xXXXx
Even though Shisui had wanted to avoid the police for Itachi's sake, there was one waiting at his door for them. A scowl quickly slipped onto his face. The police officer raised his chin defiantly in response, turning in such a way so that the Police insignia was clearly visible.
"We have a few questions for you," the officer said, pointedly looking at Itachi. Shisui narrowed his eyes and stepped in front of Itachi. This was not something his cousin needed to be dealing with right now.
"Back off," Shisui warned, even going as far as activating his Sharingan when the Officer took a threatening step towards him with his own Sharingan activated. Shisui was not afraid to use the powers his bloodline gave him if it meant getting Itachi safely through that door.
A hand touched Shisui's arm, and he looked at it in surprise.
"It's fine," Itachi's quiet voice told him as the shorter Uchiha by a few inches stepped forward. Shisui hesitated, and Itachi looked up and met his eyes. Shisui winced. He looked so tired, it was obvious to see, and he looked like he just wanted to get this over with. The older couldn't argue with the look in those eyes, so Shisui backed down, frowning. Itachi attempted a small grateful smile for him, but it came out as a grimace.
'Like this,' Shisui found himself thinking, smiling like Itachi had tried to. This time Itachi managed the smile, and the hand still on Shisui's arm gave a small squeeze as if to tell him it was alright for now.
"What do you need to know?" Itachi asked the officer. His voice was soft; not like he was trying to be nice to the officer, but more like he simply couldn't find the energy to put more effort in his voice. The officer backed down more when faced with the Uchiha prodigy, even though Itachi's voice couldn't have been quieter and the paleness of his skin made him look frail.
The officer gulped. "We need to know if you've noticed anything weird about... Fugaku in this past few days or so. All the evidence points to what he did, but with how he did it..." Shisui almost stepped up then, about to ask the officer if he was really going to put Itachi through this, but Itachi shot him a look over his shoulder. Shisui frowned and shut his mouth. Itachi looked back at the officer.
"I didn't notice anything off the last few times I saw him," Itachi stated. Shisui thought he even sounded tired. "But I've been gone on a mission the past few days, so I wouldn't know if anything happened after I left... Did something happen?" Itachi turned to Shisui after the officer shrugged.
"Nothing happened at clan meetings," Shisui said slowly, shrugging sadly. "...If it was family issues I would have heard about it through my dad..." Itachi pursed his lips, and to Shisui's eyes he almost seemed to deflate a little. But when the Uchiha prodigy turned back to the officer, Shisui saw something unknown flare in his eyes as he turned.
"There's an investigation, isn't there?" he asked, his voice hard. Shisui widened his eyes at the sudden change in Itachi. Instead of slouched, like he had been, he was more tense and standing straighter. The officer must have noticed the change, too, because he widened his eyes and corrected his own posture, almost as if he was facing a higher-ranked officer instead of a chuunin at least ten years his junior.
"We're still sweeping the scene for evidence," he reported.
"Any other evidence suggesting murder-suicide? Is there a note?"
"There isn't a note, but the kunai we found had both the victim's blood on it and the only finger prints were Fugaku's." Shisui winced for his cousin when he showed no reaction to his father's name.
"Have you interrogated the neighbors?" Itachi went on. Shisui knew why the officer was acting like this now, even going as far as calling Itachi 'sir'. Itachi was almost the spitting image of his father right now.
"Yes, sir. The Atsushi family was out that day, but Kazuo-san said he heard yelling. He knocked on the door, but no one answered, and when he checked again later and there was still no answer he got worried. He said the lights were on, so they couldn't have been out, but it was too early for all of them to be asleep."
Shisui began listing suspects in his mind as Itachi continued talking with the officer.. He knew all evidence they had pointed to murder-suicide, but Fugaku would not have slit their throats.
Kazuo was off the list; he was too old and had back problems. So were the Atsushi's; the husband wasn't as strong as others in the clan, so he couldn't have taken on Fugaku and Mikoto, who could fight even though she had the appearance of a normal house wife. He also knew about Fugaku's views on killing, so he wouldn't have been stupid enough to kill them like that. The wife wasn't from the clan, and she was a civilian. Their son was still in the Academy.
It must have been someone from the clan... Shisui thought, even though the idea made him sick. No one else could have taken on the head of the Uchiha clan and his wife without the Sharingan and left the house in one peice.
But even of they did have Sharingan, the house wouldn't have been perfectly immaculate. It must have been someone of Anbu level who had slipped inside the house and made quick work of them, then arranged the bodies to make it look like murder-suicide.
So who was Anbu level in the clan who wasn't close to Fugaku?
The only people of Anbu level in the clan he knew of were him, Itachi, Fugaku, and Inabi. He knew Itachi wouldn't have done it, that was pure common sense, and Inabi practically worshipped the ground Fugaku walked on. He couldn't rule out Inabi completely, though, but it was unlikely- hold on. Something didn't match.
Perfectly imaculate...?
"Wait," Shisui said out loud, making Itachi and the officer stop talking. Shisui glanced at Itachi, frowning at the careful mask he had on, before looking at the officer. "How clean was the house?" The officer blinked once in confusion at the sudden question.
"... Completely clean except for the murder scenes," the officer- Shisui just remembered his name was Seiji- answered. Shisui frowned.
"It doesn't make sense..." he mumbled, averting his eyes in thought. Itachi turned to him.
"What do you mean?" he asked. Shisui looked at him.
"You were always telling me Sasuke made messes faster than Mikoto could clean them," he stated, feeling a pang in his chest when Itachi couldn't keep his mask perfect enough to hide the wince at Sasuke's name. "That pie in the window was only a few hours old, so if Mikoto had her hands full with that then there's no way the house should be perfectly clean." Itachi's eyes widened in realization as Shisui explained.
"So you think someone killed them and then cleaned the house to get rid of evidence?" Seiji asked. Shisui nodded.
"So it couldn't have been someone close to Mikoto, because she rants about the cleaning often and her friends would know." Ranted, he corrected himself in his mind. But he didn't didn't say it out loud, knowing it wouldn't do Itachi any good, even though the expression on Itachi's face proved he was already thinking about that. "But it must have been someone at least Jounin level to be able to accomplish what they did and leave the house unscathed." He tilted his head to the side. "I don't think it was a normal shinobi."
"Was it someone from a clan?" Seiji asked. Shisui grimaced.
"I'd hate to say it, but..." He hesitated. "I think it's someone from our clan."
Itachi's eyes widened in shock and Seiji started to look slightly nauseous.
"I've sparred with the Hyuuga head..." Itachi began, slowly. "He was good, but I had more trouble fighting...father, than I did him. With Sharingan you'd have a better chance of blocking blows and keeping the surrounding area clean than you would with Byakugan." Both Seiji and Shisui winced at the way Itachi almost wilted in front of them. "The Ino-Shika-Cho team was with me on the mission I just returned from. It would make sense if it was someone from the clan."
"What about Hatake Kakashi?" Seiji interrupted quickly. He obviously didn't want to suspect anyone in the clan. "He has Sharingan." He briefly scowed when he said this.
Something in Shisui snapped, and he glowered at him with unrestrained fury as the officer shrank in on himself. Itachi just glanced over his shoulder and back at Shisui with a tight expression. The clan had been in such an uproar over the fact that Obito had given a person outside the clan his Sharingan. That debate was how Shisui vented most of his feelings over the death of his mother and brother, defending Obito's decision vehemently. Some of the clan though Kakashi had stolen it from him and killed him, but Shisui countered them with the fact the Rin was a witness to Obito's death and Shisui knew from the story they were told that Obito would have done exactly what they told him he did, because that was just how he was. Some of the clan actually wanted the eye back, and Shisui disagreed still. It was Obito's last wish that Kakashi lived their lives for the both of them, and damnit, he was going to do it.
Itachi stood by his side the entire time, because he honored Obito's wishes too, and he knew from filling in Obito's place on a few missions that Kakashi was a good man. And Shisui knew that was true, too. He couldn't remember how many times Kakashi had visited them, apologizing repeatedly and looking so weighed by guilt, that by the time their mourning for Obito was over Shisui and Kakashi were close friends.
"Shisui," Itachi murmured quietly. Shisui felt his anger drain, being replaced by a pang of guilt in his chest as he looked into those onyx eyes. He had no right to be getting emotional about what happened six years ago. Not when Itachi's parents and brother died not twelve hours ago.
"Sorry..." he mumbled, averting his eyes. Itachi reached out and touched his shoulder.
"It's understandable," he told him as Seiji tried to regain his composure. Looks like having the clan's second strongest kid give him a look that seemed like a death treat left quite an impression. Itachi caught Shisui's gaze. "You have a right to be angry," he went on, "And as much I know it's not true and hate to think about it, there is a possibility of Kakashi doing it. We investigate based on facts, not opinions." Shisui let out a sigh, but nodded, composing himself more. Itachi nodded back and turned back around.
"Are we finished?" the prodigy asked. The officer hesitated, looking like he wanted to ask a few more things, but then decided against it. Seiji knew when he was pushing his luck or not, and he knew he was walking on thin ice after the comment about Kakashi that seemed to take a good chunk out of both Shisui's and Itachi's patience. He nodded and turned to walk away.
"We might find you again in a few days," he told them, giving a small wave.
Good, Shisui thought. Itachi needed time to actually mourn before they started shoving the case down his throat.
Itachi relaxed slightly when the officer turned the corner, turning back to Shisui with his own version of a sigh as he stuffed his free hand in his pocket. Belatedly, Shisui realized Itachi was still cold and lugging around his Anbu armor.
"Come on," he told him, pulling out his key as he walked to his door and unlocked it. The civilians of the Uchiha clan normally didn't lock their doors, but to the Shinobi of the clan it was habit. Even though locks were only a minor set back to someone who wanted to get through, they would either have to pick it or kick it in, which was definitely louder and provided more warning.
Leaving their shoes in the front of the house, they wandered down the hallway to Shisui's room where warm, dry clothes and a shower awaited them.
"Hey, Pops?" Shisui called out, not having to speak very loudly. They found Tamotsu Uchiha and Shisui's little sister, Akane, in the living room.
Akane was more of the princess of the clan, as to Itachi being the prized jewel. Since Mikoto and Fugaku only had sons, the clan needed a daughter for arranged marriages and the like. Tamotsu was Fugaku's younger brother, so their family was one of those cliche'd 'shoved out of the way cuz they weren't born first' familes. But their blood was just as good as Fugaku and his sons, so that meant Shisui and Akane could fight just as good, but Akane was just taught at home.
"Hey, kids," Tamotsu stood from his spot hunched over on the couch and walked over to them, giving them a sad smile as he ruffled Shisui's hair. Shisui definitely looked like his father. The same facial features, the same coal-black hair that seemed to be a normal trait for those in the clan, and the same onyx eyes. Though Shisui's mother had been the child of an Uchiha and a civilian, and so the onyx eyes skipped Shisui, giving him an odd navy color instead.
Tamotsu's eyes shifted to Itachi and that sadness deepened. "Itachi..."
Itachi shifted his eyes, uncomfortable with how everyone was looking at him. Tamotsu was just staring, probably seeing bits and pieces of his brother in him, Shisui was trying to gouge his reaction and decide if he needed to hide his younger cousin or not, and Akane was just plain confused. Still, he almost felt he had to say something.
"It was...unexpected," he finally managed to murmur, not able to control the pain that flashed through his eyes. Shisui cringed and reached for him, fully prepared to drag him away from seeing eyes in case he broke down again. If anything, Itachi hated showing his emotions to anyone that didn't have what seemed like special clearance that only Shisui, Mikoto, and Sasuke have.
...Had.
But before Shisui could reach his cousin, Tamotsu had already reached out with one arm and pulled Itachi into an awkward hug. Itachi had stiffened, of course, because he was already feeling emotional and contact from someone who pitied him was not helping.
"I'm sure you already know from Shisui, but you're always welcome here," Shisui's father told him. Itachi took note of how the hug was tighter than normal, even though he wasn't exactly an expert in the subject, and it dawned on him that Tamotsu was mourning, too. He had lost a brother, today; something none them were apparently allowed to have.
He smells like him...
Itachi found himself relaxing into the emrace and his eyes slipping closed as he silently inhaled Tamotsu's scent. Even though he was usually never close enough to Fugaku to actually smell what kind of cologne he used, his study seemed to just have that smell; the same one Tamotsu had. If Itachi wanted to, he could have imagined he was in his father's study, and it was Fugaku hugging him instead, though for some odd reason.
Akane asking her brother what happened in what she thought was a quiet voice jolted Itachi out of his memories at the rememberence of what had happened. He pulled away, and Tamotsu let up at the first sign of resistence. Itachi kept his eyes averted.
"I got called in," Tamotsu said, reading the reluctance in Itachi surprisingly well. Patting both boys on the shoulder as he walked past, he picked up the police vest sitting on the kitchen counter. He turned to Shisui. "You don't mind keeping an eye on Akane?" Shisui shook his head and Tamotsu gave a grateful smile. "See you guys later, then," he offered, giving a small wave that only Akane returned and leaving through the front door.
And then it was silent again. Shisui seemed like he didn't know what to do at the moment, looking between his sister, Itachi, an the door. And then Akane jumped up from the pile of toys on the floor and ran to give her brother a hug, even though his clothes were sopping wet.
"Okairi, Nii-san!" she said brightly, not knowing why everyone was so sad.
Shisui widened his eyes in almost panic, looking over at Itachi to see his reaction and mouthing 'tadaima' back out of pure habit. But Itachi had turned his head away from them, their interaction no doubt bringing back memories. Akane followed his line of sight, and, frowning, let Shisui go to go give Itachi a hug.
No! Shisui reached to stop her, but as slow as he was that particular day, she was out of his reach in a second. She ran into Itachi, making him jump in surprise and look down at her. She looked up and smiled at him.
"Okairi, Itachi-nii," she welcomed.
And Shisui knew how much Akane and Sasuke looked alike, and how many times they had been mistaken for twins, and knew that Itachi was definitely seeing his younger brother in Akane.
Shisui quickly jumped forward and quicky but carefully removed Akane's arms from around Itachi's waist, grabbing Itachi's trembling hand. He pulled him to the security of his room, leaving an even more confused Akane in the leaving room.
Itachi was almost hyperventilating by the time Shisui closed the door, his eyes wide and glistening as he gasped for breath. Shisui grabbed the blanket off his bed and wrapped it around him, because damn it was cold, and reached out and crushed Itachi to his chest. Itachi, though he almost wanted to hold Shisui back, kept his arms in the warmth of the blanket and was fine with just pressing his face into Shisui's shoulder and allowing himself to be held as he tried to calm down. He felt himself stop shivering eventually from the heat emanating from Shisui, but the trembling from trying to hold back tears remained.
Shisui didn't know what to say. 'Everything's gonna be okay?' But what if that was a lie? What if things weren't going to be okay? He would not tell Itachi to stop crying, because that wasn't going to help anything, and he was not encouraging Itachi to hide his emotions. He frowned at his uselessness, rubbing Itachi's back in hopes that the friction would heat him up faster.
But he guessed saying nothing was fine, because Itachi's breath was evening out and the trembling had almost stopped by now. Surprisingly though, Itachi hadn't pulled away yet, even though he usually tried to avoid contact. So Shisui just held him, pressing his cheek against Itachi's forehead and running his fingers through the damp hair of Itachi's ponytail.
When Itachi shuddered lightly, Shisui frowned. "Cold still?" he asked.
"Y-yea," Itachi murmured, pulling away and looking almost embaressed.
"You can borrow clothes from me," Shisui offered, nodding to the shower. "Take as long as you want. I'll be getting some supper in Akane." Itachi nodded, taking the blanket wrapped around him and laying it on the bed. He turned to Shisui, looking slightly hesitent.
"Will you tell her I'm...sorry?" he asked. Shisui frowned in confusion at him as he went to get his own change of clothes. "I probably...confused her," Itachi explained. Shisui frowned again but nodded, opening the door to the hallway. He paused, and then shot a smile over his shoulder.
"I'll have that dango ready for you when you get done," he stated, and Itachi felt his mouth water involuntarily. Damn his weakness for sweets. Shisui must have read the expression on his face because he laughed, and gave a final smile before shutting the door behind him with a resounding click.
When he was gone, Itachi's eyes fell closed and he let out a shuddering breath, quickly wrapping his arms around his torso to try and keep that warmth Shisui had left him with as he slowly made his way to the bathroom.
He couldn't help but see Sasuke in Akane. Their faces were almost completely identical; same black eyes, same black hair (though Akane's hair was long and she kept it braided over her shoulder). The same pale skin, the same childish roundness in their faces, that gleam in their eyes when something makes them happy, the way the corner of their mouths twitch when they wanted to laugh.
Itachi felt his eyes water as he shut the door behind him. This needs to stop... He scowled, peeling the wet clothes off of his body as he was racked with shivers. What kind of shinobi cried like this?
But, still... A part of him argued. He was alone right now; no one would know except himself. And with that simple thought, the tears he had tried to keep away fell as he turned on the water whether he wanted them to or not.
Fuck it, he ran an angry hand through his bangs, heaving a frustrated, yet shaking sigh. Might as well get it out of my system. With the shower on, even he couldn't hear his heavy breathing, and he would have liked to pretend the scalding hot water falling on him disguised the salt water falling from his eyes.
Oh, Gods, he missed them.
He leaned against the cool tile, temporarily letting the misery wash over him and almost hoping that the empty cavity in his chest would just collapse and the rest of him would fall in.
-xXx-
"Nii-san...?" Akane asked slowly, standing at the doorway to the kitchen. Shisui looked at her from his spot in front of the stove questioningly, finger still in his mouth from tasting the spagetti sauce. Akane bit her lip. "...Did...I do something wrong...?" And then his eyes widened, and he wiped his finger on the washcloth hanging on the oven door and went to kneel in front of her.
"You didn't do anything wrong," he told her quickly. "It's just..." It's just what? He didn't know what to tell her. He didn't want to be the one to tell her that Sasuke and her aunt and uncle were dead, but he knew she wouldn't believe something like 'he just doesn't like being touched,' especially when she had hugged him like that before and he had smiled in return. "...It's just...Sasuke and Aunt Mikoto and Uncle Fugaku went somewhere very far away, and they aren't coming back again." Her eyes widened, and he had to steady his breathing for a second. "And...you know how much you look like Sasuke. Itachi was just...sad."
Two small streams ran down Akane's face, and she covered her mouth just in time for a sob to escape. Shisui's eyes widened in confusion, and he ran over his words in his head to make sure he hadn't given too much away as he tried to calm her. "Akane-?"
"I know what it means when someone dies, Shisui-nii," she hiccuped, and Shisui's eyes widened even more. "Daddy was crying, too."
He couldn't help but reach for her then, and she didn't object when Shisui pulled her close to his chest tightly, tears pricking the corner of his eyes as her sobs grew louder.
"They were happy, right?" she asked between sobs, her voice muffled against his chest. "They didn't die sad, like Mommy did, right?"
"Gods," Shisui hissed, squeezing his eyes shut as old wounds were reopened. Kids her age should not know these things. It was reserved for War Kids, damnit; it was not what he and Itachi had worked so hard for.
Looks like keeping Akane and Sasuke in the dark for as long as they could didn't work at all.
Trying not to let his voice betray him, though the occaisional tear slipping from his eyes did plenty of that, he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. "Yea, they were happy." The words felt like acid on his tongue.
"Good," Akane whispered, clinging to him tighter. Shisui pressed his cheek against her hair. He felt his chest clench painfully when he imagined living without her. He knew it wasn't possible. He knew it was selfish, but even if his father was still alive, the day Akane died was the day Shisui would, too.
But then Shisui backtracked. As long as Akane and Itachi were alive, he could keep living. He wouldn't leave Itachi alone, but he knew Akane and his cousin would not be leaving him alone.
The sound of the boiling water spilling over brought both of their attention to the burning supper. Shisui gave Akane a last tight squeeze before letting go of her to turn the heat down and stir the sauce. She made those hiccup noises you made if you cried too hard, making Shisui's heart clench as she tried to wipe her tears from her face.
"...I'll make Itachi's dango," Akane said, and Shisui shot her a thankful smile as he broke the spagetti over the pot.
-xXx-
Itachi opened the door to smell what was no doubt Shisui's famous spagetti. His mouth watered involuntarily again, leaving him to wonder when Shisui had gotten so good at cooking. It had only seemed like a few years ago that they had been banned from the kitchen altogether because of them managing to bring mashed potatoes to life.
Itachi lightly chuckled as he thought back on it. How had they managed to blow it up was beyond even him, but he didn't deny that it was one of his fondest memories. His mother's- Itachi winced slightly- expression had been priceless when she ran to the kitchen after the loud explosion to find Shisui and Itachi covered in potatoes, of all things. And then, right in front of her, Shisui had wiped a peice of potato off Itachi's cheek and ate it, claiming it 'needed more butter.'
Itachi smiled slightly as he walked in the kitchen to find Shisui piling spagetti onto a plate and Akane carrying the plates and forks to the living room. Shisui looked at him, and Itachi notice the dot of spagetti sauce that had somehow gotten right above his eyebrow. Itachi's lips twitched up. Just because Shisui could cook didn't mean he wasn't messy.
"We're eating in the living room," Shisui offered with a grin, probably knowing Itachi was noticing all the other places Shisui had managed to get spagetti sauce on as his cousin's eyebrow rose more with each stain he spotted.
Akane came to him meekly, and Itachi blinked down at her as she offered a plate of mitarashi dango to him.
"Thank you," he told her, taking the plate from her. He frowned at how she kept her face angled down, and looked at her older brother questioningly. Shisui just shrugged- spoon still in one hand, mind you, so he dropped a rather large splatter of sauce onto the floor. Itachi looked back down at Akane and took one of the skewers of his dango and tapped it against her lips. She looked up questioningly, automatically licking the sauce off her lips.
"Chin up, Akane," Itachi told her with a smile, still holding the dango out. "Bite?" Blinking in surprise, she bit on of the dango and Itachi slid the skewer out of it, raising it to his mouth and biting another to slide it off in a similar way.
Shisui slung an arm around Itachi, grinning when his younger cousin frowned slightly. As amusing as it would be watching Itachi try to get out of the shirt without getting sauce on him later, his movie was starting!
-xXx-
Grgh, typing all the codes so you can upload stories from an iPhone is time consuming...
But anyways, I am happier that this chapter is like, way longer than the first :D I'm still working on trying to make the chapters I post in stories longer, since I have a tendency to stop at around 3,000 words... (I have another account on this site).
And I am trying to get past all this angst, and I can't wait until it's at least a little happier (because dang, this story is depressing), but the angst is a big part in this story Dx
TBC!