Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Second Birth ❯ Ch. 4: Enough ( Chapter 4 )

The Second Birth

by Mizerable

Ch. 4: Enough

* * *

This couldn't last.

All the sparring matches led to plenty of new scrapes, but very little in the way of answers. It was clear that his training and his blood were superior to hers. He should have won every single fight, though her damned stubborn ways seemingly kept her from staying down for very long. Not to mention she managed to surprise his eyes enough to earn not only hits now and then, but decisive victories.

But none of this improved his situation whatsoever. Itachi couldn't even be sure what it was he sought anymore. He wanted to reclaim his honor, but for whom? This wasn't about him at all. It was about the Clan, just as all things were. So just what was he doing here, with the enemy no less? Wouldn't this only make things worse? Perhaps it was a subconscious discomfort to know that he, the so-called "prodigy," could be bested by this child. The unusual prickling at his pride must have been how the other villagers felt about him. They stayed their tongues out of reverent fear of the almighty Uchiha Clan.

But what kept himhere?

What did this child have that made her special, that made her will so strong?

Freedom.

The freedom to let her spirit expand without bounds.

Itachi felt the onset of a frown and dispelled it before addressing her.

"I can't stay here any longer. It's time for me to return to my village." He was fairly certain he felt whatever was left of his heart grow smaller, his insides turned hard. Yanagi, on the other hand, scuffed her toe against the dusty earth. A little cloud of brown circled her feet while she kept her gaze set on it. It was a nervous habit she had, a tweaky resemblance of a childish pout. She always kept her head down when she didn't want to show her disappointment, or whatever it was she felt.

"I thought you didn't like it there."

His instinctive reaction was to agree with her words, but his ingrained teachings kept the reply locked away in his mind.

"It isn't about 'like' or 'dislike.' I am merely complying with what is expected of me."

"Why?"

He didn't really share the beliefs of the village, nor did he completely dispel its fundamentals. While he could not say the same in regard to the Clan, they were family and that was somehow supposed to be valued above all else. An image of his brother flickered behind his eyelids and that was nearly enough to convince him things were okay there. But aside from the Clan? Aside from the little brother, what exactly drove him to throw himself so completely into a role that served him in no way on a personal level?

Suddenly it felt as if she were the one gifted with powerful eyes, eyes that were so carefully regarding him at this moment. Her brow furrowed as she struggled to take her thoughts and shape them into words, something that hadn't taken him much time to realize was a difficulty for her. Though evidently, now was not one of those times.

"But if you can't devote you-yourself to it completely, what's the point of doing it at all?"

Itachi did not answer, for he did not possess one.

If he did, he would not be here with Yanagi.

He would be…

Perhaps, maybe, he would be.

* * *

There had been no dramatic sendoff or heartfelt goodbyes. Yanagi would likely head north, diving further into Cloud Country as its rainy season approached. It would be far easier to dodge any pursuers so long as the constant downpours were there to wash away her trail. Itachi, in a rare moment of compassion, turned over most of his money to her. It would be safer for both of them if she avoided robbing anyone for a while-her methods had a tendency to be somewhat excessive. If she were to be caught, he had no guarantee that she'd keep their connection silent. Perhaps compassion wasn't the best choice of words.

True to form, though, she hadn't whined about his leaving. Nor that his grueling sparring matches were probably much more taxing on her than she admitted. The ways he used and abused her to gain personal understanding were undoubtedly still better treatment than she would receive normally. Regardless of his supposed generosity, she made no complaints that it was coming to an end. Though, what she did say managed to stick out in his mind.

"If we run into each other again, let's get more dango."

Itachi wasn't a fool. She may have tried to sound casual by saying "if," which was surprising for someone like her to attempt protecting herself with words. But he knew to hear "when" instead. She was still young enough-likely only a decade old-that she still might grow attached to anyone who offered her an ounce of remotely decent attention. Itachi remained silent, watching her scuff her toe against the dirt, and was taken by the thought of killing her. Perhaps tricking her with a soft pat to the head. She would undoubtedly be startled enough and maybe even happy enough that he could bury a kunai in her throat without trouble.

And then what?

He came out here to find the secrets of her strength and came up relatively empty. He could chock it up to pure survival instinct but that didn't seem to satisfy his mind. He knew if it came right down to it, he did have the power to kill her. But what would the point be? It wasn't as if he could bring back her dead corpse and say he found his crew member's killer. Too many people knew who she was and then his secret would be out. Leaving her alive would be a liability though.

She'd given a small wave to him after she turned towards her path. All he seemed capable of was staring at her tiny shape as she faded from his view. He hadn't accomplished anything he set out to do, and yet he could only continue to do nothing but watch her go. And strangely enough, he found some peace of mind in that. Somehow, to him, it almost felt as if he won some sort of unspoken battle with the Clan. He so brazenly defied their code and even if nothing was changed from it, even if they somehow never knew of his actions, he had no problem in relishing in his small personal victory.

Even so, he still pondered why he was convinced she would have died happy, so long as it was by his hands.

* * *

The massive gates of Konoha loomed before him and for once he felt their seemingly insurmountable height. Each step filled him with a vague sense of unease, the tips of his fingers twitched in anticipation of…something. Itachi hoped to shake his foreboding, though his anxiety was hardly unfounded. Kakashi knew Itachi was hiding an Anbu killer. Now it was all a matter of what Kakashi decided to do with such information. Blackmail and shady deals were far from strangers to the Uchiha Clan. It wouldn't be particularly uncommon for someone with the sort of information that Kakashi possessed to perhaps attempt to pressure Itachi.

Maybe he would want a promotion within the Anbu. Would he even want Itachi's own position?

It was a tough call. Kakashi knew how the Clan operated and that alone was a liability for opportunism. What would it take to not only keep Kakashi silent, but prevent the Clan from gaining involvement?

Upon reaching the checkpoint, it was not a nameless chuunin waiting. It wasn't the familiar Anbu, either. She had a toothpick in her mouth and tapped her foot impatiently, undoubtedly waiting for quite a while. The evidence of dark rings around her eyes had finally started to fade. They said she was a recovering power addict, having been caught up in the Orochimaru mess years ago. She was a supposed special agent now, perhaps for the intel department?

"Hi there, Itachi-kun."

Her smile was unnaturally cheerful, defensive even.

"…Mitarashi Anko-san?"

"I'll need you to come with me. It's rather urgent," she stated, not at all ashamed of showing her irritation over waiting for him, "I trust that won't be a problem?"

"No, ma'am. Not at all."

* * *

He knew this place. The shadows felt heavier in this dim room, the cement felt indestructible here. Yes, he knew of the interrogation chambers. He was seated before a metal table, Ibiki Morino himself looming on the other side. Ibiki was polite enough to offer coffee, which Itachi quietly declined. Frayed as he was, he wouldn't put it past the people here to slip something in his drink. He needed to keep his wits about him to successfully evade any line of questioning.

"Now normally," Ibiki began, his gruff voice rumbled though the heavy room, "we'd have to turn you over to the police department. But seeing as how you outrank everyone there, you fall under my jurisdiction."

And quite frankly, I'd have to be a damn fool to just let your family sweep this under the rug.

"Sir, what exactly are you charging me with?"

Ibiki tossed a plastic bag onto the table with a sharp clang. Itachi kept his eyes fixed on that table. Within that bag was a kunai. A chipped, bloody, rusty kunai. There was cold, hard evidence staring him right in the face. What lie could he even conjure that someone like Ibiki would believe?

Kakashi really didn't mess around.

"We've got you, Uchiha," Ibiki pressed his palms against the tabletop, "So hand the little girl over and I just might find it in my infinite mercy to be lenient with you."

"…I'm going home."

Itachi's chair scraped harshly against the floor and Ibiki's menacing face was hardly a deterrent. His large hand took a tight grip of Itachi's wrist, jerking him back around.

"You ballsy little punk. What makes you think I'll let you just walk out?"

Itachi slowly raised his eyes to Ibiki, catching the man by surprise. Though it should be noted that the sheer appearance of Mangekyo is said to surprise people. Ibiki's fingers slipped away as he stumbled back. He couldn't rightly guess what just occurred, though Itachi was now standing in the doorway. The boy looked calm as ever, the darkest of eyes staring back.

"Sir, you would have better luck at finding god before catching that girl."

* * *

The doorway seemed narrow, lower to him. Everything constricted like hands dragging him down, the brand of the Clan scoured into his back. The adrenaline from forcing a man of Ibiki's status to back down had long since worn off, leaving Itachi very tired.

His eyes ached.

Vulnerable as he was, Itachi managed to be caught off-guard as his brother rounded the corner. He could barely sort out words through the haze of Sasuke's hurried speech, though he seemed just as happy as always.

"…learned fire jutsu…"

He waved a dismissive hand at his little brother, far too rattled to spare attention for anyone else. Though it did very little to chase Sasuke away.

"…Father praised…"

Like Itachi cared what that man thought. He'd soon become a rather enraged person once news of Itachi's recent conduct reached his ears.

"…to draw out my Sharingan…"

The words finally hit him like cold water. The Clan decided to begin Sasuke's training to awaken the Sharingan? It seemed so sudden, though maybe he shouldn't have felt so surprised. He was far younger than Sasuke had been when his own training began, towards the end of the war. Though Itachi simply couldn't shake the feeling that, perhaps, the Clan was trying to replace him.

Kakashi must have reported to more than just the intelligence department, after all.

"Brother?"

Itachi felt the tug at his shirt, Sasuke's fingers still chubby with baby fat held on with seemingly impossible strength for a child. That sense of fear that was becoming more and more familiar in the eyes staring up at him. Sasuke must have realized something wasn't right.

Itachi mumbled a promise to show Sasuke a shuriken technique to help with his Sharingan training. It was a promise he'd undoubtedly break, but it got rid of that look on Sasuke's face. He ruffled Sasuke's hair as reassurance, though he didn't dare glance back again. A little hope was better than no hope.

The brothers filed in for supper, and both subdued for once. Not wasting any time, their father extended an object towards Itachi. He immediately recognized the Hokage seal marking the scroll and had no doubt the contents would be rather unpleasant.

"I trust you're aware what this is in regards to?"

Itachi bristled, almost visibly preparing to take up a defensive stance. It would be just like his father to make his downfall even more excruciating. His hand wrapped around the scroll white-knuckled and pulled his jaw a little tighter.

"I have a general notion about it."

His father gave a curt nod and handed over the scroll without another word. Perhaps his parents didn't care to entertain such a conversation in front of Sasuke. He supposed if he didn't have to worry so terribly about saving his own neck, he might have held a greater dislike for his brother's upcoming days. He could only hope Sasuke would lose his naivety fast enough to be aware of the dangers being an Uchiha meant.

His mother brought the food to the table with a soft indefinable smile. That sort of expression made him generally uncomfortable and he could only ponder endlessly over the scheme the Clan had in mind for him. Even though supper passed by in silence. Even though the evening passed by in silence. He still waited for their judgment. Itachi knew it would be a far worse ordeal to receive punishment from the Clan than during his court appearance before the Hokage tomorrow.

Tomorrow…

* * *

He tried not to focus on all the countless mistakes he made. He knew if he had killed that stupid girl that very first meeting, he wouldn't be in such a futile situation. He slowly slipped his shoes on, perhaps subconsciously trying to postpone today's meeting. He knew Sasuke was waiting behind him, asking to practice shuriken jutsu. Itachi couldn't recall the mumbled promise he made last night. All he could say today was he was busy. Ask father.

They're going to have you replace me anyway…

He paused, heavily contemplating that thought. His clumsy little brother was going to become just like him, a through and through slave to the Clan. There was nothing he could do now. He was going to face the high court today and likely face a lengthy prison sentence, if not death. He couldn't save Sasuke. He couldn't even save himself this time.

He was just so sick of everything…

"Forgive me, Sasuke," Itachi gave his young brother a poke to the forehead, "Maybe another time."

The familiar words slipped by so easily. He supposed it was somewhat tragic that it was likely the last time he'd ever speak those words to Sasuke. Itachi opened the door to a world of blinding light, leaving his brother in the dark.

And so went a dead man walking.

* * *

"He's late."

The Third didn't need the committee to tell him that. Of course he realized Itachi was late. He'd been watching the sun travel the sky rather than dwell on the oppressive tension in the room. The Hokage could safely admit he wasn't surprised by Itachi's string of "outbursts." Now that the wars were more or less over, he could examine what had become of his soldiers. Needless to say, it broke his heart to see children as young as Itachi walk around with such hardened hearts.

As the Hokage, he could understand the need for strong-willed shinobi to keep this village afloat. But it still didn't erase his sense of guilt of any ninja, Itachi included, having suffered so terribly. If only things were different. If only…

"I imagine," the Third spoke slowly, "that Itachi-kun won't be coming today."

And in some way, perhaps it was for the best.

* * *

He watched the sun fade and the shadows stretch. The coldness of the moon did nothing to improve his mood. He was just so tired and just so fed up with everything.

He was sick of the rules.

He was sick of the tension.

He was sick of the headaches.

He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be anywhere. He wanted to tear everything down and rip it all apart. He was through with this game. He was through with suffering for them.

He came upon them like a whisper, his blade fell softly through.

His voice remained cool and direct as he imparted words to his young brother. Someday his brother would understand it was all for the best. He'd learn to be strong for his own damn reasons. He'd know a life without the goddamned Clan breathing down his neck. This was all for the best.

This was all for the best.

And maybe his brother would heed his words. And just maybe he'd be strong enough to…

Itachi was just so sick of it all.

To be continued…