Akira didn't feel much sorrow at his fathers funeral.
His father had always been a distant man, what few positive memories Akira had of him were from before the Senju assasination that changed the course of his life. After-while Akira had survived, his father had seemingly believed otherwise. Akira had become invisible to him, there-but not. Unlike his brothers who were proper Uchiha who contributed to the war.
Akira had let go of the bitterness long ago. He was more hurt when Akane had gathered her inner circle, not that his sister in all but blood would call it that, and let them know she had no plans in actually becoming the clan Matriarch and thus his sister in law.
"But if you're not Matriarch-then what if the next one works against us?" Cho brought up tentatively breaking the ensuing silence.
Akane laughed, a pretty bell-like sound for all of its dismissiveness, "The Matriarch position was gutted decades ago, it holds no real power or even duties in the clan. While I did initially use my position as Madaras fiancé in a bid for authority to make the changes we needed in the clan, I haven't needed his assistance in years. All of those sub-councils and coalitions I've created over the years? That's where the real power I've gathered lies."
"But you're not the head of any of them!" Akio protested.
"I believe the people we elected into those positions will do the best for the clan. I just need to understand what needs to be done and what steps are being taken to get there. That is my ultimate contribution, especially considering all the time I spend in the field. I don't think anyone who's been working with us to improve the clan will turn around and ignore my suggestions just because I don't want to marry Madara, do you?"
It was a good point. Akira shared a helpless glance with Cho. Akane was so sensible most of the time that it was easy to forget she could be bullheaded about the most inconvenient things.
Still, it was hard to argue that she should marry into the Lineage that had most recently tried to take her life. The engagement was the entire reason Akane had been thrown into the battle field in the hope she'd activate her Sharingan. His sister could have spent her entire life inside the compound walls where she could be as safe as their warriors could make her. Akira knew he wasn't her only brother bitter about the reality of her warrior status.
Akira fully believed Akane could have made a name for herself outside of the battlefield and her signature jutsu.
After she'd 'procured' the artifact in the healing hall to heal herself, Akane had reached a level of respect in the clan that left her nearly beyond reproach amongst most non-lineage Uchiha. It was why what was left of the Sharingan purists in the clan were so desperate to see her dead.
Just because she lacked their bloodline limit, no one had ever respected her for being engaged to the future clan head in the first place. Akane had earned all of the respect she held by herself over the years. Steadily chipping away at the power structures that she felt were restricting her Clan and making the compound a place her clanmates would not just survive, but thrive in.
"Why don't you want to marry my brother?" Akira asked, after everyone else had gone and Akane began to review the latest changes in the weapons rental contract they'd recently come up with. Being Matriarch made clear political sense and Akanes political instincts were usually much better than his, it didn't make sense to give up such a useful position for no reason.
"You're father may be dead, but I still don't want to give him what he wanted," Akane replied, rubbing his head with a fond look on her face.
It wasn't untrue, Akira could read his sister well enough to be sure, but it wasn't all of it, so he repeated, "Why don't you want to marry my brother?"
Akane pouted at him, clearly wishing he'd let it go, but he'd learned how to be an obnoxious younger sibling at her knee so he just poured right back.
Eventually Akane sighed dramatically and answered.
"We grew up together and I never developed feelings for your brother. Don't you want to marry someone you're in love with?"
"I want to marry Cho," Akira said, because that was true, "Or Akio. But the world is unfair and they're marrying each other instead. At least my brother would be good to you."
Madara had been kind enough to him growing up that Akira felt he had to at least try to get Akane to change her mind. It would make him feel better about what would come after when his sister inevitably didn't.
Akane was very seldom dishonest, and even when she tried to obscure the truth there were usually enough clues for Akira to work with. Something about growing up with Madara had truly bothered Akane. He wasn't sure what his poor brother had done in that time that had barred him from Akane's list of potential husbands, but it was bad enough that Akane was willing to risk the political fall out of breaking the engagement.
"Madara would be very good to me," Akane agreed, pleasantly enough, "It's too bad I don't want him to be."
Akira gave her a small embarrassed smile. While it would make his life easier, he would never dream of forcing Akane into something she didn't want. It wasn't like there weren't ways around getting her out of her engagement without harming her reputation among her supporters in the clan.
One of the open secrets for those in Akanes inner circle was that they met up after meetings to discuss whatever Akane had brought up without bumping against any of Akanes sensibilities.
His sister did not need to know of the occasional accidents that tended to befall those elders or obnoxious civilians that made a spectacle of themselves whenever they were trying to instate a new policy. They kept the worst of their shenanigans for when she was out of the compound-but Akane wasn't stupid, she just trusted them enough not to go too overboard. Akira tried to live up to that trust, but it wasn't always possible. The cleansing of the Elders responsible for her first official assasination came to mind.
They gathered together in the Glass blowing workshop and listlessly began to float around ideas for damage control. Those who truly supported Akane were exactly those who most wanted to see her in a legitimate place of power in the clan.
He suspected, much like the other heartbroken Uchiha in the room, that they had all seen Akanes role as Matriarch as inevitable-the prize awaiting her at the end of all of the Lineage bullshit. Madara was the strongest Warrior in the clan, and he was open about caring about his family and the respect he held for Akane.
Any other Uchiha woman of marital age would give up her right arm to marry the man. Except they somehow all managed to forget that Akane wasn't like every other female Uchiha in the clan.
Probably Naoya was the only one truly happy that his little sister wasn't marrying into the Amaterasu lineage. He knew Akane's oldest brother still blamed himself for not making it in time to save his sister and keep her from impressing Akira's father and sending her to the battlefield.
"We have to figure out a way to make Madara break the engagement," Akira said, pointing out the elephant in the room. It was better that he be the one to bring up the idea, he was pretty sure the only reason Aiko hadn't was because she was worried about his reaction.
The sigh of relief Cho gave clued him in that Aiko hadn't been the only one sitting on the idea. It was cold logic, someone had to take the blame and it couldn't be Akane, Akiras father was sadly dead and could no longer be blamed or tricked into dissolving the engagement, so there was only one person left in the equation and Madara had just become clan head.
"I have an idea," Kei began hesitantly.
It was as cruel as it was brilliant-and the choice was made.
It wasn't truly relevant after surviving the assasination attempt that had changed his entire life, but Akira was a sensor type. He had already shown signs of being better at it than his brothers when he was very young. He'd been very good at hide and seek. A four year old that could find a blooded warrior was certainly talented in sensing.
The ability had been somewhat useful over the years. Especially when he was working for Akane and wanted to be sure he wasn't overheard. Or sometimes just to get the right people in the right place to overhear just the wrong thing. He even occasionally had tea with Akanes' mother Ayumi, to suggest avenues of investigation for blackmail material just from people he'd sensed together for suspicious amounts of time in quiet places.
When they had been looking into the head of the healing hall, Akira had been the one to suggest that the woman spent a lot of time secluded with her son in law and that her latest child felt fairly similar to the young man.
It was useful, not relevant the way it could have been in a battlefield if Akira wasn't a cripple but he found what uses for it he could. Uses like listening in to his mothers conversations with her elders.
They never visited unless they wanted something, and those didn't always bode well for the rest of the clan. Akira was glad they were dead and unable to hurt his sister again.
So Akira put his ability to good use one more time, even if it was to set up both his brothers to get heartbroken.
He wondered if he should feel bad about choosing Akane over them, but it was hard to summon any guilt.
The scheme they'd come up with to get Akane out of being Madaras fiancée was completely viable. Sure his brothers feelings would be hurt, but that was hardly permanent damage. The Amaterasu lineage had been responsible for putting Akanes life at risk for years, a few emotional wounds were hardly a drop in the bucket of what they owed his older sister.
Akira was perfectly aware it was unkind of him, and not behavior that his brothers would ever expect from him. But if he was honest, that was part of what made it so easy to betray them. Madara and Izuna were brothers in so many more senses of the word. Brothers in arms, brothers by choice, brothers at heart, to them Akira was more an idea than a person. Their poor crippled little brother who they had 'trained' to defend himself to the best of his ability.
But Akira would never be a shinobi and some part of them couldn't help but look down on him. They tried not to mention their missions in front of him, stepped carefully around Akiras imaginary emotional wounds, and were more insulting than caring whenever they brought up how good his aim was.
It had never even occurred to them to try to teach Akira their clan's most basic Kanton Jutsu, the coming of age ceremony that nearly every male Uchiha with access to chakra had performed in the last thousand years.
But it had occurred to Akane.
Just like Akane shared her life with him without worry that it would make Akira feel less than he was. Just like she was always pulling him into her plans to better the clan, completely uncaring that his legs didn't work and that he moved very slowly with the thick bottomed crutches that kept his legs off the ground that he'd been using to get around since they figured out the design that worked best for him when he was six years old.
Akane had always been a better sibling to him than his brothers ever managed to be. Hell—part of the reason they even managed to get to a place where he could stand talking to them was various lectures she'd given them about what he needed from his family.
He couldn't really blame Akane for wanting more than to be part of such a dysfunctional family for herself. Akira certainly did, it was why he'd chosen Akane as his big sister. It wasn't hard for him to let go of the thought of her as a sister-in-law when Akane would always be a part of his family regardless.
She was the one who always remembered his birthday. She was the one who he went to with his hopes and dreams. She was the one who teased him constantly about his giant crush on Akio and Cho.
He couldn't feel bad for making sure his older sister could have the freedom to choose who she married.
So he didn't.
Instead he waited until Izuna and Madara where in clan. Asked Izuna over to their usual training ground. Then waited to feel Madara making his way over to them as he always did when he realized his two youngest brother were together without him in the compound.
It would have almost been cute, sadly Madaras constant hovering was mostly annoying. When he was sure that Madara was close enough to over hear he turned to Izuna.
"Look, I promise not to tell Madara, but we need to talk about Akane." Akira said seriously.
He immediately felt both his older brothers go still.
Like any shinobi worth his salt Madara well acquainted with the idea that the secrets people specifically didn't want him to know about were the ones he needed to know about most.
As for Izuna, well he was clearly doing his best to hide his feelings for Akane. Something he'd almost managed successfully if not for Kei and his ability to recognize the no doubt similar situation. Ironically it had been easier for Akira to discover Keis feelings than his own brothers. Although it put Izunas eagerness to participate in the elder massacre in a new light.
But it was hardly his fault that neither of his older brothers was around very often.
"What about Akane," Izuna said in a carefully crafted casual tone.
"I know you're in love with her." Akira said, mercilessly.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Izuna was clutching desperately for outrage.
"The way you look at Akane like she hung the mon and all the stars."
"I do not!" Izuna denied.
Akira just looked at him, unamused. Letting his silence speak for it self.
Eventually Izuna slumped.
"Just promise me you won't tell anybody?"
"I already promised I wouldn't tell Madara."
"Madaras just one person, I need you to promise you won't tell anyone, especially Akane."
Akira snorted, "Do you really think Akane doesn't know? Why do you think I wanted to talk to you about it."
"What do you mean she knows?" Izuna sounded horrified.
"You know Akane, she notices the little things. Actually she just thinks you're being too nice to her because she keeps almost dying, but that's not gonna last very long."
"So she doesn't know?" Izuna was painfully hopeful.
"She suspects something about the way you act around her though. She asked me if you felt really guilty about allour lineages attempt on her life."
"And what did you tell her?"
"That you felt terrible of course," Akira kept lying, one would think his shinobi brothers would be harder to fool, but he'd trained under Ayumi, whose emotional control was phenomenal, and practiced with Naoya, who used his sharingan to insure Akiras acting passed muster.
"That's good," Izuna said faintly, then repeated, louder, "That's good. She shouldn't have to deal with my feelings. I don't want to burden her like that."
"Then I don't think you should be spending any time around her," Akira said gently. "You must love her a lot if it's so hard to hide."
Izuna chuckled bitterly, "I loved her before I understood what love was. She was my first crush, even before she was engaged to Madara. I'm just-not lucky enough to have been born first."
"Izuna," Akira began sadly with great sympathy he didn't even have to fake, "I'm so sorry. But you know she's going to marry our brother. Do you really think you'll be able to keep your feelings to yourself at their wedding? After they have their first child? It's just going to get harder if you hold on to your feelings. You need to find a way to get over Akane."
There was no mirth in Izunas dry laugh.
"You don't think I've tried? I've been fighting these feelings ever since I realized I was in love with my brother's fiancé. Do you think I want to disrespect Madara like this? Or my future sister in law? I know the pain will only get worse, but Akane holds the entirety of my heart. I know she can never know. I know she'll marry our brother, become Clan Matriarch and have his children. I know that. But I don't know how to stop loving her anymore than I could have stopped myself from falling in the first place."
"Izuna," Akira said gently, "there has to be a way. We have to find a way before Akane realizes how you feel about her or worse, Madara does."
Izuna made a sound like a dying animal in the back of his throat.
"Madara can never know. I already hate myself for betraying my brother like this."
"It's not your fault—you never tried to fall in love with Akane in the first place. It's just an awful situation, it's not like a Madara can just call off his engagement with Akane. She's almost at the age of the contract, and father is no longer around to dissolve it."
"As if he'd let his precious fire touched Kunochi escape from adding her bloodline to our own," Izuna snorted. "Don't worry, I've given up dreaming she'll ever be mine."
Then he sighed, a soul deep melancholy thing."I wanted to go the rest of my life without acknowledging that I ever felt this way. There's no winning, no matter what happens. Even if she doesn't marry Madara, she's only ever seen me as her future brother in law. She wouldn't look at me like a prospective husband."
"Well even if she doesn't marry you, do you think it's be less painful for you if she didn't marry our older brother? That's gotta hurt more than anything else, having her become part of your family, having her so close yet so far."
Izuna looked defeated, "There's no winning. Yeah it would hurt less, but do you really think it matters who else she marries if it's just never going to be me?"
"I'm so sorry," Akira repeated, the conversation was going better than he ever dared hope. Madara would be crushed to be inadvertently hurting his beloved little brother so much. "I'll keep running interference with Akane. Just don't come around too often and I'm sure I can keep her from getting suspicious. I think you've done a pretty good job of staying away when she's together with Madara anyway."
"I could be doing better," Izuna admitted, "but it's just hard to stay away. To not check how she's doing with my own eyes, especially after we almost lost her."
"Have you thought of marrying someone yourself?" Akira tried impulsively.
It wasn't part of the plan, but inspiration had struck and Ayumi said he had good instincts for this kind of thing.
"What would be the point of marrying a woman I won't ever love?" Izuna dismissed.
"A lot of people marry for other things, you know?" Akira awkwardly shuffled a crutch as he managed to put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You are a Sharingan warrior of the Amaterasu Lineage, you could have your pick of single women in the clan. As long as you did your husbandly duties, they would be over the moon to marry you."
Izuna shook his head, "Wouldn't it be cruel to string them alone regardless?"
"You could just marry a woman who prefers women." Akira pointed out. Thinking of his mother and her unspoken agreement with his father, "Some women don't even have it in them to ever love a man. But it is still too difficult for same sex couples to set up a household in clan, so many of them find themselves in loveless marriages regardless."
Izuna looked baffled, "There are women who would prefer to wed other women?"
Akira frowned.
It couldn't be that much of a foreign notion. It was hardly a secret that some shinobi coupled up for a few years before marriage. Some widows had started living like married couples these days, now that it was at least possible to survive without a shinobi in the family.
Even Akira's first crush had been on Akio. Granted he hadn't known some people were only capable of having romantic feelings for those of the same sex before Emiko, but there had been plenty of examples of same sex couples in the compound regardless.
"Surely you know of the warriors that get together before marriage? There are some women that couple off before they're married off too," Akira said, pointing out the obvious.
Sometimes those bonds lasted after marriage, but he'd noticed those that liked the same sex didn't have to worry about accidentally impregnating their lover and committing lineage fraud so it was hardly a large clan issue. Plenty of parties in mundane marriages that had people stepping out had much more severe consequences.
Izuna spluttered, "That-that's different! On the battlefield some warriors need to reinforce their bonds to maintain a battle ready state or recover faster-it's simply a cause of the war, such-um, such bonds of brotherhood are a temporary necessity.
His older brother was too smart to be acting so stupid.
"What bond of brotherhood? Unless you and Madara have been keeping some secrets, that is not a way real brothers bond." Akira spat out caustically. Was Izuna kidding? Akira was offended for everyone romantically inclined towards their own gender in the clan, himself included.
He knew he would never really get over his crush on Akio.
"Of course not! Me and Madara would never—," Izuna began, disgusted.
"Exactly," Akira cut him off mercilessly, "It's insulting to consider someone's love less because it's for someone of the same sex Izuna! There are people that can only find that love with the same gender. Just because it's difficult for such a couple to set up a household of their own or have children doesn't make their feelings any less than that of a husband and wife."
Akira glared at his brother as he thought the blatant truths he'd just enlightened him on through. Sometimes it felt like he lived in a completely different world than his brothers, not because they were warriors, but simply because they were so narrow minded.
"I-I never thought of it like that," Izuna admitted.
Akira snorted, "Well think about it. You can marry a woman that has a lover of the same sex. You won't have to worry about who your children belong to, or that your wife will be heartbroken because your heart doesn't belong to her. You can have a small family of your own, and maybe that'll finally help you move on from Akane.
"I'll-um, I'll think about it," Izuna said meekly.
"Please do," Akira said icily.
Izuna nodded and proceeded to flee from the training ground and their evidently overwhelming conversation. It wasn't part of the plan, but Akira could hardly bring himself to give a damn at the moment.
Later that night Madara found him in his workshop. It was technically supposed to be his bedroom, but Akira had set up a cot in the corner and brought in enough equipment that the room's true purpose was clear at a glance.
"Can I talk to you?" His older brother asked awkwardly.
"Always," Akira assured cheerfully. It was time for phase two.
"You're still really close with Akane right?" Madara began carefully.
"She's been my sister since before she was declared your fiancée you know," Akira bragged, because that was true.
"I-I don't think it would be a good idea for me to marry her."
Akira made his face go cautious and confused, "Why not?"
"Father chose me as her husband without ever consulting her or her family. It occurred to me that it might be—cruel, to attach her to the Amaterasu Lineage when she's had to defend herself from us just weeks ago." Madara said slowly.
It wasn't terrible as far as lies went, but he hardly needed his older brother to be honest about the reason he wanted to break his engagement when it was one Akira had set him up to find. He pretended to mull the words over seriously.
"But if Akane isn't Matriarch, then won't the clan be upset with her?" Akira acted out his concern with aplomb, "You know everyone's been looking forward to your marriage for years. She's my sister regardless of whether or not we're in laws, but the rest of the clan might blame her for letting them down like that."
Madara's face fell, he clearly hadn't thought about the fall out Akane would face due to his broken engagement.
Akira loved his brothers, but he desperately wished they were half as good at being people as they were at being Shinobi. He knew his father had only taught them to be leaders in the battlefield, and how to deal with other clans politically-but was is really so hard to consider the people that actually made up the clan they were so proud of leading?
At least Madara would jump on his offer of a solution.
"Maybe," Akira began, "actually, maybe you can dissolve the contract if you tell Akane you see her as a sister too. Otherwise it might be a little sudden for her. But she has brothers, if you tell her you've known her too long or that you can only see yourself as family in a familial sense-that's a reason the clan wouldn't blame either of you for, probably."
It was a reason they wouldn't blame Akane for anyway. His brother, as the clan head and the only one with real power in said marriage contract would be bearing all the blame for the clan not getting its eagerly anticipated matriarch, as planned.
Madara nodded eagerly, "That's perfect. You're right, Akane would understand. She's always been so considerate of us. And if I explain the only issue are my feelings, then the clan won't blame her, right?"
"Right," Akira agreed.
He knew intellectually that half the reason his plan had gone so well was that his brothers would never dream he'd try to manipulate them. But he still kind of wished it hadn't been so easy to manipulate his clan head.
He had to talk to Ayumi, they had to figure out a way to vet if any clan agreements had pits his too credulous brother had missed. And maybe someone to teach him had to properly look out for manipulation—but only after the marriage contract had been dissolved, of course.
If only his plans with Ryota about how to turn the Lineages to Akanes side were half so successful. Akira was still trying to figure out the best person to approach among the Tsukiyomi to make a move when he received some knees he wasn't too sure how to react to.
The Senju had proposed a ceasefire.
X
Out of all his kids, Akira takes after Tajima the most-lol. Homeboy is ice cold. Except with his chosen family, of course. He is also our bisexual Icon.
Next up we have the broken engagement and trying to convince the clan more war may not be in their best interest.
Also the first arc is coming to a close, we're getting closer and closer to Konoha y'all, and yes-we will be hearing from some Senju.
Quick aside, for my regular or new, sane readers, this is not for you:
Now I know there isn't a white supremacist talking to me about superior genes in the review section like they don't turn into a lobster on the first sign of a sunny day. But then if you actually believed in any of the gross eugenics you preached, your people would be first on that chopping block. Moreover, if I was a descendant of chattel slavery, with the way slavers religiously raped black women, we could very well be cousins.
I'm sure your ancestors that ate those that looked like mine, hung their corpses from trees to admire for picnics, and continue to blame them for all their self-inflicted ills to this very day are very proud of you for still spewing their hateful rhetoric. It's wild to me that you idealize that kind of rabid dehumanizing violence, but if you insist on being a devolved worm instead of a person, then who am I to tell you otherwise? But I'll be damned if I make a safe space for a wanna be colonizer, so now Samantha, Akanes previous incarnation, is black-per word of god.
Moreover if you think you're being clever and somehow instigating me to go off on a competitor(?) Or you're truly that audacious-know that if you spontaneously manifested a singular brain cell, it would die of loneliness and a hostile work environment.
I hope you choke to death the next time you use a hard R, N-word, the world would be better off without another pasty white devil. Have the day you deserve, preferably in hell.
