Naruto : Struggle Of Childhood

The Naming of Hakumei

The anger of the Yondaime had made an impression. He had heard him yelling at his father, asking him how he could stand himself after sending a child into that battle. Itachi had never heard himself being referred to that way, and it made him feel strange. To the Yondaime, it didn't matter if Itachi had the intellect of a teenager or even an adult, he was still a five year old boy who he had found wide eyed, shaking and drenched in blood. He was not the 'special' prodigy of the Uchiha clan. He was a child who had never been allowed to have a childhood.

Itachi made himself a promise that war would never come to Konoha if he had anything to say about it. There would be no other child like him.

That was half the reason that he had never practiced training with Sasuke. To him, it was just hastening the day when Sasuke would return home, wide eyed and shaking, covered in the blood of the man he had killed.

Danzou had brought war back again, and Itachi knew that it was just a matter of time until that nightmare returned to Konoha.

Also, there was something strange about the death of the Sandaime.

Itachi had known that the clan was planning a coup. He had been placed in the ANBU to pass top secret information to the clan. What they didn't know was that he was working for the Sandaime to nullify the clan. Things had been heating up, and there had even been talk among the Sandaime's advisors to simply kill of the Uchiha clan when things had suddenly quieted down. Itachi had been told to continue his job by both his parents are the Sandaime, and he had learned that his father and the elders had been speaking to Danzou about something.

After the death of the Sandaime, Itachi had found out that the ANBU who had been assigned to watch the area where he had been assassinated had been give a letter from what looked like the Sandaime's writing ordering them to patrol another sector of the city. After looking at the letter with the Sharingan, he had seen that there were several small but definite differences. The letter had been forged.

And all signs pointed to Danzou.

Then there was what had happened that night…

"Hello, Itachi-kun," a soft voice said to Itachi.

"Shisui," Itachi said softly, not showing any surprise that he was there.

Shisui, Itachi's best friend, was older then him. His black hair was cut to his neck with bangs that usually fell over his eyes. Itachi secretly thought that he was trying very hard to look like his father, but never voiced his opinion.

"I thought that you would come up here," Shisui told him.

"Why were you looking for me?" Itachi asked.

"Mostly just to talk," Shiusi shrugged, "You're not talking much to any one these days."

"No, I guess I'm not," Itachi agreed.

"Is there a reason? Is it Sasuke?"

Itachi truly missed his younger brother, and was completely irritated by the sentiment that his parents were receiving. They were being told how difficult this must for them when they had never cared if Sasuke fell over dead. He was nothing to them. Itachi was truly worried about him now. He had gotten out of Konoha, but had he been taken in? At first he had assured himself that that would be what happened, but now he wasn't so sure.