Defective .:Yandere!Itachi x Fem!Reader:. AU

Defective: A Father, Forgotten

Fugaku sighs. Lately, Mikoto travels for days at a time, doing God knows what. He could care less if she's cheating, or if she's going to find Sasuke. It's her way of grieving. But the man can't help but feel forgotten.

No one cares about what he feels; About the emotions that flare up and die as quickly as they rose. Compared to all of them, Fugaku is hurting the most, but because he doesn't show it, his family sees him as an emotionless monster. It's the logical side of him that won't let him express emotions, it's the cracked concrete guidelines of gender roles that won't let him shed a tear.

And yet, here Fugaku is, sitting at the dining room table, allowing one tear to fall as he stares at the lone lit candle. It's the only source of light he's used after his wife left. And since Mikoto isn't here to serve dinner, he's back to his college diet of microwaveable foods. Although his stomach can't handle all the processed food, he continues to eat it because he's useless in the kitchen.

He's useless at washing dishes. He's useless at doing his laundry. He's useless as a father.

Every day since he let Itachi go, he's been berating himself. He wonders where it went wrong. How it ended this way, and what he could've done better. All faults point to him, or at least, that's what he believes.

How could I play God?! To think I could bring someone back to life! I allowed myself to get caught up in a toy. Neglected to let my family properly grieve... and now, this is where we are. Scattered across a globe, not caring about the other. Selfish. We all became selfish.

Fugaku peers down at his plate. By now, with all his thinking, the food is cold. He pushes up from his seat, deciding he'll go hungry tonight. 

With a swift blow, the candlelight goes out.

...

Mikoto finally returns home after a week of searching. Fugaku, although ecstatic on the inside, only gives her a lukewarm 'welcome back.' He notices the heavy bags underneath her eyes, the weary look, and the limp she's developed. She's exhausted. 

As her husband, Fugaku leads her to her favorite chair and makes her a cup of tea. He has some questions to ask her.

Recently, Fugaku lost his black card. His credit card. He doesn't know when or where he misplaced it, but now it's gone. He assumes Mikoto might've taken it, but when he asks, she shakes her head.

"I don't know where that damned thing is," Mikoto mumbles before taking a drink of tea. "I have my own credit card, so why would I bother with yours."

Fugaku nods, knowing she wouldn't lie about something like this. "Well, I've checked my banking records, and someone has bought clothes, food, and shopped a dozen times online with that thing. Maybe I should close it."

Mikoto perks up. "You don't think it's Sasuke, do you?"

The thought never crossed Fugaku's mind that his youngest son would steal from him. Sasuke could've swiped his card when he left that night. The night his family fully fell apart.

"It could be." Fugaku mulls over the idea, accepting it as the truth. "Maybe we can track him via purchases? Bring him back home?"

The idea isn't fully fleshed out, but it brings a sparkle back into Mikoto's eyes. She places her hand over his. It's the first time they touched since Sasuke ran away, and it fills them both up with joy.

A simple nod of the head is all Fugaku needs to put this half-baked plan into action.

...

Itachi carries in the groceries, one trip, without a problem. He places the bags on the ground, beginning to put them away with [Name]. Tonight, he's making soup from scratch, with [Name's] help, of course.

For the past couple of weeks, Itachi wouldn't let [Name] spend a cent. He says he's showing gratitude by buying everything for her. Which [Name] is a little concerned about since she doesn't know where that black card came from. Asking Itachi about it is futile because of his memory loss, but she still advises him to use it seldomly.

"If you don't know where it came from, maybe you shouldn't use it at all," [Name] says, hoping to cease Itachi's reckless spending. "It might not even be yours!"

Itachi ponders the words she says but shakes his head. "But it is mine. I recognize it. Anything I recognize is usually mine, right?"

"Well, Itachi, that's not how it works---"

"If I recognize a person," Itachi starts. "Then they should be important to me, right? They're my family. So, in other words, they're mine. Right?"

"Itachi---"

"If I recognize this card, it's mine. That's what my brain is telling me. That this card is special, that it's special to me. So it's mine."

She deflates. There is no getting through to Itachi. "Okay. Well, can we at least agree to not use it all the time? I think you repaid me enough."

He nods and places some cans in the cabinet. They won't need to start dinner for the next seven hours, so they decide to sit and watch TV for the time being. 

Itachi isn't all that interested in TV, but he sees why [Name] enjoys it so much. It fills the dead silence of her home and of her life. It allows the boring parts of the day to whizz by, but for Itachi, it's like static. He does nothing but sit and stare at a screen and try to relate to the characters it displays.

Deep in his mind, in the places he can't reach yet, files of memories float around where he would laugh alongside his girlfriend while watching TV. Where he'd console his mother when her favorite character dies. Where he and his brother would root for the main character. But those memories are inaccessible.

All he gets is an error.

There's even a person in those files who seem to be erased. It was the last person he saw before being turned off, and if he tries too hard to remember, he'll glitch out.

But Itachi doesn't know that.

And neither does [Name].

They both desperately want Itachi to gain his memories, but it's best if they left it alone.

It's best if they left it alone.

...

A/N: Happy Birthday to Itachi. For the next week, I'll be updating only Itachi stories. Let's hope I follow through with that promise!! Gang.