3 - Remembrance
The Third Hokage was waiting in his office, Biwako seated beside him, when an ANBU guard brought Akemi in. Hiruzen nodded at the masked man and the guard quietly exited the room while Akemi stepped forward, the boy's eyes sliding from left to right in interest. His childish curiosity nearly brought a smile to Hiruzen's face, but then those black orbs landed on him and a chill ran down his spine.
There was knowing in those eyes, wisdom, experience too, and not a speck of youthful naivety.
The Hokage didn't know Uchiha Akemi well, beyond the fact the boy was the originator of the Family Exchange Program, a plan implemented during the end of the Fourth Hokage's reign and thus was not overseen by him until recently. Therefore, Hiruzen could only assess the Uchiha based on snippets of conversations he'd overheard.
According to Nara Shikaku, Akemi was bright like his brother, reserved yet kind, although perhaps the more talkative of the two. Hyūga Hiashi agreed, adding that though the boy was strange, Akemi's oddness made him unpredictable. Coming from the Hyūga, it was nearly a compliment, and didn't that say something considering his clan's rivalry with the Uchiha.
Nevertheless, Sarutobi found the dark eyes blinking curiously at him were wrong, fundamentally wrong for containing such understanding within their depths, and maybe the Hokage wasn't being fair because those dark eyes reminded him of the bright—too bright—snake yellow eyes of his student. Orochimaru, the man he was drifting apart from a little more each day, weighed heavily on his mind, and maybe that was why Hiruzen couldn't help but give Akemi's chakra a quick look over just to make sure this was actually a child before him.
Akemi flinched, too minutely to be noticed if Hiruzen hadn't been so focused on him. Could the youth be a sensor type? Or was it as Biwako feared?
Akemi, his gaze a bit wary, bowed. "Hokaga-sama?" He straightened, uncertainty softening his flat tone. "You wished to see me?"
Sarutobi brushed away his thoughts, there would be time for them later, and smiled warmly. "Yes, but first, please tell me how have you been, Akemi-kun?"
Akemi's neutral expression barely shifted as he smiled politely. "I've been well."
Hiruzen saw Biwako's lips purse from his peripheral, so when her eyes flicked his way, he nodded.
Biwako, sternly yet gently, asked, "So you haven't felt any strange pains when you move? Or felt a burning sensation while manipulating chakra?"
Confusion glimmered across Akemi's face. "No, why would I?"
Biwako frowned down at the desk, her hands folding across her lap. "The night of the Nine-Tails Attack, I noticed my healing jutsu had an unusually strong effect on your body. I didn't mention it in the official medical report because I wasn't sure, but typically this is a sign of Chakra Hypersensitivity."
Alarm peppered over Akemi's expression, and he took half a step back as he gasped. "Isn't that the disorder where your own chakra hurts you when you use it?"
Biwako nodded, lifting her gaze to meet his. "Yes. It's a rare genetic disorder, normally something you're born with." Hiruzen noticed Akemi seemed to comprehend the medical term prior to his wife elaborating. "But it's also possible to develop Chakra Hypersensitivity if one's chakra system is attacked."
Akemi's eyes widened in realization, and the boy seemed to shrink into himself. "So when that masked man attacked me, he might have given me the disorder?"
Biwako's lips curved up, her expression lightening. "Actually, if you've been using chakra for the past two weeks without any trouble, then I can safely conclude your chakra system is fine."
Akemi sighed in relief, his hand slapping over his heart. "Thank goodness, I can't imagine what my father would do if I couldn't—" He shook his head, slipping back under a calm facade, and faced the Third. "Is that all you wanted to know, Hokage-sama?"
Hiruzen's shoulders drooped, the man feeling every ounce of his age as he said, "There is another matter we must discuss." Power and authority backed his words, though he tempered them with a small grin. "Have you remembered anything new about your attacker during the Nine-Tails Attack?"
Akemi shook his head. "No, I only remember what I told Biwako-sama in the hospital."
The Third chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Well, would you care to remind me of what happened? This old brain of mines isn't what it used to be," he tapped his skull jokingly.
Akemi giggled, quickly stifling the noise beneath his hands. However, Hiruzen thought the sound rang a little false, the child's giggles perhaps a bit too loud before the boy lowered his hands. "Of course, Hokage-sama, I'll remind you."
Akemi's smile vanished. "I was playing Chase with Minato-sama." His eyes took on a sad hue, voice steeped in sorrow, and a part of Hiruzen felt like a monster for putting the child through this, but it had to be done.
Akemi closed his eyes, and lips trembling, admitted. "It-it's a game I made up, like hide-and-seek and ninja combined."
"Hmm?" Hiruzen exaggerated his confusion. "And how exactly do you play this Chase?"
Akemi opened his eyes, smiling weakly like he knew Hiruzen was trying to put him at ease and appreciated the effort. My, my, what a peculiar child.
"The rules are simple." Akemi sniffed, swiping away the tears in his eyes. "You find a ninja and follow them around town until they notice you. Whoever follows a ninja the longest wins."
"Ah," Hiruzen rested his cheek on his fist, shutting one eye in a lazy manner, "So it's a game meant to played within the Village walls?"
Akemi, intelligent as he was, quickly picked up on his meaning. The child's shoulders fell and he began wringing his hands. "Yes, the game can end when a ninja leaves the Village, but that night I...I was doing so good." His eyes dropped to the floor. "Minato-sama didn't notice me, and he always used to notice me," fondness spotted his tone before falling to sorrow, "I was just so proud of myself, I wanted to see how long I could last so I followed him and Kushina-sama outside the gates."
The child, his hands curling at his sides, blurted. "I'm sorry! I know I shouldn't have..."
Hiruzen longed to smoke the pipe lying enticingly on his desk, but a sharp look from his wife stilled his hand. Biwako never liked him smoking in front of children. As a medic-nin she knew how detrimental secondhand smoke was, and was not afraid to remind him of it.
The Third sighed, stroking his beard while he said, "It's alright, child. You are not in trouble, as I am sure you learned your lesson."
Akemi lifted his face, and Hiruzen immediately straightened up because Akemi's eyes were haunted as he whispered. "Yes, I learned my lesson when that man showed up...and the bodies fell."
.
He'd made a mistake, Akemi realized from his crouch on a sturdy branch across the river, the tree trunk concealing his tiny body while he peered through the leaves and surveyed the cave entrance. The ANBU guards surrounding the opening hadn't noticed him following them out the Village's gates, for even in his first life Akemi had been light-footed, and now as a shinobi he was practically a ghost. Mainly because concealing his chakra signature was second nature at this point.
It was just so easy manipulating the foreign energy thrumming through his body, probably because unlike everybody else in this world Akemi had lived a whole other life without it. Admittedly it took some time to adjust to having a chakra system, and at first performing the most basic jutsu had left him nauseated since having chakra was like constantly feeling the blood coursing through his veins while using chakra felt like purposefully pouring out said blood.
Thankfully the squeamish sensation passed within months, but five years into his new life and Akemi was still acutely aware of the chakra within him as well as the chakra burning in others. On the bright side, his chakra sensitivity made it near impossible for anybody to sneak up on him. On the negative, it seemed jutsu moves hit him harder than they should, for during training sessions with Fugaku, Itachi merely got singed after failing to dodge the man's fire moves while Akemi ended up with burns littering his arms. Mikoto figured he just bruised easily, but Akemi suspected jutsu attacks hurt him more than they should because if his own chakra felt alien to him then someone else's striking him felt like an outright invasion.
However, none of that mattered now, because being a sensor type only gave Akemi a split second to recognize that familiar chakra signature before the bodies hit the water and Obito stood over them in its shallow depths.
For a moment Akemi just stared, bile trapped in his throat and eyes blown open wide. He'd never seen anyone die right in front of him before, but now rust red rippled across the stream, rising from beneath the corpses of men who would never smile, never laugh, never hope or dream again.
Akemi tore his gaze away, and caught sight of Obito striding towards the cave wall. Immediately Akemi threw out his chakra in an unrestrained burst, praying Minato would sense it, get on his guard, and surely that would be enough to save him.
A kunai's cool metal bit into the skin of Akemi's neck, and his pupils shrunk to pinpricks as he stared at the masked teenager crouched across from him.
"Obito..." Akemi gasped, shock freezing up his joints while Obito's sharingan eye coldly observed him.
There wasn't any recognition in that scarlet orb, although Akemi was certain Obito remembered him.
"You..."
Akemi's eyes expanded even further at the sound of that coarse, aged voice, and the oxygen fled Akemi's lungs as Obito leaned in close. "Why are you here?"
He couldn't find the breath to speak, not with death looming and threatening to cut him down any second.
Akemi didn't think it would go like this, always telling himself year after year that he could change this night, save Naruto's parents, and save Obito from himself... Yet, a part of him always knew it was impossible.
Even back when Akemi had been practicing his water walking one dreary morning and spotted Obito on the docks, Akemi only pretended to drown because he believed change was possible. All he had to do was give Obito someone who looked up to him, believed in him, and then Madara could never get inside the teen's head. It wouldn't even matter if Obito returned to Konoha with vengeance in his heart, Akemi told himself he could just stir up old feelings and turn Obito from his ways.
How foolish...how stupid of Akemi to believe such a thing. It was a pretty, little lie he'd clung to all these years, Akemi knew that now as Obito's sharingan bored into him and the kunai nicked his neck, causing a bead of blood to roll down.
There would be no reasoning with Obito tonight, he understood that now. Perhaps, deep in his heart, he had always known.
Akemi's eyes burned, tears welling in their corners, because Itachi would miss him. Akemi thought he could make his brother's life better, make so many lives better, but after he died today everything would be so much worse.
Yet Obito's hand wasn't moving, and the tiniest flicker of hope sparked in Akemi's chest. Was it possible? Could that bright-eyed boy who danced in the glow of the orange sun still exist somewhere behind that scarlet eye?
"I...will not hurt...Akemi."
Obito's toneless oath threw the five-year old for a loop, but it was the sudden removal of the kunai from his neck that shocked Akemi the most.
"What?" He whispered while Obito rose and stepped back on the branch, a hint of confusion visible in his lone eye, almost like the teenager himself didn't know what he was doing.
There was no time to ponder this however, as splinters of pain struck Akemi's eyes. The boy inhaled sharply, slamming his palms into his eyeballs. The cool skin of his hands eased his discomfort for a second, but then another wave of pain struck him like a knife slice across the eyes, and Akemi screamed, jerking back so hard he tipped over and fell off the branch.
Yet he never hit the water, strong arms catching him instead, and through the stinging pain Akemi heard the masked teen promise.
"Obito...will always...protect Akemi."
The younger boy forced his hands down and his eyes snapped open to see Obito peering down at him. Something was wrong, for there was gold tinting the red of Obito's sharingan.
Akemi tried to get up, needed to leave and figure out what was happening, but his body was too heavy. ¿Qué? Why was he so tired all of the sudden?
"Akemi-kun!"
A masculine, adult voice called from what sounded far off, but when Obito swiveled around Akemi saw Minato standing in the water across from them. The Hokage's blue orbs flicked towards Akemi, and narrowed, but when he went to speak, Akemi's world abruptly blackened. It took him a second to realize he hadn't passed out, Obito had simply transported them into the cave's interior.
"Put him down!" Minato appeared in front of them in a flash, having followed.
Akemi blinked rapidly to keep conscious, and through his snapshot vision, noticed Kushina on the table, her face warped by pain and exhaustion while the black seal bubbled on her abdomen. Oh, no, Akemi hadn't bought Minato enough time to suppress the Nine-Tails! The Fourth must have ran out to investigate his chakra flare before he could.
"Biwako-sama," Minato said without looking away from Obito, his feet shifting into a battle stance, "Take Naruto and go!"
Akemi glimpsed the older woman's pale, shocked face before she pivoted and sprinted out the cave, blond newborn in her arms and her medical assistant hurrying after her.
"Minato!" Kunshina's cry made the blond glance back, only for Obito to warn.
"Step away from the Jinchūriki, Fourth Hokage Minato." Thin fingers padded along Akemi's throat, curling around it and applying the barest pressure. "Or the child dies."
The threat hung hefty in the air, as deadly and potent as a viper's fangs poised over his heart, but was Obito being serious? Had whatever compelled him to let Akemi live disappeared?
The boy barely had time to contemplate it before white fire ignited in his eyes, and Akemi's shriek echoed outside the cave chamber.
"—hurting him! Please, calm down!" Minato begged over Akemi's fading scream, his voice high with stress while his wife struggled to muffle her own cries behind him.
Akemi didn't mean for this to happen, to become a burden, but even as his yell tampered into a muted whimper, he sensed his body disconnecting from his brain. Akemi couldn't so much as twitch anymore, and though a strange numbness was dwindling the burning in his eyes, every breath he drew was a little weaker than the previous. Was...was he dying? How? Why?
Minato shouted something, but Akemi's ears were filled with the sound of his own labored breaths. He wanted to tell Minato to forget about him, that Kushina needed him more and Naruto deserved to grow up with parents, yet, Akemi's vision was going in and out.
Obito's arms shifted beneath him, and suddenly Akemi was airborne, weightless and free, until another pair of arms—Minato?—caught him. Then heat billowed across Akemi's face and smoke tickled his nose. Paper bombs, his mind supplied right as Minato whispered. "I've got you..."
Akemi must have blacked out then because the arms left abruptly, and in their place he laid on something soft and crunchy—grass?
Akemi peeled open his eyes, and Minato's smile, false in its reassurance, was the last thing he saw before he slipped into oblivion.
.
"I don't know what happened after that." Akemi stared at the floor, his knuckles white and hands tight little fists. "Did..." He cautiously peeked up through his bangs, and Biwako frowned in sympathy. "Did Minato-sama tell you anything before he..."
The medic-nin sighed, shaking her head. "Taji and I made it back to Konoha right when the Nine-Tails started to attack the Village. Some debris hit us on our way to the Hospital, and I was knocked unconscious. By the time I woke up, Naruto was gone, Taji was dead," her face wrinkled with remorse, "And you were lying next to me. I can only assume the Fourth Hokage left you in my care, but much about that night remains unclear." She shook her head.
The Third heaved a heavy sigh. "Which is why I was hoping you remembered more details about the man who attacked you."
Akemi shook his head. "No, I only remember the masked man catching me outside the cave and using his sharingan on me. Then my eyes started hurting and I got really sleepy."
Biwako appeared thoughtful. "It's possible he placed you under a genjutsu that tricked you into expelling your chakra, causing you to suffer chakra exhaustion."
Akemi frowned. "But how did that man even get the Sharingan? There's no way he's an Uchiha, his chakra signature wasn't familiar."
Hiruzen leveled a flinty stare on the boy. "So you are a sensor type?"
Akemi beamed. "Yeah!" His grin faded. "That's how I know that man wasn't an Uchiha. Plus, why would an Uchiha attack one of his clan's heirs?"
Hiruzen fingered his pipe. "Unfortunately, we don't have an answer to your question." A smile fanned out upon his face. "Thank you, Akemi-kun. The information you've shared with us will certainly help us catch the masked man." He gestured towards the door. "You are free to leave, but please remember the cover story."
Akemi bobbed his head. "I was hit by debris on my way home, but Biwako-sama found me and took me to the hospital." He bowed. "I won't tell anyone what really happened, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen smiled while Akemi began to leave. However, the child stopped in the doorway and turned to his wife. "Biwako-sama," his face fell downcast, "I'm sorry for your loss."
Biwako gasped as Hiruzen observed the boy, noting the wide breadth of sympathy lurking in those twin pools of ebony.
"Thank you," Biwako smiled a little sadly, "Akemi-kun."
The child nodded, then disappeared out the door without a sound.
Hiruzen immediately grabbed his pipe off the table, brought it to his mouth, and inhaled deeply. "That boy is as strange as they say." He blew out a plume of smoke.
Biwako sent him a coy smile. "Yes, but is that such a bad thing?"
Hiruzen chuckled, smoke wafting up to the ceiling. "Only time will tell."
.
Akemi stepped onto the wooden stool set in front of the sink and examined himself in the bathroom mirror. Without moving his head, he looked from left to right, up and down, paying close attention to his pupils' movement.
Nothing happened.
Akemi grabbed the flashlight off the counter, flicked off the overhead lights, and in the darkness aimed the flashlight at one eye. The pupil shrank appropriately, and dilated when he turned the light away. He did the same to his other eye, getting the same results.
The boy set the flashlight on the counter so it highlighted his face, and squinted at his mirror image while performing a series of hand signs. The summoned gust of wind made his hair fly up and shirt collar flap against his chin, but his eyes didn't change in the least as the air settled.
Akemi scowled. He knew something strange happened to his eyes the night of the Nine-Tails Attack, and Obito wasn't the reason why.
"Obito...will always...protect Akemi."
The five-year old hadn't thought much of the masked Uchiha's words that night until after his talk with the Hokage. Only now did it hit him that he'd fed the exact same line to Obito four years ago while they sat by the campfire, golden flames reflecting in their eyes… Or was it? What if that golden tinge hadn't came from the fire?
Obito's sharingan was tinged gold when he promised not to hurt him, and while it might be a coincidence, Akemi's eyes only started hurting after he made eye contact with Obito. Prior to that Obito's killing intent had bared down on him with all the weight and swiftness of a guillotine, so although the Hokage believed it was Obito who attacked Akemi, Akemi was beginning to think he was the one to attack Obito.
Akemi had been terrified, fully aware he might die by Oibito's hand that night, and weren't most bloodline limits unlocked during high-pressure situations? Since he was an Uchiha, Akemi must have unknowingly used some type of dōjutsu which explained why Akemi's eyes hurt and how he suffered chakra exhaustion. He must have been expelling chakra without realizing it, perhaps while placing Obito under a form of hypnosis that stopped the teenager from killing him.
"But I don't have the Sharingan," Akemi brought his hands to his face, lightly patting the area around his eyes.
No, the Sharingan was red, but Obito's eye had been rimmed with gold. Also, Akemi was pretty sure a newly-awakened Sharingan didn't have the strength to overtake Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan. Yet, whatever dōjutsu Akemi used was strong enough to control the teenager until Obito fought it off and used Akemi as a hostage in Naruto's place.
Akemi rubbed his temple, frustration mounting.
Estupendo, just estupendo! Porque it wasn't like his life was complicated enough without him gaining a dōjutsu he'd never heard of!
This was nearly as bad as Akemi's dreams of late, which technically weren't even dreams. No longer did Akemi go to bed and imagine nonsensical conversations and impossible scenarios. Rather, ninety-five percent of his nighttime visions were Naruto episode clips, which were particularly jarring to wake from considering he now saw most Naruto characters as living, breathing, three-dimensional people.
Also, there was the odd compulsion Akemi felt upon waking, the desperate urge to etch the images in his brain on the nearest flat surface. It was like one second Akemi was in bed, and by the next there was a drawing utensil in his hand and graphically detailed drawings of manga scenes on the skecthpad in his lap. It was actually kinda amazing since Aurelio had never mastered drawing in his first life—his sketch skills having been fairly average back then.
Could the two oddities be related? The dreams and this golden dōjutsu of his?
Akemi rubbed his chin. Now that he thought about it, he didn't have many dreams starring Obito until he met him...and the same went for Kakashi...
"Aye, yai, yai!" Akemi's whole body slumped as he dragged a hand over his face. "It's just one thing after another in this loco life!"
He lifted his hand and peered into the mirror.
Only to spot Fugaku standing behind him.
Akemi whipped around, having been too distracted to sense the man who currently stood frozen in the doorway, his eyes wide and lips twisted like he'd witnessed a horrific blood ritual—Oh! Akemi had been muttering in English and Spanish this whole time, without a single phrase of Japanese—or Katonese as the people of the Land of Fire called it. So from Fugaku's point of view, he'd caught his weirdo son chanting in a freaky language in a pitch black room, and, yeah, the man totally thought Akemi was some type of demon at this point.
Akemi flashed his teeth. "Oh, did you need to use el baño—I mean, the bathroom?" Akemi struggled to keep his expression passive while Fugaku's brow furrowed at the sound of his "demonic" language. "I guess I'll head to bed now. Goodnight, Tou-san!" Akemi grabbed his flashlight, hopped off the stool, and muffled a snicker in his sleeve when Fugaku flinched as he brushed past him.
He managed to keep a straight face until he reached his bedroom, then commenced to laugh himself hoarse into his pillow. Poor Fugaku, the man was going to have a nervous breakdown if he didn't let up soon.
.
Itachi was trying, truly trying, not to notice it.
When he entered the living room and found Akemi already seated at the breakfast table, sketching on his pad, Itachi purposely turned away from the drawing while he sat beside him. He examined the room instead, observing the banner strung from the ceiling and brandishing their clan crest, as well as the bookshelf stuffed in a corner with old picture frames sitting atop it.
Their furniture was the same, something familiar in their brand new home, and Itachi was grateful that the storage warehouse they sent their furniture to merely a few hours prior to the Nine-Tails Attack had been spared any damage. If not for that rat infestation, they could have lost everything. Fortunately Akemi noticed the rats—
Itachi recalled Akemi's insistence they not leave any object behind, like he knew they would be lost if they were, and his eyes darted to Akemi's drawing, but he snapped his gaze away immediately. The scritch-scratch of pencil lead against paper thundered in his ears, however, Itachi refused to turn back, instead focusing on the picture frames set upon the bookshelf.
Akemi's beaming baby face shined down on him. Itachi, also an infant in the old photograph, sat on the floorboards next to him. Unlike Akemi, Itachi's face was blank while his eyes tracked something outside the frame.
But Akemi stared directly at the camera, as if he knew his picture was being taken...as if he was aware of what a camera was...
Itachi swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. Exactly how long had Akemi been able to see the future? Surely, not since infancy. For that would mean even as a baby Akemi had experienced all sorts of things through his foresight, from wars to torture, culture to education, games to music—
"I practice the piano in my dreams."
Itachi twitched, recognizing that Akemi played the piano like he'd been born knowing how to play, and Itachi was starting think maybe he really had.
"Nii-san?"
He looked up to find Akemi with worry sprinkled across his passive expression. "Is something wrong?"
Itachi's gaze dropped onto the sketchbook planted on the table. A dark-haired man stood under a cloudy sky, his face angled towards the downpour, and Itachi couldn't tell if the man was crying or if those were raindrops rolling down his face.
Akemi's hand clenched around the pencil hovering over the paper, and Itachi raised his eyes to find his twin shifting uncomfortably. Quickly Itachi opened his mouth, but Mother came in asking for help carrying the dishes, and Itachi's mouth clacked shut as he departed to the kitchen.
.
Six-year old Itachi thought it would get easier to ignore Akemi's foretelling ability as time passed. Yet, every day he noticed a habit or trait of Akemi's, which seemed perfectly ordinary prior to his realization on the porch, that now was so glaringly obvious evidence Akemi could see the future.
It was the sketches lining the walls of Akemi's bedroom. His younger brother added new ones and took down some of the old ones every month. However, there were certain pictures he never hung up at all. Like that sketch of the dark-haired man wearing a cloak and facing the rain, Itachi hadn't seen it since Akemi sketched it at the breakfast table. He figured Akemi stored it in that plastic bin tucked under his bed, the one he'd seen Akemi locking with seals only he could break.
There were other things too, little moments, that gave it away, like the night of their sixth birthday. Akemi bought him a manual on how to best utilize nature jutsu with physical weapons, something Itachi was interested in if only to learn how to counter it. However, later in the privacy of Itachi's bedroom, Akemi handed him a small brown package.
Inside lied two bottles of nail polish, black and scarlet nail polish.
Itachi had raised incredulous eyes from the box while his brother beamed sunshine at him. "It's alright, you don't have to use it." Akemi's smile revealed his pearly white canines. "But if you ever decide to paint your nails, I would prefer you go with one of these colors. They match your complexion way better than say," Akemi performed a full body shudder, "Blueberry nail polish."
Itachi simply stared at his twin, wondering if this was a joke when Akemi leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Remember, Nii-san, sharkmen do not make good friends." Akemi pulled back, looking solemn, although his cheeks were puffed in a pout. "Especially if that sharkman tells you to wear blue nail polish."
He patted Itachi's shoulder. "So keep that nail polish around just in case." His twin vacated the room, muttering about poor fashion choices while Itachi carefully closed the gift package and slid it under his bed, incredulous expression never leaving his face even as he went to sleep.
There was also that time Itachi walked in on Akemi playing with Sasuke in the living room. His twin laid on his stomach, stretched across a pillow and resting on his elbows. In one hand he dangled a beanbag about the size of his head, which was shaped and colored like a tomato. Sasuke crawled towards the beanbag as Akemi shook it, saying, "Ven aquí, Sasuke, look at what I got you." He set the beanbag on the floor, smiling softly. "It's a little tomato for my tomatito."
The infant stopped in front of the beanbag, which was slightly shorter than him, and without prompt, pounced on it. "Goo!" Sasuke sank into the red cushion while his short arms wrapped halfway around it. Akemi chuckled when Sasuke rolled over and accidentally released the beanbag, only for the infant to crawl back on top of the cushion, and clutching it close once more, started rolling again.
Akemi stopped Sasuke from hitting the wall, carefully lifting the one-year old off the floor and setting him down in the middle of the room where the infant preceded to roll again, laughing every time the beanbag was squashed beneath him.
"Ooh, where's that camera when you need it?" Akemi muttered to himself, perhaps unaware of Itachi behind him. "It probably won't happen, but if you go all angsty again, I'm going need something to blackmail you with, and this couldn't be more perfect." Akemi glanced back at his twin. "Hey, could you get my camera from my room?"
Itachi initially hesitated, for his brother had known he was there the whole time yet hadn't censored himself, but soon left to fetch the camera. Still, he was plagued with thoughts on his way up the staircase. Was Akemi being so conspicuous because he was confident Itachi wouldn't figure out his ability? Or was Akemi truly so reckless?
"It's like he's not even trying to hide it," Itachi didn't yell, though he really wanted to.
Shisui, sitting cross-legged on a large stone by the brook, tapped his fingers on his knees. "Or he's decided to hide in plain sight," the older boy offered after Itachi gave him a rundown on the events proving Akemi had foresight. "Or maybe he just trusts you."
Itachi regarded Shisui. "You mean Akemi doesn't care if I know about his foresight, and is trusting me not to tell anyone?"
"Yup," Shisui grinned cheekily. "Which would mean you've failed, considering you've told me."
Itachi didn't react, too busy thinking over the possibility. Akemi always had opened up more around him, and Itachi couldn't recall a time where Akemi dipped into that odd language of his around their parents. Was it because Itachi never questioned Akemi's strangeness? Or did his brother really trust him that much?
Itachi hoped it was the latter, his brothers should know Itachi would never hurt them or allow others to do them harm. Sasuke and Akemi were precious to Itachi, each in their own way. It was why Itachi now sought Shisui's guidance, he couldn't afford to tarnish the bond between him and his twin.
Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Should I ask him?"
Shisui shook his head. "I doubt he would take that well." He frowned at the gurgling brook. "We can't be sure Akemi is aware you know about his foresight, so it might shock him if you suddenly start talking about it. Also, you've got to understand he's probably scared."
Itachi glared at the floor, having a good idea what Shisui meant.
"If Akemi can see the future, he's likely terrified of people finding out, and reasonably so. To know when an enemy might strike before they do, to predict future obstacles and prevent them... Some ninja would kill to have that type of power."
Itachi shuddered inside, suddenly wary of his surroundings though they were deep in the private Uchiha training grounds and the brook's burble muffled their voices. For if anyone overheard that Akemi could see the future, they might come after him, lock Akemi up, and force his twin to tell them about the future by any means deemed necessary.
Shisui shared his concern. "And that's without considering how hard it is on Akemi, constantly carrying the weight of the future and deciding on matters of life and death..."
Itachi's heart sunk. He had never considered the price Akemi payed for his foresight, never even noticed his brother carrying such a burden, and something about that made Itachi feel like a failure.
Shisui clasped his shoulder, and Itachi hadn't heard the older boy move, but when he raised his head to see Shisui smiling reassuringly, a part of him felt lighter.
Shisui released him, saying, "How about I see what I can dig up in the Uchiha clan archives at the library? Maybe I can find some record of past Uchiha developing foresight. It's possible Akemi's gained some variant of the Sharingan."
Itachi nodded, his lips forming a line. "I will ask my father about the same."
"Sounds like a plan," Shisui smirked, then like his namesake, he transported away in a whirl of leaves.
Itachi didn't waste any time, trudging home immediately. However, his father didn't show up for lunch, so his questions went unanswered until a few minutes prior to dinner.
His parent was already seated at the table, and Itachi took his customary place across from him. Akemi was in the kitchen with Mother and Sasuke, making some type of tomato paste called salsa to go with the dumpling-like food Akemi called empanadas. Initially Father was against Akemi's strange baking, but every one of Akemi's meals proved to be rather savory and not too different from Land of Fire food, so Father had eventually relented.
"Tou-san," Itachi seized the opportunity to speak without Akemi overhearing, and his father shifted to face him, "I have a question about the Sharingan."
Interest flashed across Fugaku's face. "Ah," he closed his eyes, arms folding over his chest, "You have become interested in our dōjutsu lately."
Itachi nodded. "I was wondering about the Sharingan's abilities. Can it really see into the future?"
A gruff chuckle rumbled out Fugaku's throat, the man's shoulders shaking in amusement as the left side of his lips quirked up. "Those rumors are still around? I heard the same myth in my youth." He grew serious. "No, the Sharingan allows its user to predict the movements of others, but it doesn't actually show them the future, and even with the Sharingan one can be caught off guard."
The man stressed the latter part, and Itachi soaked in the guidance before asking, "But doesn't the Sharingan work a little differently for everybody?"
"Yes, every Sharingan is unique to the individual who possess it, some naturally more advanced than others, but all generally work the same way."
Itachi stopped, choosing his next words carefully. "Can every Uchiha gain the Sharingan?"
Fugaku squinted in thought. "Yes, as long as one has Uchiha blood, even in a small percentage, they may gain the Sharingan. However, as it is a bloodline limit and thus related to genetics, there is a small chance of a person being born with a genetic mutation that effects it." Itachi leaned in while his father grimaced. "If someone is born blind, for example, they may never gain the Sharingan. It's also possible to gain the Sharingan in only one eye." Fugaku suddenly noticed his son's close attention. "Why are you asking?"
Itachi pulled back, wondering why his father sounded so accusatory.
"Both I and your mother possess the Sharingan, so it's unlikely you would worry about not developing it..." The man's face darkened and a root of fear sprouted in Itachi's heart. "Are you asking for your brother's sake?"
Itachi blinked in genuine confusion. "No, Akemi didn't tell me to ask you. I simply wanted to know more about the Sharingan, Tou-san."
Fugaku appraised him, and Itachi forced himself to stay relaxed until the man looked away. "Of course he didn't, your brother isn't afraid to ask questions, even when he should be."
Itachi frowned, not liking his Father's barbarous tone.
Lately, the man had been giving Akemi long, layered looks, like one examining an insect they'd never seen before. His tone was also colder, more curt whenever he addressed Akemi, and Itachi knew his twin had noticed.
Itachi didn't like it, but wasn't sure what caused this change, nor was he certain how to fix it. Personally, he hoped things between them would smooth over soon on their own.
Though somehow he doubted it as Akemi walked into the room, helping Mother set the food on the table, and Father tracked his every move while Itachi could swear, for a moment, his father's eyes flashed red.
.
Shisui whooshed out a breath of air, falling into a crouch and splaying his hand on the dirt floor to balance himself. Across the training field Itachi was in a similar state of exhaustion, the boy's hair plastered to his forehead with sweat and the kunai hot in his hands while he shifted out of a fighting stance.
"That's enough for today. I have to be home in time for dinner." Itachi headed over to the target boards littering the trees, and started gathering the shuriken and kunai sticking out of them.
Shisui wiped his forehead with his sleeve and straightened. "Okay, but before you leave…" Itachi paused, turning. "I couldn't find anything like Akemi's ability in the records." He kept his reference vague, wary even with the silence barrier seals he had set around the field.
Itachi put his tools in his pouch. "Neither could I."
Shisui quietly said, "I think you should tell him you know about it."
Itachi's forehead crinkled. "Why?"
The eldest's dark eyes warmed into an almond brown shade as he replied. "Akemi should know you have his back, even if you don't understand what type of dōjutsu he has, sometimes just knowing you have someone you can rely on makes all the difference."
Itachi shut his eyes for a moment, lips pressing tightly together. "You're right," his eyes opened, "I'll tell him tonight."
Nightfall came faster than Itachi expected, but maybe that was Itachi's anxiousness messing with his time perception. Regardless, before he knew it, Itachi was sitting on the edge of Akemi's bed. Down the hall he heard Akemi telling Sasuke, "—if you ever stop being this cute, I have the right to give you la chancla, comprende?"
"Hae!" Sasuke blurted what was almost a word, but wasn't quite there yet.
"…I'm taking that as a 'yes'."
The barest sound of skin smacking skin, likely Akemi giving Sasuke a goodnight kiss on the forehead, drifted out the nursery before bare feet padded into the hall and out of the darkness Akemi emerged in the doorway.
"Nii-san? You're staying here tonight?" Akemi smiled, unbothered as he joined Itachi on the bed, pulling down the blanket while Itachi laid back on the pillow. Akemi tugged the covers over them and rolled onto his side, settling his head on Itachi's chest. The eldest brought his hand to Akemi's hair and started playing with the dark strands, knowing this would lull Akemi to sleep.
For a few minutes they were quiet, Akemi getting drowsier by the minute as Itachi hoped, though it was only once Akemi was on the brink of unconsciousness that Itachi took a deep breath and admitted. "I know you can see the future."
Akemi stopped breathing.
So Itachi was unsurprised to look down and find Akemi staring wide, horrified eyes up at him.
Itachi resumed his hair stroking, calmly continuing. "You don't have to tell me anything. I just wanted you to know if you ever need help, if it ever gets to be too much, I'll be there for you."
He raised his gaze to the drawings on the wall, examining the new ones while his brother composed himself.
"Who else knows?"
The rough, toneless voice coming from his brother shocked Itachi, but he didn't show it as he said, "I've only told Shisui of my suspicions."
Akemi relaxed. "That's fine, he won't tell anyone."
Itachi heard it, the absolute surety in Akemi's tone, and knew his twin was not simply putting faith in Itachi's friend. Akemi was putting faith in the Shisui he had seen in his visions, in the shinobi Shisui would one day be.
Itachi recalled the fear flooding Akemi's face when he first saw Shisui and realized it was not fear of Shisui so much as fear for Shisui.
Terror carved a hole in Itachi's heart—and was this what his twin had been dealing with all this time? This heart-wrenching fear of things yet to come?
"Nii-san." Itachi watched Akemi's mouth twist in a grimace. "I can't see the future."
For a second Itachi couldn't process the bold-faced lie coming out of Akemi's mouth until the younger boy's eyes sprung to the open doorway. "I'm just really good at predicting, you know?"
Itachi forced himself to remain calm, picking up on the fact his brother sensed someone nearby. "Oh, well, it was Shisui who convinced me you were a seer," Itachi laughed a little, "But he's also the one who said the Sharingan could predict the future, so I guess I shouldn't have believed him."
Akemi yawned, snuggling under the covers. "That would be cool if it did. Then we could use the Sharingan to gamble all over the place...get super rich...buy a lifetime supply of coffee..."
Itachi murmured an agreement, shutting his eyes and pretending not to notice the familiar chakra lingering outside the room. Fugaku's sharingan eyes gleaming crimson in the darkness.
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Next time, let's see how Akemi and Itachi tackle Ninja Academy!
Till then, stay safe!