WANTED: Itachi Uchiha

Shichi

"So, Itachi Uchiha. May I call you Itachi?" 

"Hai." 

"Good. Do you know why you're here today?" The older male asked from his place in a large, leather wingback chair. Itachi sat rigid, his hands clasped in his lap. 

"Hai." Itachi replied, keeping his eyes cast down and locked on the fraying edges of the rug. He knew exactly why he was here. He wasn't stupid. He simply didn't want to say the words out loud. He was an Uchiha afterall, a painfully proud species of human. 

The older male smiled cheerfully. This wasn't his first rodeo with a stubborn male. Men didn't like talking about their feelings at the best of times, let alone men that had been purposely trained to suppress any form of human emotion. 

He got more of a response from the plants on his window sill. 

"Explain to me then, in your own words, why you're here." 

Itachi didn't answer at first; he knew what the man before him wanted to hear. He wanted to hear about how the horrors and trauma of his life had affected him and how it had impacted his mental capacity and emotional integrity. 

The truth was however, he wasn't sure what he felt. 

Somedays he felt absolutely nothing and was devoid of any emotion; other days he felt everything. Those days were the hardest. He didn't want to feel anything. He didn't want to feel the loss of another teammate, the grief that began as a tiny kernel in his chest before it started to consume him like a wildfire in the heat of summer. 

"I'm here because it's part of my psychological evaluation as an ANBU Buntaichō." Lies. "I have a responsibility as a leader to set the example of what is expected within the team and that rules are made to be abided by regardless of clan or status." More lies. 

The elder man sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. ANBU were always difficult clients. The majority of the time it was pointless them coming to see him; the years of trauma had  tainted their view of the world that any mental health was permanently distorted, if not eradicated it completely. They were permanently scarred or drugged up to the eyeballs on antipsychotic drugs just to compute. 

The elder man scribbled on a smaller notepad, his handwriting barely legible like most medical professionals. 

"Take this and I'll see you again. Same time next week."

°°°

Reina felt somewhat human after cleaning herself up. The stale tang of vomit that had clung to her tongue and teeth had been replaced by an intense explosion of spearmint that made her eyes water and gums sting. 

Her hair was no longer a tangled mess of knots and stray bobby pins. It had taken a fair amount of Itachi's conditioner to untangle her hair; she presumed it was Itachi's given it was an intensive treatment and the Elder Uchiha's locks were almost as luscious as Neji's. 

But she felt more human. To an extent. 

Gingerly, and using what shinobi skill she had left, Reina crept down the stairs of the Uchiha household, weary of the scene she would walk into. Even the raven, who had decided to house itself on her shoulder, remained silent as if sensing her silent apprehension. 

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, a waft of aniseed tickled Reina's nostrils; Baa-chan used to cook with five spice when she prepared yakisoba. She claimed it was her secret ingredient. She paused at the threshold, her breath hitching in her throat. All she had to do was go in, thank them for their hospitality and excuse herself before heading out to the funeral home where Baa-chan was waiting, all alone. 

All without murdering the Elder Uchiha or having a mental breakdown in the process. 

Easy - in theory. 

Reina inhaled deeply, squaring off her shoulders and raised her chin; the raven ruffled its feathers, the motion beginning at its head before rippling down to the tips of its tail, mimicking her motion. First she knocked on the door hearing the chatter from within the room dim at the noise; before she could slide the door Mikoto beat her to it, her pale face beaming. 

"Ah Reina-chan! I'm so glad you're alright! Please, please, come in and sit down. We're just about to serve dinner." Mikoto ushered Reina in, quirking a brow at the corvid companion perched on her shoulder. 

"I-uh…I can't stay I~" 

"Nonsense! You need to eat, get your strength back up." Mikoto was a formidable woman, just like her grandmother. When it came to mealtimes, she did not take no for an answer. Mikoto ushered Reina to the dining room table, plonking her on a spare cushion beside Fugaku who merely nodded his acknowledgement before turning his attention back to his paper. Reina couldn't remember the last time she was in a full household, where there was more than two people at the dinner table. 

"Reina-chan." Sasuke murmured giving her a swift nod similar to his father's before returning to his own reading material - a scroll on advanced fire jutsu.

Itachi was nowhere to be seen. 

"Tea?" Mikoto chirped, teacup in hand. Reina nodded. 

"Hai, please."

"Did you sleep well? Itachi is hardly here so his bed is practically brand new." Mikoto chuckled in an attempt to keep the conversation light-hearted. Reina nodded again, her nose catching the collar of her borrowed shirt wondering how on earth the high collar was even remotely practical. "I must admit, I was rather surprised to see Karasu with you." Mikoto motioned to the raven on Reina's shoulder, the bird cawing at hearing its name. 

"Karasu?" Reina asked, glancing at the bird on her shoulder. "Why?" 

"Because it's a vicious creature that hates everything and everyone, bar Itachi." Sasuke muttered, glaring at the bird with a disdain usually reserved for Naruto. Reina blinked whilst Fugaku responded with a 'Hmm' in agreement. Karasu squawked brashly, flapping its wings towards Sasuke, clearly not keen on his choice of words. 

"Settle down." Reina whispered curtly, tapping the bird on its head with her finger. Everyone watched silently, their breathes baited, waiting for the bird to attack the golden eyed kunoichi in a flurry of vicious pecks and scratches. But no such thing happened. Instead the bird listened and done exactly as it was told. 

They were awestruck. 

"Well I'll be damned." Fugaku muttered. "She's tamed the beast."