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Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto
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Chapter 30 – Fate Moving Forward
"You're late." Haku was perched on a rock wall overlooking the river in the shopping district. With his hair pulled back in one long pony tail and dressed in light brown hakama pants and a puffy maroon jacket he looked like he was ready to spend the day out in the autumn weather.
"Argument with my girlfriend." Itachi muttered quietly. "Besides, there isn't a lot we can do right now. This patrol is just to appease the visitors from the other villages. No one expects us to actually catch up to Orochimaru. He isn't that careless." He felt pretty useless, to tell the truth. Torn between wanting to run out to the Forest of Death and be with his little brother and following orders, he knew that his father was correct. Orochimaru must have had a pretty good idea what he was doing when he put his curse on Sasuke. Meaning the boy would live through it. But leaving him and his team out in the forest… Itachi didn't feel right about that.
"Ah. I suspected as much. I read his ANBU profile this morning. He certainly is powerful."
Itachi changed the subject, "So how is Zabuza doing?"
"He's healing… but… I don't think he knows what he wants to do. The Hokage offered him a position in ANBU if he behaves himself. Kakashi has been to visit him a few times and is trying to talk him into accepting, but he's been a missing-nin for so long that I think he feels a little constrained. It'll be a couple months before he's fully healed so at least he doesn't have to decide right away."
"Hn." Itachi gazed into the flowing water.
Haku continued, in a more subdued voice, "I'm… sorry about your brother. I guess he got in a lot of trouble because he lost that fight with me."
"Don't worry about it."
"Still… I feel bad. I saw the bruises when I went to wish them good luck before the exam yesterday and Naruto told me what happened."
Itachi sighed, not knowing what or if he should say anything. This boy was obviously far too sensitive to be a ninja and he wondered how he had made it as far as he had. "Fugaku mentioned that you might want to consider being in the medical corp."
Scratching the back of his head, Haku gave a short laugh, "Yeah. He told me that too. It is tempting. I've already studied it somewhat. I had to learn anatomy during my training, and I took it one step further and studied several medical jutsus as well."
"Medics are always needed. It's a hard discipline to train people for. But… we should start patrolling the village instead of sitting around talking." Itachi stood up and gazed around at the open shops and cheerful customers. Even in gray November with the heavens threatening rain, it still managed to cast an atmosphere of lighthearted optimism. It was so different from three years ago when the area was torn up and half the buildings were nothing more than rubble.
Falling into step beside Haku, Itachi thought back to his discussion with Pein. Shortly after Sheeta had left he had pulled his ring out of its hiding place and contacted the Akatsuki leader. It had been short, as neither of them tended to be especially talkative. Basically, Akatsuki had no idea what the snake Sanin was up to but he was very interested in Sasuke – something that instantly put Itachi on guard.
Originally, the fox demon was to have been sealed in Sasuke – that was why Mikoto had been pushed to have a second child. The infant would then have been moved to Rain to be raised by Pein and Konan. Luckily Madara's plans had been thwarted. However… Pein's interest was disturbing. He wasn't one to make idle conversation so when he had asked for updates on the boy's condition Itachi felt he had no choice but to become concerned. Obviously, Sasuke was a person of interest to Akatsuki.
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"Sheeta, it's too early to test if you're pregnant or not. Come back in two or three days." Nui sighed in exasperation. She had been in the middle of her shift at the hospital when her younger sister had practically dragged her into the nearest empty room – which happened to be an exam room.
"I know that!" Sheeta snapped. "You taught me that stuff, remember?"
"The question is, do you remember?" Her anger abated somewhat when she saw a tear leak out of her sister's eye and many different scenarios drifted through her mind. "You were with Itachi… right?"
"Yeah. He… he…" Sheeta tried to keep control, but it was impossible. Breaking down in tears she told her sister what had happened the night before. "I thought… I thought it would be like the movies… I didn't think he would betray me…"
Nui pushed Sheeta down onto a chair as her patience completely disappeared. "This is why we tell you not to watch so much TV. I am familiar with that jutsu by the way, and I also know that there is no way in hell he could have used it without you knowing it. In fact, most women have some nausea or pain afterward. In rare circumstances it's even caused severe internal bleeding leading to death. Seriously, both you and Itachi need to have your brains examined. That jutsu is labeled 'forbidden' for a reason. Even when it was used a long time ago it was mostly for mission-related reasons. Moving the egg like that… it speeds up the cycle too much and the body can't handle it. Normal contraceptive jutsus cooperate with the body, giving you a month to adjust before you can get pregnant. That's why everyone uses those now."
Pulling a chair up next to her sister she sat down as chakra flared up in her hands. Placing them a few inches over Sheeta's abdomen she concentrated on detected the first tell-tale signs of a new life. In spite of her anger she smiled.
"Congratulations, mama."
Sheeta, who had been expecting to get yelled at, or even slapped blinked through her tears as she gazed up at her sister.
"I don't blame you Sheeta. Really, if Itachi wanted this bad enough your cooperation would not be needed. He's that powerful. My point… I guess my point is that you should have known something was wrong. There have been attempts throughout the years to kidnap Uchiha and Hyuuga women and impregnate them – thus gaining a Sharingan or Byakugan child for whatever twisted reason the kidnappers want him for. You have to be more careful. Even if a trait is recessive and requires two Hyuuga parents or two Uchiha parents… the kidnappers don't always know that or think that far ahead."
Sheeta nodded and blew her nose with a tissue Nui handed her. "I felt something… but because I'd just eaten… and I was really nervous… I thought it was just nerves." Taking a deep breath she walked over to the sink and splashed cold water on her face. "Is it a girl?"
Nui groaned, "Don't tell me you're already arguing over the kid's sex?"
She turned away, slightly embarrassed, "I… um…"
"It's too early to tell. But you know…" Nui's eye twinkled with even intent.
"If it's a boy I could tell him it's a girl, and if it's a girl I can tell him it's a boy." Sheeta gave a short, rather maniacal laugh.
"I like the way you think!" Nui declared happily.
"Oh, believe me. That's just the beginning. He will rue the day he ever messed with me!" She started cackling, causing Nui to shake her head in disbelief.
"You really have been watching too much TV." She couldn't help but notice that despite her sister's new-found joviality there were still tears leaking from her eyes.
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"Day two of the exam ended rather eventfully for Sasuke." Fugaku stated as Itachi entered the kitchen after his patrol. It was almost midnight and the elder Uchiha was sitting cross-legged on a cushion in front of the table drinking tea and eating rice crackers. A scroll was laying open on the table in front of him.
"He's okay then?" Although Itachi was sure his brother was fine, any word that could confirm that would be welcomed.
"Yeah. He slept for about eighteen hours. In the meantime Sakura and Naruto were attacked by a team of Sound ninjas. Apparently they know Orochimaru and knew about the curse mark, although they don't know why it was placed on Sasuke."
"The ANBU is still tailing him then?"
"They have been ordered to keep watch until Sasuke reaches the tower and only intervene if Orochimaru shows up. Anyway, it was apparently quite a fight. Sakura and Naruto held them off, but sustained a few injuries. The kind that bleed a lot and look worse than they are from what I heard. Sasuke woke up, saw this, and overreacted."
"Meaning?"
"He activated the curse seal, pulling a tremendous amount of chakra out of it and attacked the Sound ninjas. All three are now incapacitated and resting in the hospital. They are damn lucky to be alive from what I understand."
"Humph. So why didn't he kill them?" Itachi knew that if it had been him, he probably wouldn't have been able to stop.
"Sakura stepped in and… apparently Sasuke responded favorably to her pleas to stop and pulled back."
"Sakura… could do that? How? Was it a jutsu?"
"The ANBU I spoke to said he thinks Sasuke probably has a crush on her, but who knows? Those kids… all of the kids from that graduating class… are very close. It's not something I've seen before."
"Me either." Itachi admitted. He wasn't even sure anymore who the other kids in his class had been, they had made no lasting impression on him. Plus, his graduation exam had consisted of just him and two other kids – Yota Hyuuga and Yuri. It had been a setup because, with the war still going on, the trio was needed to run missions. As far as other teams went, he had been close to Shisui's team – one of whom had taken Yota's place after he died – but that was it.
Itachi continued, "I do know that Sakura has a crush on Sasuke. In fact most of the ten to thirteen year old girls he comes in contact with are in love with him, from what I've observed. He doesn't even do anything and they fall head over heels. He says he hates it, but I think in a way it makes him happy, too."
Fugaku wadded up the empty cracker bag and threw it across the room into the garbage can. "Well, I guess he is getting to that age. I'll have to make sure he understands that he will be placed in an arranged marriage. It won't be good if he complicates things by falling in love."
"Yeah." Itachi agreed reluctantly.
Fugaku creased his brow, worried, "You do understand why that has to be, don't you?
"There aren't enough children in the clan to pass on our genes and the best way to ensure that happens is for two Uchiha's to marry. Also, because we are all cousins to some extent it lessens the impact of inbreeding." Itachi repeated the lesson, in monotone, learned many years earlier.
"A long time ago it wasn't an issue. I do hope Jiraiya really has found Tsunade - we really need her now that Dr. Yakushi is gone. And… I'm starting to get suspicious… we had thought there was something genetic that prevented our clan from reproducing… but…"
"There have been seven babies born since the coup." Itachi re-iterated. "All healthy and without complications even though a couple of the mothers were in their forties. Nui was questioning it as well."
Shortly after Nui gave birth to a healthy daughter, right on schedule and without any problems, the clan took it as a good omen and a mini baby-boom spread throughout the compound. It was perplexing.
A soft scratching sound drew their attention, forcing them to glance at the floor where Tama was batting the wadded-up rice-cracker package across the room with kittenish enthusiasm. He would knock it around with his paws for a few passes until it hit the bottom of the cupboards then pick it up in his mouth to return it to the middle of the room and start over.
"Itachi… that package made it into the garbage…" Fugaku spoke quietly.
"Yeah."
"Did you see him take it out?"
"No."
"There's something odd about that animal."
"Let's serve him for dinner and tell Sasuke and Naruto its chicken."
"We'll have Kisa cook it."
The cat stopped playing and looked up at them, packet still in his mouth. His eyes narrowed and, as if understanding the conversation and determined to express his disastifaction, squatted down and peed on the floor before jumping out of the kitchen window without letting go of his new toy.
Fugaku stood up slowly and shook his head. "That cat really hates you, Itachi. Take care of that mess. If you leave it for Sheeta she'll kill you. For real."
"And what are you going to do?" Itachi wasn't so willing to let his father off, after all he had joined in the joke.
"I think I should have my summons check Tama out. If there really is something fishy it would be better to deal with it before the kids get back."
Itachi doubted Deidara would have dropped the animal off to spy on them. He didn't really trust the mad bomber of Akatsuki, but he understood enough about his character to know that Deidara would never resort to such underhanded tricks. He preferred to fight in the open and use his "art" for information gathering. Since the cat was not made of clay that pretty much left him off the hook. It wasn't a puppet so Sasori wasn't sticking his nose into things either.
"Okay." Itachi sighed in resignation.
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The next two days saw heavy rains and colder temperatures. Several more exam candidates were pulled out of the forest in various states of injury and in the case of one team from Rain, crushed dead. However, none of the Konoha rookies were among them, making Fugaku wonder out loud if he had underestimated his youngest son and the boy was actually going to stand a chance at passing.
"You sure have awful weather here." Haku broke Itachi out of his thoughts.
"Usually it isn't like this…" Itachi was interrupted.
"Oh, I'm not complaining." Haku gave a short laugh, "Just making conversation. You sure don't talk much, do you?"
"No point, I guess." That was the one fault Itachi found with the Haku – he talked too much and expected actual two-way communication. Something the young Uchiha was not used to or good at.
"I get it." It was quiet for a while as the pair made their way through the forest on their way to one of Orochimaru's old hideouts. The cold rain dripped off of the mossy trees onto the ferns and dead leaves below, forming tiny rivulets of water running endlessly into and out of numerous puddles – some of which had become rather large and deep.
The pair moved slowly along a narrow path listening carefully and sensing for other chakra sources. About five miles outside the village the trail narrowed even more until it was about one foot wide as it wound its way around a large stone cliff covered with thick green moss, vines and more ferns.
"His hideout is just ahead." Itachi broke the silence as he stopped to double-check the area.
"The trees are a lot smaller here, normal size." Haku observed, "They look brittle."
"They are. You can't jump on them because they'll break. The water table is right at ground level almost so there is too much water for the big trees to take root. They just fall over after a few years so if you see any they'll be on the ground covered in moss and other plants." Itachi spoke confidently as he started walking again. His thoughts drifted back to Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata. He had brought them along this same trail numerous times for training. It was one of his favorite places, very peaceful.
"It smells nice here, too." Haku took a deep breath, "I can tell you really like it here, Itachi."
Blinking a couple times, Itachi smiled and nodded his head. "I don't get to come here as often as I like. There are a lot of medicinal plants around here as well so sometimes you find herbalists from the village wandering around collecting."
Haku laughed, "Still pushing the med-nin angle?"
Again, Itachi nodded, "You don't have a clan pushing you, Haku. You're free to make your own choices. Not many of us get second chances. We should take advantage of them when they come around. The few times we've discussed it… I can see your demeanor change. It's slight, you are good at hiding your emotions, but not good enough to fool me."
"Ha ha ha! You certainly live up to your reputation. Zabuza was telling me this morning to watch out for you. Apparently he met you a few years back and was quite impressed."
"Yeah, well… I guess back then I thought he was a cocky teenager who talked too much. But he said some things to me that buried themselves deep in my soul."
"He can be blunt at times." Haku admitted. "But… getting back to Orochimaru… who do you suppose those guys up ahead are?"
"Hmm… We're the only ones patrolling this sector and the civilians have been asked to stay in the village until the end of the second exam." Four shinobi were ahead of them, hidden by the winding trail they had yet to come into view.
"Also, didn't you say Orochimaru's hideouts were all under ground? With all this water, shouldn't this one be flooded?" Haku lifted one hand, forming a series of seals that grabbed several droplets of water on the way to the ground, converting them into ice that circled around the smiling teen like a halo.
"Should be, yeah. But he used a mechanical water pump when it was active so if he's back it's possible it could be dry." Itachi watched as Haku sent the ice crystals sailing through the air toward the unknown chakra. They both waited silently for a few minutes as Haku closed his eyes and concentrated. When he finally opened them he shook his head lightly and smiled, "They're only Sand ninja. Probably doing their own patrol. I heard the Kazekage's kids are in the exam."
Itachi breathed a small sigh of relief. "Then let's go check out that hideout. No point in bugging them."
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"Oh. Lord Fugaku, you're home early." Sheeta was sweeping the already-spotless hallway rather absent-mindedly. Her pale yellow dress was covered with a white apron and her hair was tied back with a white scarf.
"It's ten in the evening, Sheeta. Why are you still here? Go home and get some rest."
"I promised Lady Mikoto I would take care of you all while she was gone, of course." Sheeta gave him a fake laugh and went back to sweeping the non-existent dirt off the floor.
Fugaku stepped forward and removed the broom from her grasp, "If you sweep anymore you'll wear out the floor-boards. Now why are you really here?"
Sheeta met his eyes for a second, but when she couldn't read what he was thinking she dropped them back down to the floor. "Your son's a jerk."
"Like father like son."
Not knowing how to react to that without insulting the powerful clan lord she decided to keep her mouth shut. Sheeta had always been a little afraid of Fugaku and it didn't help when Mikoto had told her, rather bluntly, that he wouldn't think twice about knocking her down if she bad-mouthed him the way she did everyone else.
Fugaku spoke again, "Now why are you here?"
"I… think Itachi and me need to talk." Her voice was smaller than usual and she wrapped her arms around her body.
"About what?"
"I… I don't really know." Sheeta admitted truthfully. She had avoided her boyfriend for a whole day, but this morning she had decided that she preferred confrontation and had come over expecting to wait around until he arrived. But as the day wore on she was less and less sure about what exactly she wanted to confront him about. It wasn't like they were poor, or homeless, or without support. The only issue that really kept going through her mind, over and over, was his betrayal. It stung horribly and she had found herself reduced to tears several times.
"You really are too young, Sheeta." Fugaku sighed.
"I…I'm sorry." She didn't know why she apologized.
"Go upstairs and lay down on Itachi's bed and try to get some sleep. He and Haku went to see Zabuza at the hospital so he'll be back soon, probably." Fugaku looked over the girl standing in front of him, and he was suddenly struck with just how thin and frail she appeared. With a build similar to Itachi's and only a couple inches shorter she differed from the boy in that she had remained sinewy instead of building muscles. Where Mikoto was strong and confident, Sheeta seemed weak and unsure. It annoyed him. The girl turned around and started to walk silently towards the staircase.
"Sheeta…" Fugaku called out in a stern voice, "as the future wife of my heir you have a reputation to uphold. Both yours and Itachi's. That cannot be accomplished if you are unable to mask your emotions and stand beside Itachi as a powerful matriarch. As of now, you are no longer a child."
Stopping just short of the stairs Sheeta turned around and gazed at the clan chief as the color drained from her face. "What… I…"
"You were chosen to be his wife because of a shortage of females his own age. However, that doesn't have to be the case. There are other women in the clan still in their child-bearing years as well a branch in Mist. Remember that before you do something you would regret."
"I… would never hurt my baby!" Sheeta gasped, not understanding what Fugaku was getting at.
"Of course not. However, I do sense you would like to hurt Itachi. And while that can't be accomplished physically, you could, no doubt, do severe damage to him mentally. In case you hadn't noticed, he isn't exactly 'normal'."
Sheeta found her nerve and spoke up, "So I should pussy-foot around him? Is that what you're saying? Manipulate him instead of being straight-forward?"
"That does work best when dealing with Itachi, yes."
"I can't believe you just said that." Sheeta nearly whispered, "What kind of a father does that to his own son?"
"The kind of father who knows what his psychopath of a son is capable of."
"I'm sure you're exaggerating."
"Sheeta… are you forgetting what Itachi tried to do three years ago? Or that he tried to kill another kid when he was only five? Or his fascination for spilled blood? Or the many breakdowns he has had throughout the years?"
"Why are you telling me this?" Sheeta wrapped her arms around her torso and realized she was shaking.
"Itachi is the kind of man who puts people on pedestals and worships them. Obito, Shisui, Sasuke, you… He believes none of you can do any wrong and would fight to the death to prove himself right."
"You're playing mind games with me. You're making it sound like I don't know Itachi at all. I grew up with him, remember?"
"You think so? Itachi has a lot to talk to you about Sheeta, but he will, no doubt, take his time about it. Remember… those who worship at pedestals aren't always as saintly as those they revere. Now go get some rest." Fugaku turned around and headed toward the kitchen, hoping he had made an impression on the troublesome girl. While he worried about the reputation of the head family – image was very important to him after all – he found himself worrying more about his eldest son's well-being and he didn't want Sheeta to get in the way of any happiness Itachi could squeeze out his remaining years.
And also… "I don't want to see what happens when he realizes that the people he worships are just as human as he is." The destruction the Mangekyou Sharingan was capable of in the hands of a half-mad Uchiha was not something Fugaku wanted to see. His thoughts turned to Sasuke and the part of the fight he had not conveyed to Itachi. The ANBU who had been observing team seven's fight in the Forest of Death had relayed the words the young Uchiha had uttered as he awakened the seal. Shuddering, Fugaku closed his eyes and cursed Orochimaru for the millionth time. Sasuke had always wanted to be like his older brother. To be as powerful as Itachi and be recognized by the clan. Well, now he had that power, and with it would no doubt come recognition – for good or bad.
"So powerful… this is the gift he gave me… I will use this… even if I have to sell my soul to the devil."
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Next week the second exam ends and the third exam begins. Orochimaru makes an appearance as well. Also, what happens when Mikoto finds out what Itachi has been up to?
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