xXXXx
Itachi's eyes fluttered slightly when he faintly heard the front door shut and he tensed automatically. Recognizing Tamotsu's chakra even in his half-asleep state, he allowed himself to relax again. He buried his face into the crook of his elbow in retaliation to the glare of the sun and tried to sink deeper into the couch that, for some reason, seemed to be generating it's own warmth.
But then his couch moved, and he felt his brows slightly furrow. Couches did not move. Or make there own heat, for that matter. Or mumble something incoherent and throw and arm around him to get more comfortable. He cracked open his eyes and glanced up to see who the hell he was laying on and saw Shisui had fallen asleep leaning against the arm of the couch. He remembered watching a lot of movies with Shisui and Akane and all of them eating heaps of Shisui's spagetti. When it started to get late Tamotsu got home and, thankfully, didn't say anything about where he just returned from and proceeded to watch movies with them. And then they must have fallen asleep, because Itachi didn't remember going to the guest room and that would explain why they were in the living room. He only felt Shisui's chakra in the house, so he figured Tamotsu had gone to take Akane to school.
Though he enjoyed the warmth, Itachi sat up and stretched, wincing at the ache in his back from laying at such an odd angle but then sighing a little when his spine popped and relieved some of the pain. Shisui grumbled in disapproval, mumbling something along the lines of 'stop taking the blanket,' and Itachi noticed Shisui would have a back ache too if he slept like that.
The younger Uchiha blinked tiredly and looked around at the mess they had made. Shisui must have gotten popcorn, because there was quite a bit randomly strewn throughout the room, and a few empty cans of soda sat on the coffee table as well as empty plates. The tv was still on, though the volume had been muted, and was playing reruns of a popular drama.
And arm curled around his shoulders, making him tense, before he was pulled down onto the older Uchiha's chest.
"Shisui," Itachi protested, words slightly slurred from sleep and muffled by the material of Shisui's shirt as he weakly tried to sit up again. "Le' go." But Shisui's arm didn't move, and Itachi sighed, his head thumping down on the older's chest. "Shisui, wake up."
"I am awake..." came the mumbled reply. Itachi looked up to see Shisui's eyes still closed. "But it's only...eight o'clock... Sleep in for once, kay...?" And then Shisui relaxed more, seemingly going back to sleep with Itachi still laying on him.
The younger's eyes started to drift shut at how surprisingly comfortable he was, letting himself relax as he brought an arm up closer to his face so he could block the light. A small throb of pain made him flinch slightly in surprise, and he cracked open his eyes to look at his hand and wrist and wonder where the small cuts and multiple bruises came from.
Like being struck by lightning, memories of events of the day before came crashing down on him, leaving him wide-eyed and gasping for breath. Shisui immediately looked up in concern as if he hadn't even been asleep.
"Itachi?"
OhGodohGodohGodohGod-
He remembered it was raining, and Shisui was crying, and Sasuke's face as they zipped him up was covered in so much blood...
"Nightmare?" Itachi gasped, looking at Shisui pleadingly.
Pleasepleaseplease-
Shisui felt his heart break again as he looked into those agonized eyes and winced. Fully awake now, he sat up and slipped his arms around Itachi's torso, shifting Itachi into a more comfortable position in his lap. Unable to find his voice to answer Itachi, he shook his head.
"No...?" Itachi croaked, and Shisui bit back a shaky gasp. That one word was filled with so much pain, and his voice was so unsteady that Shisui felt tears in the corner of his eyes again.
"Sorry, 'Tachi," Shisui murmured, tightening his arms around the younger, shaking teen. "It's not a nightmare."
Itachi's pants started becoming louder and more frequent, as if he couldn't catch his breath, and soon he was almost hyperventilating. He pressed his face into Shisui's chest, and Shisui could feel a small dot of wetness forming through his clothes.
"Hey," Shisui told him, alarmed when Itachi slightly swayed as if he was dizzy. "Calm down, Itachi, you gotta breath slower, okay? Look, copy me, alright?" He started loudly breathing evenly in and out, and Itachi, still shaking, tried to copy him. When Itachi finally started to get it, Shisui ran a hand through the raven locks held back by a hair tie in encouragement. But Itachi was still shaking, and the wet spot on Shisui's chest was growing.
"I-I'm never gonna...s-see them...again," Itachi mumbled against his chest. Shisui blinked back tears as Itachi wrapped desperate hands around Shisui's torso. "I m-miss them..."
"I hear ya," Shisui tried to soothe him, pressing his cheek against Itachi's forehead. "I miss them, too..."
Itachi shuddered in his arms. It was so cold. Why was it so cold? Itachi tried to press himself more into Shisui, tried to reach more of the warmth coming from him. Shisui was so warm...
Shisui tightened his hold on the younger Uchiha almost painfully, and Itachi fit in his arms so well that it was almost as if Shisui was trying to block the cruelty of the world from reaching his cousin, though he knew they both had already experienced it. Itachi gave no objection to being held as tightly as he was, even pressing his face into Shisui's neck.
A sudden knocking on the door made Itachi tense, and Shisui glanced to the door with furrowed eyebrows, trying to place the slightly familiar chakra. Itachi moved to sit up, but Shisui wouldn't let him leave his arms.
"Wait for me in my room, kay?" he murmured when Itachi tried to put himself back together enough to be seen. Itachi nodded, face carefully blank, and then the younger Uchiha stood and was quickly out of sight. Shisui stood after he was gone, stretching his arms up and hearing his back pop as he was watching Itachi leave. The knocking sounded again, and Shisui scowled. "I'm comin', I'm comin'!" he snapped, and the knocking ceased. He tried to straighten his clothes somewhat and ran a hand through his disheveled hair as he stalked to the door. "What do you- Anko?" he asked in surprise, stopping himself at the sight of the dark-haired kunoichi when he opened the door. "What are you doing here?"
Anko glanced past him, crossing her arms. "Uchiha Itachi is here, right?" she asked, though Shisui knew she could most likely feel his chakra.
Shisui stepped aside, motioning for her to come in. "What of it?" She shook her head.
"I'm only here for few seconds," she replied. "Hokage-sama wants to see him immediately." She frowned when she said this.
"This early?" Shisui asked, scowling. Her frown deepened.
"Yea, I'd make him wait, too," she stated angrily, brown eyes flashing, before her expression softened. "..I heard what happened..." she said awkwardly. "Is...he okay...?" Anko and Itachi had been on several missions together, and they knew each other enough to call each other friends. Not to mention their obsession with dango. They had been to the dango shop together plenty of times after missions and Shisui had often teased Itachi about being with her, difference in age be damned.
Shisui sighed and glanced behind him towards his room. "I hope so," he admitted. Anko sighed as well, before looking up.
"Well, I'll be hanging around the hokage tower, filling out my mission report," she stated before giving him a hard look. "I don't expect to see Itachi around there for at least another hour, and if I do, I'm coming after you with something sharp. And tell him we need to go for dango soon!" Shisui's lips twitched up.
"Will do," he replied, waving back at her when she raised her arm in farewell and disappeared in a puff of smoke. He grimaced at the spot she had just been in. He had nothing against Anko, it's just...'the bearer of bad news'...
He shut the door and turned back around, knowing Itachi would be mad at him later for not telling him but also needing the Hokage to know that calling Itachi in this soon was just plain cruel. He padded to his room, and frowned when he felt Itachi's chakra moving around in his room. Opening the door, he was met with a half-ready Itachi grabbing a shirt from Shisui's closet and looking like he had just showered. Shisui wondered why and how the hell he managed to do that in the minute or so Shisui had left him, but then he remembered just how thin the walls of the compound houses were.
"Damnit," Shisui sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You heard, didn't you?" Itachi just shot him a look, taking the hair band from his wrist and gathering his hair at the nape of his neck. "Are you seriously going to go now?" Itachi paused in working with the hair band, frowning slightly. He gave away no hints at all that he had just been crying.
"I'm...not too keen on it," he admitted slowly. "But it may be urgent. I can't refuse him because of personal problems." His hands dropped.
"'Personal problems?'" Shisui scoffed. "Your freaking family died yesterday, you deserve a break!" Itachi flinched and Shisui mentally punched himself, cursing his ignorance. "I'm sorry," he winced.
"It's fine," Itachi said quietly, walking to the door. He felt himself tense up at what he knew he was about to face, unconsciously stopping before he went through the door. He frowned at the unusual but strong urge he had, slightly turning back to Shisui.
The older Uchiha hummed in confusion when his cousin hesitated at the door, an apology still in his navy eyes. "Itachi?" Itachi pursed his lips, glancing to Shisui's eyes before looking away. Shisui blinked a few more times before understanding dawned on him and he gave a small smile, going to wrap his arms around his cousin. "I'll see you later, kay?" Itachi hummed in agreement, his eyes having closed in contentment before he stepped away from that warmth reluctantly. Shisui laughed and ruffled his hair, making Itachi frown briefly. "Don't be like that; I'll still be right here when you're done, alright?" Itachi nodded and ran his fingers through his bangs to make them look less messy before closing the door behind him.
-xXx-
The Hokage tower stood out amongst the other buildings around it, the many roads leading to it making it seem like the village was built around it, similar to how a designer would design an entire room around a certain peice. The layout of the village made the tower seem more important. It was a reassuring presence to the civilians of Konoha, but to Itachi, it was a place to generally avoid. It reminded him of missions he would rather not take, of killing, and of the meetings he had with the Hokage and the village council discussing how he was to kill everyone he was even remotely close to.
With a sigh, and gracefully dodging a child running too fast on the road, Itachi walked through the outer gate surrounding the tower. He felt the familiar yet unwelcome sensation of someone watching him and glanced up at the top of the tower to see an ANBU leaning against the railing.
He must have been off duty, Itachi thought. Otherwise he wouldn't appear to be so relaxed. And he must be new, because apparantly no one told him that ANBU are not to be seen, on duty or not. Itachi could make out shoulder length auburn hair and a feline mask twisted halfway off his face, showing a dangerous amount of skin. He held what looked like a juice box and was chewing on the straw, curiously looking down at Itachi with bright green eyes.
Itachi pursed his lips in annoyance. Who was the captain in charge of this man? He was violating so many rules at the moment that Itachi was tempted to go up there, slap the box out of his hands, fix his mask, and write him up for every violation. Itachi was a strict ANBU Captain who kept his team in line, and because of that they were known as the best ANBU in the village. Just by looking at this man he felt annoyed, and as if sensing that, the man smirked down at him. Itachi's eyes narrowed at him and he walked inside the tower, resisting the urge to glare at the man.
The receptionist gave him the go-ahead as soon as she saw him. Itachi kept thinking about the man he saw, finding that thoughts about him were less nerve-racking than thinking about what the meeting would entail.
He stopped before the Hokage's door, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He didn't know how long this meeting would take (he never did; sometimes he's be stuck in here for half an hour and others for nearly two), but this time he thought he just might jump out the window.
"Hokage-sama." He lightly knocked on the door, carefully schooling his expression. He could feel more than one presence on the other side of the door, and his eyes narrowed slightly. Looks like the council was already there.
"Come in, Itachi."
The Uchiha pushed open the door and walked in. The Third Hokage was sitting at his desk, leaning his elbows on it with his hands folded in front of his face. He was sitting rigidly in his seat, his eyes closed as if he was trying to calm himself down. Itachi looked at Koharu and Homura sitting on a couch that had apparently been brought in specifically for them. They looked like something had made them angry but they were trying to keep it in. Danzo stood behind them, an equal expression of hidden anger on his face.
"...You requested me?" he asked slowly, an idea of what had happened before he arrived already implanted in his head. The Third let out a heavy sigh, moving one hand to massage his temples as Itachi moved to stand in front of him. Sarutobi looked up at Itachi with a knowing expression.
"We heard of what happened," he began slowly. Already expecting the words, Itachi's expression tightened.
"Yes, I'm sure he knows that already," Koharu said impatiently. "And I'm sure he wants to be here about as much as we do, so let's get this over with." Sarutobi shot her a glare, but Itachi was almost slightly grateful (he never would be entirely grateful of her unless they changed their mind about their militant way of dealing with the coup de tat).
Instead of saying anything he knew would most likely only cause an argument, Sarutobi sighed and turned back to Itachi. "I suppose you do know why you are here, then." Itachi held back a sigh as he eyes closed for a few seconds to try and block out the feeling of being watched by nearly everyone in the room.
Stop watching me, stop watching-
"I don't know what my clan is going to do," he admitted. "With the leader of the coup gone we lost a major part of our forces." He did sigh this time, trying to force down the lump in his throat at the mention of his father. "They're most likely running around in a panic right now. There will be a meeting soon to discuss what we will do and probably nominate candidates for the position of Clan Leader, but I'm not sure when it will be." He attempted to ignore the guilt settling in his gut, nearly making him need to throw up. Damnit, he was like this everytime. He knew stopping the coup was important, he knew it was very important, but what they were asking of him-
The lump in his throat grew, though it wasn't from trying to hold back tears. He let out a gasp as his stomach suddenly lurched, and he quickly raised a hand to his mouth while the other went to wrap around his torso.
"Itachi?" Sarutobi asked, his brow furrowing in concern and slight alarm, "Are you alright?"
"Excuse me," Itachi gasped as his dinner tried to leave him. "I'm not...feeling well." Sarutobi stood up then, looking towards the council and Danzo.
"Meeting's over," he told them sternly, ignoring their surprised expressions. He went over to Itachi, who had hunched over slightly.
"We still have things to-" Homura tried to object, but the Third cut him off with a glare.
"Not now," he hissed, motioning to Itachi, who was still trying to keep his meal down.
"Just because one kid has a stomach bug doesn't mean we should cancel the meetings that discuss the possibility of the fourth war-" Danzo argued. Sarutobi turned and glared.
"The coup is seventh months away, that is saying they didn't change it to a later date, which I'm sure they will if not cancel it altogether. They know something like this will get out given enough time, and seven months is pushing it." Danzo tried to object again, but Sarutobi rose his hand in a silencing gesture. "He already said he doesn't know how things have changed. What I'm saying is we have plenty of time, and his family died just yesterday. Let him mourn!" Then he turned back to Itachi, not checking to see if they left or not. He sighed in relief when he heard the door click. "Come sit on the couch," he coaxed, not waiting for a reply and gently pulling the Uchiha to said couch.
"I'm fine," Itachi tried to object, but didn't resist. "I'll be okay in a few seconds, you don't have to cancel the meeting-" He knew it would just be resceduled then, and he wanted to get it over with. He sat on the couch and the Third kneeled beside him.
"I want them here about as much as you do, Itachi," Sarutobi interrupted. Itachi's brow furrowed.
"But they're your team," Itachi stated, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.
"Head between your knees," Sarutobi murmured absently as Itachi did so. "We are close, but we think differently," he admitted. "Trust me when I say our values have gotten us into arguments long before this." Itachi made a small noise just to show he was listening as he tried to calm down. He concentrated on taking careful breaths, and almost wished he had a glass of water. The nausea receded eventually and he sat up carefully, hand pressed to his mouth just in case it came back. If he weren't so concerned about replacing his dinner onto the Hokage's robes, he would be embaressed. He hadn't shown that kind of weakness to anybody, ever, save for his mother and possibly Sasuke.
He felt the nausea come back again and had to calm himself all over again.
"You're free to go home," Sarutobi told him when the sickly palor of Itachi's skin changed back to something more normal. The Uchiha nodded gratefully and stood carefully. "You're on paid leave for the next two weeks." The Hokage smiled when Itachi's head whipped sideways to look at him. "You can come back whenever you'd like, but not until one week is over." Itachi blinked a few times in confusion and surprise.
"But I-"
"No buts!" Sarutobi smiled, but then widened his eyes as if he'd forgotten something serious. "Speaking of work, I need you to henge into your uniform." Itachi's brow furrowed in confusion but did as told, making a quick henge to make himself look like he was in ANBU uniform instead of civilian clothes. His crow mask looked back at the Third blankly.
"Kuma from your squad was injured fatally and won't be able to go on missions with you anymore," Sarutobi told him somberly. Itachi grimaced behind his mask and kept silent. Kuma, though he didn't know her personally (no one in ANBU knew each other personally unless they met while off duty), was a good fighter and followed commands well. It was upsetting that Konoha and his team would be losing her.
"...Then who is replacing her?" Itachi asked, still upset slightly over the loss. He knew Sarutobi must have had someone in mind by now, because his team would be missing two people if not. Though people were usually chosen for missions regardless of their team, usually it was a single team that was chosen to go on specific missions because they worked best together. Only half of his team being able to fight would not do.
"He's knew," Sarutobi said, knowing Itachi would be grimacing just about know. "His name is Kurohyou. He's a refugee from the Rain Country and came here about three years ago. He specializes in tracking, like Kuma did."
"You call?"
The sound of a kunai flying through the air faster than most thought possible filled their ears, and Sarutobi whipped around to see an auburn-haired man sitting innocently in the window. His mask was twisted to the side, and he was grinning as if Itachi's kunai wasn't deeply embedded in the wall not two inches from his head.
"Have you been listening to us?" the Third Hokage demanded, and Itachi's hand twitched towards the kunai pouch on his leg that wasn't part of the henge. The Uchiha's mind was reeling, and his heart was beating fast. If the man had heard what they were talking about, then the secret would get out and either the clan would start the coup now or the Hokage would be forced to commit genocide. Either way, people were going to die and this man held their lives in his hands.
Kill him before he tells, kill him now, kill him, kill him, killhimkillhimkillhim-
"I overheard from about where kiddo there was getting paid leave to where you started talking about me," the man said nonchalantly, neither of the other men in the room aware of Itachi coming close to having a panic attack.
The Uchiha was behind Kurohyou, pressing a kunai into his exposed neck and cutting through the skin tight shirt. His Sharingan spun dangerously as Kurohyou's eyes widened in shock.
"Are you lying?" Itachi growled out, applying more pressure to the kunai. He would not let this man kill so many people.
Kurohyou would be lying if he said Itachi wasn't scaring the fuck out of him at the moment, and with a slightly shaky voice he replied, "No." His grin had disappeared when the kunai had pressed into his skin and he felt blood, knowing that this kid was serious and could kick his ass if he wanted to.
"Step inside the room." The kid's voice was cold and promised excruciating pain if he did not comply, so without a word he slid off the window sill, mindful of the kunai that moved with him but was still pressing against his neck. The kid pushed him until he stood in front of the Hokage and moved to stand beside him.
Itachi was tempted to use his Sharingan on him to see if he was lying, but that would only give him away if the man hadn't noticed the Uchiha symbol blazing on his back when Itachi arrived at the tower.
"You will not interupt any of Hokage's meetings unless given permission," Itachi began coldly. The Third stood calmly, fully aware that Itachi could take care of Kurohyou even though he was a full head shorter. "You will not be seen in uniform while off duty. You will wear your mask straight and at all times while in uniform." Itachi's eyes narrowed. "And you will stand attention before the Hokage."
"Who is this kid?" Kurohyou asked the Hokage, seeming to ignore everything Itachi told him except for the last part, straightening his posture. He shut up when the knife pressed even more into his neck and Sarutobi sighed. The new recruit would eventually learn that underestimating Itachi because of his age was something he should avoid.
"This kid is your Captain," Itachi replied stonily. "And you will follow my commands."
Kurohyou's jade eyes slid over to Itachi and narrowed slightly, not in retaliation, but more like he was assessing the person he was to serve under. His lips pursed as Itachi met his scrutiny dead on, careful to deactivate his Sharingan before he could see them. If Kurohyou stayed on his team long enough, he would eventually find out the Itachi used Sharingan, but until then he was a threat in Itachi's eyes and could not be trusted.
Stifly, Kurohyou moved to fix his mask. "Better, Taicho?" he asked almost sarcastically. Itachi's eyes narrowed. He did not like this man. "Or what should I call you?"
"You will call me by rank or Karasu," Itachi stated. "I will not stand for 'this kid', but you are welcome to try and call me that again." Key word, 'try'.
"Yes, Taicho," Kurohyou replied, dangerously close to being sarcastic again. And though his words sent annoyance burning through Itachi like glowing embers, the Uchiha couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied that he had someone on his team who didn't overestimate him.
-xXx-
When Itachi opened the front door he heard Shisui in the kitchen. The tv was on and he could hear a popular kid's show on, so he figured Akane was home, too. Leaving his shoes at the door, he made his way to the kitchen and noticed the house was considerably cleaner.
"Cooking again?" he asked dryly as he walked through the door. Shisui groaned from his spot at the sink and shook his head.
"I don't think I can eat anything for the next week," he complained before thumping his wet fist against his chest and burping. Itachi grimaced at him as he sat in one of the chairs at the rarely-used table. "'Scuse me. The rest of the spagetti wouldn't fit in the fridge, so I had to eat leftovers to make room. Akane wouldn't help me, so the leftovers with all the food I ate last night made me afraid of food for the time being." He lifted a plate from the sink and began washing it. Itachi perked up.
"Need any help?" he offered. Shisui shot him a grin.
"Nah, this is the last dish. Thanks, though." Shisui set the disk on the towel beside the sink and turned the water off, drying his hands on his pants. He looked like he had something on his mind, and Itachi frowned in confusion.
"Is something wrong?" he asked. Shisui blinked in surprise, and he wondered when Itachi had gotten so good at reading facial expressions.
The older Uchiha turned around and bit his lip, hesitating for a moment. "...Seiji came by again," he finally told him. "He said there was a meeting tonight. At the Nakano Shrine." Itachi's heart began to pick up slightly as he remembered his own meeting with the Hokage. He wondered what Shisui would do if he found out about how Itachi was betraying them all. Would he hate him? Itachi was sure the rest of the clan would, but they didn't know him like his cousin did. Would Shisui listen to his reason?
Itachi nodded mutely, and Shisui nodded back, before he perked up. "Speaking of, how did the meeting with the Hokage go?" he asked, obviously trying to lighten the mood. Itachi appreciated the attempt, leaning back in his chair to try to relax after the nerve-racking meeting with the Hokage and putting up with his new teammate.
"He gave me two week's paid leave," he admitted quietly, wanting to change the subject again before he was reminded of why he was getting paid leave. "...I think something was wrong with your spagetti. I got nauseated halfway through the meeting." Okay, so it wasn't the spagetti that made him nauseated, but still it was fun to poke at Shisui's buttons.
Itachi's lips twitched up when Shisui sputtered indignantly and began their daily bout of teasing/arguing. Itachi liked these conversations; it was a nice distraction from the more serious things in his life.
-xXx- I get the feeling I didn't get Anko's character right at all. *sigh* Oh well, I don't think I'll be using her much in this story. Nothing much happened in this chapter... D; sorry. I just wanted the next thing to happen start in a different chapter, soo... How do you like Kurohyou? That's not his real name of course, I'm still deciding on that. Review, please!