Well, here it is. My favorite chapter out of this story. I hope it's good...
Edit: Thanks for the beta, Karin Kinomoto!
XXXXX
When Professor Lupin finally walked in the class room, later that day, he looked as shabby as ever but far healthier. "Good afternoon," He said cheerfully, "Would you please put all your books back in your bags? Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."
Murmurs through the class informed Itachi that this had not happened before, and soon they were following Lupin down the halls. But they were stopped briefly by Peeves, who was floating upside-down, shoving gum into a keyhole. He didn't seem to notice the class until Lupin was two feet away. A perverse grin broke onto his face, and he started singing, "Loony, loopy Lupin! Loony, loopy Lupin, loony, loopy Lupin—"
Itachi felt himself twitch, annoyed at the poltergeist. He had been unfortunate enough to meet him once already, and had walked away with some sort of goo in his hair. Of course, he had attempted to retaliate for the sake of his precious hair—and it was with satisfaction he saw the look of sheer surprise and horror on Peeve's face when he ran up the wall to where the ghost floated—but Peeves had flown away quickly, so the kunai aimed between his eyes did nothing, as the apparition disappeared through the wall opposite the one the kunai had firmly imbedded itself into.
But Lupin was currently smiling at him, "I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves," he said, "Mr. Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms." His response was a loud, wet, raspberry.
The teacher sighed, his smile dropping slightly. "This is a useful little spell," He said to the class, over his shoulder, and Itachi activated his sharingan while squinting his eyes, like he always did for spells. "Please watch closely." Turning back, he raised his wand and said, "Waddiwasi!" The reaction was instantaneous, and the wad of gum shot into Peeve's nose with the force of a kunai thrown by an angry hand. Peeves cursed loudly and colorfully, zooming down the hall and out of sight.
"Cool, sir!" Dean Thomas said, eyes wide in aw.
"Thank you, Dean," Itachi wondered when he learned the boy's name, as this was the first time they had met, surely. "Shall we proceed?"
The whole class now looked at him with respect, but Itachi was slightly cautious. He never was one to underestimate someone because of the quality of the clothes they wore, or anything like that, choosing actions instead. It could be coincidence, but he never could be too careful.
"Inside, please." Lupin said when they got to a door a ways down, opening it for them.
Itachi went inside, eyes scanning the place. It was the staffroom, he remembered, having walked by it once with Ron and he told him. It was old, and had a bunch of mismatched chairs, all of which were empty save for one. Professor Snape sat in a low armchair, scowling in distaste. "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." He said, stopping Lupin from closing the door as he stood. He walked away from the class, robes billowing with the movement. But he stopped at the door, and turned, eyes glinting. "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear."
"..." Itachi's eyes narrowed in distaste.
"I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation," Lupin replied, eyebrows raised, "And I am sure he will perform it admirably."
Snape's lip curled, and he left without another word, nearly slamming the door behind him.
"Now then," Lupin said, ushering the class to the end of the room, where a wardrobe stood. As soon as Lupin neared it, it suddenly sprang to life, rocking violently, causing most of the class to jump back in shock and fear. A kunai 'magically' appeared in Itachi's hand, and he slid into a slight defensive taijutsu stance, hand ducked into his robe's sleeve to hide his weapon's presence. "Nothing to worry about," Itachi agreed with Peeve's song now. This man was loony. "There's a boggart in here."
The class seemed to disagree with him, and the ninja could see Neville pale while Seamus stared at the rattling doorknob like it would jump off and attack him, but Itachi had read of the thing in his book and relaxed from his taijutsu stance. "Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces. Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks—I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice."
Itachi discreetly tucking away his kunai. If the Headmaster knew of it—directly—there was nothing to fear. Sighing, he felt as the anticipation of action for the first time in a week left him.
"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a Boggart?"
Hermione raised her hand, like Itachi expected. "It's a shape-shifter," she said. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."
"Couldn't have put it better myself," He said proudly, and Hermione glowed. "So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears." Neville sputtered in terror, obviously thinking whatever he feared would pop out of the box any second, but Itachi wondered idly what it would turn into for him. There was nothing he even slightly feared that he could think of.
"This means, that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"
Hermione raised her hand high into the air, bobbing lightly on her heals, and Harry scooted away from her. "Er—because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?" He said, reluctantly, not wanting to get hit by the girl's elbow accidentally or otherwise.
"Precisely," Hermione pouted as she let down her hand, "It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a Boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a Boggart make that very mistake—tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening.
"The charm that repels a Boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a Boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing.
"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please... riddikulus!"
"Riddikulus!" Itachi joined in with the rest of the class, eyeing the way the wardrobe rocked even more violently.
"Good," He smiled at them. "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville." The poor boy shook more then the box.
"Right, Neville. First things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?" Neville's lips moved, but no noise came out. "I didn't catch that, Neville, sorry," He said in a chipper voice, smiling.
Eyes darting around frantically, but finding no savior, he mumbled. "Professor Snape." causing most of the class to laugh—Itachi thought it was a well placed fear for the boy and continued to watch blankly—but Lupin just nodded thoughtfully.
"Professor Snape... Hm... Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?"
"Er—yes," He said, looking confused. "But I don't want the boggart to turn into her either."
"Neville," Itachi said suddenly, and the boy jumped, never had been addressed by the ninja before. "What do you think Professor Snape would look dressed as your grandmother?" He had caught on instantly to what Lupin was trying to do, as he had seen the elder woman while waiting on the train. Of course, he didn't know her at the time, and only now put the pieces together. But, he knew one thing; she had a... distinctive outfit, to put it nicely.
The response was near instantly, and Neville snorted with laughter at the image, causing the class to look at them funny, and then shift in curiosity as the wardrobe shook again.
"Very good, Itachi." Lupin turned to him, eyes sparkling. "Perceptive. Now," He went back to Neville. "I want you to picture those clothes very firmly into your mind. When I open the door, I want you to raise your want and say, 'Riddikulus', while concentrating hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced to wear those clothes."
People laughed at varying levels, picturing their own image of Snape wearing a random grandmother's outfit.
"If Neville is successful, the Boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn," Lupin said, drawing their attention as the armoire shook again. "I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical..."
Again Itachi wondered, what did he fear? He didn't fear spiders, ghosts, dragons, and powerful enemy ninja, anything others could be scared of. Of course, he slightly feared death itself, but that was only the fear every living creature had, and the Boggart couldn't transform into him dying (the thought of seeing a dead Itachi at his feet was even funny to him). What would he see? "Take its legs off," Caused him to rouse out of his thoughts and look at Ron, who had squished his eyes as he concentrated almost painfully.
"Everyone ready?" The teacher asked, Itachi still feeling blank as to what he would be scared of. He was about to ask about that situation, but then the thought struck him—Kyuubi, a fully released Kyuubi. He would be a fool not to fear that. Hm, if he turned it into a cute little vixen with a big red bow and large, teary eyes, it would be quite funny, he supposed.
"Neville, we're going to back away. Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward... Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot—" And the boggart was released.
Itachi watched with amusement, sharingan briefly flashed into life to see the spell being used, before he smirked at the newly clad Snape, laughter bubbling in his chest causing him to give a small chuckle. As each one of them came forward, he took note of each thing that it turned into. A mummy, a rat, a Banshee, a snake, an eyeball, before Ron came forward and it turned into a very large spider, causing several other people to scream as well.
"Riddickulus!" He shouted, and it lost its legs, rolling pathetically to Harry's feet.
"ITACHI!" Lupin shouted almost frantically, but Itachi was already in motion, shoving Harry behind him as he stayed raised his wand towards the Boggart.
With a snap, everything bled into darkness. There was no boggart, no staffroom, no students, no up or down, just pure darkness. He looked around, cautious, but not afraid. He couldn't sense anything, magic or otherwise, but slid into a Taijutsu stance, preparing himself. He knew the others were around, and probably able to see him, so he didn't activate his blood-limit, not that he would even need it had they not. After all, the boggart was only a two X in his book, 'harmless.'
The sound of a young child panting brought his attention forward, and a traditional sliding door materialized in front of him. Soon, a small boy with dark hair, wearing an Uchiha shirt and matching blue shorts, stumbled to a stop in front of it, landing painfully on his stomach.
"Little brother?" Itachi said uncertainly, frowning in slight confusion. He feared Sasuke? He watched as the boy scrambled up and flung open the door, running inside only to scream in terror once there. As quick as he could, Itachi went through the door as well, and was surprised by what he saw.
Sasuke had fallen onto his hands and knees, tears streaming down his face as he stared at the dead bodies in front of him. Itachi saw his mother and father, heaped carelessly together, blood pooling around them from various slash wounds, kunai and shuriken embedded deeply into their flesh at a few points. He took it in casually, having become indifferent to them irrevocably years ago, and his eyes looked back to Sasuke again.
"F-father! Mother!" He cried, but movement caused the small boys attention to shift from the two bodies, and his eyes widened even more in horror and he stumbled back, crawling backwards, gasping. "Older brother!"
Itachi looked up again, and saw a shadowy figure step forward into the full moon light. Blood soaked, another Itachi stood in his normal attire, blue Uchiha shirt and black ankle length pants, his sword strapped to his back. Eyes, matching the liquid splattered across the pale skin, black tomoe dancing around his irises, looked emotionlessly at the corpses, before slowly raising his gaze to the eight year old on the ground.
Lips moved though no sound came out besides pathetic squeaks, but the youngest Uchiha eventually found his voice. "E... Everyone! Everyone's dead! Why, Itachi, why!!" Sasuke sobbed, inching back. "Aunty, Uncle, Shisui, everyone! You killed them all! You killed everyone in our clan!"Tears continued to stream down the child's face as he watched as the bloody Itachi offhandedly step over the bodies.
The real Itachi froze in shock. He... he had implemented the plan? Why—Why was he trembling inside his chest? Why was fear crawling in his stomach? Why did he care? He made a blood-packed, and he refused to loose to Shisui! He knew this is going to happen, so why? His eyes widened slightly, fists clenching at his side and around his wand, hanging almost lifeless next to him, his lips moving with words beyond his control as irrational fear, for the first time, gripped at his heart as the scene progressed.
The blood smeared Itachi reached back and drew his sword slowly, drawing it out in a careless manner as he walked in measured paces. And, as his eyes leisurely morphed into the blades of Mangekyou Sharingan, he said in a dead voice as he finally reached the paralyzed in fear boy, "Not everyone... Yet."
But as he quickly brought the already bloody sword down to Sasuke's pained and terrified cry, the real Itachi had had enough. Dropping his wand, he clasped his hands together in a seal, shouting at the top of his lungs. "SHINOBI HAVE NO EMOTIONS!" Kai! The chakra burst out, snapping and slashing at the magic that fueled the illusion.
The scene shattered with an audible crack, and the boggart, a formless black mass, writhed on the bared ground of the teacher's room, slowly dissipating in smoky death.
Itachi panted, feeling his heart race as his fingers went white with the strain he pressed on them in the Tiger seal. Black eyes glazed over, he saw nothing, trying desperately to wipe his mind of the scene he just witnessed.
The students and Lupin, who had been shocked into silence from the traumatizing scene they had saw, glanced at one another until Harry took a step forward, approaching the trembling figure who had stood against an enraged Hippogriff without blinking. "...Itachi?"
The voice snapped Itachi out of the horror rut he had dug himself into. He turned and stumbled out of the room, brushing past the other students as he fled without a word, pushing the back of his hand against his mouth to hold back the rising bile.
"...What happened?" Hermione said when he vanished, glancing around. They had all seen and heard the exchange, but they were unable to understand the words as they were spoken in Japanese. But seeing a blood soaked Itachi kill a small child was shocking enough.
"Class dismissed, I have to see the Headmaster now." Lupin said absently, before he ran out the room, leaving the class confused.
"I... I know." Surprisingly it was Dean who spoke, eyes wide. He was the only one still trembling, the words having had full effect on him.
"You do?"
"Y-yeah, m-my mum, she, uh, taught me Japanese—when I was younger..." He drifted off, eyes wide and gaping.
"Well?" The room prompted, closing in on him.
He didn't respond for a bit, instead clutching at his head as tears trailed down his cheeks. "That little kid, he was, he was Itachi's little brother. Those people on the g-ground were his mother and f-father. He said that his older brother—Itachi—had killed his entire family, everyone, all cousins, aunts, everyone. A-and the worst part was, was that Itachi said, h-he hadn't—yet. A-a-and then," He swallowed, near bringing himself to hysterics. "He killed his little brother, finishing the job!" A sob tore itself out of his throat, and he hunched down, cradling himself.
A few kids were sick at the knowledge, and Harry himself felt ill. This was worse then any of their fears, because while their fears were justified, Itachi's was horrifying, enough to traumatize anyone. Killing your entire family? He could only imagine what Itachi felt while witnessing that. Suddenly thoughts came to him, and he crouched down to Dean's level, placing a hand on the boy as he rocked back and fourth.
"Dean, what did Itachi—the real Itachi—keep saying? He muttered it over and over, and then he finally said it to kill the boggart."
The thought seemed to draw the dark boy from his horror, and he looked up, into the green eyes of Harry. "He said..." His eyebrows bunched slightly, and his voice went dull, "'Shinobi have no emotions.' Shinobi is another word for ninja."
Harry frowned slightly. Why would Itachi say that? He shook his head of the thought and addressed the much more present problem; Itachi was off god knows where doing god knows what. "Dean... I-I think you should go find Itachi."
"Why me?" He squeaked.
"Because, you're the one who speaks his language. I think he'd be more comfortable talking in it."
The crowd around them muttered their agreements, and encouragement before Dean finally nodded. "Good, now I think he'd be in his room. So try there first."
Dean nodded dumbly, standing shakily while people placed comforting hands on him as if passing on their courage.
XXXXX
Itachi sat on his folded over futon, legs spread and bent at the knee, his hands clasped together on his stomach as his head rested, thrown back onto his trunk.
His heart had finally calmed down from the... Event and the dash from the second story to the top of the Gryffindor tower had helped sooth his nerves. The room was cool, and the afternoon sun on the wall, lighting up the room, but not reaching where he sat under the window, for which he was glad. He wanted to be surrounded by his element, the shadows. His eyes were closed, and he attempted to zone out, but found himself unable to get the... Image out of his head.
So that was what he was scared of.
He had felt absolutely nothing at finding out his entire clan had been killed by his hand—excluding Shisui, which he felt an odd mixture, unable to describe it—but his heart rate sped and bile rose in his throat at the thought of his brother's blood staining his blade.
He couldn't do it. He couldn't keep his blood oath with who he thought of as an older brother. He'd rather kill Shisui a thousand times over before killing his brother. He knew that if he had come as the victor of their duel to the death, and he had killed everyone in the clan, he would still his blade before dealing the death blow to Sasuke. His mind picked apart the situation, rationalizing what he would do.
Sasuke would have surely deny that he had done it, so he'd put him under the Mangekyou Sharingan's unique jutsu, showing how Itachi slaughtered everyone one by one. Then he'd let him run, and tell him to cling to life at all costs, giving him a reason to live—Itachi himself—because Itachi trembled at the thought Sasuke dying by committing suicide from the loss of his family. He would flee then, leaving his brother, traumatized, probably injured, but most importantly alive and with the goal to kill him so he'd stay alive.
But now what? Itachi couldn't keep up the farce, because if Shisui won then... No, Itachi would have to tell him. He would be mad, and they probably would fight, but if Itachi explained it well enough, then... maybe... he would agree and Sasuke wouldn't die.
A sob suddenly crawled from his throat before he could force it down, and a tear leaked from his closed lid. He raised his arm and set it over his eyes, hoping that it would stop the tears, as it was unseemly for a male ninja to cry. Men didn't cry, let alone ninja. Ruthlessly, he choked back the new sob, his face screwing up in suppressed emotion as he took a deep, gasping, shaky breath, but then a knock against the door suddenly broke through the room.
Ten kunai had already firmly imbedded themselves into the hard oak door, each biting deeply into the wood before Itachi fully realized himself, and where he was.
"I-Itachi?" Dean's uncertain voice said, muffled from the other side of the door.
Slowly, Itachi raised himself, walking to the door, brushing at his face with a sleeve. This was not his place to lock anyone out, however much he wished to. He opened the door partially, looking into the worried brown orbs of the other thirteen year old, keeping his face carefully blank, but knowing his eyes were red and blood shot from his sorrow and feeling shamed by it.
He didn't say anything, and Dean just looked at him as if waiting to be told off, but Itachi instead blinked calmly and stepped aside, opening the door fully for the other boy as he made his way back to his futon. He took up the same position before, hands clasped on his stomach, and eyes closed. Breathing deeply and evenly to keep control, he heard Dean sit on the edge of his own bed.
They stayed in relative silence, but it was not to last.
"I'm sorry, Itachi."
"There's no need." He replied automatically, eyes not opening. "It was only a moment of weakness. It will not happen again."
"Shinobi have no emotions, right?"
It was then Itachi realized Dean was speaking Japanese. He let his head fall to the side, to look at the dark skinned boy, his eyes hardening slightly. If he knew Japanese, he knew what really happened. "You know my language?"
Dean smiled slightly. "My mum always regretted not learning as a kid, so she made all of hers learn."
Itachi looked at him a little bit more, before closing his eyes and moving his head so he faced the ceiling again. "Your accent is terrible." The tense air suddenly dropping with those words.
"You're the first person outside my family I've ever known who also speaks it; I never could tell if I was doing it wrong or not."
Silence bloomed through the room again, the only noise coming from Dean's feet as he scuffed the ground nervously.
"So..." He said, reluctantly. Having lost his own relative, he knew the best thing to do was to talk about the better things about them. "What's your father do?" Itachi didn't respond, "Does your mom stay at home or work?" Again, he didn't respond. "What grade is your brother in?"
Itachi didn't respond for a while, and Dean had went silent again, thinking he did something wrong, but then the ninja spoke. "My brother is entering the first year of his ninja training."
Dean smiled at the silent ok. "How old is he?"
"He's eight. His birthday was the 23rd of July this year."
"That's the same age as my youngest cousins. They're twins, a boy and a girl, but they were born the 4th of August. What's your brother like? Does he get into trouble a lot like mine?"
Itachi didn't know why he was talking of his brother with a kid he had barely said ten words to, but he was anyway. They got into swapping stories of their younger relatives, trying to find the funniest one. Itachi even smiled slightly when he told of when Sasuke was convinced that he was going to get eaten by a boogey man from under his bed, and had forced the then only chuunin Itachi to search his room for the mythical creature.
"Hey, Itachi, it's getting late. Dinner's probably being served, we should go." Dean said, laughter dying from when he told of how Jordan—the girl—forced David—the boy—into a dress for them to switch places at school once. The thing that gave them away was that, despite their attires, they still hung out with their own friends.
Itachi glanced out the window as well, noting the sun setting to the western side, and the still lake just to the east. "Yes, we should." He got up from his spot on the ground, stretching lightly and went for the door, for some reason feeling better. He contemplated reasons why, thinking that it could possibly be because not that he told someone of Sasuke, but the act of telling the stories reminded him Sasuke wasn't dead. He hadn't killed him.
Dean was just coming up behind him when he shut the door, for the first time revealing the kunai embedded into the wood.
"Whoa! How did those get there?" The boy took a step back, eyes wide as they took in how precise all the weapons were located, right where a head would be.
Itachi began to pluck the weapons from the wood, an audible thunk when each one was removed. "You startled me."
Looking slightly pale, Dean shook his head and then went to help Itachi pull them from the door. Of course, they proved to be very deeply embedded, so he really had to pull on the blade to get it out. "Ouch!" He said, dropping it on reflex when his thumb got cut.
"Careful. See?" Itachi held up the dropped kunai, showing the spot where the blade met the wrapped handle, having snatched it from the air to stop it from chipping on the stone floor. "This is the most common point where amateurs hurt themselves with kunai. It's there so if the kunai goes in something, it can easier come out. It's dulled, but it'll still cut if you're not careful."
"Yeah, I noticed."
He finished removing the kunai and put them back into his pouch, hidden by the Hogwarts robe. He followed Dean down the stairs, but once they got to the deserted common room, he made a small noise in his throat, causing the other boy to turn and look at him.
"Yes?"
"I'm going to go to the restroom quickly. You go on ahead to the Great hall; I'll meet you and the rest down there."
"Ok," But as he turned to leave, he was stopped when Itachi placed his hand on his shoulder. "Yeah?"
"...Thank you for talking with me. It helped." More then you'll ever know.
The brown haired kid smiled, putting a hand on Itachi's on his shoulder. "No problem. Us Gryffindors look out for each other, you know? See you down there." And he left.
Itachi went through the door to the Boys restroom, just as deserted as the common room. He turned on one of the sinks in front of the long mirror, letting only the cold water fill it, squeaking the knobs off when it was relatively full. Silently, he reached and cupped his hands together, and methodically washed his face. The room echoed with the sound of the water splashing as Itachi wiped at his face and the back of his neck with the cool liquid. After a while, he placed his hands on each side of the sink embedded into the red shot with gold marble, watching as the water dripped off his nose and chin into the stilling pool.
He raised his head, looking into his reflection as water still dripped off slowly, staring closely enough at the reflection to see his black pupil within the inky color of his eye dilate and contract as it self-focused. He took a deep breath, sighing. His fingers suddenly tightened, his jaw set, and his eyes spun into blood red Mirror Wheel Eyes.
He would not follow through with the blood pack, even at the cost of his death. But he'll be dammed if he allowed Shisui to complete it, for that he was certain. He will force his friend to see to another path.
He blinked once, and black coals were back. He wiped his face with a white towel set there for that very purpose, setting it down in the laundry basket for the House Elves as he took his leave from the bathroom.
He cared nothing about his clan, but Sasuke was to be protected even at the cost of losing Shisui as a best friend if it came down to that.
A short while later, Itachi was just about to enter the Great Hall, already seeing his House table and his dorm mates spot him, but someone called his name, and he turned to see Dumbledore standing there, as if he had been waiting for him. Given what had transpired that day, he probably had.
"Itachi-san? Come over here for a moment, if you will."
"Yes, Dumbledore-sama." He replied instantly, walking towards the Headmaster.
"Itachi-san," He said, turning them off to speak in a small nook. Itachi took up his militant stance, calmly looking up into the concerned eyes of the elder man with his emotionless black orbs. "I saw from Lupin what happened with the Boggart. I've never heard of something like that happening before. Then again, a ninja has never encountered a Boggart. I gravely apologize for putting you into that situation, but you have to understand Lupin was scared that Voldemort would have materialized in the room, and that would have caused a panic throughout the entire Wizarding world."
"I understand, sir."
"Now, I'm worried about—"
"Do not worry, Dumbledore-sama. I have already accepted and assessed the... falter in my composure. It will not affect how well I can do my mission. I apologize for leaving Harry for the afternoon; it will not happen again."
Dumbledore looked down at him with a particular look in his eyes, almost pitying. "I was not asking about that, Itachi-san." He said in a small voice. "I am worried about you. Seeing something like that would break most people. If you need time..."
Itachi looked away, down at the ground as he bowed his head slightly, unable to keep a gaze for the first time since graduating from the academy. "I already said I accepted and assessed the situation." He replied in an equally small voice, before he raised his eyes again, just as blank as before. "I am not most people, I am ANBU. Remember that, Dumbledore-sama. I am not a normal person. Now, is there anything else, you wish to speak with me about?"
Dumbledore continued to look at him with the same almost sad look, but Itachi didn't look away this time. "...No. No, you may go eat."
Itachi bowed towards his boss, before walking away, back into the Great Hall, without a glance behind him.
XXXXX
All was quiet except for the light, rhythmic snores of Neville and Ron. The room was cool, and lit only by the pale moon light seeping in through the windows. Nothing moved except occasionally when a boy tossed in his sleep.
Itachi's eyes opened easily, looking at nothing as he lay still on his futon, under his comforter. A quick glance towards the watch, set neatly on his trunk, showed it to be approaching three a.m., but he couldn't seem to fall asleep. He had been lying in bed, helpless to do anything but think, since a little past ten. He wasn't on the brink of breakdown like immediately after the incident, but he still couldn't stop fretting. He knew what he was experiencing, and what could solve it, but he refused to admit he was susceptible to such a side affect to a genjutsu, so he had pushed it away from his mind. But, he finally gave in when the slightly glowing watch ticked to a good three thirty and he had yet to get tired, and sat up with a sigh.
Silently, he removed the things from his 'table' until he could open the trunk without anything falling off. Once he did, he reached into it and dug around, getting into his duffle bag. Upon finding what he had been looking for, he closed the lid and leaned against it like he had earlier that day, but this time looking down at the brilliantly red scroll in his lap. The moonlight made it seem a dull rust color, about the length of his wand, two fingers thick and bound closed by a equally red string.
After easily undoing the small rope, he didn't hesitate before he bit his thumb, causing blood to squirt into his mouth. He paid it no heed and quickly rubbed the new wound over the scroll's closed edge, causing it to open with a slight snap.
He opened it, letting it roll next to him as he propped up the tail end of blank scroll with a book against his raised legs, also getting out a quill and some ink. Quickly, he wrote down a simple line in his own language. 'Uchiha Itachi, Weasel ANBU, mission code Castle.' and waited.
This was the first time he ever used such a scroll before, but he knew it like the back of his hand, having been instructed on its use many times. It was the emergency contact between him and his village. Should he need to contact them—like he did now—or they need to contact him instantly, this was the way to do it.
The scroll was part of a set, two identical scrolls. One was at all times kept in a watched location in the Hokage tower, and the other one was given to shinobi on important or long missions. Once one was open, its partner would begin to thrum with chakra pulses until answered, growing with each one until all of Konoha could feel it if it went unnoticed long enough. There was a special jutsu cast on the scrolls, so that anything on one would appear on the other. The only problem with the scrolls, and why they weren't used for giving reports and the like, was because they could be opened and read by anyone who knew how, just a simple spot of blood. They were insecure, but when something really bad was happening—like Kyuubi attacking the city—and you need to recall your stronger shinobi on various missions, they were perfect. They also were insanely expensive.
He didn't have to wait long until writing bloomed in response, as if being written by an invisible hand right before his eyes.
'Return code Beyond the sea.' None other then the Sandaime wrote. He was the only one allowed to answer the scrolls, as there was sometimes very sensitive information written across them.
'Mission status; stable. Will continue as planned.' He followed regulations, telling if it was the mission that caused the emergency call.
Itachi paused. He knew they'd do it. After all, it was the main reason these scrolls were used, as catastrophes didn't happen very often. Every ninja given the responsibility of a emergency scroll—for they were extremely pricy and the fine of misusing one was a full new one, enough to take a third of an average ninja's yearly earnings—only used it when they had used all other options. When the fate of the mission rested on them, they had to be in full mental stability. Genjutsu was an attack on the mind, and it was a common occurrence for one to be so severe that the ninja in question had to make sure—even if they knew it to be false—that whatever had been done in the genjutsu hadn't happened in reality for them to be able to complete the mission without having half of their mind on something else, disrupting their efficiency. He released a shaky breath, letting his quill touch the paper as he wrote in his best handwriting.
'Let me speak with my brother. Please.'
'He will be on shortly.' Came the quick reply. The scroll was undoubtedly being taken directly to the youngest Uchiha, who was most likely in school at this moment.
Itachi waiting in the dark, cool silence, staring passively at the scroll as it sat in his lap, nothing changing as his quill tip hovered over it.
'Hi?' The word was slowly scratched out, as if the writer was reluctant or confused as to what was happening.
But Itachi, recognizing the handwriting instantly, let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Quickly, he leaned forward, clutching the scroll between his chest and his knees, before he drew back and wrote a reply at a measured pace, a small smile on his lips and his eyes lightly burning. 'Hello, Sasuke. It's Itachi.'
'What?' The word was written far more quickly then previously. There was a pause, and Itachi was sure Sasuke was asking the carrier if it was true. 'How can you be my brother? He's on a mission, and didn't tell me or say goodbye, the stupid jerk!'
He smiled at the insult, 'I only learned of the mission the night before I left. I got in late and had to leave early, I didn't have time to see you, or anyone, before I left.'
'Father was really mad about that too. Where are you, anyway?'
'Sorry Sasuke, but that's classified.'
'Yup, it's you, Itachi.' He got the impression Sasuke was scowling, and he chuckled under his breath.
'Tell me, Little brother, how is everything? Are you ok? Have you seen Shisui? Anything happen lately?'
'Well, we're learning how to balance in school, and I fell off a pole and hurt my ankle. Mom freaked, but I could handle it, I didn't even cry; it was nothing to a ninja! Dad was proud about that... I think. I don't know, he's been really busy lately with work, and stuff. Shisui came by to see where you were yesterday, and he was upset that you didn't tell him about the mission either, but that's about it. Everything else is dull as usual here. Oh! I found a kitten around Auntie Yuki's house, and I'm hiding it in my closet. Don't tell mom...!'
Itachi read as his brother went off about the kitten and how he fed it their mother's cooking, relief swelling in his chest making him tremble slightly as his vision blurred. He breathed deeply and silently, trying to be an emotionless ninja. Why was he reacting? He should be over this already.
'Itachi? What're those?' Sketched arrows pointed to the two wet drops, soaking into the paper near the bottom. 'Are you drooling on this? That's gross! I knew you liked mom's udon, but blech!'
'They're nothing, Sasuke.' He wrote slowly, feeling the cooling trails down his cheeks and chin. 'Listen, it's really late where I am at, and I should be going to bed. I have to be at my best for the mission, and that requires sleep. Tell the ninja that brought you this scroll that I'm 'ending transmission' and he can take it back.'
'Already?' Itachi could hear the whine in the word. 'OK then, good luck with whatever you're doing. See you soon, Older brother.'
"Not soon enough," Itachi breathed, rolling up the scroll and tying the string to keep it closed again. He knew once its partner closed as well, they'd both re-seal, so he didn't have to wait. He put the scroll away, back deep into the recesses of his duffle bag, under his ANBU uniform where it had been before.
With a sigh, he closed his trunk again and placed his objects back on it before sliding into his bed, twitching lightly until he found that 'sweet spot.' No one in the room were any the wiser of what had transpired, and Itachi was grateful. More relieved to know his brother was safe and fine then he'd like to admit, he easily slipped into the sleep that had eluded him before.
XXXXX
MDF: I've finally moved. It was a long, annoying, bitch to do. And, the new place doesn't have internet yet, so I have no idea when the next chapter will be up-loaded. You're lucky to have gotten this one, as I've used the High School computer.