A Lethal Observer - ALW Saga Book 2

Chapter 45

"Maybe you should find some new friends."

Itachi closed his eyes. No. You have no right to try to control me. You have no right to choose what I should or shouldn't do. And you have absolutely no right to choose who my friends are. He forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat and glare at his father.

"You're coming to the meeting tomorrow."

No.

"I have a mission."

He needed to end the conversation soon.

"Itachi. You don't seem to understand what's at stake here."

I'm sorry, Sasuke. His eyes moved again to the door, his brother had an ear against the door, trying to listen to as much as he could.

"Sasuke, if you're done in the bathroom, hurry up and go back to bed."

For the first time, his parents seemed to notice Sasuke's chakra. The boy slowly opened the door, knowing he was about to get yelled at for being awake and eavesdropping into an important conversation.

Fugaku poised himself into his feet quickly enough and glared at his younger son. "What are you doing awake? Hurry up and back to bed!"

Sasuke's eyes were glued to the image of his older brother. Even though his father's anger was noticeable in his words directed to him, he seemed to understand that he was not angry at him, but at Itachi. The boy's eyes slightly narrowed, silently blaming Itachi for his father's attitude.

"All right."

Itachi noticed. He wondered, from the depths of his heart, what was going on in Sasuke's mind. Without anything else to say, Sasuke closed back the door and hurried down the hall.

At the disappearing sound of Sasuke's short and quick steps, he felt himself distancing from him more and more.

* * *

A constant poking in her arm forced Hanako awake from her slumber. Slowly, she opened her eyes and let the image focus slowly. Her mother came into view with a worried face, she was carrying the twins in her chest with the aid of a baby carrier.  "Sweetie, are you okay?"

Hanako felt a warmth spread in her chest at the sound of her mother's voice. It had truly been a while since she last heard from her. As her lips curved up in a smile, she let her senses come back to her and sat up.

The room was darker than it had been when she first arrived at the house. Her eyes then widened as she stared at her mother. "What time is it?"

Akira looked at her strangely. "Almost six in the evening. It will get dark soon."

A sudden sense of dread fell upon her. She had totally forgotten the favor Shisui had asked her.

Hanako shot up and hurried out the door.

"What? Wait! Hanako!"

I'm sorry, Mother.

The assembly was scheduled to begin at seven o'clock, but it would be late for her to intercept Fugaku before the meeting began.

As she approached the Naka Shrine, she quickly searched for Fugaku's chakra signature. She pinpointed him at the private training ground close to the Compound lake. "What is he doing there?" She muttered to herself before heading in his direction.

There, Lord Fugaku was patiently staring at a log with several shuriken embedded in its bark. When she made her presence known, Fugaku quickly glanced at her before returning his eyes to the log.