Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
A/N: Big thanks to all those reviewers, fav&alerts. Though I can't reply to all of reviews(since I'm both working and studying), I'm deeply appreciated.
Sorry for the late update, I'd been so busy. Also sorry for the grammar, this chapter hasn't been betaed.
Hope you enjoy.
Chapter 4.
"So the matter of your children comes out. Well, a typical excuse from women. But I can't see any relation between your excuse and our issue."
Mikoto once again squirmed at the remark. A typical excuse from women? It was kinda_ no, very appalling to hear such words from this man. Wasn't he supposed to be all honorable and nice?
"I know that you'd become into one of those fangirls as you kept on buzzing around me." He continued, his voice full of mockery. "Weren't you? You had been so unguarded as much as you'd been so clumsy with your little game."
"I.."
"And at nights," Sapphire gaze pierced her face. "Didn't you actually have some kind of damn wet dreams about me?"
Blood rushed onto her face. The question was insulting and rude, arrogant and conceited, and yet, she couldn't help feeling guilty.
Had he been just reading through her mind?
She rose from the chair she'd been sitting on, hastily clutching her handbag as she noticed something dark sparkling behind the Hokage's blue orbs.
Minato stopped his movements at this and gazed her with a disinterested countenance.
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama... I.. I'm really grateful about what you did, but you have some misunderstandings about me. Maybe I just should be back some time later..." She then turned, desperate to escape from the room but was stopped soon when the Yondaime's hand grabbed her shoulder from the back.
With a gasp she turned to face him again, soon to yelp when his callous hand slapped her face with a stupendous force. she hit the floor with a thud, dazed by the blow, tears trying to spring free from their confines within her eyes. A shock froze her body first. Then a pain rushed coming, causing her slender frame to shake both by pain and fear.
"Don't. ever. play innocence with me." Minato muttered in passionless tone, as if nothing serious had really happened in his peaceful office.
Mikoto merely rubbed her face, her body frozen with a shock, beads of tears falling from her big dark eyes.
They'd been knowing each other since their childhood. Ever Since they'd entered the Academy. Minato, Kushina, Fugaku, and Mikoto herself.. She thought she knew well of her childhood friends. On Kushina or Fugaku perhaps she was right, but...
She blinked, feeling more tears streaming over her throbbing face. It was so unbelievable that she herself almost couldn't regard this situation as a reality.
Could Minato be this cruel to her? Well he could be cruel on the traitors, that's natural.
But couldn't he just be more... kind to a woman who's just torn to shred, her own husband and relatives executed horribly just a day ago?
But being slapped was only a mere start.
Flinching, Uchiha Mikoto gulped helplessly when the blond held her chin roughly with his large hand and made her look up. Cold sweats broke onto her forehead at the sight of those darkened blue eyes. Through the haze of tears she mumbled, desperate. "I'm.. I'm sorry, I didn't meant to..."
He heaved a tired sigh once again. "Only now the acknowledgement comes out. Why didn't you say that earlier? You'd have evaded being slapped then. I don't understand why you girls are being so stupid on a matter like this."
"I.. I didn't really mean to fool you..." Her words were stopped then. The dark eyes widened with a confusion when she realized that his index finger was injected between her lips. She blinked, not understanding the situation, soon to be dominated by a horror when few seconds later the Hokage emptied her mouth, his finger wet with her saliva.
She barely managed to mutter with a trembling voice when she felt her skirt being tucked up. "..I'm.. I'm your wife's friend..."
His eyes sparkled with a mockery. "Was that on your mind when you'd started to play your little game?"
The reality hit her head then.
Her clan was destroyed. Her husband was dead. There was no one to protect her now.
Sasuke sat silently in his seat, ignoring his classmates' whispers and stares being poured onto him. Despite the disdains from those very same people who used to look up at him with an admiration, he still held his head high, putting a cold and arrogant mask on his face, not wanting to get any sympathy from anyone. There was a rage boiling inside him every time they threw glares at him, but he patiently swallowed his emotion and decided to stay noble.
..Not that long.
The Uchiha boy nearly flinched when he felt somebody perking in front of his seat, looking straight at his face. He pressed a twitch when he recognized the red hair and violet eyes of Namikaze Minami.
"Oi Sasuke." She addressed him, her big violet eyes sparkling with an evil mischieviousness.
He simply ignored her and again fixed his gaze to the outside the window. He felt the kids gathering around them, watching the two interestingly to see how the event would turn out.
A long silence passed as Minami kept on staring at Sasuke's face and Sasuke kept on ignoring her.
Then all of sudden he felt a pain upon his forehead. With a scowl he looked forward. Minami had just punched him with her fist.
"How can you be so arrogant and blunt after all of this?" The redhead asked, a playful mockery contained in her cheeky voice.
Few kids began to giggle...
Sasuke took a deep breath, glaring the girl. Then outrageously_ almost bravely, he raised his hand and then slapped her hard.
"AWWW!"
Few girls screamed at the scene.
Yelping, Minami covered her face with a hand, soon to stare up at the Uchiha with an anger in her eyes. "What? How dare you hit me, you son of a traitor!" Then she jumped onto him.
The other kids around them began to make loud noises, some screaming, some cheering at the fight between the disgraceful Uchiha boy and the honorable daughter of the Yondaime who was at the same time the heroine of Konoha.
Only few boys were completely disinterested with the commotion and resumed their naps...
"Minami-chan!"
"Sasuke!"
"Kick his ass, Minami-chan!"
Woosh!
Suddenly the door of the classroom slammed opened. Everyone except for the two fighters who were exchanging angry blows fell silent immediately.
"What the hell is going on here?" An angry voice from the Academy teacher resounded off the classroom wall.
Uzumaki Kushina pressed a sigh when she scrutinized the small door of the new apartment. Pity shook her heart as she took a courage to place her finger onto the bell, soon pressing it softly.
She then waited for a quite while, until the door was finally opened and a woman with long dark hair came out.
"Oh, Kami! It's.." The Uchiha's eyes widened at the sight of the wife of the Hokage.
"Hello, Kiyu-san." Quickly putting a normal and cheerful smile Kushina nodded at her. "Is Mikoto-chan at home?"
"Ye.. Yes, Kushina-sama." Kiyu replied bit fearfully. "But she's not so stable."
"Is she sick?" What a stupid question am I throwing? Kushina immediately scolded herself as Kiyu blankly stared at her.
Crap, crap..
Kiyu seemed to hesitate for few moments, however soon nodded at her. "Come in, Kushina-sama."
The inside of the apartment wasn't as small as it seemed outside. There were three bedrooms all in all, along with small but proper kitchen and two bathrooms.
However, no matter how the new apartment was finely furnished, it couldn't be even compared with the grand Uchiha mansion...
"Mikoto-chan?" The redhead carefully approached to the figure that was laid_ almost sprawled_ in tadami floor, wrapped within the blanket.
"Mikoto.."
The addressed Uchiha female squirmed at the voice. Soon she shoved the blanket off of her body and slowly sat up, revealing her anguished feature to her old friend.
Kushina again felt her heart sinking with a sympathy. Her friend looked totally wrecked.
Mikoto always had been having an opposite nature with Kushina. Unlike the tomboyish redhead, the Uchiha was always bit more of feminine, being somewhat fragile and emotional while being a Kunoichi. When they were still little, boys used to play nasty pranks upon them. Mikoto was a type of the girl who would merely sob by the pranks while Kushina was an avenger, taking her revenge by beating the shit out of the naughty boys..
And still, Uchiha Mikoto never looked this broken before. ever.
Pressing her tears Kushina sat beside the Uchiha female. "Mikoto-chan.." She mumbled, squeezing her friend's hand.
With reddened eyes Mikoto blankly stared at the redhead. She blinked few times, emotions shaking her heart violently before tears started to fall from her dark eyes. Upon seeing this Kushina hugged her tightly, her beautiful violet eyes also getting wet. "Oh, Mikoto..."
Mikoto gulped, trying to press an urge to weep loudly like a child. Burying her face against Kushina's shoulder she sobbed silently for few minutes, her slender shoulders quaking pathetically.
"I'm sorry.." The Uchiha mumbled then between her sobs.
Without a word Kushina tightened her embrace, not quite understanding the reason of the apology. "I'm sorry." She then whispered back. "I'm sorry that I couldn't have persuaded my husband.."
Mikoto shook her head, not daring to speak anymore. Amongst the feeling of sorrow and despair, there existed a guilt which pained her most. Guilt. She just couldn't find the way how she would face her old friend again, after all those.. Truthfully she'd disgraced their friendship so far. And also her own husband, just a day after his death!
She squeezed her eyes shut at the thought of Fugaku. It would take a long time for her to forget him. She would always remember the time with him, the very time since they were all so young.. His every gazes, his gestures, his habits.. The smiles of the way he'd gently smiled, which only his wife could ever witness . Despite his blunt personality, he always had been gentle, affable to her. He'd loved her that much.
She knew it. Now she was being punished. She was paying so dearly for her treacherous thoughts she had bore against her friend and her own husband. She knew it, she knew it and had savored every pain of the guilt while screaming pathetically in the Yondaime's arms. The blond had took what he wanted fully, savoring her and breaking into her until she had become totally broken and bleeding and only then he'd satisfied.
What life Kushina would had been lead on, with such a horrible man as a husband? The village's beloved Yondaime was far more gruesome than anyone would expect.
But Uchiha Mikoto couldn't speak a word of it. Not to Kushina, not to anyone else. So she just kept on sobbing, locked between Kushina's arms soon to realize that both of them were sobbing.
Kiyu watched the two friends by the door, tears also filling into her own eyes.
...
The Yondaime placed his hand onto his temple, pressing an urge to yell.
Iruka and Mizuki were standing stiffly in front of him. Beside them was Uchiha Itachi, with an almost sheepish look on his usually grim and proper face.
They all look like criminals waiting for their death sentence, thought Kakashi as he crossed his arms standing beside the Hokage's desk. He then felt sorry for the Uchiha ANBU. The boy already went through so much that his wild little brother didn't really have to mess things up.
"...Children," All of them flinched when the Hokage finally opened his mouth in grim tone. "can be so cruel sometimes."
"Hokage-sama?"
The sapphire eyes looked almost bored by now. "You said all of your students had claimed that Sasuke picked up a fight with my daughter in first place?"
"Why yes, Hokage-sama. Except for few..." Slurring the end of his words Iruka looked at Mizuki. Mizuki scratched the back of his head. "Few boys and one girl."
Minato smiled bit sardonically. "And which one of the two factions do you think is telling the truth?"
A tensed silence fell.
Then Itachi voiced. "Hokage-sama, I'm..."
"Do not speak, please."
A silence fell again. Itachi merely exchanged glances with Kakashi, his knuckles whitened.
Minato became pensive with thoughts for a while before speaking again. "I should have thought of the impact of the execution for the boy. He's still young, he has to live with the other children. It's cruel to leave a child branded as a son of a traitor."
They all blinked. "Hokage-sama?"
"I know children. I know my daughter. You know my daughter. She must have insulted the boy at first place, just like other witnesses had said so. And I can't blame the boy for becoming violent with that. It's just natural." He then rose from his seat. "I have nothing more to say on the matter."
Kakashi sighed inwardly with a relief while the other three widened their eyes in disbelief.
Minato then looked at Itachi this time. "Disciple your brother well, Itachi, as I would do to my daughter." He added gently. "I don't want any children fighting to get in our way."
Almost subconsciously Itachi dropped onto his knees, his voice hardly remaining his usual calmness. "Hokage-sama, You're.. I mean I'm.. I don't deserve this kind of generosity from you."
"I'm not being generous, I'm just being fair, since it's my daughter who had done wrong." He frowned little then resumed. "It's disgraceful to berate a boy who's just lost so much and disgraced so far... Well, I'll say no more. You're all dismissed."
After the Academy teachers and the Uchiha ANBU left the office, Kakashi remained to joke with his teacher.
"Not that bad, the Sasuke boy." Minato muttered with a humor. "If we offer few chances to the boy then he'll grow into a quite fine shinobi."
"Well I agree on that, but you've surprised me a bit."
"Why? Do you have any views on the matter?"
"No, actually I think you're quite nice." The silver-haired ANBU thumbed up cheekily.
Minato chuckled a bit, then quickly began to arrange his papers.
Kakashi alerted at this. "What's this? Going home early today, sensei?"
"Yes. I've got things to do."
Kakashi blinked few times, noting the blond's suddenly grimly-turned voice.
"Eh.. Sensei, is what I'm thinking right?"
Without looking up the Yondaime nodded. "Guess so."
"Um, sensei, children grow fighting.."
"I know that," The golden brows furrowed bit annoyingly. "but I don't want my children to get spoiled that much. And this isn't just childish quarrel matter. It's almost dishonorable."
The ANBU merely shrugged. "Whatever you think is right, I won't resent on it."
Standing in front of the apartment door Itachi heaved a sigh, his dark grey eyes weary with thoughts. Then shaking his head he flung opened the door.
"Itachi-." Upon seeing him returned Mikoto quickly approached him with an anxious look on her haggard face. "What happened? Are you_ are you alright?"
The weasel merely managed to make a crooked smile before moving his gaze onto Sasuke who had just stepped out of his room.
The younger Uchiha boy blinked bit nervously when their eyes met together. However soon a stubborn scowl rose upon his pale face.
"I don't care about what they're gonna do to me. I won't let anyone insult me that way, so if the bitch paws me again I'll fight her again."
"Sasuke!" Mikoto yelled.
An anger broke into the elder Uchiha male's face. He shoved his mother's hand off from his arm and strode toward Sasuke, causing the latter to subconsciously take a small step backward.
"You stupid little..."
Sasuke instinctively shut his eyes when Itachi raised his hand. If his brother hits him, he would willingly accept it and wouldn't surrender his dignity..
"..Sasuke."
With a confused look Sasuke opened his eyes when he felt Itachi's hand meekly falling upon his shoulder, with his other hand caressing the younger's spiky head. Blinking quizzically the little boy stared up at his brother's dropped head.
"Never do this to me again." Itachi's voice was feeble and shaky, as if he's pressing an urge to sob.
Sasuke gulped.
"..I'm sorry, Nii-san." He then felt his own voice also rough. suddenly it began to pain him when he just realized how much he was hurting his elder brother with all of this.
It wasn't him alone who'd lost their father and relatives. Itachi lost them as well, and all he did was being faithful to his damn shinobi oath...
Itachi heaved a long, worn out sigh before abruptly asking, "Are you wounded?"
The younger boy shook his head. "I'm fine.. She was much weaker than I actually thought.."
Itachi blinked at this. Sasuke blinked back. A weird silence flew between the Uchiha brothers until both of them helplessly started to giggle.
Nothing had really changed even after the so great loss. They were still brothers, and the only remained Uchiha males in the world.
Watching her sons beside them Mikoto let out a small, relieved sigh.
"Kaa-san! Refill!"
"Young lady," With a sigh Kushina took an empty bowl and poured more ramen into it. "How many times do I have to tell you not to yell?" Then offering a new bowl to Minami she sat beside Kazumi, who was also busy with her own ramen.
Watching her two girls eating Kushina became pensive with her own thought, thinking about Mikoto. Poor girl... Perhaps Kushina would find a way to do something to uplift her feeling, even a little...
The redhead perked up alerted when she heard the sound of the mansion gate opened. Has Minato come back already?
"Minato-kun?" She rose from her seat, greeting in affable tone when the blond threw his Hokage cloak away and walked into the kitchen.
"You're done with work? Are you hungry?"
"I'm fine." Flashing a short reply now Minato looked down at the daughters who'd become silent and were quietly chewing their noodles. Soon his glare fixed onto his eldest, his face grim.
Kushina carefully approached to her husband, getting anxious. Minato hardly ever threw a single gaze upon their daughters. And this kind of glare...
"Minato-kun? What's wrong?"
Minami was still eating her ramen, though was she actually flinching with a guilt when her father placed his hand onto the table and then looked straight at her eyes.
"Namikaze Minami." He opened his mouth in dry tone. "Tell me what happened today in Academy."
Kushina looked at Minami, blinking. "In Academy?"
"So you're not informed, huh?" Minato threw a reproachful glance to his wife.
"I don't know.. What happened?"
"Nothing." Minami mumbled timidly.
Minato's eyebrows twitched. "And now you're lying to me?"
"Minami-chan, tell us what happened. Don't lie to your father!" The mother raised her voice, fearing some kind of stormy turn of the event.
Kazumi stopped eating as well and stared at her elder sister. Minami merely chewed her noodles.
A tensed silence fell in the kitchen for few seconds.
A cynical smile passed across the Hokage's lips. "Very good, huh?"
"Minato-kun, what happened.."
"Oh, you." He turned to the redhead to gaze her straight. "And what do you do at home?"
Violet eyes shook with a confusion. "Huh?"
"What do you do at home, allowing your girls to mess up with everyone outside ? Your softness had caused them to be nothing more than spoiled little brats. So you don't even know what happened? Well, she officially insulted the Uchiha boy today and had a nasty fight with him. And now she's lying to me. Very good, I'm quite impressed."
Her mouth gaped Kushina turned to Minami. Minami blinked.
"Minami-chan! Is what your father saying a truth?"
"He_ He started it first!" The girl mumbled helplessly. "Sasuke-."
"So he started it first?" Minato smiled sardonically. "And how so?"
"He had dared to slap me.."
"He had dared to slap you, he'd dared?" His sapphire eyes were getting colder and colder. "And just who do you think you are? You think I being a Hokage and you being my daughter is an indulgence to everything you do? Do you think you're a princess or something?"
"Wait, Mina-kun.. Calm down." Kushina clutched his arm but he shoved her hand off from him. "How can I be calm when my daughter had disgraced me to no end? What do you think people would think of us if things keep on going like this?"
The redhead dropped her head."I'm sorry, it's my fault." Then she again turned to Minami. "Minami, tell us the truth and apologize to your father."
But the girl was stubborn. "But all I did was telling the truth! He's so arrogant eventhough he's a.."
"Minami!" Kushina tried to scold but was cut short by her husband.
"Enough of your bullshit!" Minato yelled, his voice finally turned into a high tune and the veins pulsing upon his temples. "What an incorrigible little brat, you_" Snarling between his teeth he grabbed Minami's wrist roughly and began to drag her away.
Kushina's eyes widened at this, her face turning pale. "Mi- Minato-kun! Wait!"
"Kaa-san!" Bursting into tears Minami called her mom help-seekingly, her small frame shaking with a horror.
Kushina gasped when Minato went inside the study room with the crying girl and shut the door behind him, locking it inside.
Her hands trembling, Kushina knocked the door several times, went to and fro, then headed to the toddler's room when she heard Aika's loud crying.
The blond babe was crying at the top of her lungs, and didn't quiet down easily even when her mother hugged her within her arm.
"Shhh..." Feeling her own breath trembling Kushina cooed her youngest. "It's okay.. It's okay.. Please be quiet.. Please..." She then felt something nudging her hip. Looking down she noticed Kazumi beside her, her large blue eyes also teary with a fear.
"Kaa-san..."
"It's okay.. It's okay..."
Holding Aika in one hand and hugging Kazumi within the other arm, Kushina mumbled and mumbled again like a prayer_ as if consoling herself than consoling her daughters.
There wasn't a rank system in ROOT.
Unlike the ANBU which had a squad system including squad captain rank, ROOT members were all equally ranked with only one leader Danzo. However, according to Hyo, there also was a 'class' even in ROOT, dividing its members into two classes.
Currently there were about ten all in all in the 'first class', leaving other hundreds members as secondly classed. To be classified within the first, the member had to be excessively powerful, sadistic and cruel as well as being emotionless, and then lastly, nicely featured.
"Some missions may lead you to take advantage of people getting in your way." Advised Hyo. "As well as you had wiped your own emotions away, you must learn how to play with your enemy's emotions."
Naruto merely nodded at this. He didn't understand what his looks had something to do with missions, but they said he would become quite devastating after few more years.
He was given more credit after the Uchiha execution mission. He could feel some of his comrades(who were 'ex-brothers' all in all) glancing at him with the admiring intentions.
But he didn't really care.
The fall of the Uchiha clan was being a biggest news in ninja nations nowadays. Some of the other villages criticized Konoha's Yondaime for being too cruel_ executing even civilians and children_, but most countries praised the deed, though at the same time they were fearing Konohagakure and its leader even more.
Sai had stopped both speaking and drawing. Naruto didn't feel a need to speak to him, and Sai didn't accost him either. With their emotions torn to shreds and Shin's death things could never be same.
The blond hardly managed to remember the time when Sai had first slipped into his bunker when they were around two year old. Since the babehood Naruto's body had a very high temperature without a figurable reason while Sai always had shivered in cold. The blackhead's body was as cold as an ice, so he often used Naruto as a heater for his freezing body. At first Naruto callously shoved the icy cold boy off of his bunker, until he realized that he could use him as a cooler in return. Then afterward Shin had approached them...
At some nights he thought of the Uchiha kids he'd slew. The way they died were too pathetic compared to the way Shin died, especially the females. One of the little girls had squirmed and hollered in an indescribable way while his tanto was poking her stomach. He felt numb at boys' screams, but it was tad hard to bear hearing a girl screaming. He couldn't understand the reason. Perhaps it's because ROOT had no female in it.
Sometimes he wondered when would be his last moment . He would not die in a way his victims did. He'd just simply fall and accept his defeat.
And until then, he would live, as a ROOT member, as Danzo's weapon.
Act 1 : Shin
-THE END-
So how was it? good? bad?
By the next chapter there'll be a timeskip- maybe about 4 years.
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