Author's Note: Hi, lovelies. Sorry for no update on Monday, but I'll update tomorrow as a bonus chapter, and Friday for the regular schedule. Enjoy!

Citations: Naruto Shippuden Episode #452, Naruto Shippuden Episode #358, Itachi's Story: [Daylight] pg. 30-31

Chapter's Song: "Help I'm Alive" by Metric


Chapter 7
Prejudice

It was a sunny day, but nothing was joyful about it. Itachi stood between his parents towards the front of the crowd. He looked to the baby with blonde hair at the foot of the Will of Fire sculpture.

"Life is born…" Itachi thought. "And life… dies." He continued to contemplate looking over his shoulder to all the freshly dug graves. "Yasuo-sama… Kushina-sama… Minato-sama…"

Izumi stared at Itachi looking over his shoulder. As the funeral ended, Itachi watched his mother approach The Hokage.

"Lord Third," Her meek voice asked, holding Sasuke.

"Yes, Mikoto?" Lord Third asked.

"Would it be possible for me to take Naruto under my care?" You could hear her concern for the baby of her dear friend Kushina.

"No, we cannot allow that." Koharu spat, being the one holding Naruto.

"W-Why not?" She still sounded meek, but Mikoto's brows furrowed.

"I… Promised Minato and Kushina that I would look after the boy, Mikoto. Besides," He placed his hand on Itachi's head as he came to Mikoto's side. "You have your hands full."

"Oh, good day then." Mikoto bowed. "My condolences for your wife."

The Hokage respectfully bowed, and turned away with Koharu, holding Naruto.

"Mom…" Itachi's voice made Mikoto look down at her son. "Can we go visit Akina?"

"Of course," She nodded.


There were many wounded in the hospital, so many they were on gurneys in the hallway. Mikoto held Sasuke in her arms, and held Itachi's hand as she stared through the viewing window to all the babies in their hospital bassinets.

Naruto specifically, his rosy cheeks and tufted blonde hair, tucked under a green blanket. Itachi's onyx eyes tilted upward to his mother lost in thought.

"Kushina… I'm so sorry. What Fugaku said about the higher ups fearing us is true. They don't want Naruto in my care because the Nine Tails was sealed within him. They see giving him to me as if giving the Uchiha a weapon to turn on the village with… He's not a weapon, he's just a baby…" Mikoto didn't blink as she stared fixated.

"So that's Lord Fourth's son?" Itachi thought out loud.

"Yes." His mother sorrowfully nodded.

"What's his name?" Itachi looked up asking.

"Naruto." Mikoto voiced for Itachi to look back at the baby.

"Don't worry, Mom. Sasuke will be his friend." He said with a firm nod.

Mikoto looked down with surprise at her son's words, and smiled, nodding that she was reassured by his words. "Yes. Let's go see your friend now."


Shisui and Benjiro sat at the end of Akina's hospital bed in chairs, they lifted their heads at the sound of the door handle moving, Mikoto and Itachi coming in. "Still unconscious?" Mikoto asked, looking at Akina from the foot of her bed. "Poor dear."

Benjiro's mouth suddenly felt dry with a swift breath in to blurt out, "They don't believe she will be in this coma long, Mikoto-sama."

"Oh?" She asked tilting her head. "Did the doctor say how long? Can they predict that?"

"It's positive thinking, Mikoto-sama. She is healing." Shisui grinned, his innocent smile was the kind that made you trust him.

The Uchiha mother blinked and looked to Itachi going closer to the head of Akina's bed. Her porcelain skin, her long wavy black hair swept over the pillow. "Her chest isn't moving…"

"Okay…" Mikoto gestured to Itachi with her hand to come. "We have to get home to feed and change Sasuke. Let's go, Itachi. We'll come back tomorrow."

"Mom, can I stay a bit longer? Please." It was close to begging, but he was still too straight-faced for it to be.

"I'll take him home later, Mikoto-sama." Shisui promised with another trusting smile.

"Very well. By dinner time, Shisui." Mikoto firmly commanded.

Itachi sat by her bedside for a while and then, hesitantly placed his hand to her face. "She's ice cold. Is she dead?"

"Itachi…" Benjiro began to say, but he tripped on his words, not wanting to reveal this intel.

"Tell him." Shisui insisted.

Color came to Akina's cheeks and her bright green eyes fluttered open to the hospital ceiling tiles, trying to recall what happened. "Was it all a nightmare?"

As Itachi shyly removed his hand, her eyes shifted to Itachi. "I-Itachi-kun…"

She then tried to lean up, but he held her shoulder. "Don't."

"Didn't get this pain from a dream." Akina thought to herself, wincing to the pain in her ribs.

"Sit," Benjiro said sadly, Akina's eyes shifting to him and Shisui sitting at the end of her bed. "I have to explain something to you."

"Benjiro… I'm sorry for that jutsu I casted on you, but I needed to stop my father from— Is my father alive or…" She kept her composer, waiting for his answer.

Her cousin would swallow, gulping as he stared into the poor wide green eyes. "I'm afraid he has passed, Akina. The funeral was this morning."

Shock hit the young girl like a truck, running over her heart completely. "N-No," She shook her head.

"You know that your father was the leader of the Mochizuki Clan, so you're the next to lead, but you have to be sixteen, so in the meantime my mother is acting as Clan Head."

Akina just blankly nodded. Itachi watched over her expression, seeing how she looked ghostly again.

"There are conditions you have to fulfill before then." Benjiro took in a breath as Akina stayed quiet, waiting for him to finish. "You have to reach the rank of Jonin, develop two jutsu, and be a respected member of the clan."

"I can do that." She robotically nodded.

"Reaching Jonin and developing two jutsu I have no doubt about…"

"You doubt my clan respecting me?" Akina raised her eyes to Benjiro.

"Because of the Black Rose Jutsu… I'm worried the clan will shun you."

"Wouldn't it be better to be honest and present that she has this ability now as an innocent girl who hasn't even entered The Academy yet?" Shisui suggested.

"What's her ability." Itachi looked to the older boys.

"You were right, Itachi. She was dead a moment ago, but The Black Rose Jutsu revives the wielder a maximum of twelve times." Benjiro crossed his arms, seeing Itachi's eyes widen. "You can't tell anyone. This stays between the four of us."

"Benjiro Nii-san… Thank you." Akina breathed.

Benjiro was confused by her sudden expression of gratitude. "Why are you thanking me?"

"You don't have to be nice, but you are. So I thank you." She blankly said to him directly, and then looked at Shisui, and then Itachi. "Thank you all."

Shisui gave a lighthearted snicker. "You're welcome."

Akina grinned and giggled. Itachi admired her, the girl who put on a brave face just after losing her father.

"She's gonna go far." Benjiro thought to himself confidently.

The door handle clicked, a nurse coming in. "Okay, visiting hours are over. Akina needs to rest."

"Let's go, Itachi. Let her rest." Shisui insisted as he followed Benjiro out.

Itachi then leaned in close to her face to make Akina blush. He was very serious, as he whispered, "Just because you have multiple lives… Please, don't die again. You're my best friend."

"I-Itachi…" Tears escaped her eyes and she began sobbing for Itachi to kneel halfway in the bed, her face going onto his shoulder as he petted her hair, she tried to hold back tears, but they wouldn't stop.

Benjiro and Shisui stood outside the door, glancing in. "I was half her age when I lost my dad, but I guess it hurts no matter what."

"Yeah," Shisui nodded.

"How's your dad?" Benjiro turned to ask.

"He's managing. I'm grateful to have both of my parents alive." Shisui said. "Must be double the pain for Akina, not having her mom, either."

"I wonder about that…" Benjiro thought out loud.

Mochizuki Manor

"I'm home." Benjiro stated as he entered the home, taking off his shoes. Iva stepped into the entryway, a step up from him in the house.

"Where were you?" Iva demanded to know.

"The Hospital." He answered quickly.

"Is she still in a coma?" Iva's arms crossed.

"No, she's awake now." Benjiro smiled as his mother's frown intensified.

"It shouldn't make you happy." Iva reprimanded.

"It should make you happy, she's your niece, and now you don't have to worry about shouldering the Mochizuki Clan forever."

"The Mochizuki Clan is rightfully my birthright, you know." She explained. "Once Akina turns sixteen, my privilege of being the rightful leader of the Mochizuki Clan will possibly come to an end."

"Possibly?" Benjiro questioned with distrust in his snarl.

"A lot can happen in ten years. The leadership will remain in my hands and I will give it to Akanah." The Mochizuki woman scoffed.

Benjiro rolled his eyes to come closing them. "Wow, and I thought it couldn't get any worse with you as leader, but you're going to put the only ninja that refers to a stiletto as a type of heel and not the knife… Brilliant."

Iva's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Aw, you make it sound like I'm a bad person, son… But I can't be since I'll let Akina stay with us in our new home. Your sister is even going to share her room. So I suggest that you lose the sass soon!" She hissed stopping there, turning to head back down the hall.

Benjiro eyes would go narrower, keening in on Iva's crest on her back, the Mochizuki Crest, a full moon with the silhouette of a black rose within in it at the bottom. Pride welled up in Benjiro's chest to muster up courage. "You mean Akina's room! And her home! This is the head family's house, not ours!"

Iva would coldly look over her shoulder, mewing, "It's mine now." To leave it at that— Puffing into indigo rose petals and whooshing past Benjiro, making him let out a breath of relief when she was gone.


Four figures were lined up in the conference room of the Hokage's Residence.

The Third Hokage, Shimura Danzo from The Foundation within Anbu Black Ops, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu from The Council.

With the sudden calamity under control, an exhausted Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at his three comrades, the wrinkles on his face deeper now, and he opened his mouth. "The Fourth and his wife, Kushina, gave their lives to seal the Nine-Tails. They saved the village."

Listening with a sour look, Danzo picked up where the former Hokage left off.

"But Konoha took a devastating blow, the likes of which we didn't see even during the Great War."

"Unless we rebuild immediately, the other villages might take this opportunity to attack." Homura advised, sternly.

Hiruzen nodded slightly, and continued in a grave tone. "I was planning to make arrangements for that right away."

"And here, there is a condition I would very much like to see put in place." The right half of his head covered in bandages, Danzo's exposed left eye glittered cruelly.

Hiruzen met this icy gaze silently, a question in his own eyes filled with distrust.

"I want to move the residences of the Uchiha Clan on the edge of the village," Danzo said unwaveringly.

"What?" Hiruzen glared at him, brows furrowed.

Danzo didn't flinch, but instead continued dispassionately, "You are aware that only the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan can control the Nine Tails."

"Are you saying it was an Uchiha who summoned the Nine Tails?" Hiruzen asked, with brows furrowing deeper.

"I am." Danzo asserted, and Hiruzen held his breath.

The two Councilors watched over the fierce back and forth with closed mouths, they nodded in agreement with Danzo.

"The treatment of the Uchiha during the Great War, Fugaku refusing to comment when The Fourth was decided on. Dissatisfaction with The Village has been growing among the Uchiha Clan in recent years." Danzo theorized.

"I don't agree." Hiruzen shook his head.

"Members of The Foundation have been looking carefully into the movement of the Uchiha. It is a fact that the Uchiha are dissatisfied." Danzo informed to give weight to what he previously had said.

Hiruzen began to argue. "That's a long-standing—"

"That's not all." The self-assured Danzo cut Hiruzen off. "Those who lived through the Great War are beginning to despair that even a rare genius like 'Wicked Eye' Fugaku must resign himself to being the head of the Military Police Force. That disappointment with The Village will someday become a serious dissatisfaction, and lead to an attack on Konoha."

"Still, that said, don't you think you're being a bit hasty in declaring the Nine Tails incident the fault of the Uchiha?" Hiruzen tried to reason.

"This is not the kind of thing you can simply leave be just because you have non positive proof, Hiruzen. Listen. The only thing that can control Nine Tails is the

Uchiha Sharingan. That is a fact. And we have had no Uchiha go rogue in recent years."

Hiruzen faltered.

"At any rate, we must gather the Uchiha Clan together in one spot and push them to the edge of The Village. And we should do it now, while we can do it in the name of town re-planning after the Nine Tail's attack."

Faced with the relentlessness of the man who embodied the darkness of the Anbu, the other three could only remain silent.