WANTED: Itachi Uchiha

Yonjuu

Itachi was accustomed to the battlefield. He was used to foreign shinobi springing from the depths of the shadows and bombarding him with kunai and bizarre jutsu. He was even used to extracting information from captured ninja with minimally invasive techniques.

However in this situation it was his own family and clan he was fighting against. Itachi never imagined he would have to defend himself against his own flesh and blood. But in that instance they were scared, vicious even. They didn't understand why he did the things he did, he didn't even understand.

Yet they kept shouting.

"How could you do this to us?! To your mother?!" Fugaku roared, slamming his hands down on the dining room table. "How could you be so selfish!"

Mikoto was crying, sobbing in fact, holding a tea towel to her face to suppress her cries.

"Otou-san please." Itachi placated, his face remaining impassive. He thought admitting everything that had happened would miraculously fix everything. Perhaps it had been wishful thinking on his part; but he had told them in spite. To shock them. To scare them. All it had done was anger his father and break his mother.

"BE QUIET!" Sasuke roared, his eyes lit up like wildfire.

Everyone froze.

Fugaku glared at his youngest son, his own sharingan firing up in defense. Sasuke snarled, baring his teeth in retaliation. "You should be ashamed of yourself Otou-san. Absolutely ashamed."

"Watch your tongue Sasuke..." Fugaku snarled in response.

"No."

Fugaku blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I said no." Sasuke replied with a lethal calm. "You will not bully me into silence. Not where Itachi is concerned."

Reina placed her hand in Itachi's and squeezed lightly. A small reminder that he wasn't alone. He glanced to the side to look at her and saw an ally, his ally. Just like Sasuke was. He was not alone.

"Your son, your first born child, admits to you that he tried to take his own life and you have the audacity to call him selfish?!" Sasuke muttered, standing to occupy the space between Itachi and his father. "You twisted everything and made it about yourself and the clan? Can't you see that it's the clan that's been killing him? YOU have been killing him?"

"Sasuke please?" Mikoto begged in between her tears. Her youngest shook his head in reply.

"No Okaa-san. I'm sorry but it's you two who are selfish. Not Itachi. And if you can't support him now, when he needs you the most? Then you don't deserve him." Sasuke looked to Reina and Itachi and smiled, holding out his hand. "Or me for that matter."

Reina took Sasuke's hand and stood, pulling Itachi with her, linking her fingers with his. Itachi took a final look at his parents, at their horrified faces and knew that leaving was the right decision. He needed to get away. He wanted to get away.

He needed to breathe, he needed to be free.

Reina ushered Itachi out the room, lingering as Sasuke stood at the door, protecting their flanks. Sasuke took a final look at his parents, his father curling his mother into his arms as she wept.

"And for the record? I'm gay."

Then he shut the door and walked away.

•••

"So..." Reina began, smiling as she tossed a packet of pocky into her basket. "I'm gay?"

Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes, adding a packet of tomato flavoured potato chips into her basket. "And what? You got a problem with that?"

Reina grinned whilst Itachi decided between two packets of dango. "As long as Naruto treats you well and respects you? I couldn't give a shit."

Sasuke froze. "I never mentioned Naruto."

"You didn't have to." Itachi answered for him, taking the basket off of Reina and idly adding in his chosen pack of dango. Reina chuckled and Sasuke blushed.

"I hope you're both safe?" Reina added casually, quirking a brow suggestively.

"Wha-...Shut up!" Sasuke flushed darker walking away.

"I'm just saying!" Reina hollered after him. "Safe sex is obligatory regardless of sexuality! As is consent!"

"If you wake up in the middle of the night and find Sasuke trying to smother you, don't come crying to me." Itachi murmured, glancing sideways at Reina.

"You wouldn't save me?" Reina feigned shock, knocking her hips into his. Itachi smiled, his lips twisting into the apples of his cheeks as he swathed his spare arm around her shoulders.

"You saved me so it would only be fair of me to return the favour."

"Ne Itachi?" Reina asked, leaning against him as they wandered down the aisle.

"Hm?"

"I am so proud of you." Reina whispered, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tightly.

Itachi stopped in his tracks, glancing down in shock. He hadn't heard those words spoken to him in so long. Usually it was his father saying them to him when he had completed an exceedingly dangerous mission or perfecting a rare clan jutsu. He had never had it said to him just because.

And it made him...giddy.

Itachi felt his cheeks flush as he cleared his throat and squeezed her back, they continuing down the aisle where Sasuke was blushing furiously whilst Naruto chatted the leg off him, rambling as only Naruto could.

"Getaroom." Reina coughed into her fist as she and Itachi walked past.

Sasuke felt the vein on his forehead throb.

"I'm going...to fucking kill you!" Sasuke shouted, taking off after Reina around the shop.

Itachi sighed and Naruto was completely dumbstruck.

Uchihas.