Chapter 10: Interlude of Fugaku on the life of an Uchiha

Summary: In which Fugaku contemplates the Uchiha clan culture, persons, and allies turning enemies.

In the last few years, since just before the third Shinobi war ended, public sentiment and rumours had started up against Uchiha. First it was just small things, just a rumour here or there among the civilians, something usually easily put to rest. Kushina had proven excellent at either disputing the rumours or implementing a counter-rumour strategy; really, anything that woman did, as long as she could see it as a prank, she seemed to have a sudden skill for. It was mindboggling – not to mention infuriating. And impressive. The Uchiha had lost their most staunch supporters with the death of Minato and Kushina – and an aid in tracking down whoever was acting against them. Since their death, the number of rumours had increased exponentially and the latest one was the most difficult one to combat.

According to the civilians, the Uchiha should've been out at the frontlines, fighting against the Kyubi. They ignored that there had been Uchiha out there – but the clan members with the Mangekyo Sharingan, the one talked about as capable of controlling the Kyubi, had, ever since Madara's desertion of Konoha, been relegated by Tobirama to two parts of Konoha, directly under Hokage supervision; their choice was either ANBU or the police force. To help with reigning in their emotions, according to him; Fugaku would have liked to explain to him just how little you could do to reign in an Uchiha's emotions, but alas, no one had ever explained the Uchiha to their old enemy.

Being part of ANBU meant being answerable to the Hokage only – and no one else. Your missions and your name did not exist, and you were not answerable to your clan ahead unless it concerned clan secrets. This was why the clan head needed to consent to inducting clan members into ANBU and this was often only for a set number of years, pending review or renewal of the contract.

The police force, however, was always under the Uchiha clan's purview as mandated by Tobirama – mainly due to the fact that he had been elected Hokage, meaning another Senju as head instead of any Uchiha – but also due to forcing clan members with the Mangekyo off into the police instead of being a general (except in situations of war). A sign of trust and good faith, supposedly. Few, these days, had the Mangekyo, and the abilities were still clan secrets – but enough rumours were out there to inspire fear, and Tobirama had seen enough of them in action to probably know quite a few of the rumours were at least partly true.

But it also meant they were bound by the police charter – the police force existed to regulate a village which required constant interaction between civilians and shinobi. It was all-too easy for shinobi to abuse this balance, even Academy students could easily abuse it. A henge over themselves and henge over, say, stray rocks to make the civilian think they had been paid – or even just plain old speed to steal. But the shinobi needed the civilians, relied on them for income, food, furniture, mattresses and a thousand other things – so it only made sense to have shinobi there to keep their own force in check and ensure a good relationship between them and civilians, to ensure that they continued to live in the village.

Life as a civilian in this world was difficult, whether you chose to live in a hidden village or on the road. The hidden villages were geared mostly for shinobi, and while Konoha had rules to protect civilians, not all villages did. Additionally, by being in a hidden village you were in location which was a prime target for attacks by other villages. On the other hand, you also had shinobi protection by mere virtue of living in a hidden village. Living anywhere outside of a hidden village you were less likely to be targeted by shinobi, but you also had no readily available protection in case your village was hit by bandits, missing nin or just greedy nobles. Fugaku wasn't entirely sure why anyone would choose a civilian life, even though quite a few of his aunts, uncles and cousins had chosen to do so.

Nevertheless, in a case of a village-wide emergency, the Police force's focus was on the civilians to make it easier for their own shinobi to fight back and a less target-rich environment for invaders. It also aided in making sure the village could return back to status quo as quickly as possible, if the civilians survived – they were the merchants with contacts outside to gather supplies, the farmers and grocers with food supplies and the restaurants and cafes with ready-to-eat hot food available for exhausted shinobi, not to mention their invaluable aid in replacing all the furniture and rebuilding houses. So, having an entire part of the shinobi population ensure civilian evacuation was important – chunin could handle the escorts and securing the route but the Uchiha police force consisted entirely of jonin – and they were the ones rushing into zones under attack and evacuating and saving victims.

It also meant a lot of the people they had helped had been rather hysterical, in pain or unconscious. The chunin were credited with civilian evacuation, everyone else for fighting against the Kyubi.

Fugaku, along with many other Uchiha, believed strongly in his duty. He had left his wife, his six-year-old son and a three-month-old baby at home, had known they could be attacked, injured or dying, but he had signed on for this duty. They had been entrusted with the helpless – the civilians – he had to trust that the chunin and the elders of his clan would aid in evacuating their people. Just as he had been trusted.

And Fugaku didn't mind. Yes, there were rumours; yes, being the sole force for policing their own shinobi and being there to punish in addition to being right next to the prison, meant they were viewed in a negative light more often than not – but Fugaku took pride in his job, he enjoyed it – he looked at other villages and thought that having a police force was something that changed for the good.

When Minato had become Hokage, one of the first things he had done was to allow the Uchiha police force to hire outside the clan; not that the public appeared to have noticed in the years since. To be fair, the seven Nara in the police were just as dark-haired and dark-eyed as the Uchiha, but that was, Fugaku maintained, the extent of the similarities. But the Nara had proven invaluable with their love for brain teasers, they had quickly introduced new methods and ideas which simplified everyone's life quite a bit. Although he had resisted the suggestion for years, Fugaku figured he would probably have to start hiring an assistant to help with his paperwork soon.

Two years had passed since Minato and Kushina died and took their hopes with them. Sarutobi had resigned once, Fugaku didn't know why he wouldn't do so again, but here they were, two years on, with not a sign of either Jiraiya or Tsunade being recalled or anyone else being trained for the position as Hokage. Even prior to Minato's reign, there had been a suspicious rise in mission deaths specifically regarding his clan – with bodies being unrecoverable. But that had been nothing in comparison to the increase after their deaths.

Fugaku had gotten desperate enough to contemplate the Hyuga's seal until his wife had reminded him just how stupid an idea that was (on so, so many levels). Options were limited – they still needed to be on a genin team, graduate to chunin and jonin. Fugaku had tried to put them on teams with clans, but once they graduated to chunin, they could be put onto any mission and with not quite enough power to choose their own missions. He had forced more of his clansmen into ANBU than bore thinking about in recent years; training had gotten harsher, expectations higher – if someone was culling his clan slowly for their Sharingan, they would have to fight for it. He organised other clansmen being sent onto missions in the same area in the hope of additional support either deterring the perpetrator or defeating him. Sometimes that plan worked… other times it didn't.

His people were dying, and it was someone in administration or high up setting them up. Civilians were dissatisfied, people more uncooperative than ever and the police rarely called in to help – they instead had to work against the population to administer the law. It wasn't helping with the discontent, naturally. They didn't know who was starting the rumours. They didn't know who was killing them and stealing their Sharingan. Orochimaru, their main suspect, was not in the village anymore, and Fugaku doubted he would be able to leave behind such a well-manned system.

No, there was someone inside the village acting against them.

And the current Hokage was standing by and doing nothing. Sarutobi placated and spread pretty words about external conflicts demanding their focus, but Fugaku knew that even if – or when – those conflicts abated, nothing would be done. He didn't know whom to trust. Minato and Kushina who had helped them investigate weren't here anymore – and their internal investigation had ended up nowhere.

By Izanagi, Fugaku had bypassed tired hours ago and moved right onto exhausted. His days were getting longer and his time with his family shorter. Their witnesses and victims were silent and cases had to be passed to the police chief before they were put away as a 'cold' case, as unsolved. And Fugaku had contemplated for a long time asking an Inuzuka to be involved in the police force, along with the Nara, but had hesitated. Now, Fugaku wasn't sure about anyone anymore.

Instead of heading to the police headquarters – where he probably should be headed, reports didn't write themselves, after all, and his paperwork multiplied any time he left, but… Fugaku's exhaustion was bone-deep.

As clan head, he was responsible for all Uchiha inside of Konoha. They lived and died at his word as much as the Hokage's – more so, lately, when his influence and every word was stymied as his people died more often than they had during wartime. And still, the Hokage refused to admit – or even investigate – if there was anything wrong.

His responsibility, Fugaku knew, and he was failing. He was failing all of them. And he didn't know where to turn anymore – or whom to turn to anymore. At one stage, he would have gone to Minato.

Had he failed him, too, Fugaku sometimes wondered at night. Should he have ignored his duties and gone to help his friend? Could he have saved him? Would his Mangekyo have been capable of controlling the Kyuubi?... Was it his fault there were dead? He couldn't think it, couldn't bear it, the responsibility, the failure, so the thought remained silent, hidden, unacknowledged except in his darker moments).

So, he went to the one and only place he still trusted, the one person whose wisdom he believed in unconditionally. His wife, before or since had Fugaku been more grateful for the abilities of the Sharingan than the day they met for the first time, right across a battlefield. He'd known of her, she was in the clan, and only five years younger, but only in the same way he'd seen all Uchiha across the clan compound at one time or another. He hadn't even known her name.

But he'd known in that split second that was the woman he wanted to marry. And he would never forget how she'd looked in that moment as it was, thanks to the Sharingan, forever burnt into his memory. Mikoto had been messy; face painted with blood spray, clothes cut, ripped and burned in places, hair floating behind her as she moved, rapidly, katana already dripping with red, cutting through swathes of enemies.

He had never before or ever since seen a woman anywhere near as beautiful. His Mikoto was possessive, passionate and vicious – but she was also graceful, kind and gentle. Most of his clanmates had forgotten the hellion teenage Mikoto used to be – her best friend had been Kushina for a reason. Nowadays, most only ever saw and remembered Mikoto, the beautiful, patient wife of the clan head, who had a kind word and helpful hand for everyone.

Fugaku never forgot. And when he didn't know what to do, it was her he leaned on. Fugaku was impulsive, reactive but Mikoto had been a planner, a plotter. Her and Kushina had even planned for having children together, had planned, hoped for their children to be friends, and grow up together.

Mikoto knew her friend had been ostracised, growing up and Kushina had been scared the same would happen to her child only that they wouldn't have their own Mikoto; so, naturally, Mikoto had planned for them to grow up together and convinced Kushina.

Itachi… well, he had never been intended. They had been in the middle of third war, and no one wanted their child born into a conflict. Fugaku had been born at the end of the first war and both of them had lived through the second. It had been something they agreed on that neither wanted their child to suffer through war. They both had countered and resisted pressures to have a child early in case either of them perished in the war, but neither had wanted to.

Mikoto had intended for Sasuke to be her first child.

Itachi had been an accident. Their teams had been assigned to same quadrant and they ended up working together and the relief at the end of the fight (as well as wondrous sight a bloodthirsty, protective and viciously fighting Mikoto made), and well, they hadn't stood a chance. Itachi had been born as he was conceived – during war.

And neither of them had expected Itachi to survive. Mikoto had been on the battlefield even eight months pregnant before she'd been benched by Sarutobi. They'd left Itachi at home in the care of the Uchiha and gone back to the frontline. Neither parent had wanted to stay behind and bond to a child they'd thought they would lose.

The surprise was really that Itachi had survived. And not just survived – but a genius, too! Everything they needed the next clan head to be and more. Itachi learnt quickly, anything and everything they put in front of him, but he was a kind child, a gentle one. Itachi had wanted peace, but the world they lived in was made of war and they had known he would graduate quickly.

It was war, children were put through and breakneck pace and graduated young, like Kakashi had; they hadn't wanted that for their son. But he was to be the next clan head, he showed promise – he may even make Hokage one day, but first he needed to understand the world he was born into, what being a Shinobi meant. They didn't want to lose him due to hesitation on his first mission during the war.

It was the deepest, darkest irony that the war ended shortly thereafter and Fugaku hated that he had robbed his son of that innocence years before he needed to. But at least they had been able to put off enrolling their son until he was six and a half years old; at least he had time to learn more, train more under less pressure before being forced into the system. And Itachi had time to play with his younger brother before missions and responsibilities would drag him away from that more often than not.

He knew there was a distance between them and Itachi. Mikoto and he had tried to bridge the gap but failed; bonding moments were reduced to training and they did not know how to reach him anymore. He was young still, only eight, a child still in every way, but he had the Sharingan – and the praise and pressure increased. At least Itachi still had Sasuke and Shisui for that uncomplicated love and affection he needed.

While they both loved Itachi, he wasn't one of their people. For Fugaku, the only person he had left was Mikoto. Aunt Emiko had died during the Third War, but she had made sure to kill her attackers; she died a few scant miles away from the Konoha Gate. Emiko had been his person since he was a small child, he'd adored her and always sought for her approval and to make her happy.

Her passing had been difficult, but he had his duties to the clan, to Mikoto, Itachi and Minato and Kushina. It had been enough to keep him tethered – and if he had been a little more vicious in the months after, well, few of his enemies would live to tell the tale.

As head of the clan, it was his duty to maintain a Sharingan-encoded list of who each clan member had bonded to – so Fugaku knew that although she was his, he was not Mikoto's person. Mikoto's had been Kushina, Haruki and Sasuke. Their son, Sasuke, had been born in June, a few months before Kushina's own child, and he had been named after Sasuke Sarutobi, Hiruzen's father. Hiruzen, who had stepped aside and nominated a civilian orphan rather than his own student, who had recognised the skill and talent of the one man Fugaku would have sacrificed anything for – because he had believed in him. That man would have saved their clan, Fugaku knew, but more than that, he would not have stopped there. Minato would have changed the world.

And they had wanted to recognise that – Hiruzen, who was the first Hokage to step aside rather than die in office; a shinobi who hadn't held onto the power but rather passed it onto a candidate they believed in. With his permission, Sasuke had been named after his father, a strong shinobi just as their son would be.

Except now he was back in office with no sign of relinquishing the seat anytime soon. He didn't know what had changed; the Uchiha had never quite seen eye to eye with the third Hokage, but him stepping aside for the Yondaime they had honored him. And now he spat on that – refusing to help, to investigate or offer anything but empty platitudes. Fugaku couldn't help but wish they had chosen a different name for their son, rather than a reminder of all the hardships they were going through.

Sasuke though was both Itachi's and Mikoto's person. They would both flay him alive if he even breathed a suggestion about the toddler being anything but perfect. Mikoto had always been vicious and protective about her person; she still did random 'accidental' drop ins with the Hyuga to check on the clan head's wife, Haruki. Hinata had not been born until the end of December, two and a half months after Kushina's death. If it hadn't been for Sasuke, Fugaku was fairly certain his wife would have forcefully moved in with the Hyuga for a time.

The pregnancy had been hard on Haruki and Mikoto having just lost one of her people, had been the picture of overprotective. And Fugaku still winced every time he smelled red bean soup with mochi, something Haruki had apparently craved, and his wife had made. Often – too often, one might say.

Well, one might say that so long as they were on the other side of the country and could tell with absolute certainty there was no one nearby who may report it back to their wife; and they were certain their wife wouldn't somehow know anyway. Fugaku was not that brave – or stupid. Mikoto would know – he couldn't tell you how, but she would.

But, yes, given what they knew about the seals on half the Hyuga, the Uchiha were certain a revolution would occur at some point (and were frankly surprised it hadn't already) – and his wife was intent on making sure that even if the entire clan died out, not a hair on Haruki's head would be harmed. And because Haruki loved them, Mikoto would also go to great lengths to ensure Hinata's and Hiashi's safety – unless they imperilled Haruki's own went without saying.

It made clan relations… interesting, to say the least. As chunin and jonin, Fugaku had often been paired with either Hizashi or Hiashi, so he was familiar with both twins and, after long nights and even longer missions, had a rough overview of what the seal did – or could do. Not to mention Kushina's frequent rants, red-faced, hands clenched, and hair split into nine sections floating around her as she emitted low-key killing intent talking about the incredibly badly designed seal, according to her. Or the intentionally created torture seal, Minato had always said with a cynical gaze and grim-set lips.

Fugaku couldn't image doing that to half his clan. On top of that, both were noble clans, but the Uchiha had – supposedly – higher status as the co-founders of Konoha (not that that meant much, these days, he supposed) and their kekkai genkai – both dojutsu which were rather dissimilar in application.

People always said dojutsu made them crazy – and Fugaku couldn't exactly refute it. The Sharingan burned in not just extra pathways and memories, even at the lowest level, it was the reason they had 'people' – or anchors, as he remembered Kushina calling it. People who grounded them, who gave them reason to live, to die, to kill, a reason to be stronger, a reason to not go insane from the amount of blood and screams imprinted into their minds; even once Sharingan-blindness set in, they were still there. They would always be there, not a drop of colour lost, the faces would be remembered until you breathed your last.

It was why Uchiha went to such lengths. They loved with every breath they took, they activated their eyes out of emotion and it ruled over the rest of their lives. Sight was everything to the Uchiha. Yes, the Inuzuka did remarkable work with scent and hearing, but an Uchiha's brain was wired for vision, for precise recall and memory.

They used genjutsu to show, teach and play act for their children. Memories recorded were never lost, everything lived on in their clan. They had memories of Izuna and Madara, of their three brothers, of Tajima and the clan life before Konoha, during the warring clans era. They had recorded events of fights with the Senju.

Everything was recorded, shared through genjutsu and passed on. The Uchiha never forgot. Not when they were old, not when they lost sight. The memories were a part of them.

Their eyes, the Uchiha believed, were a gift from the god; it's why the techniques were named after them like the Susanoo or Izanagi. But it also meant they lived their lives in devotion. The eyes were a gift and their person, the Uchiha believed, the reason for that gift. They were who they devoted themselves to, their protection, and their happiness, for it was why they were who they were, the reason the Uchiha even existed.

He didn't understand the Hyuga, the enslavement and torture, the pain inflicted on their own children, Fugaku shuddered at the very thought (Fugaku had been desperate but this was not a solution, never a solution – thank Mikoto for reminding him). Did their all-seeing eyes not notice all they lost?

So, with Uchiha's losing sanity to their people and the never-ending bloodshed, the Hyuga lost it to themselves. So, no, Fugaku couldn't exactly dispute it. But that didn't mean he had to bring it up.

But he had pulled Hiashi into his confidence on low-level clan secrets about their 'person', seeing as his wife was one, and the increased attention he could expect from Mikoto. Fugaku had no intention of starting a feud over something which could only aid Hiashi, but he needed to be aware, at least, in case he ever did something stupid (Hiashi hadn't seemed like the type to hit his wife, but if he did, Fugaku had assured him, he could guarantee it would be the last thing he ever did). Although most people were aware – there were enough civilian love stories about soulmates and a red string of fate, most of them connected to Uchiha.

Fugaku figured few knew about the platonic attachments both within and outside of the clan, or the one-sided romantic 'persons' Uchiha had. Itachi's person being Sasuke and Itachi being Shisui's was well within the normal remit. People were often found within the family, cousins, aunts, uncles and siblings frequently became a person. Rarer were the cases where an Uchiha fell in love with someone outside of the clan but they were in love with someone else. Fugaku really wanted to know why people thought the Uchiha would assassinate or otherwise hurt the one their person loved; everything they did was to ensure their person lived, and lived happily, with whosoever they chose (and in that order, too). Any Uchiha would merely care for them as best friends and make no further advances on them, just ensure they were happy for the remainder of their days, along with anyone who made them happy.

But back to the Hyuga, despite having closer relations than their fathers, it did not mean they worked well together – or agreed on many things at all, in fact. Mostly it meant they worked and accommodated each and kept their hate and spite for the other clan to clan head business. Well, as he said, mostly – it didn't work all the time, but Mikoto had made it very clear what he could expect from her if he alienated her from Hiruko through her husband. While Fugaku could be foolish (like bringing young Itachi to the battlefield), he was not suicidal, and he would always do his best to make his wife happy. And if that included pandering to Hiashi on occasion, he would do it with a smile, as it made Mikoto happy.

Upon returning home, he sought out his wife, embraced her from behind and buried his head in her neck. The scent of honeysuckle and vanilla grounded him, as it always did, and Fugaku allowed himself a moment with the Sharingan to imprint her in his mind. So few precious memories with her, compared to all the pain and bloodshed, but his eyesight already wasn't what it used to be and he couldn't afford to lose more.

Anything in the name of the Uchiha and Konoha. There had been a time when Minato had been Hokage, where that order had been reversed, but not now. Fugaku didn't know where to turn, or whom to turn to, except his beautiful, wonderful 'koto, who had the wisdom of an elder, the viciousness of a Kunoichi and the protectiveness of a mother.

His meeting really hadn't gone as he had expected. Fugaku had thought that where it concerned the civilian class, he could simply recommend the Kara-girl for genin corps and it would be done, with little or no questions asked.

Except that had not happened.

Fugaku knew that in the week prior to the genin exams, the jonin commander and the Hokage had a meeting with the ANBU commander and determined a shortlist of jonin who had either expressed a desire to teach or were chosen because they had no family but Konoha needed them to pass on their skills. This way, they could ensure they would only get short-term missions prior to the genin exam and would be able to return on time to greet their assigned genin team.

A day after graduation the class teachers met with the jonin commander, the Hokage, the Head of Police and the ANBU commander (if any under his command had been selected to teach) to discuss team assignments. The ultimate decision would always rest with the Hokage, but he usually followed their advice.

The jonin commander would be aware of which jonin had petitioned for specific students (as would the Hokage in most cases) and he would also be aware of whether a jonin had already tutored a student. More importantly, Shikaku would have a better overview of the skills of the jonin in question and with the help of the Academy teachers would be able to determine if the students and teacher would likely be a good fit. The Academy teachers reported not just on skills but also on their personality and any deficits which needed to be addressed. The ANBU commander fulfilled the same role as Nara for his ANBU.

Fugaku was there for civilian perceptions, reports of anything the children were involved with i.e. any encounters they have had with the Police either through their own actions or parents. Fugaku usually could also give a more wholesome perspective on the family – although with the issues they had been experiencing lately, this aspect was becoming more difficult.

So, when he reported on the Uchiha who noticed her in the bank getting money in return for a jewel of impressive cut and clarity not seen before in the Lands of Fire, as well as using henge on a civilian (benign purpose and more around the civilian rather than on him, but usually genin had been tossed into the genin corps for lesser reasons).

Therefore, when Shikaku opposed him, Fugaku knew it was out of some sort of personal vendetta either against him or the Uchiha clan as a whole. Really, who would believe that the Nara clan was 'invested' in solving the 'puzzle' and they would even be happy for her to be assigned to any one of their jonin.

He didn't know what he – or they – had done or if it was another casualty of the rumours against them, but Shikaku was determined to oppose them. Naturally, as Fugaku had come to expect, the Hokage sided with the Nara; said what harm it could do. Potential evidence of her parents being spies, but what harm could it do, he says. Never mind how many others had been pushed into the genin corps.

Not a day later, Fugaku is told that she corrected her age and the Hokage dropped her like a hot potato – not that he said that, but everyone knows that the only way Aburame Satoshi will ever leave ANBU is through his death on a mission. It is an easy way to drop students whose parents have some influence but who aren't actually important to a shinobi; failing a teacher's test and either returning to the Academy for another attempt, parents paying off their debt to Konoha, or the student joining the genin corps. Kara was not given a choice.

Fugaku should feel vindicated, but sitting in his office, hours after dinner would have been served at home, all he feels is empty. Shikaku had been a close friend and comrade of Minato, he'd thought they were friends-by-proxy, that they got along. If it's not just civilians but also clans turning on them now, where will the Uchiha end up?

Uchiha businesses in the commercial district had to be closed as they had been allocated their own district which all Uchiha had to live in. Never mind the Akimichi restaurant on the main street or the Nara pharmacy or any of the many other clan businesses which were permitted outside of their clan districts. But no, Uchiha living outside the clan in their own apartments were forced to return. Their only protection was a wall any genin and most Academy students could jump over.

He was tired, so tired of the endless fighting. Everywhere he turned to look for support, Fugaku appeared to find another enemy coming from an unexpected side, from people he used to assume were his allies. He just felt so drained, so exhausted – and sometimes he even thought about seceding. But where would they go? The Uchiha had given the land they owned up for Konoha. Their eyes were valuable, and they would be beset by enemies on all sides – they would not last as long as Uzushio had, had nowhere near as formidable a defence in place. They would be sitting ducks out there.

But were they any better off in here?

It was the warring clans all over again, only this time they were exposed, vulnerable and kept baring their throats to the one slitting it, losing skilled shinobi on missions which should have been routine – losing them to someone in this village – or maybe all of the village, at this rate.

Who could they turn to, after Minato's death? Who would ever reach out to them? No one ever had before. They had intended to plead with the next Hokage, but when would that be? Sarutobi seemed to be settling in to stay until he died.

Would he lose his son, Itachi, soon as well? He was out there, running missions with the rest of them, and Fugaku worried but it was just another failure among many. Another soul he could not protect.

Fugaku was clan head, his main responsibility was to look after the continued survival and welfare of his clan. He had already failed them and he continued to fail and didn't know how to change it. He loved this village, but it was slaughtering the ones he was promised to protect and Fugaku did not know who turn to. Minato had died. Kushina, too, was dead. The Hokage had turned his back on them.

Who was left?

He needed to make this world better, for her, for the people he had failed and the ones who yet lived. He couldn't just give in now. It would get better. Fugaku would make it be better, because his 'koto needed him to, it was as simple as that.

Author's Notes: Ahhh... yes, so I promised Nara interlude and the friend interlude. Sorry about that. I was just responding to a review and realised, yep, this is going to be less of an interlude more of a monster chapter. So I split it - first part here.

I hope this answers some of the question about the Uchiha; this is how I've imagined it from the thousands of fanfics I read. I hope you like it and it matches fandom (some of the data is pulled from narutopedia, dates from the same tumblr page as the one i used to create the timeline in my profile).

Look, this interlude was at 8k and I had only just started on the Nara, but the Uchiha needed to go first for context. Naras will be next and is half-written. Well, a third written. It's another long one. I would like to point out that this is not my intent going in. Sigh.
Anyway, voting is at:
Itachi: 55
Kakashi: 58
Shisui: 27
Please feel free to vote as often as you like :) The poll is on my profile page or you can leave a review with your vote :)
And thanks for so many reviews and kudos! You're all awesome! Naras are coming, just hang on for a bit longer :)