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.

39. Chapter 39 Another Betrothal

Thanks for all the reviews and favs!

I was kind of disappointed the manga didn't show more of Karin and Sasuke alone in that alternate world Madara sent them to. But I guess Kishimoto doesn't write stuff like that. xD I keep having this mental image of Sasuke waking up and finding out he's alone with a love-crazed fangirl and freaking out. Oh well.

Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Kishimoto

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Chapter 39 – Another Betrothal

"Is everyone here?" Madara strode purposefully into the room and took a mental roll call of those present before he sat down on a cushion at the head of the long table. He glanced over at Sasuke and smiled at the boy who was sitting on his knees and staring intently at the floor. "Sasuke, as per your parents request I selected several girls your age to become candidates for betrothal. Of that list, three remain. Before you are Aina, Natsuko and Takara."

Sasuke looked at the three girls sitting across the table from him and his parents and brother. There was no doubt they were Uchihas. Their dark hair, dark eyes, olive skin and expensive kimonos spoke of the heredity and wealth present within the clan. However, their intent, focused expressions and complete lack of demureness surprised the boy. They sat on their knees with their hands folded across their laps and their heads lifted high, instead of the more commonly accepted pose of "look at the ground and don't make eye contact." He had the most uncomfortable feeling that he was being sized up as the main course for a feast.

And if the girls' stares weren't enough, their parents were one hundred times worse. All six had their Sharingan's visible and were sending off waves of powerful chakra that, while not filled with "killing intent" were definitely expressing images of the many unpleasant things they would do to Sasuke should their daughters be wronged.

Fugaku and Mikoto kept their cool and sat comfortably on either side of their son, with Itachi sitting cross-legged behind him. They had surprised Sasuke the previous evening with the announcement that he would be meeting his future wife the next day. He had completely forgotten about it; which was surprising since it was the one things he was looking forward to during their stay in Mist. However, after the events of the last few days, he was now dreading it. His life was moving too fast. There were too many things going on. Too many changes. At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to go back home to his friends. To be with Naruto, Sakura, and the others.

Sasuke jumped slightly when he felt his father's elbow gently prod him in the ribs. He gave Fugaku a dirty look that quickly turned to understanding when his father nodded his head toward the girls. "Oh!" Sasuke got the message and blushed slightly as he bowed his head, "I am pleased to meet you. I am Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha."

Each of the girls introduced themselves in turn, bowing their heads stiffly before turning their gaze back to Sasuke.

"What are their qualifications?" Mikoto asked in a reassuring voice.

Madara answered, "All three are Chuunin level and actively involved in missions for Mist village. They have all gone through the ceremony and developed Mangekyou Sharingan and are from families of four or more children. You can be assured that the genes they will pass on to their children will be of the highest caliber."

"They… everyone goes through that?" Sasuke had heard Sora mention something to that affect down in the stadium, but his memories of that day were sketchy. The only thing he remembered clearly was the fight itself, and his father's betrayal.

"Yes." Madara stated plainly. "In fact, none of the parents of the candidates would allow their daughters to marry someone who hasn't gone through the ceremony."

Sasuke was about to respond when he felt a hand on his back. Looking back he saw that Itachi had moved closer to him and seemed to be silently asking him to not make a scene. However, Sasuke had never been one to keep his mouth shut.

"So you kill off half your clan in fights in order to perpetuate… what?"

No one reacted and for a few seconds it was silent. Finally Madara spoke up in a stern voice, "Uchiha is a clan that is proud of its heritage and its position of power in the world…"

Sasuke interrupted, "Don't give me that crap. You guys are hiding here in Mist. They don't even know you exist."

"I assure you, young Sasuke, that will be changing very soon."

"And I assure you, old Madara, that will not be the only thing that will be changing." Sasuke met the eyes of the man who had fathered him with a look that held all the anger and frustration he had been carrying around with him for the last two days.

"Are you trying to piss off your prospective brides and in-laws, Sasuke?" Madara taunted.

"No, I'm trying to piss you off."

He couldn't help it, Madara suddenly burst out laughing before turning to the girls' parents, who were all wearing expressions of amusement. "You see why I had to ask for a more assertive girl? It's going to take a lot of work to keep this man in line."

"Don't change the subject." Sasuke said angrily.

Madara smiled, "Sasuke, I can't predict the future. But what I do know is that the more we try to change things, the more they stay the same."

"That makes no sense at all." Itachi piped up.

Madara shrugged, "True. But sometimes when you tell people that it shuts them up. I guess you're not one of those people."

Sasuke mumbled, "That makes even less sense."

This time it was Fugaku who chuckled, "We should probably move on. Sasuke needs to get back to his training."

"Getting back to business then," Madara leaned back on his hands and stared at the ceiling for a moment, "the Uchiha no longer use a dowry system, so there will be no money paid by either the groom or brides family. There will be a minimum of four children born before divorce will be allowed. Marriage will take place at the age of eighteen. The bride will move to Konoha at that time…"

"Not now?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"No. They are too young. You understand, their parents want to be with them as long as possible."

"I don't mind going now." Aina said suddenly.

Natsuko spoke up, "It would be fun. I hear Konoha is much more open than Mist."

"Sasuke's cute. I'd love to see him everyday." Takara's suggestive look surprised Sasuke and without realizing it, he scooted back a couple inches on his cushion.

Madara shook his head and continued, "In six years a decision will be made. You will all see each other over that time of course."

"Can I have all three?" Sasuke was surprised when everyone, including the girls, laughed at him. He actually had hoped they would get mad. In his present mood he had an overwhelming urge to pick a fight. And after all, girls were supposed to be jealous, right?

"You got a lot to learn, my boy." Fugaku said as he wiped his eyes.

Sasuke frowned and turned his gaze back to the floor.

"I suppose we could share." Aina piped up, a big smile playing across her lips.

"Aina, behave yourself." Her mother shook her head in amusement at her daughter's forwardness.

"'kay!" Aina flashed her mother a big grin then winked at Sasuke. The boy had no idea what that was supposed to mean and glanced back at his brother. Itachi had his eyes closed and was rubbing his temple with one hand, as if trying to sooth a headache.

Madara continued, "Any children from the marriage will be citizens of the Konoha branch of the Uchiha clan and subject to its laws. The wife will be a citizen of the Konoha branch of the Uchiha clan unless she chooses to divorce Sasuke and move back to Mist."

"Not acceptable." Fugaku interrupted. "That would be a perfect way for you to place a spy within Konoha. I must insist that should the woman be divorced or widowed she remain within our jurisdiction."

"That's not really fair." One of the mother's replied calmly.

Fugaku snorted in derision, "Since when did Shinobi start using the word 'fair'? However, I can assure you that you daughter will have many other female friends to bond with. Should she have problems with Sasuke, Mikoto and Sheeta will always lend an ear. Assuming of course that the woman was not the one to cause the problems."

"Humph." The woman folder her arms across her chest and stared straight into Fugaku's eyes. "Acceptable."

Madara nodded, "So is it okay with the rest of you?"

The six parents nodded, but for the first time the girls looked uncertain.

Mikoto smiled, "It's okay. I promise I won't become the evil mother-in-law. Also, you and Sasuke will be living in your own house, since he is the second son. Is that okay? You can even come to visit Konoha. In fact, I think it would be a good idea for you too see it. If you decide you really hate it there, now is the time to back out."

"Okay." The girls all spoke as smiles of relief showed on their faces.

"Well then." Madara stood up. "That's that. Fugaku, if this meets with your approval , then you and I have another meeting to attend to."

Fugaku patted Sasuke on the shoulder once and looked down at him, "This is your decision, Sasuke."

"Like last time was." The bitterness in Sasuke's voice cut into Fugaku, but he was careful to hide his emotions.

"No Sasuke. This…"

Sasuke interrupted his father. "It's acceptable."

Mikoto stood up and bent down to run her hand through her youngest son's shoulder-length hair, "Thank-you Sasuke. I know it's been tough for you, but this day should be remembered as being happy."

"I… okay." He turned to the girls, "It was a pleasure to meet you."

Itachi stood up and moved next to his mother who suddenly looked at him, alarmed, "Itachi! When did you get to be taller than me?"

"Huh?" Both Itachi and Sasuke looked confused at the sudden change in subject.

"Wow!" Sasuke couldn't help the amazement in his voice, "You are taller than mom. I bet in another few months you'll be taller than dad."

Fugaku smirked, "It was bound to happen one of these days."

Itachi saw the observation as a non-issue and just nodded his head to acknowledge his families comments before turning to his brother, "We have to train now, Sasuke. Come with me."

Sasuke waved at the girls as he followed his brother out of the room.

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"So which one do you want?" Itachi teased after they exited the building. The Uchiha clan's Mist compound was full of people taking care of mid-morning errands or just passing time. It was so different from Konoha. At the dinner the night before he had made a rough count of those in attendance and determined that there was probably around three times more Uchihas in Mist than in Konoha. And there were a lot of children.

"Don't know yet." Sasuke replied truthfully. "I didn't ask, but I bet mom will have them over for lunch or something before we leave in a few days. But… how will it be decided? Do I get to choose?"

"Good question." Itachi stopped walking and looked down at his brother, "I think, given that the earliest you can marry is six years away, their parents are probably hoping for attrition. That is, two girls back out leaving just one. That's the 'nice' way for it to happen."

"What's the 'not nice' way?" Sasuke had a sudden mental image of the three girls in the underground arena fighting to the death for the right to marry him and shuddered involuntarily. It couldn't possibly go that far, could it?

"More meetings. Our parents and their parents get together and work things out somehow. Or they may ask you to pick one. Hard to say."

"They won't…" Sasuke's voice lowered to a whisper, "have to fight… will they?"

Itachi laughed, "You have quite an imagination, Sasuke. No. That won't happen."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Itachi turned serious, "Look, I know things have been really shitty this week, but… Sasuke… you said you want to change things here. Were you just flapping your lips to make Madara mad at you, or were you serious?"

"I was trying to make Madara mad but… I don't like the idea that these people have to go through that. I mean… those kids…" He pointed at a group of young Uchihas who were probably between six and eight, "could be dead in a few years. How can they do that? When Zabuza told me about the final exam here it seemed barbaric, but having gone through it… I don't know… it's just the worst thing you can do to someone. It's just…" His voice faded away and he dropped his gaze to the dirt road.

"I'm not sure yet how to go about it. I haven't given it any thought at all, but these are going to be your in-laws and if there is a chance your children might get sucked into this mess… then… I have to do something." He smiled warmly at his brother's shocked expression. "Now let's go. I want to teach you Amaterasu today."

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"What are you reading?" Madara squatted down next to the four-year-old old who was sitting in the middle of the grass in the garden outside his private quarters.

Frowning, Arata gazed up at the tall man, "A book."

Madara laughed, "I can see that. But why are you here, Arata? I bet Nui is missing you."

The boy stuck out his lower lip and pouted, "Yori won't leave me alone. He can't read yet. I have to hide from him."

"Is that any way for you to treat your brother?"

"He started it! He wrote in my book and Nui had to buy me a new one and he didn't even get in trouble for it! It's not fair! Then she yelled at me because I hit him for ruining my book and it was his fault!"

Madara had to resist the urge to smile. He seemed to remember a similar argument between himself and Izuna. "Well, you got a new book. Did Yori get one?"

"No."

"Does he usually get something if you get something?"

"Yeah."

"So there you have it. He was punished. I bet he was mad when you got your new book and he got nothing."

"Yeah…" Arata admitted hesitantly. "But it was just a replacement."

Madara gave a short laugh, "I bet he doesn't understand that, though. He thinks you got a new toy."

The boy's face lit up, finally grasping what the tall man was getting at, "Oh."

"Why can't Yori read?" Madara settled himself down onto the grass and lifted Arata onto his lap so he could see the book.

"Don't know. I try to tell him what the words are but he gets mad."

"Hmm." He looked closer at the book at saw that it was children's book, about twenty pages with large type and brightly colored pictures of children dressed as ninja's and practicing tai jutsu. It was probably a book geared for a six- or seven-year-old and he was suddenly reminded of Itachi when he was four. The boy had been so small and delicate looking, it was unnerving how powerful he had been at such an early age.

Arata, on the other hand, while small for his age, was sturdy and didn't look "delicate" at all. His twin was slightly larger but had the same build as his brother.

"So do you know any jutsus?" Madara asked kindly.

"I can walk on water!" Arata stated proudly, then climbed out of Madara's lap and ran to the pond. "Watch!" As he stepped out onto the pond Madara jumped closer so he could pull him out when he fell in. However, the boy didn't fall. He stood perfectly balanced on top of the murky green water, looking very smug. "Yori can't do this either!"

"Good boy!" Madara laughed, "Your going to be a great Uchiha at this rate. I'm very proud of you."

"Really?" The boy walked off the water and stood directly in front of his new friend, "No one else is. They yell at me because Yori can't do stuff."

Madara knelt down again and placed both hands on the boy's shoulders, "He probably tries to copy you and gets hurt. They're not upset with you, Arata, they're afraid Yori will get hurt. Do you understand?"

"Yeah." Arata said after a pause. "So I try things out in secret."

"Arata, I want you to make me a promise."

"Okay." His eyes looked up at Madara, implicit trust written into his young face.

"Don't practice ninja stuff alone. If you get hurt no one will know. If you died, everyone would be sad."

"Sad?"

"You know, like your parents are dead. Everyone is sad about that."

"Oh. But I can't do ninja stuff then. No one will let me." The boy was pouting again.

"Just promise me that, and I'll speak with Nui about finding you a teacher. Okay?"

Pearly white teeth suddenly glistened as the boy opened his mouth wide in a happy smile and popped his thumb up into the air, "It's a deal!"

Madara laughed, "Now you should go back to Nui before she gets mad that you're gone."

"Yay!" Arata grasped his book protectively to his chest and took off running. Madara noted that not only was the boy literate, but he seemed to have a good sense of direction. He mentally tracked his chakra back to the house he was sharing with Nui.

"That's quite a boy." Madara said to no one in particular, "I shouldn't have been so rash in letting him return to Konoha." He had made his decision wholly based on the fact that the twins had been developing slower than normal toddlers. He had decided there was probably nothing remarkable about them. However, Arata had more than made up for that.

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"That was really sweet." Aya stepped off the porch and moved closer to her fiancé.

"Humph." Madara stood up and gathered his long hair away from his face. The wind had picked up slightly and was blowing it around.

"You really like kids, don't you?"

"Of course I do. A long time ago… when I was leader of the clan I used to teach them. They are the future of the Uchiha."

"You are a hypocrite, you know." Aya went on to say.

Madara frowned, "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" Aya put her finger to her chin and spoke thoughtfully, "Hmmm. I guess… it would be the way you act all nice and everything one minute, then the next minute send them into an arena to kill each other. You even record the videos and watch them later."

"Ah. You found that. I assure you, it was only Sasuke's fight I recorded. I'm not into snuff videos. Never have been."

"You could have fooled me."

"Aya…"

"He could have died."

"He could still die." Madara stated truthfully. "He's a ninja, Aya. Ninja have a habit of dying. This world… it's corrupt. Too many people die. Too many wars."

"Then stop them. Stop fighting. Stop…"

Madara voice turned kind, "Stop being a ninja?" He moved closer and took Aya's chin in his hand. "I will bring peace to this world, princess. Our children will grow up in that peaceful world. But in order for peace to mean anything, there must first be war."

"I… don't understand."

He bent down and captured his lips with his, pulling her closer to his body, "Our children will grow up without war, Aya, that is all you need to know."

"That's not enough." Aya pulled away and rested her head on Madara's chest, "I can't just accept your word. You forget, I've seen war. Me and my family… after we left father… we wandered around taking jobs for chump change. Some days we didn't eat. Some days… some days we spent praying because mother or big brother had been wounded and we couldn't afford a doctor. Grass and Stone were fighting then. They didn't care who was in the middle. No one cared. Then mother died and it was just us kids… I don't want my kids to go through that. I don't want anyone…"

Madara grasped her shoulders and pulled her away enough to look down into her eyes. "Aya, I haven't forgotten what you went through. It is part of the reason you are the way you are. And Aya, in my world… in the peace I will bring to this planet… there will be no fighting. There will be no need for Shinobi. Itachi and Sasuke are vital to the development of that world. Aya, I need you to think of the destination and turn a blind eye to the journey. Because there is no backing out at this point."

"I… um…" Aya had no idea what to say to that. It sounded vaguely like the ramblings of a mad man.

Madara bent down and kissed his bride again, "Just wait and see. I promise, you will be happy." He smiled when the woman nodded and turned away with a confused expression on her face. "It'll be soon, Aya."

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Mikoto sat on a chair across from the blue haired woman who was dressed in purple kimono decorated with a garden motif. She herself was wearing a yellow kimono that had white birds flying over an ocean. It was mid-afternoon and, upon hearing that her son's Akatsuki associate was a female and in Mist, had decided to invite her for tea.

Konan was small, only a couple inches over five feet, and very thin. Despite being the same age as Mikoto, she looked very young. However, it was her eyes that aged her. The emptiness and suffering that showed through their heavy-lidded depths was not something Mikoto would forget any time soon.

Surprisingly, the woman was very polite. Mikoto wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but based off her introduction to Deidara and Kisame, she certainly didn't think the only Akatsuki woman would have such good manners.

"Are you staying for the wedding?" Mikoto asked as she sipped her green tea.

"Yes. I expected that we would leave right away, but Pein wishes to stay. It's been years since I've been to a wedding, though. And that was nothing like this."

"Hmm. This is definitely a little more lavish than I'm used to as well. While Fugaku and I had a big wedding it was… well, being the bride I guess I was paying too much attention to the prospect of marrying the clan chief to actually pay attention to the details. My aunt handled all of that."

Konan gave a small laugh, "Understandable. It's easier to be a guest than the bride. Or groom for that matter. All you have to do is show up, say a few words of encouragement, give the newlyweds a gift and leave." She looked up at the ceiling before turning her gaze back to Mikoto, "Then again, being the bride has its benefits."

"True, true!" Mikoto laughed, "Being the center of attention, even for a few hours, is certainly memorable. So are you and Pein married? You seem rather close."

Konan set her cup down and folded her hands in her lap. "I…"

Mikoto sensed her discomfort and spoke up, "You don't have to answer that. I apologize for bringing it up."

"Thank-you." Konan picked her cup up again and sipped, "Pein and I are very close. We grew up together. But I don't want to go into the details. You understand."

"I was in Rain as a Genin." Mikoto said quietly. "The war was going on…"

"Genin? Why would they… you were just a child…"

"I know. It's not something I'll ever forget. I had nightmares for years. One of my teammates quit the ninja corp and became a merchant after that. He died during the coup in the tunnel collapse."

"And now you watch your own children go through all that as well."

Mikoto was surprised at Konan's words. After all, Itachi was in the organization that her friend was the leader of. "If I could protect them… keep them safe from the world and all its ills, I would feel better. But it would do them no favors. This world is a cruel place and pretending it isn't… it just makes things worse."

Konan smiled again, this time her expression softened and for a moment her eyes seemed to come alive, "That is true. Itachi is definitely your son. I can see a lot of him in you. It's too bad…" The sentence was left unfinished and as curious as Mikoto was to find out what the other woman had left unsaid, she knew better than to ask.

"But it isn't a good thing to only look at the bad." Mikoto smiled, "There are a lot of good times to remember as well. Plus, the future isn't all that bleak either. If you spend all your time remembering the bad, even when the sun comes out it will still feel as cold and hard as the rain."

Konan blinked in surprise, but recovered quickly, "That may be true, but pretending the sun is out when its raining is much more dangerous. I sense that you do that a lot."

It was blunt and Mikoto wondered if this friendly tea was really as friendly as it seemed. Konan was not only extremely observant but very skilled at speaking. "It's hard to explain… but… I guess… I just want…"

"To be the sun that shines on your family's rainy day? You realize that the sun already shines. It's the clouds and not the rain that blocks it. You're heart is in the right place, Mikoto. No one will deny that. But you will alienate your sons if you keep this up."

"Keep this…" Mikoto repeated quietly.

"It's better to support them with reality than hide behind false happiness."

"I… don't get what you mean." Mikoto was confused. Not only by Konan's words, but by the fact that she wasn't getting angry with the woman's bluntness. If anyone else had said that to her she would have been fuming by now.

"I did the same thing a long time ago. I thought I could support my friends by being happy and cheerful, by pretending that everything was okay. I thought it would dry their tears and fill their bellies, but I was wrong. It almost drove us apart. They didn't need me to be their 'sunshine', they needed me to be their 'angel'. A person to stand next to them no matter what and accept the world as it is and help them change it. So that is the person I became. It was easy, Mikoto, because that is the real me. That other person was a fake. A show put on to make my friends like me. And they knew it."

"You really think I'm doing the same thing?" It seemed incredible. Mikoto had sworn to herself to be happy and accept her life and while it was difficult, it had made the passing years easier to live through. Or so she had thought.

"You would understand your life better than I." Konan took another sip of her tea.

"Hmm." Mikoto was silent for a few minutes as she considered the other woman's words. "It's more of a balancing act, Konan. I won't ask if you have children, but… seeing their eyes light up when you give them a moment of peace and happiness with just your smile or words is neither fake nor unwelcome. However, there are times when nothing you say or do can get through to them. I learned that the hard way with Itachi and I pray to god I'm not making the same mistake with Sasuke. But their father… I have no idea how to get through to Fugaku. He isn't the type to let anyone into his mind."

Konan smiled, "You love him. That, perhaps is all he needs."

"Yes, it might be. He isn't demanding, nor does he expect to be waited on. If he was the only person I had to worry about it would be so much easier. But I have the boys, and as the matron of the Uchiha clan I have all of them to worry about as well. And Sheeta and the baby. But what Fugaku does affects all of them and not always for the best."

"Ah yes, our Itachi is going to be a father." Konan gave a small laugh as she easily changed the subject, "It's hard to believe. He's so serious all the time, I wonder how that's going to work out?"

"I don't know," Mikoto admitted, "but it'll be fun to find out." The tea ended shortly after that and as she watched Konan walk gracefully out of the room she looked down at the tea table and saw an origami tulip lying next to her cup. She picked it up and looked it over carefully. It was perfectly folded and the pure white paper was smooth and soft to the touch.

"There's something written inside." Mikoto said quietly as she the faint outline of words. Folding back one of the leaves, her mouth dropped in surprise at the words Konan had somehow written without her noticing.

"Thank-you for your smile and kind words."

"I have a feeling, I'm probably the only person besides Pein that Konan has spoken to in a long time." Mikoto looked up at the door the blue-haired woman had departed through. It had been an odd encounter, with an even odder woman, but when all was said and done, she was glad she had invited her to tea.

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Next week, the wedding finally happens.

Okay, this chapter was pretty boring, but I wanted to do some character development and I wanted Konan and Mikoto to meet. That was hard to write. What would Mikoto and Konan talk about anyway? I figured relationships would be logical, but then I started to think that Konan was probably lonely if the only person she was around was Pein. How would that affect her? Either way, the conversation seems a little wooden.

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