know."

Naturally. Itachi regretted having asked such a stupid question.

"But I do know what he's good at." Shisui lifted his face and looked at Itachi. The light in his friend's eyes dispelled the shadow of unrest. From long years of opening up to each other, Itachi knew that this was proof of his friend's resolve. "He's good at physical techniques."

Given the target's bloodline, with a distant background connection to the Hyuga clan, one of the most distinguished families in Konohagakue-who in turn originated from the founder of all ninja, the Sage of Six Paths, it made plenty of sense.

"He uses Gentle Fist?" Shisui nodded. "So as long as we don't get too close, we have the advantage," said Itachi.

The Byakugan kekei genkai was was a visual jutsu on par with the Uchiha Sharingan. The Hyuga can see the path of chakra circulating the body and seal chakra by severing the pathway in someone who had become an enemy. Their vision was said to reach out in all directions, with no blind spots.

"He's pretty skilled. I can't imagine he'd let you fight him from a distance." It seemed the hypothetical battle with the target was already happening inside of his head.

"Will you come with me?"

"Of course." Shisui bumped his fist up against Itachi's chest. "You got no one else you can trust, right?"

"Yeah."

"You join the ANBU, and you'll be closer to the center of the village. And if you do that, you'll be invaluable for our clan."

Itachi thought about just what those words meant. He and Shisui were driven by the same thing, and they didn't begrudge their own lives. Especially if it meant the peace of the clan.

With each monthly meeting at the Naka Shrine, the atmosphere grew progressively worse. Both boys believed that that their clan's resentment toward the village was approaching the limit, and in order to avoid an explosion, they had to do everything they could to avoid it. Distract it, put if off, whatever it took.

If they failed and clan rose up, the village would be dragged into battle. The last Great War, the attack of the Nine-tails...the village had barely overcome both crosses, back to back, and finally just starting to rebuild real peace. If the Uchiha clan were start something now, shattering that hard-earned peace...

"You know..." Shisui paused, as if pondering his words for a moment, before continuing softly, "You becoming ANBU's actually a dream for me, too."

This surprised Itachi. "A dream?"

"Or more accurately, that the Uchiha and the village would become a brethren in a true sense," Shisui said, with a shrug. "And for that, I think we need a ninja in the village. Someone who can tell it like it is, talk about the clan's suffering and hopes. If you join the ANBU, you'll be able to do that. Become the bridge between two worlds. And since you want peace for the clan more than anyone, I know you'll actually do it for us."

That is my deepest wish. Itachi nodded slowly. Shisui brightened abruptly. "I'll be a jonin of the village, you'll be an ANBU, and neither of us'll be in the Military Police. We'll be able to look at the clan objectively."

"Otousan and the others are closed up in their own shell," the younger said, bitterly. "They can't see the world outside anymore."

"Itachi." Shisui said his friend's name like he was spitting out the suffering in his own heart. "The people in our clan are locked away in their own little world. They don't even try to take a look outside. They say it's the village's fault that our fate doesn't change, and their grudge just grows. They just blame everything on the village, the Hokage, the Senju clan. They never look at their weak spots. But…" He opened his eyes and looked at Itachi. "You're different."

Itachi's breath stopped.

"You've always opened up your own road with your own power. You graduated from the Academy in less than a year, you made it through the Chunin Exams all by yourself, and now you're poised to join the ANBU. You've never blamed your fate on your clan, and given up."

Was that really how it was? Itachi didn't know. He felt like he had simply been racing intently down the path he should be on. And that feeling wasn't going to change.

"I mean, you could even be Hokage." Shisui grinned. "I believe that you'll be the one to break through the hostilities between the village and the clan, as the first Uchiha Hokage."

Itachi's heart beat faster. The dream of being Hokage…

To this day, he had never told anyone. It was a dream hadn't even spoken of to his closest friend, Shisui. Not even to Izumi, whom he silently loved. He hadn't told anyone, because he was afraid it would vanish in a cloud of smoke if he said it out loud.

That dream became words in Shisui's mouth, and reached his own ears. Surprise and joy surged through him.

"I'll always be your best friend," Shisui told him with deepest sincerity.

"Shisui…" Itachi was reminded of that night when his friend made a similar vow to the one he was making now.

No matter what happens, I want you to know that I will never, ever betray you.

The older Uchiha boy smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I can hardly wait to see how big you get from now on," he told the younger.

He desperately tried to hold back the hot thing that welled up from the depths of his heart. If someone had asked whether he had cried in front of someone else in his life, he would have denied it and, given his outer personality, they would have believed him. After all, a ninja should never expose their own emotions and in others' eyes, Itachi was the embodiment of a perfect ninja.

But it still would have been a lie.

There were only less than a handful of times that he had cried in front of someone. Three times in fact, but only three.

The first time had been when he was four years old. The first time when his father had brought him to the battlefield, once the fighting was finished. When he first saw the mountains of abandoned bodies in the heavy rain, his tears had flowed freely. He still remembered desperately trying to keep himself from shaking so his father wouldn't notice.

And that had only been right before he made his first kill. Followed by many, many others. His world became black and red. But if he ever shed tears during those times he killed, he had been alone, or he just became numb to the feeling.

Since then, Itachi hadn't changed. Fighting was something to be avoided at all costs. War must never happen again. It was a decision he had decided in his heart, as he cried in the pounding in the rain, and then after, when the war had finally come to an end.

The second time, almost five years later, had been in front of Sasuke, on the night of his birthday, when they had been sitting on the backyard porch, playing with his toys. They had been silent tears, grieving for a dead friend and for fear of losing anyone else precious to him…His Sharingan had blindly activated on its own.

The third time had been in front of Izumi, later in that same night—or early in the morning. He'd had a vicious nightmare, had come to her house, to her window, and woken her up. She had let him in, despite having very recently falling out with her—and he broke down like had had never before in front of anyone. Instead of pushing him away, she had immediately taken him in her arms and hugged him, holding him up as he had been crumpling, under pressure and under grief long held back—feeling intoxicatingly warm, and gentle, and safe, and strong—and then he had wiped her memory of that night. She wouldn't remember ever seeing him cry at all, so it would have been like that late-night visit had never happened.

If it had, they would have reconciled a long time ago, he thinks. He told himself that it had been to protect her, that it would have made things easier if he wasn't in her life anymore, to have one less precious person in danger because of him…but sometimes he still wondered whether it had been the right thing or not.

But it no longer mattered. They were friends again, she was safe and stronger than before, and Itachi could still make things right, all while aiming to accomplish what he had decided long ago.

To that end, the ANBU.

To that end, Hokage.

"Let's do it, Itachi." His faithful friend grinned. Itachi nodded firmly, full of gratitude.

*Portions are quoted from Mishashi Kishimoto's Itachi Shinden: Daylight.