𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

Fairy Tale

"Sir, we scoured the entire area between here and the Land of Wind, and as closely as we could towards Sunagakure without alerting the Senju. We found no leads as to where Sasuke could have possibly gone."

Itachi sat in front of his father in his office as the leader of Sasuke's retrieval squad returned, bearing the bad news. They had been gone for a considerable amount of time, and judging by their findings, it was clear that Sasuke either did not wish to be found, or had simply just vanished without a trace.

"Damn it!"

Fugaku slammed his fist onto the table, angered at the news.

"Get out," he said hotly, pointing to the door.

"Yes, Fugaku-sama."

The shinobi duly backed out of the room, still bowing, and shut the door behind himself.

"What the hell does he think he's playing at?!" spat Fugaku, getting to his feet and kicking his desk violently. "What is he doing?!"

"I hate to suggest this, but maybe the reason the squad haven't found Sasuke is because he's still, possibly... inside the village?"

"Where he is now doesn't matter," barked Fugaku, already beginning to plot his next move. He had planned to seal Sora's chakra within himself upon Sasuke's arrival, but since his son showed no signs of turning up any time soon, he needed to think fast. Regardless of whether or not his son had indeed betrayed their clan, he had to think of a way to explain his absence. "People are getting ideas. We can't explain his absence any longer. It won't look good if we leave it unaddressed. That's basically admitting his treachery."

"So what do you propose we do?"

"Seeing as he clearly wants nothing to do with the clan, finding him is no longer important," frowned Fugaku, pacing back and forth behind his desk. "But we can't let people know that he's chosen to walk away. When I get the chance, I will deal with him myself- but for now, explaining his absence is more important, to make sure people don't get the wrong idea."

"Wrong idea as in...?"

"As in, my leadership is failing!" yelled Fugaku, slamming both of his palms down on his desk and glaring at Itachi, who merely cleared his throat. "How can I appear to be an effective leader if I can't even control my own children?! What does having one of my own sons- and no less, the second in command- walk away from this clan say about us?"

"Right. Continue."

"No, no... we need to use this to our advantage..." Scowling as he picked at his brain, Fugaku continued pacing as he tried to come up with a solution to Sasuke's unexplained absence. "Yes! I've got it!"

"Enlighten us."

"As penance for stealing the chakra, that cursed Hokage detained Sasuke in prison once more!"

"We've already used that excuse. And the Hokage clearly told all our forces that we would all be able to leave Suna without resistance. Sasuke included."

"She double-crossed you, then! She took out Sasuke because he lingered in Suna while the rest of you left him behind!"

Fugaku paused , rubbing his chin.

"But that won't work either," he muttered under his breath. "People will begin to think that I raised both of you as negligent shinobi, as he allowed himself to be captured twice. That'll reflect badly on me as well."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at his father, still unsure of where he got all of his ideas from.

"Itachi," said Fugaku suddenly, looking towards his son as a solution dawned upon him.