Nevermore

Warning: This story will include minor spoilers if anyone hasn't seen/read the chapters on Itachi's past as well as some parts of the part II manga/anime. Obviously, it's a read at your own risk thing.
-----------------------------------------

At the time, I didn’t get it. But what could anyone have expected-being so young and naïve. Back then I truly thought this whole arrangement would outgrow itself and in its place I would be able to find my own happiness. Not one that had been assigned to me years before my birth.

But as I grew older I began to understand.

It wasn’t just chance Itachi and I had been chosen, my family had little to its name and in that way my father and mother found an escape to that dying flame. By marrying me off to a high class family with a reputation among the clan. It all led back to my roots, my grandfather of many past generations gave us what respect we had. But soon people forget and with that came another chance at respect, a chance they jumped at.

His name was Uchiha Hujiko and as rumor had it, he fought along side the infamous Uchiha Madara in the great wars against the Senju clan. It was told they had much respect for each other as Uchiha men, as warriors. It’s no doubt my grandfather was a strong man, I never once second guessed all those stories I was told as a kid.

It wasn’t until the day one of their enemies became Hokage did Hujiko lose respect for his fellow brother. Madara spent years prior to that speaking of change among the clans and all it turned out to be was a ploy for some idea he had bred in his mind. He stood on his pedestal, and as leader of the Uchiha clan he worked hard to convince them all to uproot Hashirama’s power from the ground up. In his eyes, Hashirama was no better a Hokage than a dying mutt would have been. He must have felt strongly about the Uchiha clan falling out of power, so strongly he was willing to risk the entire treaty on a vague perception. When they all realized Madara was becoming more a false idol in their eyes they took action and cut their loyalties. In Hujiko’s case, he cut his ties as comrades and supported the idea that Madara be abandoned by the clan and left to his own bloodthirsty ideals.

Soon after, Hujiko became more than he could have ever thought. A respected counselor to the Uchiha people-along with his work with the first Hokage, he did a lot for our clan. In a way, he rekindled the lost respect we had gathered upon our heads, he made peace from nothing. In the end, he died to the hands of Madara, the very man he had fought along side with. It was at the Valley at the End where he fell, another causality in the delicate throws of war.

People then remembered his name and he died with a mark left on his people and the entire leaf village.

But after that, each generation after him paled in comparison to his noble deeds. We became a family of failed shinobi, disgraced or pathetic in our work.

And I was no exception.

I never had it in me to be a ninja. I was born a dreamer, I found peace in my own head time and time again-when I could have been training to be a killer. But it just wasn’t me and when I realized this it was only my luck that my family had foreseen my failures years before I had a chance to disappoint. Somehow they all knew what Itachi would do for us, what kind of prodigy he would turn out to be. And somehow they knew we’d manage and find our own bittersweet niches within each other…
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her mothers wrath had never been greater than it had that day. From where she stood, Hinamei was surprised her mother didn’t just burst into a million tiny burning pieces, she was that angry. And it was all because of Hinamei’s mouth-so willing and careless. “Do you realize what you could have done, Hinamei that family is all we have to our name now!” The small child sat on the floor, staring at her hands through red, blurry eyes. She wasn’t listening, more or less drowning in her own self pity. “They have everything, they are your only chance at being happy and being more than, than-this!”

“But-but Kaa-san, you didn’t hear the awful things he said to me!” She wailed out, slapping her hands against the polished wood floor. Parents, they were all the same to her. So unfair and unseeing. Blind as they were she always hoped one day they would see she was right.

“I don’t care what he said to you, you have no choice in the matter. You’re lucky Mikoto-san was so understanding and kind, you would be bruised if she hadn’t.” The young girl flinched at her tone, she wasn’t kidding. “Get used to it, you’ll be seeing a lot of that boy now. He is forever a part of your life and you are to his, I expect you to use that head of yours and realize…you’re not just doing this for us.” Her mother’s black eyes fell to the floor. She never liked admitting her uselessness to anyone, let alone her five year old daughter. “I beg of you Hinamei-kun, turn the other cheek. Kill him with kindness…he’ll come around. He has no choice but to.” The clock ticked throughout the silent house, her father was asleep, he was when she came home.

Not that it was a surprise to anyone, the man was lazy and useless. He slept like he breathed.

Constantly.

“I’m sorry Kaa-san, I’ll be better.” A smile graced her mothers face and in the light she looked beautiful, ten years young without a worry on her head. The woman slipped forward, kissing lightly the top of Hinamei’s dark brown hair before she stood up and beckoned her daughter to do the same.

“It’s late, you should have been in bed an hour ago. Come, tomorrow you’ve got to see him again and this time I expect you to be on your best behavior. There’s no need to say everything you think.” Her hand wrapped around the girl’s smaller one and with a wide yawn Hinamei finally realized just how tired she was. She hardly ever cried this much at one time.

“I’m ready, I’ll be a good girl just for you!” Her energy depleted after her last happy outburst and she drooped her head low. Each shallow breath pushed her chin off of chest and with it her eyes fell heavy. Her mother carried her the rest of the way into her room until she was cradling the blankets close to her neck. A small mumble left the child’s lips and with one last soft smile, her mother left her alone to her dreams.

It was the soft peaking rays of sunlight that finally stirred the small child from her sleep. With a wide yawn on her lips she rolled from the bed and stepped from her room into the hall. Normally, it would have taken at least a half hour to remove herself from her bed but this morning was different. A sweet smell drifted through the air, pulling her towards the kitchen clutching at her empty stomach. Kaa-san never baked so early in the morning, unless there was some kind of special occasion. She peeked around the corner and watched her mother hum a soft song to herself while she removed the pans from her oven, “You’re not getting any of this Hinamei,” she finally said, turning on her heel to eye the startled girl. As soon as she recovered Hinamei balled her fists and pushed her bottom lip out.

Of course, her mother never baked anything good for them.

“Well, who else is going to eat it?” She eyed the anpan curiously until her mother said those dreaded words Hinamei would have rather not heard.

“After it cools, you will be taking it to Fugaku-san and his family. It’s the least we could do to make up for your behavior yesterday.” Hinamei opened her mouth in protest but was cut off by her mother’s persistent drabble, “I expect you to spare some time for Itachi-chan as well, get to know him.” It was suddenly like everything in the universe came crashing down around her head.

The last thing she wanted to do was spare some time for that brat.

Stomping off was the only thing she could manage that could get her point across firmly. Not that anyone was paying attention. After her bath, her mother forced her into a simple blue dress set and pulled her hair back into a bun before pushing her out the door with a basket full of fresh anpan. Hinamei stood outside her house with a frown set into her pretty features, looking up at the blazing sky with distaste. It was hot, even under the shelter of her roof she felt the heat sink in through her small sweater. Slyly, she looked around and through the window watched as her mother prepared the morning tea and as soon as she felt it was safe she stripped her sweater off and threw it into the nearby bushes. The basket slipped back into her small fingers and she took off running to the other side of the compound.

She got half way before she felt the sun take a toll on her already pink shoulders. It took twenty minutes longer for her to reach the right house before she rapped on the door sharply. The basket balanced between both hands and reached an inch higher than her feet, not to mention it weighed almost half as much as she did. When the door opened Hinamei grinned and held the basket up. “Ohayo Uchiha-san! Kaa-san baked some sweets for your family this morning!” The woman blinked before a wide smile replaced her confusion, in one arm was the small beaming baby she had wanted so badly to play with yesterday and with the other she opened the door wider.

“Come in Hinamei-kun, please.” She accepted happily, pulling off her shoes and hauling the large basket next to her. “I’m afraid Itachi isn’t home right now,” The coy child did her best to pull her sweet face into one of heavy dissapointment, looking up at Mikoto from under her lashes. “But in case you wanted to see him and maybe bring him a few rolls, I could tell you where to find him.” Another forced smile found her face and she nodded exuberantly. Reminding herself not to pull that stunt again. Mikoto took the basket and pulled from her cabinet a large white napkin, lying it flat among the surface she filled it with five rolls and tied it tightly shut. “You know where the training grounds are?”

Of course she did, she watched her father practice there for months prior, when he actually cared about becoming a respected shinobi. She nodded and took the napkin from her, bowing low and muttering a thanks. Mikoto laughed in response and walked her to the door, as soon as she was outside and away from Mikoto’s careful eyes she let out a loud aggravated sigh, storming away in a fury as she set off towards the training grounds.

It took ten minutes to walk there from where she started but purposely she managed to make it there in twenty. It wasn’t because of her dread of seeing Itachi again but more or less her mind wandered off to better places and in turn veered her off track. Finally, she arrived at the training grounds only to find it completely empty.

Another growl left her mouth. The girl shut her eyes and turned her head upwards, knowing she would have been better off not going. Until a shift in the air caught her attention and someone breathed behind her ear, “boo.” Her eyes went wide and her tiny fingers unlatched the knotted napkin, she turned on her heel as fast as she could only to come up with more empty space. Suddenly that familiar burning flashed across her cheeks.

“What have we got here?” A delighted voice called from behind her, the joke had gone far enough and she whipped around to come face to face with a boy she hadn’t ever seen. His hair was a black, tousled mess a top his head, delicate wisps making him look more like a nymph than any shinobi she had ever seen. But there he stood as clear as day toting a leaf headband around his forehead. From the looks of it he couldn’t have been more than three years older than she was. The Uchiha boy laughed at the look of fear that was scrawled on her face before he bent down to pick up the napkin she had dropped. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t very nice. Here,” she eyed him hesitantly before taking back the napkin, with a slight head nod she stepped back. “Itachi, do you know this girl?” Her eyes followed his and she narrowed her sights when she caught him perching on the wall behind her.

“Unfortunately, what are you doing here?” Ignoring his jab she held out the napkin and waved it about like a burden.

“It’s anpan, I was told to give you some.” Another whimsical laugh filled the air and she realized the new boy was laughing at the look that suddenly washed over Itachi’s face. He shook his head at Hinamei and jumped off the wall. The girl brought her dark eyes up to Itachi’s face and for a slight second she thought she might have seen guilt flit across his features, but the chances of that remained slim. Finally, he stepped forward and took it from her, muttering a slight ‘thank you’ while keeping his eyes averted from her own curious gaze.

“Is that all you’ve come for then?” The older boy asked, bending down to her level to further examine her. She tucked in her bottom lip and looked away, ashamed to be scrutinized by such an older boy.

“I have to spend time with Itachi-chan, Kaa-san is making me.” Itachi sighed and stepped closer, looking at the older boy with titled eyebrows. “Don’t stop training because of me, I can watch.” She offered helpfully, looking up at both boys with a glimmer in her eye. At least if Itachi was training he was busy and less able to spend time with her.

Not that he would want to at any rate.

“Shisui, maybe it’s best-” But the older boy held a hand up at Itachi’s words. He shook his head and grinned happily.

“I have a better idea, how about we teach you instead? This is getting boring anyway.” Her heart raced and happily, an excited smile found her rosy lips. She nodded exuberantly and let slip a slight laugh at the prospect of being able to throw around sharp implements. Itachi muttered something before walking away with a sour look on his face, not thrilled to have Hinamei in on their training time.

Without warning, Itachi whipped around on his heel and scowled, directing his bitterness primarily towards Shisui this time, “that‘s fine-but if she gets in the way I’m going home.”

With a wave of his hand he dismissed Itachi’s gloom and instead reached down into his pouch and pulled out a razor sharp kunai, “first, let’s see how good you can throw little girl.”