A/N

Hello everyone! It's been a while, I'm so sorry this took so long, I have a lot going on right now and with college and my grandfather having been in a car accident have been giving me quite a lot of grief. I'll try and update as often as I can. I AM NOT abandoning this fic, I have a lot planned and am really looking forward to writing it for you guys. Also, to the new follows and favs, thank you and welcome! As always constructive criticism and opinions are welcome ( I can't fix a mistake I don't know im making) Anyway, thank you again for sticking with this story and Happy reading!

Bruce Rosie

Chapter 15. Disgrace.

The room I'd just been in, vanished, and in its place the familiar layout of my backyard appeared before me. The night was silent and very much still, not even the sound of the spring breeze could be heard, which gave me an awful feeling of uneasiness. Everything seemed darker than it usually was, and if I tried focusing on the corners of the yard, a light fog settled into my line of vision. The place was too quiet, unnaturally so, but any lingering distrust disappeared when I felt a hand on top of my head.

"Now, now, Akane-chan. It's time for you to head inside or you will catch a cold." Said a voice I hadn't heard in years.

My grandmother was suddenly standing by my side, smiling warmly as ever as she waited for me to answer. She still had the same inviting smile that only a woman capable of great love could offer, and as she ushered me into the house I failed to notice just where I was. This wasn't the house I knew Shisui and I shared, no. This house had been a part of the original Uchiha compound, and had been destroyed during the attack of the Kyubi.

"But I'm not cold, Obaa-chan. I want to stay out and practice more shuriken jutsu like Nii-san."

My body felt considerably smaller and my voice sounded a pitch or two higher than I remembered. It was only when I realized I was wearing the navy blue kimono my grandmother had made me that everything clicked into place. Once again, I was four years old.

"Nonsense. Your mother has finished cooking and we will not keep her waiting." She said sternly, surprising me once again.

Mother? I had never met my mother; I only knew what she looked like from the pictures that had once decorated my grandparent's house. I rushed in, leaving my grandma behind as I ran through the yard and up the veranda, through the hallway and into the kitchen.

At the stove, a petite woman stood with her back to me. She had long black silky hair styled into a loose braid. I stood at the kitchen door panting, not knowing what to do or say. She looked frail, without a single muscle on what little of her body I could see, and no scars to speak of whatsoever. This woman was a civilian, and even though I had always known she had been, seeing just how frail her body was made me feel uncomfortable.

Once she seemed to notice me, she turned her head so I could see her smiling profile. She had a very sharp jaw line and lips that seemed a little too full to belong to an Uchiha, but it only complimented her thin nose and high cheekbones even more. She was beautiful. But it was none of these that caught my attention, no. It was her eyes I couldn't look away from. Those big, sharp, heavily lashed eyes were Shisui's eyes. They were my eyes.

"Oh! Akane-chan, could you please set the table? Dinner is almost ready and your father will be home soon." She said with a voice I had never heard before. It was low, soft and very much calming. It didn't suit her appearance either, but somehow it made her even more beautiful.

"Kaa-san?" I asked unable to believe my eyes still.

She was right there in front of me, living and breathing unlike the woman in the photographs. She was there, beautiful as I could have never imagined. She was there, living and breathing unlike the collection of memories I had that weren't even mine.

"Anya, we're back!" Said another voice I didn't recognize as the front door slid open.

No, it couldn't be.

"What's that marvelous smell?" A tall man in full shinobi attire came through the kitchen door followed by Shisui. Both had worn out smiles on their faces and looked and smelled like they had been travelling for the past two weeks.

"Anata, Shisui! You are just in time! Shisui, dear would you help your sister set the table?" she asked pointing at my brother with the wooden chopsticks she was using to prepare dinner.

The man in front of me ruffled my hair and grinned before going over to greet my mom. She had called him 'Anata', which could only mean one thing: that man was my father. Unlike mom, we didn't have any pictures of dad in our previous home. Nii-chan had always said it was because he had been a high profile shinobi, wanted in many countries for his work on sabotage. Unlike my brother, I hadn't been old enough to remember him when he died. And now, for the first time in my life, I was meeting my parents. I was being given the chance to interact with them, even if they weren't real.

"So, how's my little kunoichi's training going? Shisui speaks highly of your progress, Akane-chan."

I smiled bitterly at the thought. But even if it was all just a genjutsu, It wasn't like I could break out of it. I didn't know if to be thankful or angry at Itachi, but I decided I would deal with that later. For now, I'd enjoy my family for a while longer.

….

I woke up to white walls, bright fluorescent lights and a very uncomfortable mattress. My senses were dulled from lack of use and my throat dry. The only thing attached to me was an IV. No respiratory aid, no heart rate monitor, no medic. Instead, I found two other people in the room with me. To my left, Hana was dutifully peeling off apples and cutting them into smaller pieces with one of her kunai. She looked better than the last time I'd seen her, but I couldn't help but notice the scar creeping up from her collar where the skin on the back of her neck had been burnt. Her hair was shorter and rougher as well, but back to its brown color instead of the black mess that had come out of the forest of death.

"I'm glad you are finally awake, Akane-san," Said someone to my right. When I turned my head to look at him, he was sitting by the window, calmly reading a book on something I couldn't make out. "You had every one worried."

Itachi looked up from what he was reading and allowed the shadow of a smile to appear on his face. I grinned back at him with what little energy I'd recovered.

There was no need for an apology.

"Well, it was one hell of a layered genjutsu, and since I have absolutely no resistance to it, it turned out to be even more effective." I answered. "Although you should be more careful with the details, smells, sounds and textures were a bit iffy."

He didn't answer right away; instead he closed the book in his hands and looked at me straight in the eyes. For a while, it was all we did. Me thinking about what on earth should I say next while my friend remained impassively analytical.

"I should not have shown you that." He said finally.

"No, you shouldn't have." I admitted.

Hana continued with her work, trying not to disturb the atmosphere around us as best she could, but still giving some input.

"You were out for a week. The medic said it was because your subconscious had clung so tightly to the genjutsu, even if you could have broken out of it, your subconscious wouldn't have wanted you to." She explained. "Not only was what Itachi did dangerous, it was incredibly cruel as well."

The room went silent as Hana's words started to sink in. She hadn't wanted to make Itachi feel bad, she simply wanted us to acknowledge what had happened, and even if he hadn't wanted to make it personal, ha had somehow crossed a line. But we also knew that the fact tht there was a line to be crossed in the first place, was because of the bond we shared. Had he put any other genin under that same genjutsu, we would have applauded him. Itachi had behaved as he would have against any enemy, and there was no fault in that, Hana and I both knew that.

It was for that very reason that neither Hana nor I could find it in ourselves to be angry at him. I had been his opponent, the attack was meant to be cruel, regardless of whom it had been aimed at. Just as my fight with Hana, it had been a situation in which we couldn't have let our feelings interfere. However small in comparison, the fight had been a glimpse of what our shinobi life would turn into, and if we weren't prepared to do as much, we would never succeed as shinobi. That was the reason Itachi wouldn't apologize, and neither Hana nor I expected him to do so anyway.

Hana continued to peel apples, Itachi went back to the book he had been reading, and I immersed myself in my thoughts while munching on the fruit I was being offered.

I had lost the match against Itachi, which meant I wouldn't be getting a promotion anytime soon. There was also the fact that my coils had been reported as compromised and I would soon have to take responsibility for hiding that from the clan. Shisui would surely be looked down on, and his reputation within the clan would suffer for t. I had to find a way to redeem myself and clear my brother's name before facing Fugaku. I also needed to work on my genjutsu resistance; being taken down so easily had been embarrassing enough the first time. It would not be happening again.

"Stop beating yourself about it, Akane-san." Said Itachi without removing his eyes from the page he was reading. "I believe a solution will present itself soon enough."

My friend's eyes finally left the book and looked at me. His expression gave nothing away as usual, his lips rested against each other in the straight line they always did, the markings on his face were untouched by stress and his outer appearance could have fooled lesser men into believing he was unaffected by what he knew. But I knew better. There was no relief in his statement, no promise that everything would be okay. No, today he bore bad news; the solution would bring no relief.

"You should be more careful as well, Itachi-san. I can smell your worry from across the room." Hana had not once halted movements and her unconcerned toned and relaxed posture almost distracted me from the look in her eyes and the death grip in which she held her kunai.

"I do believe you were taught as I have the importance of being in control of oneself when faced with challenging situations. Now, I don't know what worries you so much, but you can be damn sure we'll get through it."

For the remaining visiting hours, no further words were uttered.

…

I pressed my forehead against the cement floor, knees folded underneath me and beginning to ache due to the perfect seiza I'd been maintaining for over an hour. The room was cold, and the formal kimono I was wearing did nothing to warm me up in the freezing underground chamber. It was a pity really, my first time in the Naka shrine and in a clan meeting, and I was being shamed in front of the entire clan. Not only that, but my brother was being held responsible for allowing me to become a shinobi when he was aware of my 'pitiful' condition. I was trying my best to hide the tears that were threatening to spill from my eyes, not out of shame, no. I just wanted to tell Shisui how sorry I was, just wanted to apologize for being such a disappointment. I wanted to tell him none of this was his fault.

"I hope you realize the position you have forced us into, Akane-san" said Fugaku as he paced before our bowed heads. "You will have to find a way to mend your wrongdoings towards the Clan. The logical thing to do would be for you to retire and serve as a bond with another clan."

Oh, Kami please no.

"But unfortunately, and for reasons I ignore, I have received a direct request for your services."

I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. Being threatened so bluntly with what I could easily say was one of my worst nightmares, was not something I appreciated, and the fact that Itachi's father spoke of my retirement so lightly annoyed me to no end. I might only have been a genin, but I was a shinobi. I ranked higher than any civilian in the clan and regardless of my rank I still was a servant to Konoha first, he had no business in degrading me like that.

"You will join Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushi Butai as an apprentice and will specialize in infiltration. You have no right to object. This is a direct order from your Clan Head."

I couldn't help but raise my head in confusion and looked at Fugaku's face for any sign of a joke. There was none. Joining ANBU was a privilege given to few, a very select few. It was the total opposite of what I had expected, which was a lifetime worth of D-ranks. But what unnerved me the most was the fact that Fugaku had accepted this request. Someone important had made it, or at least important enough to make a difference to the head of the Uchiha Clan.

"You will be on your best behavior and performance, failure is not an option to you right now. Understood?"

I bowed my head to the floor once again and wondered if this was what Itachi had been worried about.

"Hai, Fugaku-sama."