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.

67. Chapter 67 Confusion Before the Storm

Thanks for all the reviews and favs

I really need to go back over the chapters and fix a bunch of stuff - including those missing section dividers. It still pisses me off that they disappeared, and the way the site is constructed makes editing an already posted chapter time-consuming.

Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Kishimoto

Chapter 67 The Confusion Before the Storm

Morning shifted silently into afternoon as the sun continued to hide behind the ever-present mists of the small village. The late spring rains had finally halted, but the respite was expected to be temporary. Even so, the residents took little notice of the fog or the rain, or the time of day. The people in this town had much more important things on their minds.

Their kage had revealed to them that the allies they had thought they had only a few short months earlier had deserted them. Betrayed them. And now they were preparing for war. A war they were going to start.

X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Lying on her bed Aya couldn't help but reflect on the past and how she had ended up becoming the wife of Madara Uchiha. It all seemed so hectic, so unlikely and above all, nightmarish.

She had killed a man under the mistaken belief that he had some dirt on Itachi concerning Shisui's death and was going to use it to blackmail him if she refused to marry him.

It had been a mistake, and while it had taken a while, she had come to regret it. A long stream of "what-ifs" floated through her head, the chief one being that she should have just swallowed her pride and married that jerk. So many things would have been different.

She would still be in Konoha.

That jerk would still be alive.

Sasuke, and herself for that matter, wouldn't have been tricked into getting the Mangekyou Sharingan, and...

She sighed as she stared up at the wooded ceiling as she lay one hand over her stomach.

And her child would not have a demon for a father.

Well, perhaps. It was easy to live in a world of "what ifs" where everything turned out rosy if you had walked a different path. She was certainly smart enought to realize that, but that bit of wisdom did little to change her direction of thinking.

Rolling over on her side she stared out through the plate glass windows at the midday fog beyond them. Time and time again she was thankful that Madara had let her keep this room. He only called for her occasionally and lately, since discovering her new condition she had been completely avoiding him.

Sora, who had been the first to notice the growing bundle of joyful chakra in her abdomen, had promised not to say anything, But had also threatened her if anything happened to he child because of her silence.

Truth was, she had no idea how Madara was going to take it. He clearly doted on Sasuke, and there was no doubt the sorrow he felt over is dead children was real, but this was different. Sora had also been unable to predict his nephew's feelings, and given the events of late, nothing at all seemed predictable.

Sitting up she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She had managed to keep her secret for two weeks, but avoiding Madara any longer than that would be impossible. That left only one alternative.

Getting to her feet she threw a white, knitted shawl over shoulders to protect herself from the cool mists and stepped out of her room onto the porch. She had a feeling she knew where to find him.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

The door to Madara's office was shut tight and she paused for a few seconds to stare at it. Reaching up to knock she was interrupted by a harsh voice.

"What is it Aya?" Madara was in a foul mood and she felt her resolve quickly crumbling.

"I... I need to speak with you."

The door slid open and Sasuke looked up at her with an expression that nearly broke her already crumbling heart. The boy was suffering from conflicted emotions and conflicting duties and she knew it was all Madara's doing. In his eyes was written all the sorrow his young life had experience and all the pain he feared he had yet to experience.

"Can... can we speak alone?" Aya pushed forward, knowing if she ran away now it would probably be another two weeks before she could get up the nerve to try again. She tried not to look at the young boy, now standing behind her, feeling much too fragile to deal with him at the moment.

"Aya, I'm busy..." but he was interrupted by Sora, who had rightly guessed why she was there.

"Come on Sasuke. Why don't we get going now? It's about time for your sparring lesson... in fact I think you are late. See you later, Madara."

"He sure left in a hurry." Madara turned his attention to Aya with a suspicious eye.

She took a deep breath, "So... I..."

"If this is about you being pregnant I already know." Madara replied calmly.

"You... already... know?" Anger surface rather quickly, much to her surprise, and she advanced on him with her fists tightly clenched and face wrinkled up into a snarl. "I've been worried all this time about how to tell you and you already know? How?"

"Oh, so that's why you've been so moody." Madara drawled lazily, "Anyway, our clan has this thing called the 'Sharingan'...Ever hear of it?"

"Humph" She was quite positive he had not paid her any attention in about a month, yet apparently she had been very wrong about that.

"If you are considering names I have already decided."

"Izuna, right?" It was Madara's turn to look surprised, but it passed quickly and he laughed at her cleverness.

"I can be quite obvious at times." Madara sighed. "No doubt you would prefer 'Shisui' but I rather think Itachi will be naming his first son that."

Aya nodded, "Sheeta and I spoke about it. True, we both want to use that name, but I know it would cause problems if your son bore that name, given your relationship to Konoha. Although she also said Itachi didn't seem to have any preference for either name or gender."

"Well I guess there's no reason for him to be picky." He looked his wife over, as if sizing her up for something before taking her in his arms, "Our child will grow up in a world without war, Aya. That is my gift to you."

"What if it's a girl?" Aya asked quietly, resting her head on his broad chest.

"Then you get to pick the name. It's only fair, right?"

"Sure." As the woman listened closely to his heartbeat she could feel her own heart rate speed up. Madara's self confidence was not something she was able to take comfort in. Worse, was the fact that he never considered the possibility of failure. To him, the war had already won and all he was doing now was cleaning up a few messes.

"My Lord… Madara… if you fail…"

"That won't happen."

Aya pressed on, "If you fail I won't have anywhere to go. The baby… and Sasuke for that matter… also won't have a home. Konoha won't take us back and Mist won't let us stay."

"True, that would be the result. The happy result. The unhappy result would be that you, the baby and Sasuke would be killed. However, as I have just stated, I will win and the three of you are in no danger."

"So Sasuke…"

"Sasuke has his duties. There is a strong possibility he will survive them, but perhaps you should spend some time with him in case he doesn't."

"So… by 'strong' you mean a small chance instead of no chance?"

"Yeah. That's exactly what I mean." Madara's expression went cold as he released his hold on his wife and strode out of the room without looking back at her.

Aya couldn't help herself as she dropped down onto one of the chairs and began sobbing. "It's all my fault." She muttered between her tears. "I'm so sorry."

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

"Entering Konoha will be easier if we coordinate our attack to match Ki's invasion." Madara explained to the three men in front of him. "Beniha was able to infiltrate Ki village and has been able to work her way, via Sharingan, into the upper levels. We now know when they will attack."

Everyone nodded their approval. The ninjas had been specially chosen for a mission that they knew was nothing short of suicide. Yet their belief in their leader and the plan he was working toward was worth more to them than their lives.

"Everyone believes Fugaku is our target, yet there is someone else I want you to kill first. After that, you may go after Fugaku if you wish, but don't attempt it if you get too depleted with your fist target. You would have no chance of success and your capture could work against us."

"Who are we going after?" One of them, a dark haired Uchiha who had dyed streaks of green in his waist length pony-tail spoke up in a loud, clear voice.

Madara opened a folder on his desk and everyone crowded together to look. Staring back up at them was the image of a middle-aged blonde woman with blue eyes and a blue diamond on her forehead.

"Tsunade of the Senju."

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

While Mist was preparing for war, Konoha was also making plans. Teams were recalled from the field, alliances were reviewed and defenses tested. Having gone through a civil war just a few short years earlier, everyone knew what they were getting themselves into.

And no one was looking forward to it.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x xx

"The name Akatsuki as chosen by Madara." Konan explained in a soft voice in answer to a question posed by Tsunade who was sitting on the couch next to her in the Hokage's office. "It seems to hold some sort of special meaning for him."

"Hmmm. 'Daybreak'. It is very optimistic. I wonder if it could be a clue as to what he is planning."

"Good question." The woman answered. "Pein and I have been brainstorming over that exact supposition. But nothing stands out. It certainly has something to do with the Sharingan. Even Fugaku is at a loss, though."

"Hmm." Tsunade glanced at the door as Fugaku entered, followed closely by Itachi and Jiraiya.

The afternoon sun streamed through the large plate glass windows bathing the room in bright sunshine as everyone situated themselves on one of the two couches. Itachi took the opportunity to look closely at Konan.

The woman was dressed plainly in a pair of brown pants with a white yukata trimmed with more brown. Her heeled boots were black and unadorned. He found himself wondering if she had ever dressed up. The clothes she had worn to the wedding had been very nice, but for some reason Konan's demeanor, despite her orphaned upbringing, was more regal than most noblewomen he had met in his life, and he reluctantly added Mikoto and Sheeta to that list as well.

"Well, to start off," Tsunade got right down to business, looking over those gathered before her; however she stopped in confusion and did a double take of the assembled group, "Where is Kakashi?"

"He's right here!" A woman's voice called out from the hallway, followed closely by a man's protestations of some perceived wrong.

"Ah. Caught again." Fugaku observed. Kakashi was pushed into the room by Shizune, who put her hands on her hips and grinned maliciously at the masked ninja, who proceeded to smile at everyone and scratch the back of his head.

"I guess I'm the last one here." He pulled up a chair and set it next to the end of the couch where Itachi was seated.

"To return to the issue at hand." Fugaku glanced at the Hokage who was silently grinding her teeth at the tardy Kakashi.

"Yes." She continued, "Lady Konan has been working with Jiraiya to come up with some kind of mutual agreement between rain and Konoha that will allow an exchange of resources, including ninja squads in the event... or rather I should say... when Madara attacks."

"This what you were doing at Kisame's cabin?" Itachi asked, a little doubtful about the connection. After all, something like that would have been batter settled in Konoha or Rain than a small house in the middle of nowhere.

"No… that was something else entirely. Well, actually, you see, it is based off that alliance Tsunade just mentioned, but we were talking about something else." Jiraiya grinned broadly as everyone looked at him, very thoroughly confused.

"What Jiraiya is trying to say is that I want Kisame to side with Rain." Konan replied, "But he is holding out. He supports Madara, and seems to be quite vested in his plan. In fact, he knows, in full detail, what it's going to be. But all he'll say is that there is no way it won't work. That it is the only way to bring true peace to the world."

Jiraiya continued, "He also told us that a month ago Madara sealed away two more demons, using himself, Zetsu, Kakazu, Sasori, and some new guy named..." He scrunched his face in concentration and looked at Konan.

"Hidan." Konan added.

"Yeah that's it. Anyway, he was also able to retrieve Orochimaru's ring and gave it to another new guy, although Kisame didn't know who he was."

"It wasn't Sasuke was it?" Itachi asked warily.

"I hope to god it wasn't." Tsunade replied, "I'm not sure how we would handle it if it came to that. We can certainly argue that he's being unduly influence by Madara and I personally believe that, but it would be hard for the rest of the village to accept."

Shizune poured tea into several cups that she had placed on the table during the discussion and the room was quiet for a few minutes as everyone sipped the hot beverage lost in their own thoughts.

Itachi was the one to break the silence, setting the white cup carefully on table before leaning back against the couch and sighing, "Akatsuki is growing. Madara has six members that will follow him. Seven if you count Kisame. However, I'm not ready to count him as one of that man's minions."

"How can you say that?" Kakashi asked curiously. "He could have just omitted his involvement."

"Kisame isn't the type to lie. If he doesn't want you to know something he would omit it, of course, but in front of Jiraiya and Konan he would have no reason to do so. He is not afraid of either one of them. Konan would be no match for him, but Jiraiya could take him out easy. He knows this and would never deny it. Therefore, he accepts it."

"So what are you trying to say?" It was Jiraiya's turn to be confused and he frowned at the teen sitting next to him.

"That something is going on between Kisame and Madara. Something holds them together, has instilled a feeling of loyalty between them. However, it was not enough for Madara to call on him when sealing those demons. This leaves me to believe that Kisame has been given a mission different from the rest of Akatsuki."

"He's raising that kid now. Does Madara want Suigetsu for something?" Fugaku speculated.

"It doesn't seem likely." Itachi answered. "Suigetsu has potential but I believe his involvement is purely circumstantial. If he hadn't become a friend of Sasuke's and already had a connection to Kisame he would have been tossed to the curb."

"Of course." It was Fugaku's turn to sigh as he glanced out the window. "We need to find out who the new, unknown member of Akatsuki is."

"Agreed." Tsunade stated plainly. "Itachi, that information is probably only attainable by you. All you need to do is get a name. Don't do anything else at this point. We need you back here as soon as possible."

"Of course." Itachi nodded his understanding and glanced at Fugaku who had closed his eyes, as if concentrating. His father would not want to loose him at such a critical time. If Madara were to attack while he was gone it could be devastating. On the other hand, there was no one else who could get that information, and given the immense power that most of the members of Akatsuki had demonstrated, knowing the unknown man's identity could drastically turn the tide of battle.

X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

The meeting ended a short while later and Itachi went looking for Naruto, finding him on the roof of the building. The boy had been rather depressed since moving out of the Uchiha's house, and was obviously very homesick.

"Sulking doesn't suit you." Itachi said as he sat down on the ground next to the blond.

"Nothing else to do."

"Why aren't you training?"

"Jiraiya is busy."

"That never stopped you before."

"Look, would you leave me alone? You kick me out of the house and then come here to give me orders." Naruto stood up and started to walk away, fists clenched tightly at to his side.

Itachi moved fast, quickly intercepting the boy by placing his hands on his shoulders. "Don't you want to get to know your grandmother?"

"What do you care?"

"If I didn't care, why would I be here? Am I really one to waste time with matters that don't concern me?" Itachi stated truthfully.

Naruto rubbed at his tear filled eyes, causing one to drip rapidly down his cheek. It reflected the bright light, and glistened as it dripped off his chin,"Then I want to go home."

Itachi was surprised when Naruto suddenly flung his arms around him and buried his head in his chest, "I want to go home. Please, let me go…"

"Naruto, has anyone said you can't go back?"

The boy was silent for a minute as he thought hard, "No… so… I can…"

"When this is all over, if you decide you don't want to stay with Tsunade, of course you can come back. But only if you do what you're told. You do understand what is going on here, don't you?"

"Yeah." Naruto backed away and looked at the ground, "They want to kill me and if they do then Konoha will be destroyed and everyone will die. I don't want anyone else to die."

"Okay, then." Itachi smiled, "Let's you and me go get some ramen."

That cheered the boy up immediately and Naruto gave his foster brother a big grin, "All right!"

X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

"Itachi left early this morning." Fugaku was at home in his meeting room, talking with Toshiro. "Hopefully he'll find something quick."

"I can't believe that man has been able to get away with all this behind our backs."

"Yeah. He's ambitious all right. He definitely lives up to his reputation."

"But I do have one question." Toshiro leaned back on his hands and stared at the wood paneled ceiling, "Why did Kisame even mention the demon sealing? If he hadn't said anything we would never have found out. Just how loyal is he?"

"I agree." Fugaku replied, "He says he is loyal to Madara, and then turns around and betrays him. Yet Itachi is convinced that isn't what's happening. Frankly I think my head will explode if I think about it any longer."

"You and me both." Toshiro agreed.

A voice called out from the hallway and Mikoto threw back the door and she ran into the room, "Fugaku! The Hokage just sent a messenger! Ki is approaching!"

"Ki? Already?"

"They're about fifty miles away. That's all the messenger said." Mikoto was wringing her hands with worry, "Should we evacuate?"

"Yes. Everyone who isn't fighting should get underground. I'm sure Tsunade has already given that order." Fugaku stated clearly as he stepped out of the room. The sky had clouded over and a light mist had begun to fall from the sky. It had been sunny a mere one hour earlier. "Pein is nearby. I wonder why he didn't come into Konoha with Konan?"

"Probably keeping watch." Toshiro conjectured, "Anyway, I need to verify Hinata's whereabouts and make sure she's safe before I join the battle."

Fugaku watched his old friend run off to find his foster daughter and the head of the Hyuuga clan. An important duty, he had thrown himself into it feet first after promising the girl's father to raise her in the safety of his own home. However, such thoughts were quickly banished as he took a deep breath and started to make his way to the foyer where his gear was stored.

"I can carry that." He heard Sheeta remark in a strained voice. As he entered the small foyer he saw Mikoto bundling up the teen in a coat, hat, and boots; and overloading herself with bags.

"You can't carry anything in your condition. Now get going." The words were uttered with such conviction that Sheeta didn't dare argue, and Fugaku, who had been about to suggest Mikoto leave something behind kept his mouth shut.

The two women opened the door to exit the house, and the sound of the evacuation alarm entered the house. It was the sharp "bang" of a stick being beaten repeatedly against a piece of hardwood. He looked out towards the lake and saw several people who had been hanging around suddenly run off to their collective duties.

"What are your orders, Lord Fugaku?" Kakashi had suddenly appeared behind the clan lord.

"We follow our pre-arranged plan. Spread out in the village and look for spies. They are here… somewhere…"

X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Of course, the first place Itachi headed when he left Konoha was to find Kisame. And he was probably still at his cabin. Hidden in the woods it had become the big man's not-so-secret hideout over the last year, yet he had made no effort to change his location.

"What's going on with you, Kisame?" Itachi wondered out loud as he raced through the trees.

Arriving at the clearing he approached the front door, only to be met by Suigetsu who bowed formally, "Master requests his visitors state their identity and… um… something else…" The boy scrunched his face up in deep thought, "Oh yeah! Master wants to know who you are and what the hell you're doing here at this time of the day."

Itachi glared at the white-haired boy and clenched his teeth, as he considered thirty different ways to kill him. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a loud, booming voice, "Suigetsu! What are you doing! I swear, you're more trouble than a two-year-old!"

"Master Itachi's here!" Suigetsu yelled back at him, "He's glaring at me!"

"Yes, I know Itachi is here. He entered the forest about thirty minutes ago. I was asking what you're doing, not him!"

"I'm chopping wood." Suigetsu answered morosely. "Just like you told me to do." He wandered off the porch and toward a nearby shed. Itachi realized he was now smiling and moved to enter the house when he saw Kisame sitting at the table with several papers in front of him and cursing "that useless white-haired idiot" that was now living with him under the guise of a student.

"Sit down." Kisame pointed to a chair opposite him. "Things calm down any in Konoha?"

"Yeah, but they're heating up again. I passed several squads from Ki on my way here."

"Any of them still alive?"

"Yeah. I was told to stick to the mission and not bother with anything else."

"And your mission is to get information out of me." Kisame stated plainly. He turned his head toward the shed as the sound of wood being chopped echoed through the woods. The sun had risen almost an hour earlier, but it hadn't yet found it's way through the thick branches of the forest, and wouldn't until a little after noon. Instead, a cold chill permeated the air and the dew clung thickly to any and every surface it could reach. Luckily, because of the cabin's tight construction, the interior was warm and dry.

"How would you like to go about this?" Itachi really didn't like the idea of having to use his Sharingan on Kisame, but this was too important to let one man's pride get in the way.

Kisame sighed, "There would be no point in keeping anything from you."

"I'm glad you are being reasonable about this."

"Humph. Don't patronize me, boy." Kisame replied harshly, and Itachi instantly drew back into himself and stared at the floor. It had been years since he had heard that rebuke come from his partner, and he knew it was given lightly. Kisame never said anything he didn't mean.

"Madara has outdone himself, this time. The people he has hired are bloodthirsty and not very smart. Hidan is a Jashin high priest who maintains his immortality by sacrificing living people to his god. He can be dismembered and put back together with no ill effects. Kakuzu is the one putting him back together. Hidan is stupid, but very powerful, and very blood thirsty."

"So he's a wash, then. Easy to kill." Itachi added.

"For you and me, yeah. No trouble at all."

"And Orochimaru's ring? Who was that given to?"

Kisame closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. "Lord Sora has taken it for himself. He has always been Madara's biggest supporter, ever since they were children. I believe Sora's investment in the Eye of the Moon plan is bigger than Madara's."

"Sora… my great grandfather." Itachi said quietly.

"And Madara is your cousin. So what?" Kisame's words were rather cutting and Itachi looked closely at the man's face. He was angry, but at what was still unknown. "Sora has the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and is the head of the Mist Uchiha clan. He was once the head of the Konoha Uchiha clan as well before he left to follow Madara. He is immensely powerful. From what I heard, the sealing took about two-thirds the time it took us a few years back."

"Did you help them?"

"No. Wasn't asked to."

"Why not?" The sound of wood chopping had ceased, replaced by the hollow "clopping" sound of logs being stacked up against the house.

"I've been given a different job." Kisame smirked, "To keep you and Deidara out of the way."

"Out of the way? Where is Deidara?" Itachi put out his chakra to search for the blond bomber, and sensed him nearby, running through the forest.

Kisame smirked, "He went jogging. He's quite upset. Sasori hasn't come back for him yet. What he doesn't realize, is that Sasori probably won't be coming back."

"What does that mean?"

No answer was forthcoming, as Suigetsu re-entered the house and went immediately to the fireplace and began to clean up the ashes from the night before. Kisame changed the subject and the pair went on to discuss fishing. Or rather, the blue man talked and Itachi listened.

An hour later a disgruntled Deidara entered the cabin, nodded half-heartedly to Itachi, and shut himself up in the bathroom. "Looks normal to me." Itachi commented.

"Maybe he's gotten over it all then." Kisame added.

"Not likely." Suigetsu joined in. "Has he ever forgiven anyone for anything?"

"Probably not." Itachi agreed.

X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

The visit had been productive after all and a few short hours after arriving; Itachi was back in the forest running home to Konoha. It had started to rain, and the teen could sense the chakra emanating from it. It was Pein's contribution to the battle. Although where exactly the man was located was a definite mystery.

'I'm going to be coming up behind Ki.' Itachi said to himself, 'That puts me behind enemy lines.' He thought back to his training when he had joined Root. Danzou had lectured the trainees on the danger of not protecting one's back. The Shinobi he about to come into contact with had also been taught by Danzou, and therefore would be expecting some kind of a rear assault.

Itachi gave a short laugh as his hand reached up to touch his eyepatch. "The Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan does not fade as one uses it. I think it's time I put that supposition to the test."

Shisui's voice echoed in his mind, "Cousin… I will enjoy watching this."

X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Next week the battle between Ki and Konoha, and just what is Itachi planning?

Yeah, Aya has problems. Most of them of her own making, but she's beginning to realize that now.

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