CREAK!
Uchiha compound.
The clan head's back yard.
A storage shed that was rarely used held a jumble of odds and ends.
When the door slid open, Itachi was kneeling on a simple tatami mat, sunk in thought.
He had skipped too many clan meetings and clashed with the clansmen, so he had been confined.
After cooling down he had apologized, yet his conviction had only hardened.
Clan and village.
Everyone's vision seemed cramped to a painful degree.
So cramped it was unbearable.
If all you clung to was one clan or one village, what could the end be?
Shisui's death had set a torch to Itachi's resolve to change everything.
He looked up, a glint passing through his eyes.
His two little brothers stood in the doorway, and behind them loomed a strange monk in odd clothes and sunglasses.
His bare head flashed in the sun.
He had no eyebrows either.
Itachi lifted a hand, then met Sasuke's wary gaze.
Yes.
Yesterday during the clash with the clansmen, Sasuke had been there.
His Mangekyo had swept past his brother without meaning to.
Had he scared him?
Bitterness pricked Itachi's heart.
Amane set a food box before him, pushed his glasses up, and remained perfectly calm.
Being confined had happened in the tale as well, also after Shisui's death.
It seemed a bit early.
Did that mean the massacre plan would move forward as well?
Amane did not know, but the clan revival plan set against it was unfolding step by step.
He had underestimated Fugaku. The quiet father surprised him.
The plan had barely begun. Not even a full day had passed.
Already the noisy hanger-on who used to buzz around Fugaku urging him to start a war had vanished.
Word said he had been sent on a mission.
Amane knew he would not return.
Cast off the mercy you do not need, forge a hard iron Uchiha force, and let the clan be reborn.
Those loyal to the clan head were quietly preparing the relocation.
Everything moved in order.
"Looks like you forgot what I told you at the dango shop."
Squatting in front of Itachi, Amane sighed.
Schemes and plots.
He was not good at that sort of thing.
If Itachi's massacre plan had been delayed by a year or so, he was confident he could lead the Uchiha out of Konoha and cut down Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzō along the way.
The system had not been active long, and he was only six. For the clan and for Itachi, this line of play was best.
Once the dust settled, his strength would surge. When the time was ripe, the reborn Uchiha would make Konoha understand what a mistake they had made.
It was a two-dimensional tale, yet the hot-blooded world felt brutally real.
One careful step at a time.
Grow strong, then enjoy the open sky.
Forgotten the dango talk?
Itachi shook his head.
Impossible.
He loved his brothers. He simply did not want them to bear the burden.
Now was not the time to discuss it with Amane.
He tipped his face toward the monk behind Amane, puzzlement in his eyes.
"Who is he?"
He had not recognized him.
Amane touched his frames and smiled.
Bringing Shisui was to test the haircut and because Shisui wanted to see how Itachi was doing.
No cracks.
In Itachi's mind, Shisui had jumped. With his look and aura changed, there was no way this blind man could be linked to that dear friend.
"A bodyguard I picked up. He will be with me from now on."
"You can call him Mizuko."
Mizuko.
What a peculiar name.
Itachi shook his head and lost the desire to talk.
Inside, one line repeated.
"Forgive me, Amane, Sasuke."
"This is the last time."
...
"Second Brother, how was my acting?"
Leaving the yard, Sasuke finally burst. His face was bright red and his head bobbed like a rattle.
To be honest, Itachi had always seemed profound and overwhelming to him.
He yearned for his Nii-san's approval and even took him as a goal.
Now his second brother had led him to deceive the faith of his childhood. The feeling was entirely different.
It felt...
Great.
Really great.
He felt like he had dreamed that whole scene.
I tricked Itachi.
Sasuke lifted his chin with pride.
That was Itachi.
Heh.
If Second Brother had not warned him, those strange eyes would have scared him stupid.
He had heard worse was coming, and his room to perform would be huge.
"Not bad. Remember, do not break character with a grin."
"Keep it natural."
Amane yawned, then glanced at Shisui. "And you. If I had not pinched your backside, you would have greeted Itachi."
"I had not shifted into the role yet."
Shisui sounded helpless.
Even so, Itachi's state really might unfold as Amane said.
Why, though?
Mizuko could not untangle it.
Simple as he was, even after Danzō's treachery his worldview had not flipped.
That did not make him stupid.
"So you want to use the entire clan to twist Itachi's thinking."
"In the process, Itachi has no idea he is caught up in a staged game. He plods along with his own plan, not knowing everyone else is acting around him."
"Amane, let me say it."
"You do not play your brother like this."
He shook his head and towed Sasuke along, sounding a bit sorry for Itachi.
"He is my brother."
Amane adjusted his glasses, as if it were nothing.
"But..."
One brow rose, and he showed a wicked little grin.
"Sasuke, remember that line I taught you?"
Huh?
That line.
Sasuke's eyes lit. He put on a look of pain edged with relief and gazed back at the confinement room.
"Forgive me..."
"Seven to one."
"This is the last time."
He seemed to slip into the role. His hand lifted as if to flick Amane's forehead the way Itachi did, then wilted under his second brother's harmless smile.
"My foolish brother..."
SMACK!
"Who are you calling foolish?"
These two had a good relationship.
No, all three did.
Shisui nodded, pleased.
...