Lost.
Chapter Six – Itachi's Secret.
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Naruto and Konan stared at Itachi in wonder. "Why did you save me Itachi?" Naruto asked.
"Because you remind me of Sasuke. So much so that I felt the need to protect you." Itachi said softly.
"I don't get that in the slightest. You bought him to us Itachi. You took advantage of his memory loss." Konan stated.
"If I hadn't, then what would have happened Konan? He would have had the Kyubi removed from him, and he would have been killed in the process. I wanted to save him. At first it was to try and keep one bond alive for my brother, but as you've said, the brat grows on you." Itachi replied. Konan looked down at the floor.
"Why does Sasuke hate you so much Itachi? I know that I knew, but I just can't remember." Naruto asked. His face completely serious.
"I was accused of murdering the whole Uchiha clan. Apart from Sasuke." Itachi answered.
"Did you kill them?" Naruto asked.
"Yes." Itachi's answer was as quick and effective as a hammer blow.
"But… why would you do that?" Naruto asked. Itachi took a breath and sat on one of the bar stools.
"I wanted to protect Sasuke." Itachi was trying to avoid the whole story and Naruto could tell.
"Why would he need protecting from his family?" Naruto asked.
"If I tell you, I must ask you to promise, never to breathe a word to Sasuke. He thought our family were perfect. He can never know the truth." Itachi replied. Naruto thought for a few moments. Then nodded his head.
"I promise he'll never hear it from me." Naruto replied. Itachi visibly relaxed. Then he started his tale.
"It started when I got promoted to Anbu." Itachi said.
Itachi walked home from another mission. He'd been accepted into Anbu, and he knew his father was waiting for him to come and tell him of his triumph. He walked into their family meeting room without a word and knelt before his father. "Your entry into Anbu was a success I assume?" His father asked. Itachi nodded.
"It went as well as you expected it to." Itachi replied.
"Good. Why did you insist upon me going to Sasuke's inauguration ceremony?" His father hissed.
"He'd suspect something was wrong if you didn't go. You are his father after all." Itachi replied. He received a slap to his face.
"Don't call me that creature's father. Keep in mind that he's not a brother of yours. He's a demon. Now that you're a part of Anbu, you can help rid us of him without any trace." His father stated angrily. He got up and left the room, leaving Itachi to bite his lip angrily.
"How can you hate Sasuke for carrying a creature that you had placed inside of him yourself?" Itachi thought. He heard a noise near the door. He turned to see Sasuke staring at him oddly.
"Why does father look angry Aniki?" Sasuke asked. His face filled with confusion.
"He just didn't like something I said Sasuke." Itachi replied. "He can never know that his own father and clan think so little of him." Itachi thought. "I made it into Anbu." Itachi told his brother. Sasuke grinned widely. If it was possible, Sasuke looked happier about the promotion than Itachi was.
"That's great Aniki! Did you tell father yet? He'll be happy when you do tell him! He wanted you to be in Anbu! Maybe you can help me with my Shuriken jutsu!" Sasuke exclaimed happily.
"I'm sorry Sasuke, not today." Itachi replied. Sasuke looked at him, mouth pouting cutely, and Itachi poked him in the forehead.
"Ow! Do you have to do that Aniki?" Sasuke asked. Itachi got up from where he was sat and ruffled his little brother's hair affectionately.
"I'll see you soon Sasuke." Itachi stated and left the room, leaving his small brother to ponder as always.
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Itachi glared at his father as they faced each other. "You want Sasuke to love you before he dies father? Having second thoughts about ending his life?" Itachi asked. He was angry that his father was manipulating his little brother.
"As you keep saying he'd be suspicious if we act differently towards him. I attempted to teach the brat a jutsu, and he can't do it. It's not going to make a difference." His father stated angrily.
"I'm not going to let you manipulate Sasuke anymore! He's my little brother not a pet project!" Itachi yelled. His father stood up, towering above Itachi.
"Are you intending to betray this clan? All the members of our clan know what Sasuke is. I will not risk the danger of his becoming unstable. If you can't commit the deed, I'll find someone who will." Fugaku Uchiha hissed out at his eldest child. Itachi glared.
"Who father? Is there someone so sick they'd want to kill a seven-year-old child from their own family?" Itachi spat out.
"He's not a child. If you cared about this clan and your duty to it, you'd finish that demon yourself. But of course, you want to shirk your duties. I'll find someone who's more loyal to this family to do the job I ask." Fugaku stated angrily. Itachi shook with anger as his father left the room.
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It was sunset. Itachi was standing over the corpse of his cousin Shisui, his best friend who had to die at his own hand. Fugaku had indeed found a replacement to kill Sasuke and Itachi had just made sure that the replacement was out of commission. Killing Shisui hadn't been easy. In fact, it had been the hardest decision he'd ever had to make, but he'd done it anyway. To protect his baby brother.
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As Itachi went through the Uchiha estate, a few weeks later, he heard people whispering wherever he went.
"That's Itachi isn't it?"
"Isn't he suspected of killing Shisui?"
"Apparently his brother did it, and they're trying to keep it quiet."
"They say he's a Jinchuriki!"
"He needs to be killed!"
"We can't put the village in danger!"
"We must protect our clan's honour!"
Itachi heard whispers like that wherever he went within the clan's estate. He knew Sasuke would never hear these whispers. His clan were too frightened of him. Itachi knew his father had started the rumours. His father knew that he had killed Shisui, but he didn't want to lose his only heir. Sasuke wasn't important enough to their father. He knew his father was trying to incite an attack against Sasuke. Especially when he'd mastered the grand fireball jutsu. Itachi bit his lip angrily as he heard a few men talking about 'getting rid of the demon tonight' and his blood ran cold.
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"Stop it Itachi! Your father wouldn't do such a thing! He loves you and your brother!" Itachi heard his mother yell as he fought his own father. His father looked like a man possessed. He managed to trip Itachi and send him sprawling to the floor. Sheer anger made him fight on. Fugaku prepared to run Itachi through and that was when Mikoto Uchiha threw herself over her eldest child's body. Itachi's eyes widened as he heard the impact of the sword to his mother's body. The look of pain that crossed his mother's face would be etched into his mind forever. Mikoto Uchiha collapsed, and Itachi, gently moved her so that she was lying down on her back. Her blood created a puddle around her on the floor. Fugaku looked at his sword like a man in shock. "Look after your little brother Itachi. Look after Sasuke. Make sure both of you are safe." Mikoto whispered. Those were her last words, as her breath left her body. Itachi felt numb inside. His hands shook as he looked at his father.
"How could you? You lied to my mother! You never told her what you did to Sasuke did you? You turned him into a Jinchuriki and you never told her! You hated him and hated him and never thought for one second that all he wanted was your acceptance! He trained the whole week to master that jutsu, just so you'd accept him! Just so you'd give him a little praise! You incited the clan against him! It was you who spread those rumours wasn't it? How could you do that to your child?" Itachi yelled. His anger over his father's ways came out in a long verbal tirade. Fugaku Uchiha looked at Itachi angrily.
"You refused your duty to this family! You gave me no choice! You attacked me, your own father, without remorse! Killed your cousin Shisui, your best friend! For what? A demon container? Now your mother is dead! Soon that boy will be dead! It's time to make a decision. On whose side do you wish to be?" Fugaku yelled back. Itachi glared at Fugaku with nothing but hatred.
"I chose my side a long time ago. Sasuke is my baby brother. He depends on me. I choose him above all others. No one is alive to kill Sasuke. I finished them all off. If Mother had insisted on Sasuke's death I would have killed her too. But I knew she had no idea. You never told her the truth for her to have any opportunities to make a decision. I won't allow you to hurt Sasuke. I've lost everything that matters to me today, but not him. Not yet. So you might as well give up father." Itachi stated calmly. Fugaku looked horrified.
"You-you… you killed… everyone?" Fugaku asked shakily.
"Everyone." Itachi replied. "There were no children, apart from Sasuke and I, here. Everyone was older than me apart from Shisui. But Shisui and I were the same age. If I could fight with and kill my best friend, father, what shocks you so much about me killing everyone else?" Itachi asked. Fugaku Uchiha looked at his eldest child with loathing.
"You murdered your own kin!" Fugaku yelled.
"You would murder your own kin. Wasn't it supposed to be me on the end of your sword instead of my mother? Didn't you plan to kill Sasuke? Then you have the nerve to talk to me about kin?" Itachi asked. Fugaku growled angrily and jumped forward to attack his son. Itachi used his own sword to run his father through. "You will never hurt anyone again father. You and this clan are through. Sasuke will make this clan a better one." Itachi hissed. He let his father drop to the ground. That was when he heard running footsteps. Sasuke burst into the room. He looked terrified. He didn't even seem to see Itachi at first. "Mother? Father?" Sasuke said softly. He looked at his butchered parents, tears streaming down his cheeks, and then he saw Itachi. "Aniki? Who did this? Everyone's dead! Aniki!" Sasuke exclaimed pitifully. It was this moment that Itachi had decided to lie. This moment that Itachi would tell his brother that he'd murdered the clan to test his potential. "I can never tell him the truth about them. He'd never understand." Itachi thought as he told Sasuke the lie that would last for the rest of their lives.
Naruto and Itachi stared at each other. "Sasuke is… Sasuke's a Jinchuriki? Like me?" Naruto asked softly. Itachi nodded. Naruto had always known he was a Jinchuriki. Even without all of his memories, he'd been quick to find out about the Kyubi, who lived in a place deep within him. Naruto had come into contact with Kyubi on more than one occasion, whilst training and meditating. Though the demon fox, had never addressed him by his name, only as brat. Naruto wondered why the fox had never said anything to him about who he was. But dismissed the thought, as he realised the fox would have no need to tell Naruto anything. They weren't exactly friends after all.
"For the Goyubi, the five tailed bull. He doesn't know Naruto. He can never know." Itachi stated.
"But he's in danger and he doesn't even know it!" Naruto yelled. Naruto knew, from experience, just how dangerous being a Jinchuriki could be.
"No, he isn't in danger. The beast has never attempted to escape Sasuke. Either his will is strong, or the beast just likes it where he is. Either way, Sasuke seems to have it under control. Sandaime knew what had happened. I told him what I had done, what my father had done, and I left it in his hands." Itachi said. Naruto nodded his understanding.
"But what about Tsunade Baa-Chan? Shouldn't she know?" Naruto asked.
"There is a letter for the new Hokage in a special compartment of the Hokage's desk. You may tell her about it, if you choose to. She will make the decision to tell Sasuke or not. But I'm asking you not to tell him. You're his friend. He wouldn't accept the information well from you." Itachi stated. Naruto sighed and nodded his head in agreement.
"I suppose that means that I'll be bringing Itachi to visit too." Konan joked.
"You do realise we will have to tell Pein that you killed Zetsu right?" Itachi asked blandly. Naruto nodded.
"I understand. Say what you need to say. I'll tell Tsunade Baa-Chan what happened. If you choose to come back to the village, I'm sure it won't bother her. But be careful just in case." Naruto replied. At that point, both Konan and Itachi said their goodbyes and left, leaving Naruto to make his way back to the village. None of them knew that they had been watched. Jiraiya saw Naruto and decided to keep the conversation to himself. And of course Tsunade. He jumped down from his hiding place next to Naruto. Naruto jumped in fright. He glared at the white-haired man. "I know you right?" Naruto asked.
"Know me? Of course you do! I'm the all powerful Toad Sage Jirai-" Jiraiya was cut off by Naruto staring and laughing. "Hey! That's highly insulting gaki!" Jiraiya stated irritably.
"Ero-Sennin!" Naruto yelled through his laughter. Jiraiya saw the note of recognition in the boy's eyes and decided, just this once, to let it go.
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Sasuke and Sakura waited at the gates until midnight. Neither of them moved, hoping for a glimpse of their friend. That was when Sakura made out a white blur through the trees. "Someone's coming Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed. They watched as Jiraiya landed in front of them with Naruto in tow. Sakura threw her arms around Naruto's neck, and hugged him tightly. Sasuke lightly punched Naruto in the shoulder. Naruto punched him back. The two boys smirked at each other. Sakura just held on tightly to Naruto. Subconsciously afraid that if she let him go he would once again disappear.
"Come on Naruto. Why don't you come back with us?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah. I think I will. I need to go and see Tsunade Baa-Chan in the morning though." Naruto replied.
"I'll come and get you gaki." Jiraiya said. Before Naruto could agree, the white-haired male disappeared.
"Come on Naruto. Let's go home." Sakura said excitedly. Naruto nodded, as Sakura linked arms with him and Sasuke. She started leading them towards the Uchiha estate.
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Jiraiya leaned against Tsunade's office window. His face the picture of seriousness. Tsunade's face was grave looking. "Do you believe what Itachi said?" Tsunade asked.
"It depends. If you find the letter from Sarutobi-Sensei it's probably all true. If so it's your decision to tell the boy or not." Jiraiya replied. Tsunade gnawed at her lip for a moment.
"I need to think about this." Tsunade said. She looked shell-shocked, and Jiraiya understood why. The idea that they'd had two Jinchuriki in their village instead of one, all this time, and no one had had a clue. It was a frightening prospect.
"Naruto will be telling you in the morning. Itachi asked him to keep it secret from Sasuke, which he promised to do, but he also promised to tell you the whole story." Jiraiya said. Tsunade nodded.
"I need to compose myself before he talks to me. Is he safe?" Tsunade asked.
"He's with Sasuke and Sakura. They're taking him 'home' with them." Jiraiya replied. A grin spread across both of their faces.
"Finally, Naruto has a place to call home." They both thought to themselves.
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Naruto was looking around the room that Sakura and Sasuke had bought him to. It was a bright azure blue, with orange swirls decorating and complimenting the blue paint. There was a comfortable looking bed with the same designed quilt cover, and a beaver cap of green rested on the pillow. There were also three plants on his window sill. They looked very healthy and well cared for. In the room were simple furnishings, a desk and chair, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers, and a cabinet with a lamp on it. His two friends looked at him expectantly. Surprisingly, Naruto found himself liking the room. "Where did the plants come from?" Naruto asked.
"They're your plants. I got them from your apartment and bought them here. I didn't want them to die while you were gone. You always loved those things." Sasuke replied softly.
"And the cap is yours too. They left your pack when they took you. The cap was inside. You always wore it to sleep in." Sakura said softly.
"Who did all this?" Naruto asked.
"I sewed the quilt cover. Sasuke painted." Sakura replied. Naruto smiled at his two friends. It was a real, brilliant smile, like one of the very smiles he'd had before he'd been lost.
"Thanks." Naruto said softly. His voice full of emotion. Sakura and Sasuke didn't say anything.
"We all need some sleep. Everyone will be glad you're back Naruto." Sasuke said. Naruto nodded.
"Yeah. It's been kind of a long day." Naruto replied. Sasuke and Sakura left the room and Naruto got ready to go to sleep. He placed the cap on his head and crawled under the covers, and for the first time in a long time, he drifted off to sleep feeling completely safe.