A Perception of Reality

by knightchaser

There is a belief that states for every action taken, the alternative action is played out in another dimension. In one reality Itachi succeeded in killing his clan, in another, he failed. This is the story of what happened when he failed.

23. Chapter 23 Arata and Yori

Last week Itachi stumbled upon a deadly right of passage in the Mist village and was shocked to learn of the clan's acceptance of the tradition.

Thanks for all the reviews and favs

I'm liking how Shippuden is portraying Hebi – if you've been holding out on the anime take a look again. There was an interesting revelation about Danzou (I won't spoil it for you) in the Manga this week. But I can't wait for Sasuke to fight him, this should be better than the "teen beating up the old man" that a lot of us thought was going to happen. Still, Sasuke better kick his ass and Naruto better not stop him.

Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto

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Chapter 23 – Arata and Yori

Itachi realized, rather soon in his journey back to Konoha with a toddler strapped to his back, that what he remembered about his own little brother at that age was definitely biased. He didn't remember the cranky temper tantrums or the hair pulling or the diaper changes or the "scream at the top of your lungs in your care-giver's ear" ploy for attention. Even with his near-perfect memory those events seemed to have vanished somehow. Albeit he was seven when Sasuke was two, but still. It seemed like a tremendous oversight.

"They're probably just upset at being restrained for so many hours at a time." Sheeta tried to reassure him and herself as they exited the port town after arriving back in Fire country three hours earlier.

"I can tell you one thing," Itachi stated firmly and with much exasperation, "our kids are staying home when we go on vacation."

Sheeta tried to argue, but frankly, at that moment all she could do was agree with him. Travelling with a little kid was very stressful. They had tried to rent an ox-cart but had been told by three different stables that Konoha was no longer on their list of allowable destinations. They were concerned about the safety of their oxen and carts. Itachi had even tried to buy one, but the manager upped the price so much that he walked away without even trying to negotiate. He considered using Genjutsu to get a cart, but the harm to the man's business could affect his family if he was unable to return it for some reason. And if the stables were that concerned about Konoha then perhaps there was a good reason.

"I already miss Aya." Sheeta said wistfully. "I can't believe she's marrying that Madara guy. He's like, I don't know… ten years or so older than her. I mean, in Konoha that would be expected since there aren't any younger guys, but in Mist there are lots to choose from. I don't get the feeling that she loves him, but she seems to think she wants to marry him anyway. I really, really don't get it."

Itachi shrugged, "I don't get it either. I think he does love her on some level. Or… perhaps he thinks he does?"

"He seemed nice enough though. He even threw her an early birthday party so we could attend. That was romantic, don't you think?"

Itachi nodded in agreement. It had been a nice thing to do, but then again, Madara was an expert at manipulating people so of course he would know the right thing to do. But then again, Madara's words to him during the party made him think.

'Or am I just overt thinking things again?' Itachi thought quietly to himself. No matter how nice Madara seemed he couldn't forget the fact that the elder Uchiha had founded Akatsuki and was using several very violent missing nins for his own benefit.

Glancing behind him he saw Sheeta had started to sing a short children's song that made the twins laugh when they tried to imitate her. It was a game they seemed to enjoy quite a bit and it turned out to be an excellent distraction.

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"How domestic." A blond teen with a topknot and one eye hidden behind a scope stepped out into the middle of the road, blocking Itachi's way. His bare chest could be seen through his open Akatsuki cloak and instead of the regulation pants he was wearing a pair of light blue shorts and flip-flops. "Out for a stroll with the wife and kiddies?"

"Yeah he is, now get out of the way." Sheeta stepped in front of Itachi and pointed her finger at him.

"Well you're a cutie, aren't you? You're not really married to this jerk are you?"

"Sheeta, just ignore him." Itachi moved so he was standing next to his girlfriend. "I heard you would be on this road but I had hoped to miss you."

"Nah, we waited for you." Kisame stepped forward. His Akatsuki cloak was also open revealing a bare chest.

"Having problems with your uniform?" Itachi asked sarcastically.

Kisame shrugged his cloak off and draped it over his shoulder. "Yeah. It's ninety degrees out and they don't come air conditioned. Besides, who wants to wear clothes in the summer?"

Itachi had to agree with that as he sat down on the ground to remove the baby harness. He carefully laid the boy on the ground and then helped Sheeta take hers off as well. The two toddlers stood up and clung tightly to her pants legs as they looked up shyly at the strangers.

"So what brings you here? Where is…" Itachi was interrupted as an oval shaped puppet trundled into view.

"I'm here. Just not as rash as these two." Sasori spoke in his usual matter-of-fact, emotionless monotone as he eyed the twins. "You're going through a lot of trouble for a couple of orphans."

"Contrary to popular opinion a child does not loose his worth when his parents die." Sheeta spoke bitterly.

Sasori's voice turned sarcastic, "And I suppose you speak from personal experience."

Sheeta returned the sarcasm as she placed her hands on her hips, "Yeah, I'm an orphan. What of it?"

"Ha ha ha!" Sasori laughed, "The kids got spirit!"

Itachi changed the subject, "So why are you all here?"

Kisame sat down on the ground and leaned up against a tree, "Rain has fallen to the rebels, finally, so we now have a firm base of operations. Also…" He glanced over at Sasori who extended a mechanical arm towards the teen and opened the fingers.

"A… tongue?" Itachi couldn't help the surprise that entered his voice as he stared down at the appendage. "But… what's that…" he activated his Sharingan and looked closer. "It's a seal of some kind. There's no chakra left in it though."

"It's a few days old." Kisame explained, "We caught up with five Root Shinobi the other day and they all had these. Know anything about it?"

"I got a report from Konoha saying they had just discovered the same thing. Apparently Root has started using it recently to lock the tongues of betrayers."

Deidara moved closer to look at it as well. "I blew them up and this flew across the clearing, un."

Sheeta twisted her face in disgust, "You… blew them up?"

The blond gave her a big grin, "With my art! Wanna see…"

"No!" Itachi, Kisame and Sasori replied quickly in unison.

"Oh." Deidara's face fell, but he quickly recovered, "If it didn't blow out of his mouth, un, we wouldn't have known about it. So my art is a blast!"

"Yes, yes, yes. You saved the day." Sasori spoke as if this was the thousandth time he had heard the story.

"Anyway, that's all." Kisame stood up and brushed a few twigs off his pants. Using a transportation jutsu, all three Akatsuki disappeared.

Sheeta stared at Itachi for a couple minutes before turning her back to him, "You have really weird friends. Remind me to use paper plates if they ever come over for dinner."

"Yeah, sure." An image of Deidara using Mikoto's good china for target practice went through his mind and he grimaced at what the woman would probably do to him. It wouldn't be pleasant.

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That evening they wandered into a small town and after stopping at a restaurant for dinner began looking for an Inn. It was a quiet summer evening but there didn't seem to be anyone about. Usually, after a hot summer day people came out at night to at least cool down for an hour or two before bed.

Entering an Inn the pair found a large number of people sitting in the lobby soaking up the cool air-conditioned atmosphere.

"It feels so good in here." Sheeta sighed as she stood motionless with her eyes closed.

"We need one room…" Itachi was interrupted by an old woman who had moved closer to them and was now glaring daggers at Sheeta.

"Disgusting."

Sheeta blinked her eyes in confusion, "Umm, what?"

"You. How old are you?" The woman's voice was filled with venom as she contorted her face in rage.

"Fourteen. What's it to you?"

"Two kids and you're fourteen! What are you? Some kind of slut?"

"Yeah, I am. Get over it. I've got one more coming," she patted her very flat tummy, "and I need to pee so get out of my way."

"Well you aren't staying here! I'm not having that kind of behavior in my hotel! And you!" She rounded on Itachi next, "How dare you get her pregnant like that!"

"Oh, I didn't get her pregnant." Itachi replied truthfully. "Not yet anyway."

"We won't know that for sure until the paternity test dear." Sheeta replied sweetly.

The old woman pointed at the pair and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Get out!"

"You would throw two innocent babies out into the world?" Sheeta batted her eyelashes, pretending to be coy.

"There's nothing innocent about them or you! Now get out!" All the people in the lobby were now gaping in shock as they listened to the exchange.

"Humph." Sheeta frowned in disgust, "You must have been a terrible mother if this is how you treat me and my babies. Well, I guess that just shows that a fourteen-year-old girl has more sense than you do." She turned around and calmly exited the building, Itachi fast on her trail.

"That went well." Itachi said sarcastically.

"That was fun!" Sheeta replied, "But really, I'm so glad that woman isn't my mother. I wonder if there's another Inn here? It is a small town after all."

A tall man came up behind them followed by a woman and three kids, "Three streets down turn right. It's the fourth building on the left."

"Oh!" Sheeta exclaimed in surprise, "Thank-you very much."

"That woman is always disagreeable; don't let it get to you." The woman exclaimed.

"Oh, I won't. I guess I was baiting her anyway, but still, she does have some stupid ideas, doesn't she?"

"If she had any sense she would have noticed you were both ninja and then assumed you were on a mission with these two kids. Twins, I guess. They look like you two, though." The woman smiled pleasantly, trying to reassure them that not everyone in the village was an enemy.

"Our cousins, actually, they were kidnapped and then rescued so we got the mission to bring them back home."

The couple laughed, "Well, have a good journey then."

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Konoha was bathed in moonlight as the girl moved silently through the nearly deserted streets. There was no hesitancy in her movements, only a calm un-emotional detachment to her surroundings and predicament. Only when she approached her target did hesitancy return as the reality of what she was about to do descended on her like a whirlpool pulling an unlucky sailor to the bottom of the ocean.

The building she stood in front of was small, but it housed some very important documents. One of which she had been tasked with retrieving. Reaching out a hand, palm held out, she sent a small wave of chakra forward and then dropped it when no barrier was felt. Sai's part of the mission had been to disable the jutsus surrounding the storeroom and apparently he had succeeded.

Adjusting her hat to make sure it was still firmly tied under her chin she grasped the door handle and slid it sideways revealing a dark room. As her eyes adjusted she saw the moonlight coming through the windows and illuminating six bookshelves that stood lined up on one side of the room. That was her destination. A particular scroll had to be stolen.

But she didn't want to do it.

Walking forward she found the exact location of the item and stood before it, contemplating her mission when she suddenly turned around quickly and took a defensive stance and gasped, "Who's there?"

"Don't do it Sakura." A strong male voice startled her and she watched transfixed as two red eyes, followed by a face and the body of a stocky, yet strong man strode forward.

"Sasuke's dad… I mean Lord Hokage." Sakura dropped her arms to her side and stared up at him, feeling very helpless. She thought briefly of making a run for it, but she knew she wouldn't make it very far.

"If that document leaves this building I will have to kill you."

"If I don't steal it… Sai has orders to kill me." Sakura felt a tear drip out of one eye and berated herself for being weak. She knew her orders, and her purpose. She was a kunoichi in Root and existed only for the mission. She had no wants, no desires of her own. She was a shell, a piece of clay to be molder by her superiors and filled with mission information, then emptied and re-filled for the next mission. There was nothing else.

"Then shall we make this quick and painless?" Fugaku pulled out a katana and held it in the air as he stared at the child with a cold expression on his face, but inside he felt conflicted. This girl was not an ordinary menace. The Hyuuga clan had taken it upon themselves to guard their new clan chief and had seen Sakura as a threat to Hinata's safety. While the school was keeping watch on her and Sai, the Hyuugas were keeping their own watch and what they had seen now caused Fugaku to hesitate.

Sakura dropped to her knees and bowed her head, "Yes, if you please."

Fugaku groaned in annoyance. "It doesn't have to be this way. You are too young to understand the implications of dying."

"You can say that, but I believe I do understand." Sakura was adamant about her feelings as she continued to sit motionless, "There is no way out of this."

"Then Sakura," Fugaku kneeled in front of the child and held out a scroll, "how about this?"

"Wh… what is it?"

"It's the scroll you were supposed to have stolen. Only with some modifications."

"A… copy?" Sakura looked up at the Hokage with amazement. "How?"

"We have some very industrious shinobi in this village. Give this to your superiors. We can wage a war of misinformation to confuse them. In the meantime, what you are ordered to steal in the future may be a clue as to what Root is up to. Are you still so eager to throw your life away now?" Fugaku smiled as the girl's face lit up with a big smile.

"Thank-you!" She grabbed the scroll and ran out of the building.

"No, Sakura, thank-you." Fugaku said dryly. The scroll Sakura had been ordered to steal was one of the documents written about the defenses of the main gate.

Most people, when they saw the imposing structure were awed by its immense size and powerful presence. What they didn't know was that it was just wood constructed to form two hollow frames. While the First had built them and they were strong, it was still necessary to fortify them with about a dozen jutsus in order to make them impenetrable. It was those jutsus that were documented in the scroll.

The copy had been rewritten to include jutsus that were popular sixty years ago, but were no longer used. The plan was that they would get it, realize it was the scroll they requested, but also realize that they asked for the wrong thing.

It was worth a try, anyway.

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Honoo Hiryuu, the man who had murdered Rumiko and Umihiko Uchiha a few short weeks after the birth of their sons, Arata and Yori, stood meekly in the middle of the prison courtyard. Dressed in a dirty, torn blue jumpsuit and unwashed he blinked as the sun blinded his eyes; having been kept in a darkened cell for several months he found it difficult to keep them open. Various cuts and bruises covered his body – some fresh some old and healing – and a few badly healed bones made his arm stick out in an odd direction and hindered his breathing.

All in all, the accused had not fared well during his year in captivity. Fugaku and his clan had seen to that, as well as the other prisoners. Honoo was a traitor of the worst kind, as far as they were concerned and while most of the prisoners had committed crimes ranging from horrendous to minor, most were still very loyal to Konoha. It was the Shinobi philosophy of protecting one's village that ran so deeply in their psyches that nothing seemed capable of driving it out.

Fugaku, dressed in a yukata and pants that proudly displayed the Uchiha fan symbol walked forward to stand in front of Honoo. The disgust on his face was evident as he drew a katana and held it up.

Standing in a circle around them was most of the Uchiha clan. Rumiko and her husband were well liked and sorely missed and nothing short of blood was going to set things straight for them. Itachi stood next to Sheeta holding her hand in a tight grip. The girl had been up all night crying, she missed Rumiko and felt responsible.

"If only I had woken sooner, I could have stopped them." Sheeta kept saying over and over. No one blamed her, but the guilt was still overwhelming. Mikoto chalked it up to the stress of the long trip and the suddenness of the conviction, saying the girl hadn't had a chance to recover. Itachi wondered if that was true – after all he himself felt responsible for Shisui's death and there were times when all he could think of were all the ways he could have stopped him. None of which would probably have actually worked – yet it didn't stop his over-active imagination from conjuring scenario after scenario.

Mikoto was standing between Sasuke and Naruto, one hand placed firmly on each boys' shoulder. Naruto was looking around, feeling out of place among the large gathering of Uchihas. There were a few other villagers present, including the Third and some of Rumiko and Umihiko's friends from both Konoha and the Fire country capital.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had a serious expression on his face and was standing stock-still with his fists clenched in anger. While his memories of Rumiko were formed when he was still very young, they were pleasant enough to warrant a strong feeling of loss. Itachi likened it to the way he felt about Obito. He had been four when his older cousin had died during a mission, but ten years later he was still firmly entrenched in his memories.

Speaking of Obito, Itachi was surprised to see Kakashi standing next to Sarutobi. He hadn't known that Rumiko and he were acquainted. Or perhaps the Third had asked him to come for some reason.

Honoo suddenly dropped to his knees and began crying for his life to be spared. Itachi smirked, in spite of himself. Begging was the worst possible thing you could do in front of Fugaku and true to form he could see his father's hand clench tightly over the blade as his face reddened slightly with anger.

The twins were present as well – their grandparents decided they were too young to know what was going on and wouldn't remember it anyway – but if they ever asked about the murderer of their parents they could be told about that day they attended his execution.

"We are gathered here to witness the execution of the murderer of clansmen and citizens of Konoha. Do you have any final words Honoo? Perhaps an apology?" Fugaku was baiting the man, after all he had never shown any remorse over his actions, only that he had been caught.

"They got what they deserved! Too bad I missed the others!" Honoo yelled, "They ruined my life!"

Several people shook their heads in disgust at his words, then cheered a moment later as Fugaku severed the criminal's head in one long sweep of his sword. The head rolled on the floor and the eyes blinked a couple times before fading into oblivion. Itachi found himself staring at them, wondering if the rumors were true, that it was possible for a person to remain conscious for a few seconds after being beheaded.

That evening Itachi was awakened as both Sasuke and Naruto, after having nightmares of talking heads, ended up in his room asleep on the floor. He supposed it was to be expected as he drifted back to sleep.

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"Konoha is still having money problems." Itachi observed as he joined Kakashi at Obito's grave a few days later.

"Yeah. The Daimyou refuses to fund us unless Fugaku steps down. We're pretty sure Danzou is still alive at this point and pulling that man's strings. No more wondering. Although we haven't any proof yet."

"Humph. Yeah. My… colleagues… couldn't come up with anything certain either." Itachi said, referring to Akatsuki, "But we're under orders to keep looking, of course, and take him out if we find him."

The two were silent for a few minutes as they stared at the "Killed in Action" monument. It was covered in names – a lot of them from the past year. Fugaku had agreed in a concession to Sarutobi to allow the names of those who had died during the coup to be engraved in the stone. Psychologically it had placated a lot of people, to a small extent anyway.

"It always amazes me how much you remember of your cousin." Kakashi finally said.

"Yeah, me too. It's almost like… after he died everything turned upside down. I can't explain it right."

"I think I know what you mean. That guy changed a lot of peoples' lives for having lived so few years. But for you… I think…" Kakashi gave Itachi a strange look and shook his head, "I don't know what I'm thinking either."

Itachi smiled and looked at the ground, "So why did you call me here?"

Kakashi looked up at the sky and sighed, "Fugaku told me that I'm going to be a sensei. A few years ago you were joking with me about it and I was surprised to find your joke coming true."

"Huh?" Itachi thought for a few minutes and realized that he had teased the silver-haired Jounin at one point. He smiled happily as the entire memory re-entered his consciousness.

"That's right, when they graduate I'll be Sasuke and Naruto's Sensei. Fugaku isn't sure about the third child yet. It's a ways away of course, at least two or three or four years but… I thought you should be the first to know… assuming your father hasn't already told you." Kakashi gave a short laugh.

"I didn't know. That is good news though. I worry about what Sasuke's future will be. I have some pretty bad nightmares about him." Itachi remembered one particular nightmare in which Sasuke was standing, crying, over the bodies of Naruto and Sakura. He almost opened his mouth to tell Kakashi about the dream but decided to remain silent. If Sakura turned out to be the third choice after speaking up then would he be putting the events of that dream into play?

'I'll say nothing about this.' Itachi decided, 'It will become a test of my dreams precognition or… insanity.'

"I'm not thrilled about being a Sensei. I don't believe I'm suited for it. I move in my own direction too often, but, Itachi, I will look after those kids with my life. And if I don't…"

"I will kill you." Itachi smiled reassuringly to the man in front of him, "I won't be able to stop myself. I am, despite it all, an Uchiha, and if there is one truth that can be said about our clan, it's that we always protect our own."

Kakashi shook his head, "I wouldn't have the heart to stop you at that point. Failure on that level… it's too horrendous to even contemplate. That was the lesson Obito taught me, and that is why I wanted to talk to you in front of the monument about this."

Itachi thought that maybe Kakashi was overreacting; after all it would be years yet until he actually became a Sensei. However, the look on the man's face made him pause. "Kakashi, I know you'll do a good job. Don't get too worked up over it – at least not now. Wait until they're actually yours before you start loosing sleep over them. And in the meantime… you know, speaking of 'sleep' you may actually want to try to catch up on any you'll be loosing in advance. Those two kids…" Itachi shook his head in exasperation, "Anyway, I've got patrol duty, I have to go now." He stood up and patted Kakashi on the top of the head, squishing his hair.

"Hey! Not the hair! It took me three seconds to get it like this this morning." Kakashi laughed as he ran his fingers through his gravity defying hair-do. "I'm going to be late for my own patrol now that I have to stop and fix my hair."

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Next week – we move forward two years. Coming up in future chapters – Sasuke and Naruto graduate, Orochimaru shows up, Kabuto works his "magic" and Sheeta gets really pissed off at Itachi.

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