The Story of Hagami [Naruto Fanfic | Uchiha] [Completed]

22 | Change

Hagami's nerves didn't calm, nor did she think they would until she completed her decision. Mikoto and Fugaku were already growing suspicious, and Itachi and Shisui were bound to become suspicious of her movements as soon as they returned from their missions. The Jōnin were probably going to be left in the dark. And Sasuke...

A chilling breeze pushed past her and for a moment, she wanted to withdraw. Fear swayed her decisions and Sasuke's well-being troubled her. But to avoid a full on Coup d'État, she had to follow through. She wanted her Village, her Clan to be safe. Actually, that's all she's ever wished for. She's always wanted to protect the Village, her Clan; the thought of either falling could be enough to break her as a whole.

No, this isn't a time for hesitation. Hagami scolded herself harshly in her mind and laid back. The clouds overhead lingered at times and then sometimes they seemingly stopped. The sun roamed over the sky from East to West and Hagami kept track of time that way; though doing that was easier said than done.

---

"Itachi, I want to ask you a question." Shisui and Itachi met at their usual spot near the cliff and waterfall. Near the cliff's edge sat a rock and that's were Shisui was sitting with Itachi standing beside him. Itachi looked up somewhat uneasily. Judging by Shisui's tone, he wasn't going to bring up the coup but something much more personal.

"What is it?" He asked hesitantly.

"It's about Hagami. She's at the Third Training Grounds right now and I wouldn't be surprised if she sensed me when I dropped by." Shisui said scratching the back of his neck. "However, something seems to be off about her actions. She's rarely alone. Usually she's here by now too, or is still on a mission."

"Come to think of it, she hasn't shown up today. And earlier this morning, she didn't speak a word to Okaasan or Otousan, not to mention Sasuke and I." Itachi admitted her strange behavior. "I heard vaguely that they didn't exactly have a pleasant talk either."

"What do you think is going on?" Shisui asked bluntly.

"I don't quite know. She's only mentioned how the Uchiha Clan is becoming more hasty." Itachi answered turning toward the waterfall. The sun was beginning to set along the tree line. "She's also more secretive than I am. It's been like this ever since she joined our household. At first, I thought I knew how her mind worked, but it turned out that she possessed the Sharingan and she didn't give off the slightest hint."

"Hagami's quite secretive." Shisui agreed with Itachi. "I'm still learning about her and all of the tricks she still has up her sleeves."

"I still don't know what's happened in her life before she came into our family. She never speaks of her parents, and if she does, it's only because she has to." Itachi added. "We've only scratched the surface of her, haven't we?" He asked whilst chuckling.

"Well, if you could do me a favor, I'd like you to keep a close eye on her. Tell me if you figure anything out but do it without her knowing." Shisui lowered his voice to a whisper. "I know this puts a lot of pressure on you, with your other mission. However, I'm just worried about her well-being."

"You care a lot for her, don't you?" Itachi asked and Shisui looked up at him. Itachi looked down too so they're looking into each other's eyes. A silent conversation was carried between then and Itachi sighed, "I'll do my best. After all, she is my older sister."

The two exchanged a few more words prior to Shisui asking Itachi for a favor. They parted ways as the moon appeared over the horizon and Itachi made his way home deep in thought. Hagami had never acted this way, even under pressure toward her family due to missions or anything of that magnitude. And with this being new to him, adapting to her sudden disposition change would be troubling.

Itachi slid open the door to the entrance to his family's house. Mikoto and Fugaku were discussing something in the main room so he decided not to bother them. Sasuke was probably already asleep, either that or maybe in the process of getting ready. Itachi tried to sense out Hagami's chakra to find out that she was in her room on the second floor. He slipped his shoes off at the step but didn't discarded his weapons or armors — he would when he got to his room. But he dismissed the thought of discarding his armor as he passed his room and stopped in front of Hagami's. He knocked on her door three times which was followed by her shuffling around inside. A loud thud announced that she was relatively tired and so did the faint bags under her eyes when she opened the door.

"Otōto..." she acknowledged and opened the door to invite him in. Her bed was parallel to the wall of the door and in the corner. A table was located in the left corner of her room if someone walked in. A dresser was on the wall with the door too. In contrast to many other ninjas room, her's was spotless despite a few scrolls laid out on her desk. "What do you need?" Hagami snapped Itachi out of his daze when he was looking around her room.

"Shisui is worried about you." Against what Shisui would want, Itachi dove right into the situation. Hagami's snapped open when she heard "Shisui" and "worried" in the same sentence.

"Uhm...he–he doesn't have a reason to be worried, you know?" Hagami assured terribly. She could tell by the look in Itachi's eyes that he could clearly see through her. "Why?"

"You didn't make it to our meeting." Itachi answered and Hagami's eyes widened. She hadn't intentionally avoided them, she was just at the Third Training Grounds. "Shisui dropped by, didn't you sense him?"

"No," Hagami answered truthfully. "I was lost in thought when I was at the training grounds. I didn't notice much of anything." She admitted and now Itachi could tell she was telling the truth. He could also see the troubled look in her eyes and he walked further into her room. Unannounced, he plopped on her bed and sat his mask beside him along with his weapons holster. Hagami gave him a questioning look but nonetheless, followed him over there but dragged a chair so she could sit in it. The back of the chair was in front so she could lean on it, so basically she straddled herself on the chair and raised a brow at Itachi so he'd get on with the reason why he was here.

"Oh, I see." Itachi continued on but suddenly, his nerves got to him. Interrogating his sister was easier said than done now that she was sitting right in front of him. All the questions he intended to ask her fled his mind but that wasn't necessarily bad. He had another bout of questions, "Hagami, I'd like to ask you about...Fuyu and Aki." He blurted though that wasn't what he planned on asking. He hoped that Hagami didn't catch on; which she didn't.

"O-Okaasan...and Otousan...?" Hagami choked on her words. She was already emotionally at war with her decision in mind but she couldn't break with Itachi in her presence. She sighed deeply, "Okaasan...Okaasan was very caring. She was a Chūnin before she..." Hagami's voice faltered and she took a deep breath. Itachi was seeing all new sides of her, just from asking on questions. "You know, I suppose. Ahem, she hadn't awakened the Sharingan. She loved dango, just like you and hated anything that was sour. She...She specialized using a Naginata, and absolutely despised using traditional weapons like kunai and shuriken.

"Otousan was strict, never letting up on me when it came to training or just my studies." A faint smile graced Hagami's face. "Unlike Okaasan, he was able to awaken the Sharingan, and the Mangekyō Sharingan after losing his best friend in the War. He was the opposite of Okaasan in weaponry too. He could only wield kunai and shuriken, I mean, he could use other weapons, but he didn't want to.

"The two...The two committed s-suicide because of the rising pressure in the Clan." Hagami whispered out. She had her arms in front of her on the rim of the back of the chair and now she had buried her face in her arms too.

"I'm sorry." Itachi quietly soothed her. Right now, he was acting like the older sibling and he put his hand on her shoulder. "It'll be alright." Hagami drew in a sharp breath and nails were threatening to dig into her own skin. Itachi, on the other hand, who wasn't necessarily accustomed to such things, didn't know quite what to do except give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"I-I hope." She whimpered out now and heaved a heavy breath. "T-Their last words on their note to me were...protect the Clan, at all costs."