Chapter 1
The tension in the air could be cut like a knife. Mikoto didn’t know what to do anymore. Both Itachi and Fugaku were fighting. She agreed with her husband but couldn’t stand the thought of her beloved family yelling at each other. She couldn’t hear the words over her own heartbeat and her eyes were blurry with tears.
Even so, she could still pinpoint when her son activated his Sharingan. Fugaku didn’t hesitate to do the same. Before she could find out exactly why her precious son was so determined to go against them, she heard a confident and shrill voice.
“Well, nobody gets to bully Itachi while I'm around.” There stood her youngest in all his pajamaed glory. His hands on his hips. The sight of him baffled her so much, her tears dried right up.
She waved him over to her as she wiped her eyes of the offending water. “Who do you think is bullying Itachi,” Mikoto asked as she moved Sasuke’s hair out of his eyes. The other two looked on curiously.
Sasuke didn’t stay awake long. Only about 10 minutes but his words left a lasting impression and lit a fire in Mikoto. What right did she have to cry when her son was so quick to correct what he saw as an injustice. The room was filled with a different tension as he left the room to go back to bed.
“Leave, huh?” Fugaku mused. Both Sharingan were deactivated and Itachi looked pensive. Mikoto hadn’t seen that look on her oldest’s face since before Sasuke was born.
“That would mean I wouldn’t have to….” Itachi’s words trailed off and Fugaku’s eyes sharpened.
“That’s enough,” he sounded firm and Itachi was barely hanging on. “What is going on?”
“Sweetie, we just want to help,” Mikoto chimed in softly.
Itachi looked conflicted but both Fugaku and Mikoto were shinobi at one point. They had the patience to wait him out. “I… I don’t want anyone to get hurt but I’m not sure what to do,” he finally admitted. He looked close to tears himself.
“Sit down and explain,” Fugaku sighed and re sat. Mikoto settled next to him and gave her son an encouraging smile.
He steeled his resolve and explained everything. How the village wanted him to spy. How they were planning something terrible and how he and Shisui were trying to stop it. Fugaku and Mikoto stayed quiet while he whispered his confession.
At some point, Mikoto felt the burn of tears again but she pushed them back this time. This village had gone too far by going after her child.
“I can’t think of anything to stop it,” Itachi finished and waited for his sentence.
Mikoto was the one who broke the silence. “We’re leaving.” Both men looked at her like she was crazy. She gathered the energy of her youngest son and tried to sound as confident as he was earlier.
“We can’t just leave,” Itachi protested while Fugaku looked pensive. “The village would ne….”
“I honestly don’t care what the village will allow or not allow anymore. I won’t let them mess with my family any more. Look at you two. They pitted you against each other. You were about to come to blows.”
They both looked away in shame and another awkward silence descended. This time it was broken by Fugaku. “We could leave,” Itachi looked at them both like they were crazy.
“Wait,” Fugaku held up his hand. “We entered this village as founders, not asylum seekers so we have no obligation to stay. At the rate we’re going, it’s only a matter of time before the killing starts and I don’t want to have to fight my own blood,” He shot Itachi a meaningful look.
“How would we go about it,” Itachi didn’t sound completely on board yet but now he was listening. That was more than what they had before Sasuke’s interruption.
“We’ll need carts to carry supplies and our children,” Mikoto started, ever so practical.
“Horses aren’t discreet.” Fugaku wasn’t arguing. The two of them planned out everything in front of Itachi. The boy himself was conflicted on what he should do. Until now, he had been feeding information to the village but telling the hokage they were up and leaving may start a massacre.
“What should I…” He let the sentence trail off, feeling lost.
Fugaku stood up and walked in front of him. Itachi had the small fear he would strike him down right then and there. Fugaku slowly wrapped his arms around Itachi. The older boy froze. It had felt like years since he was hugged.
They stood in that position for longer than either would admit to before Fugaku pulled away and coughed. He put his hands on his shoulder and looked at Itachi. “Look, right now the Uchiha clan and Konoha are in a bad spot. If you report any of what you heard, we will all be killed.” Itachi sucked in a breath at the thought.
“I’m not asking you to betray the village. We will not actively seek vengeance against them after we leave. I want you to be all in with me.” He implored. “That might be impossible right now. You need to start thinking for yourself and decide what future you want for yourself?”
“I won’t say anything,” Itachi decided. If they weren’t intending to hurt Konoha, there really was no need to. The Hokage only ordered him to report village related problems and if they left, it wouldn’t be a village related problem anymore.
“For now, we’ll act natural. The two of you will go to work like normal while I start preparing things,” Mikoto walked over and hugged both of them. Itachi leaned into the comfort. “Unfortunately, there won’t be any sleep tonight though. We want you to help us finish planning.”
“What about Sasuke?” Fugaku looked worried.
“Don’t worry, I can talk to him tomorrow. He’s not the most social at school so even if he does let something slip, I doubt anyone would notice.” Mikoto looked sad at the thought.