"Mother, please..."
Itachi exchanged a concerned look with Izumi as they both stood outside of Mikoto's bedroom, the heavy silence even more unnerving than the endless sobbing that had come from her in the week following the announcement of Sasuke's death.
As Yuta fidgeted around in his mother's arms, itching to get down, Izumi remained unmoving as she frowned at Itachi.
"Has your father even bothered checking up on her?" she asked in a strained whisper, astounded as to how callous Fugaku had been regarding the death of his youngest son. Since the announcement had been made, the leader of the clan had shown little to no remorse over his son's death, and had barely been around to comfort his mourning wife.
"You know he hasn't."
Growing angrier with her father-in-law by the second, Izumi relented and finally put Yuta down.
"Nana! Nana, are you in here?"
As Yuta walked over to the door and started knocking, Izumi lowered her voice.
"Why does your father act as if he doesn't care that his son's been executed by the Senju?!" she whispered furiously, turning her full attention towards Itachi as she fumed on the spot. "Was Sasuke nothing more to him than a pawn?!"
"This has given him the perfect opportunity to boost morale around here," murmured Itachi under his breath, arms crossed as he watched Yuta try to open his grandmother's bedroom door to no avail. "It just makes everyone even more determined to destroy the Senju."
"Sasuke was his son!"
"I know. But that's father for you."
"He's no father," spat Izumi, aggressively crossing her arms. "Yuta, come on. Let's leave nana alone for now. Home time. Let's go."
Grabbing Yuta's hand, Izumi shook her head and muttered to herself as she stormed out of the house with her son in tow, leaving Itachi alone in front of his mother's room.
"Mother?" implored the Uchiha, lightly rapping his knuckles against the flimsy paper door. "Mother, are you in there?"
He heard scuffling from the other side, and in a few seconds was greeted by the sight of his mother standing in the doorway.
"Hello, Itachi," said Mikoto in a small voice, her eyes burning red as she stood before her eldest son with her hands demurely held in front of herself. Dressed in the same black kimono she had worn to the memorial service held for Sasuke, Mikoto's normally proud and esteemed posture was now nonexistent; the woman standing before Itachi was nothing more than a shadow of the woman she used to be.
"How have you been holding up?" asked Itachi softly, his heart breaking for his mother. For a fleeting second, he felt nothing but pure, genuine loathing towards his father for making Mikoto suffer like this.
"Just fine," replied Mikoto quietly, tucking back loose strands of hair that had fallen from her bun. "How is Yuta? I couldn't bear to have him see me in this state. He doesn't need to be worried about me as well."
"He's fine," reassured Itachi, reaching out and placing a hand on his mother's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"
"So sad," sighed Mikoto, shaking her head as she covered her face. "My Sasuke... how could this happen..."
"Don't worry," said Itachi firmly, straightening up. "We'll make sure the Senju pay for this. They'll be sorry. Just watch."
Seeing his mother so distraught and wrought with grief, Itachi briefly believed that his brother had been executed by the Senju. It would have been much easier too, if they had actually been responsible for his mother's desolation.
However, seeing Mikoto so broken and melancholic made Itachi doubt himself, and his loyalty towards his father.
Who was the real enemy?
***
"Itachi!"
Fugaku roared as he dominated the training grounds, spotting his eldest son approaching in the distance. Hordes of fallen shinobi lay on the ground in exhaustion at their leader's feet, having been ordered by Fugaku to take him on so that he could try out the extra chakra boost he had received from the scroll Karin had stolen from the Senju. Much to his satisfaction, it had granted him the ability to use both Water and Earth type jutsu, meaning he had been able to increase his abilities exponentially.
"Hello, father," greeted Itachi politely, although through gritted teeth.
"Fight me, boy!"
Itachi came to a halt at the edge of the training ground, staring at his father as he victoriously leered at him.
"Actually, I came here on behalf of mother," said Itachi, bowing to his father. "She would like you to come home tonight so that you can both give offerings to Sasuke."
"I don't have time for that!" scowled Fugaku, his amicability transforming immediately into annoyance. "Why can't you do it with her?"
"Because... never mind." Itachi sighed, and bowed at his father once more. "I'll let her know."
"Tell your mother if she misses Sasuke so much to just adopt Yuta and raise him! Easy replacement, give or take a couple of decades!" said Fugaku scornfully, glaring at the huffing shinobi still on the ground. "You lot! Back on your feet, let's go!"
"I'm afraid that won't be possible," said Itachi forcibly, now feeling his own temper rising at his father's reckless suggestion. "But do have fun with your new... toy. Surely, it must be of utmost interest for you to forget that your son has died, and you have a mourning wife at home."
"I'd be careful if I were you, Itachi," called out Fugaku as his son turned on his heel. "You don't want your mother to lose both of her sons, do you?"
"You're crazy," muttered Itachi under his breath, walking away from the training grounds as he ignored his father's empty threat.
All his life, he had gone along with what his father and the rest of his clan wanted, simply because he wanted to keep the peace with his family. However, the deeper they got into the war, and the more Itachi saw how many lives had been altered for the worse, his doubts only grew. Right now, he just wanted to clear his mind, and there was only one person who he wanted to talk to.
***
"... honestly. What could I possibly do?"
As Itachi lay on the grass staring up at the canopy of trees above him, he sighed glumly. The sunlight trickled in over his face as he closed his eyes, getting lost deep in thought.
"I've always been about keeping the peace, but this... I don't know anymore, Shisui. Deserting the clan would hurt my mother just as much as Sasuke's so called death did, and I can't be sure that Yuta and Izumi would be safe if I just upped and left. I doubt Izumi would want to leave, either- my father's plan to ramp up the resentment towards the Senju worked with her. I mean, her unwavering loyalty to the clan is basically the only reason my father likes her. If I tell her the truth about Sasuke, would that change anything? It's worth a shot, right?"
Itachi grimaced as he looked towards the patch he had buried Shisui in, unable to completely vocalise his multitude of entangled thoughts.
"Why'd you have to do it, Shisui?"
With a huff, Itachi closed his eyes once more and lay with his arms behind his head, chewing on his tongue in deep thought.
As he did, a gentle gust of wind breezed by him, and he immediately felt a soothing sensation erupt within himself. Itachi's inner turmoil was briefly put to rest, and as he relaxed in his position, he heard a faint voice.
"You know why I did it."
Brow furrowed as he frowned, Itachi shook his head in disbelief.
"There could've been better ways to approach the situation," countered the resting crow, unsure of whether or not the voice he was hearing was one that his mind had simply conjured up. "But it's been done. What do I do? I don't want to keep hurting people, even if it does mean keeping the peace with my family. Look, I did what my father told me to do, and now my mother is hurting. Everything is beginning to unravel, and I don't want to keep on going. I'm sick of all this war and fighting- I lost you, and now I might as well have lost Sasuke, and my mother as well. I'm sick of it all. All I ever wanted was to be able to raise a family of my own- a normal one. How am I meant to raise Yuta normally in these circumstances?"
"Then do something about it."
"Like what?!" exclaimed Itachi, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation. "I honestly don't know what to do anymore!"
"Speak to Sasuke."
"How?"
Itachi opened his eyes to confront wherever the voice was coming from, but as soon as he did he wished that he had had just a little more patience. The voice disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, leaving the Uchiha to groan in frustration as he pulled at his hair.
"ARGH!"