As Sasuke and Itachi walked back toward their house they began to notice a great deal of unusual movement throughout the Uchiha compound.
People hurried from one street to another with grim expressions fixed on their faces.
Tension hung in the air.
Here and there small groups stood together and some of the clan members were openly crying.
Sasuke looked up at his older brother with wide and worried eyes.
“Why are they crying?
And why does everyone look so sad nii-san?
Did something bad happen while we were training?” Itachi already held a clear guess about the cause of the disturbance.
The timing matched too well with the events of the previous day.
He kept his voice steady as they continued walking.
When they reached their house,, they found Fugaku standing before a small gathering of Uchiha adults.
The clan head spoke in a serious tone.
After a few more words the listeners turned away with deep frowns.
Fugaku turned and saw his eldest son approaching.
A brief grimace crossed the fathers face as if he wished he could protect the boy from the news that had to be given.
Itachi stopped a respectful distance away and asked the question in a serious and controlled voice.
“What happened father?” Fugaku studied his son’s face carefully and then spoke the name that carried the weight of the tragedy.
“It is Shisui.” He waited a moment to observe whatever reaction might appear yet Itachi showed almost nothing.
The boys expression remained calm and only the slightest tightening of the mouth revealed that the words had landed.
Fugaku continued with the official details.
“His body was found in the Naka river earlier today.
Moreover the body no longer held his Sharingan.
Both eyes were missing.” At that last fact Itachis eyes widened a fraction.
Fugaku kept speaking in the flat tone of a formal report.
“The postmortem examination concluded that he died by drowning.
His body was eaten by some of the wilder fishes.
The wounds around the empty sockets suggest that he removed the eyes himself.
The final judgment of the examiners is that Shisui committed suicide and destroyed his own eyes according to the Uchiha rule that a dying member must keep the Sharingan from falling into an outsiders hands.” Itachi lowered his gaze and answered in a quiet voice.
“I see.” While he spoke he allowed selected memories of the real friendship between Itachi and Shisui to rise to the surface.
A few genuine tears formed and slipped down his cheeks.
He turned to the Sasuke beside him and gave a gentle instruction.
“Sasuke go with father for now.
I need a little time alone.
I will return soon.” Fugaku reached out to place a restraining hand on his elder son’s shoulder.
His fingers closed on empty air.
The figure of Itachi dissolved into a faint afterimage that faded with the evening breeze.
Fugaku stared at the place where his son had stood and muttered in stunned disbelief.
“He has already mastered Shisuis body flicker jutsu?
When did he learn it?
How did he reach that level without anyone noticing?” Sasuke tugged at his fathers sleeve with open worry.
“Father will big brother be all right?
I talked with Shisui a few times and I know he was nii-san’s best friend.” Fugaku rested a steady hand on the boys head.
“Do not worry Sasuke.
Your big brother is a talented shinobi.
He will be fine.” A short time later Mikoto appeared at the doorway of their home and looked at the two of them with searching eyes.
“Where is Itachi?
Why has he not come inside with you?” When Fugaku explained that the boy had left the compound Mikoto’s voice turned sharp and dark.
“And you simply let him go?
In this state?” Fugaku tried to defend the moment.
“I attempted to stop him but he moved before I could do so.” Mikoto cut across the explanation with the full force of a mothers authority.
“I do not care about the details of how he slipped away.
I never interfere in your duties to the clan but this is a family matter.
You will bring our son back here at once.
I do not care how talented he is or what position he holds in the village.
He is still a twelve year old boy who has just lost his closest friend.
Do you understand me clearly?” Her three tomoe Sharingan flashed in the low light as she spoke.
Fugaku knew from long experience that if he failed to return with Itachi he would spend the entire week sleeping on the sitting room couch and eating cold meals.
He released a heavy sigh and set off into the growing darkness to search for his son.
Near the training grounds, Itachi stood on a thick tree branch and looked up at the night sky.
The stars shone clear and bright without the haze of pollution that had covered the cities of his previous world.
He spoke quietly to the original Itachi who listened inside their shared mind.
‘Danzo was more careful and clever than we believed him to be.’ The original Itachi asked for the meaning behind the words.
“What do you mean?
The report sounded complete.” Itachi answered with cold analysis.
“Did you not hear your father say that the cause of death was drowning?
A proper postmortem should have found traces of the poison that Danzo used on Shisui.
The only explanation is that the poison was designed to disappear from the body after only a few hours.
By the time the examiners worked no evidence remained.
It is a clever method to prevent anyone from suspecting foul play and to stop any deeper investigation before it can begin.” The original Itachi followed the reasoning and added his own understanding.
“A clean way to close the matter and leave the clan with nothing but a story of suicide.
No one will look further.” After a short silence the original Itachi asked a different question.
“Did you have to act so dramatic in front of father?
I know those tears were not real for you.
Why create that display?” Itachi replied,”You forget the role I am playing.
I am living your life as Itachi Uchiha and I must act in the way others expect so that no suspicion falls on this body.
Besides I believe you would have behaved in a similar manner.
You would never allow your little brother to see the full depth of your grief and you would never show open weakness in front of your father.
I only followed the pattern you yourself would have chosen.
I believe the performance was successful.” The original Itachi accepted the point and moved to the next detail that still puzzled him.
“And why did you reveal Shisuis body flicker in front of father so openly?
He will now carry that knowledge to the rest of the clan leadership.” Itachi answered with simple honesty.
“For no complicated reason.
It simply felt like the right moment to let the skill be seen rather than wait until I am forced to use it on a mission and create even greater surprise.
Better that he learns of it now while the shock can be absorbed easily.” The original Itachi asked the question that pointed toward the immediate future.
“What do we do now?” Itachi looked down toward the compound lights and spoke with quiet certainty.
“Now we wait for your mother to send your father out to find me.
She will not rest until I am home again.” The original Itachi sounded unconvinced.
“Mother would never order father to chase after me in the middle of clan business.
She understands the weight of his duties.” Itachi chuckled,”Oh my dear Itachi.
You still underestimate the love a mother holds for her son.
That love rises above almost every other bond she carries including the love she feels for her husband.
When her child is hurting she will move the whole world to bring him back to safety and neither duty nor pride will stand in her way.” ———Author Notes——– Thankyou Aidan for supporting me!