Part I: Episode 12

2 Years Ago

"Now, Kazekage-sama," Kushina began as she looked up. She was seated in front of an unconscious Gaara with Minato beside her and a seal the size of the Kazekage's office scribbled onto the floor. The Kazekage only half looked at the red-haired kunoichi, most of his attention being on the young boy lying on his floor. Even though the seal had just been placed, it was already beginning to fade and the Kazekage watched in wonder as the stylized spirals on his son's belly slowly disappeared into nothing. Only then did he turn to fully face Namikaze Kushina. She took as her cue to continue.

"The seals I just used are two Four Symbol Seals basically stacked on top of each other. It's an extremely powerful seal. That being said, however, it will weaken over time." Kushina stopped to truly look at the Kazekage. His face was calm and stoic, but there was an almost excited light in his eyes that reminded Kushina of Naruto when he was promised something special. The mom in her wondered if the Kazekage was truly even listening.

"Weaken how much over how long a period of time?" Was the Kazekage's response. Despite the look in his eyes, his voice was steady and even cold and Kushina instantly knew why.

"It's tough to say in certain terms. Even at its weakest, the seal could hold the Nine-Tailed Fox, so you won't have to worry about a full-on awakening of the demon. However, for Gaara-kun's sake, we left a small space between the two seals that would allow him to make use of Shukaku's chakra reserves. Please listen, this part is important." The Kazekage glared at her and Kushina quickly continued what she was saying.

"The space was designed to allow the chakras of Shukaku and Gaara-kun to mix. However, it takes a lot of training to be able to call upon it effectively. Had it been even the Two-Tailed Cat Nibi, that would have been better. The fewer the tails a beast has means the less chakra the jinchuriki can draw out before the bijuu inside is able to take control." The Kazekage's jaw tightened.

"I'm afraid I have very little experience with bijuu and jinchuriki..." the Kazekage let his sentence hang, leaving Kushina to interpret the unsaid part. She nodded and looked back at Gaara who was peacefully sleeping on the altered seal he had been placed in.

"I imagined so, Kazekage-sama. That's why I was planning on offering my knowledge both as a former jinchuriki and as the creator of this seal to you and your son. If you would allow it, I could tell you everything I know as well as come by on occasion to both check on the seal and Gaara's progress." The Kazekage's office grew silent for a long time. Finally the Kazekage took a deep breath.

"Very well, Namikaze Kushina. I will accept your offer." Kushina grinned at the man.

"Thank you Kazekage-sama. I'm sure Naruto will be ecstatic. He seems to have taken a liking to Gaara-kun." The Kazekage's eyes narrowed at her and Kushina feared she had overspoke. "Forgive my impetuousness, Lord Kazekage. I meant no-"

"It's alright, Namikaze-san." The Kazekage said. Kushina tilted her head slightly to the side and noticed that the Kazekage didn't seem upset at all. If anything, he seemed intrigued by the offer. Intrigued by the concept of Gaara having a friend, Kushina realized. She inwardly smiled.

"Now Kazekage-sama, one of the first lessons you should learn about a sealed beast: This seal is a very strong seal. However, the only way to truly tame a bijuu is to overcome its hatred with love."

"Nii-san, what's wrong?" Sasuke as his older brother stared off into the distance. They were sitting on a hill, one of the many indistinguishable blemishes that decorated Konoha's landscape.

"Nothing," Itachi said unconvincingly. Even Sasuke could see something was wrong with his brother. Itachi barely spoke anymore, not even with their dad. Whenever mom cooked, he rarely ate and when he did it was only a few nibbles before he excused himself. He would disappear for days at a time only to show up looking more tired than when he left. But more than anything, Sasuke noticed that Itachi always looked sad. Even when Naruto was there, and Naruto made everyone happy. Not even Shisui could help and Shisui was his best friend. But Sasuke knew he had gotten the only answer Itachi would give. So wordlessly, he wrapped his arms around his brother. Itachi blinked in surprise and look down at his brother.

"It'll be okay Nii-san. I don't know what it is, but you can fix it. Because you're Uchiha Itachi and everyone says you can do anything." Itachi smiled, even though it didn't quite reach his eyes. Absentmindedly, he stroked his brother's hair. He wasn't sure if it was seconds, minutes, or even an hour that had passed when he felt someone appear behind him.

"There you two are," Shisui said. Sasuke looked up.

"Shisui-san!" He cried out. He carefully untangled himself from around Itachi and scurried over to his brother's best friend. While Itachi got up, he whispered something into Shisui's ear. Shisui let out an amused chuckle.

"Oh don't worry about that Sasuke, I'm sure your mom won't be upset since you were with Itachi-kun." Shisui said. Sasuke cocked his head to the side and it was clear that Shisui's statement had no relation to what Sasuke had whispered into his ear.

"You were looking for us?" Itachi asked, his voice icy as it had been for the past several weeks since he joined the ANBU. Shisui frowned slightly. He didn't like the change in Itachi. No one did.

"Well, looking for you." Shisui corrected. "Your buddy was looking for you is all and your mom realized she hadn't seen you and Sasuke all morning. So she asked me to look for you guys." Itachi instantly realized that Shisui was referring to the 3rd Hokage, who had struck up quite the friendship with Itachi over the past few weeks.

"Alright then. May you please take Sasuke-kun home, Shisui-kun?" Sasuke's face fell at Itachi's request, but if the latter noticed, he didn't let on. Shisui sighed and placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He nodded and in a blink, Itachi was gone. Shisui and Sasuke stood for a while, before turning towards the Uchiha compound.

"Shisui-san, what's wrong with my brother?" Sasuke asked. Shisui sighed again and licked his lips, a nervous habit of his.

"That's what we all want to know Sasuke," was all he said in response.

It was late when Shisui arrived at Fugaku's house where he had been summoned. There were several other members of the clan among them as well, which only made Shisui feel more nervous. He fought the urge to lick his lips, knowing Fugaku hated nervous tics. It was odd, seeing Fugaku. After all, Shisui was the one who Itachi always came to about everything and every time he met the man, Shisui wondered how someone could be so cold. There were times when Shisui even hated Fugaku. And that was before talk of the coup had started.

"Yes, Fugaku-san?" He asked cautiously. It was late, probably midnight if not later. Itachi had never come home after Shisui told him about Hiruzen. Shisui pushed his best friend out of his thoughts and focused on Itachi's father, who was the more immediate issue.

"Shisui," Fugaku said slowly. His voice was difficult to truly describe, but Shisui's best guess would have been exhausted. "Have you discovered anything new?" Fugaku asked. Shisui shook his head. Fugaku took a long, deep breath. Shisui blinked and for a brief second, he saw Itachi. Not the gentle, calm best friend he knew, but the dark, uncomfortable boy who had took his place. Fugaku was about to dismiss the boy when Shisui spoke up.

"But sir, I have a theory." He stated. Fugaku glanced at him curiously. Uchihas didn't have 'theories'. The closest equivalent would have been a suspicion. The Uchiha had plenty of those. Nonetheless, Fugaku silently prompted Shisui to continue. The boy took a deep breath. Now that he stood face-to-face with Itachi's father, Shisui wasn't quite sure how to continue. He knew the words to say, but how to articulate them to a man like Fugaku was almost beyond Shisui.

"I think he's depressed, Fugaku-san." The Uchiha head's eyes went wide with a mixture of indignation and contempt. His nostrils flared slightly and Shisui felt his lips moisten.

"Depressed?" Fugaku asked incredulously. Shisui nodded his head as Fugaku half-glared at him. The other Uchiha members looked on with various unreadable expressions.

"Yes, sir. With the coup, both sides pressuring him into doing their bidding, I think it's too much even for Itachi. His body...I think even his body is starting to cave under the stress." Shisui said, thinking of the last few times he had seen Itachi for a prolonged length of time. He was paler than usual, much paler, and skinnier. It was as if the pressure coming at him from all sides was literally squeezing the life out of Itachi. And he had to face it all alone. No. Itachi wasn't alone and had made it clear that Shisui was the only person he could truly rely on. That knowledge gave Shisui the strength to keep his eye contact with Fugaku. There was a tense stare between the two Uchiha until finally Fugaku turned around, his hands militantly folded behind his back.

"Shisui," Fugaku's voice was steady, but had a cold, frightening edge to it that sent shivers racing up and down Shisui's spine. "If what you are saying is true, then Itachi needs to be dealt with." Shisui felt the muscles in his arm tighten and his hair stand on edge. His tongue made yet another appearance outside his mouth as goosebumps began to pop up on his arms. And still Fugaku continued.

"If Itachi can't make a decision, perhaps it would be kinder of us to take that burden from him. Before it destroys him" When Fugaku turned around, Shisui saw that his face was downcast. His shoulders sagged slightly and for the first time in possibly the man's entire life, Fugaku look defeated. Shisui was slightly relieved that the man felt at least some remorse. But at the same time, Shisui felt as if Fugaku had punched him full force in the stomach. And from what he knew of the head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku could punch hard.

Fugaku turned back around, clearly signalling that his meeting with Shisui was over. Without stopping, Shisui ran out of the building with one goal: find Itachi. If his own father had grown restless of Itachi's apparent ambivalence, he had no doubt the people on the other side were running out of patience just as fast. Shisui activated his Sharingan and scanned every nook and cranny for Itachi as he sped through the Konoha night. What Shisui didn't know, however, was that Itachi had just stepped onto the compound as he had sped off.

Itachi was glad that Shisui wasn't there to greet him at the gate. His mind was already racing and Itachi himself was nearing the breaking point. Danzo's words echoed around his skull, despite Itachi best attempts to shut them out. He wasn't sure which was worse, Danzo's lack of remorse when he said "there's only one way this can end" or the fact that Itachi was actually considering it.

The internal conflict caused Itachi to get a headache and suddenly the world started spinning. Itachi was barely able to remain standing and he inwardly cursed at his body's newly developed weakness. He knew it was the stress of everything that was going on that had caused his sickness. The coup, being a spy for both the Uchiha and the Council, not being sure who to trust - it was too much for one person to handle. Itachi wasn't even sure he could tell Kakashi - the man he grew up idolizing. But there was still Shisui. Shisui who couldn't know about his conversation with Danzo. That was Itachi's burden alone. A random shiver shot through Itachi's body.

It was quiet when Itachi stepped into his home, which was no surprise. Sasuke was sleep by now and if Fugaku wasn't in the bed then he was planning the coup. To his surprise, his mom was up and Itachi had the distinct feeling that she was waiting for him to come hom. When his mom smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him, Itachi calmly pulled away, said he was tired, and went to his room. Behind him, tears streamed down Mikoto's face. Itachi went past Sasuke's room so quickly, he didn't even consciously remember walking. It was as if one second he was entering the hallway and the next, he was in his room, lying on the floor with his eyes glued to the ceiling the way he did every night.

"Itachi-kun, are you hungry?" Mikoto asked, softly so that she wouldn't wake Sasuke. Itachi was surprised to see her but didn't say so. It was hard to see in the dark, but her voice was still heavy from crying.

"No, thank you." Itachi replied just as softly. Mikoto didn't say or do anything for a while. Itachi stared at her, or rather her dark outline. The silence between the two was almost tangible and, despite himself, Itachi wished she would just go away. He heard her take a breath and suddenly felt worse. She had been steeling herself so that when she said "Okay, I love you. Good night, Itachi-kun" her voice didn't break. She left the food on Itachi's dresser before disappearing altogether.

Silently Itachi wrapped his arms around his knees and tried his best to disappear so that he wouldn't have to face another long, sleepless night.

Authors Corner:

This chapter is a little bit short, but I wanted to end it there and I didn't' want to just cram a bunch of words into this chapter (although I kinda had to to make it a decent length). But yeah, some nice emo Itachi going on. If you haven't guessed yet, we're at the Uchiha massacre. Not sure if I've told y'all yet but this is going to be the last story before we hit Part 2.

I haven't really been proof reading lately (this weekend it's been due to me writing during Mass Effect and Assassins Creed breaks.) But yeah, I hope you guys liked this chapter and don't worry, next weekend we'll be back at our original length. I don't think the Uchiha massacre is gonna be 3 chapters, but if it is so be it. Actually, that's probably a good idea. Isn't 13 like an unlucky number or something?

Anyway you guys, as usual thanks for all the love. Also I feel I should state that I look forward to your reviews very much. However, I have a tendency to ramble and reveal things I shouldn't which is why I pretty much never reply them.

But anyway, stay awesome hermanos.