"Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead."
― Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack
1.
Every time he took the risk of dreaming he knew he suffered the result of a nightmare. This time was like any other.
He sat at the wooden doc near the Uchiha district and he had been observing the calm surface of the lake. It reflected the blue sky of the morning and a few puffy clouds that chased each other around lazily, once or twice a bird would appear as well.
Itachi heard her light steps and didn't react. He wanted to see if she was trying to surprise him but unexpectedly enough she wasn't up for a mischief that day. She just sat by his side. He turned his face towards her, noticing her beautiful long brown hair and dark eyes.
"Hello, Itachi-kun." She greeted him timidly, offering him a sweet snack.
He nodded and took the treat. He looked at her again, her light blush, her vibrant gaze. She was such a pretty girl.
"Izumi, I-"
Suddenly a crow called from the Southeast and Itachi's eyes quickly darted towards that direction. When he looked back at her she wasn't there anymore, a single crow sat there picking on the sweets she had dropped.
"Izumi!" He yelled, anxious at her absence. She was nowhere to be found and the sky became darker as the clouds formed a thick wall above him and a thunder was heard. A flock of crows appeared around him, flying violently in a circular motion.
"Izumi!"
Rain begun to fall, breaking the calmness on the lake's surface. His clothes became wet and as he tried to escape, the birds wouldn't let him. When they finally left, the lake was crimson red and numerous bodies where floating there, bloody and dismembered, horrifying expressions marked their faces. Him mother and father were there among the dead. Izumi, too.
"No..." He breathed.
He stepped away from their glassy gaze and bumped on someone that stood right behind him. He turned around only to see little Sasuke, his eyes fixed on the massacre, in horror.
"No, Sasuke, I can explain…" he pleaded but the boy couldn't hear him.
Sasuke started screaming at the top of his lungs and then, Itachi woke up.
His body didn't exhibit any signs of stress, so he knew that Kisame (who had been watching the entrance of their hideout) wouldn't have noticed that he had been dreaming.
He picked himself up quietly. 'One crow is for sorrow. A crow calling from the Southeast means that an enemy is approaching', he thought to himself.
Itachi smiled.
2.
"Get up" Mirai instructed strictly.
Ryo did as she said, but he could barely stand.
"Can you continue?" She inquired coldly.
He nodded and Mirai concealed a smile. "You have to mean it, Ryo."
The boy nodded again and prepared himself for another vicious attack. He had been secretly living with his mother for a few weeks. He had been spending his days in a hidden room and they would only get out at night when she always made him wear an ANBU mask. Her husband was back at his village for missions and her own father was on a mission far away from the grass village as well. He didn't understand why it was so important to remain hidden. Mother was so strong, he was certain that she could protect him…
Ryo had been very confused all this time. She didn't explain what had happened to him that night when he managed to kill that ninja-woman. She just trained him daily and harshly. He was studying all day and fighting all afternoon. His body was sore and his head was usually heavy. Maybe she had been punishing him for his crime.
However, no matter how hard he tried, Ryo couldn't regret killing that woman.
Mirai struck again and he quickly fell on his back, breathless.
"Get up"
He tried to do so however he was spent. His legs couldn't support him.
"Get up, Ryo." She spoke. Uncle Ichirou was right. His mom was scary. Scary and strong.
"Mother, you know I cannot defeat you..." he tried to reason with her as he struggled to do as she said.
"I do not expect you to defeat me, Ryo. I simply want you not to lose. Can you do that?" She replied as she approached him and helped him up.
The boy nodded, not certain of what she meant.
"Your hair is long enough. Should I trim it a little bit?" She asked him as they walked from the private dojo towards his room.
"No, I like it long." He said absentmindedly.
"Ah… Why is that?"
"I don't know, I just like it long, like..." Ryo hesitated.
"Like Ichirou's." Mirai completed his sentence.
The boy nodded again.
Mirai held back a sigh and gave him a smile instead, one of those smiles that she only reserved for dragons and children.
"Take a bath and then rest for twenty minutes. We are reviewing your knowledge upon herbs tonight." She said finally.
Ryo nodded one last time and got inside his hidden room.
3.
Mirai stepped lightly on the herbal floor of her little sanctuary in the woods. The plants' condition was perfect, since they were taken care of. She pondered upon the matter for a few moments.
Wildflowers also bloomed more beautiful when she was caring for them. The grass stood taller, prouder. She could almost taste the scent of the small haven.
Tea, clove, goji, white snakeroot, … and him.
"Are you that accustomed to me or should I test your reflexes more regularly?" Itachi's voice was heard from the woods.
Mirai didn't react, as she was feverishly thinking. Ryo would be prepared for their class in less than ten minutes. He would expect her in her study. No . Ryo was – fairly – curious about outside. Since he would be given a chance to search for her there, he would probably try to find her discreetly. Excellent.
"I merely decided not to wound your pride -once -and yet here you are, acting like a senior" She replied as naturally as she could, turning to face him.
His eyes glowed in the darkness, smart and crimson, his heavy eyelids shadowing his gaze.
He simply said "Fix your attire".
"I assure you, my shoulders and knees are exactly the way you last observed them less than five months ago" she snorted.
He didn't resist a small private grin as he approached her and sat by her side. Mirai, almost forgot about her son for mere seconds as all flowers bowed their heads to him. He still was the most beautiful man that she had laid eyes upon.
Oh how she wanted to lock him away and keep him entirely for herself. No organization, no village, no nation was great enough to own him. He didn't speak. Mirai always though his silence was the most meaningful form of communication he possessed apart from his eyes. Itachi was crude with words but what he lacked in eloquence he made up for in comprehension.
"Was I mistaken?" he inquired suddenly.
She simply studied his expression with curiosity.
"Was I mistaken to come to you?" he explained.
"Since the very beginning" she responded, her eyes fixed on his.
He blinked once and his gaze became softer but not less red or lethal.
"You never answer my questions properly. Aren't you a grown woman now?"
"Never inquire what you may not desire" she cautioned him playfully.
"Such a clever mouth, yet you use it so poorly" he provoked her. His crimson eyes glowed dangerously under the pale moonlight.
Mirai raised an eyebrow.
"Are you challenging me again?" she asked him.
"Can you just give me one kiss without a spar?" he whispered, a sad smile painting his moon-kisssed lips.
"I wonder..." she sighed.
Right then they both felt the boy approaching silently from the woods. Mirai stood perfectly still as Ryo appeared behind a few flowery bushes and Itachi hid his presence, assuming the boy was her subordinate.
The child was wearing his mask, obediently.
"Mother?"
"Why are you out of your room?"
"I thought it was rare of you to be late..." he mumbled, already apologetic.
"Were you seen?" She insisted, although she knew that no one but Itachi had laid eyes on him.
"No!" he reassured her, expecting her to congratulate him.
"Then return immediately and wait for me in my study. We will talk about the consequence of our actions tonight" she warned him.
Mirai couldn't see his expression behind the mask but she could guess he would be disappointed and maybe a little intimidated as well.
"I thought I heard you talking to som-"
"Immediately." She repeated, this time infusing her voice with coldness.
Ryo was startled. He stood still for a few seconds and then turned around and left without another word.
4.
As soon as the boy left, Itachi unmasked his presence. Of course, Mirai could sense him all the time but the child couldn't.
He turned his gaze towards her. She appeared calm and collected and he knew it in his gut that it was nothing but a façade.
She had a son. A son old enough to speak his own mind… The child had powerful chakra and a number of different vessels around his eyes. Obviously a Hyuuga, like her.
"Was this your son?" he asked her. He felt his stomach turn. He knew their bond could never evolve to anything more than what it already was but he was still repulsed by the fact that she had a child with someone else. He fought against the flaming tongue of jealousy and failed miserably.
"I see you don't waste any time."
She slowly turned and faced him.
"What did you say?" she hissed.
Itachi knew he was enraging her but he didn't find it in himself to stop.
"It only seems natural, considering-"
"Considering what?" she barked in a low voice as she stood up. Itachi mimicked her motion.
"Considering the fact that not only you are a woman of politics, who only married a boy for her clan's benefit, but you also disrespect your own self by dressing provocatively and your marriage by maintaining physical relationships with other men, out of wed-"
"Byakugan" she whispered and he felt her aura expanding. She was indeed a grown woman. It had been a long time since he last sensed her fighting spirit. It was terrifying and he never desired her more.
"Don't be a fool, you cannot win against me" he threatened her calmly, hoping that she would still battle him anyway.
"That is not even my point" she seethed, "however I will accept your challenge."
"We are close to the village. If you are seen with me, you're done-for."
"Then answer one simple question" she demanded angrily. "How long has it been since your eyesight got damaged?"
"What?" he blurted out. How did she know?
"Your eyes aren't as they used to be. You probably have blurry vision and headaches. Why? Is it the Sharingan? What did you do?" She yelled, grabbing both of his arms with force.
"Since when do you care for my visual prowess, Mirai?" he mocked her, still affected by the sudden appearance of the boy and her hostile demeanor.
The silence was deafening and even he knew he had pushed her too far but he didn't care. He was mad beyond comprehension.
"I couldn't care less for a rogue ninja with authority issues that declares everything he doesn't know to be beneath him! However, I do care about my son and I want to know what the fuck did you do to bring your eyes to this state so this would never happen to him, you unfathomable asshole!" she replied ferociously.
Itachi, still glaring, tried to grasp the meaning of her words. Why would the child ever suffer the effects of the use of the Sharingan? He was a Hyuuga. Unless-
He looked at her so intensely that she shifted her position, releasing his arms.
No. No, no, no…
"Ah, there it is. Yes. He is your son. And you probably guessed it right; he possesses your kekkei genkai. He is an Uchiha." She declared grimly.
No, no, no….
He fixed his gaze upon her ominously.
"What did you say?"