Chapter 16

Fugaku gently ran his hand on the young one's head. The boy remained quiet as his father gently rubbed his head, as he slowly tried to gather his thoughts. It was a very difficult discussion that was needed but starting was very hard. When he became the head of their family's clan, he never imagined the kind of pressure that would come with it. He knew the story of Madara and his actions that drove and wedge between him and the clan members, in his time. He had really hoped that the tensions between the clan and village, over time, had a lesson. Unfortunately, the Kyuubi attack shattered everything, and his family was once again dragged into high tensions, which are becoming violent.

Both Itachi and Sasuke have been dragged into it and this isn't what they wanted. Itachi was forced to grow up too fast and is already an ANBU Captain. Sasuke, who is still in the Academy, has awakened his Sharingan and began to speak up against the clan's actions. The silence of his father was slowly starting to make the young boy nervous. Sasuke understands that his father's thoughts were probably racing, but that doesn't mean he wasn't nervous about what he was going to say next.

"Father, are you ok?" Sasuke decided he would try to break the silence. But hoped his question was simple enough to ask.

The clan head looked at his son; being pulled out of his thoughts.

"Ah, sorry Sasuke. I'm alright. It just disturbs me that my sons have to be dragged into a feud that's started long before they were even born. Sadly, that isn't the case. We were accused of setting the Kyuubi fox on the village, even though there wasn't anything concrete they could use on us."

"Did the Hokage accuse us?" Sasuke asked, hoping his father would give the response he was hoping for.

Not knowing the train of his younger one's thoughts, Fugaku responded, after thinking back to the debriefing the was held after the attack.

"No, it wasn't the Hokage…it was the Village elders. Danzou Shimura, specifically. The Hokage is the one who gave a peaceful solution, rather than us being exiled, and sent out of the village."

'So, Danzou tried to go after his clan since the attack. It makes him wonder if the elder didn't have something to do with it. Maybe not with the Kyuubi directly, but with the mysterious intruder the Forth Hokage fought, who was connected to the fox.' Sasuke thought, thinking that if he was able to gather more info on the dangerous elder, that it may help in closing the tensions between the villagers and his clan, so that more peaceful solutions could be brought to the table. Even so, he knew it would be dangerous to try to dive into info a such a figure, as the village elders. Maybe Itachi would be able to, using his position as a high rank ANBU Captain.

Mikoto smiled as she worked in the garden enjoying the beautiful, calming whether they were having. At first, she was nervous about Fugaku's idea on having lunch with her youngest child, but she also knew it would be for the best, and having them talk out there problems peacefully, it would help to ease the tension between them. Mikoto understood both of the points of views, but didn't know how to talk to them, without seeming like she was taking sides.

As she enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere, she almost missed the young man approaching her, from inside the house. Itachi decided to take a walk in the backyard after waking up from a nap, to find his mother tending to the garden. At this he gave a small smile. He could see how much stress his mother was under ever since Sasuke's outburst and altered behavior. He knew, even without her saying the words she was blaming herself for what was happening to them. Being in the garden always helped her and placed her in a calming mood.

Mikoto snapped out of her thoughts at the voice of her eldest child. Itachi greeted his mother with a smile, as he joined her. The conversation was light between them as the young man, began to be pulled into the calm atmosphere his mother most often enjoyed, being in the garden.

Although many thoughts ran through the minds of the members within the main branch of the Uchiha Clan, speaking their minds and opening up to one another seemed to help ease the tension between them.

That night Sasuke went to bed early, his mind a lot lighter after expressing his mind to his father. He was grateful for the advice he received from his future teammate, and happy they had already become friends. With this the boy thought he would have a quiet peaceful rest. But his dream wasn't quite what he expected.

As he opened his eyes he was greeted with the view of a beautiful almost fairy-like forest. Confused as to where he was, but also happy at the calm he felt…the young boy decided to look around. Barely taking any steps, he paused as a voice called out to him. Turning around he was surprised to see not only his brother…but his brother not from the current timeline.

The boy froze at the sight of the future version of his elder brother. After the jutsu that sent him to the past, Sasuke didn't think he would see the future version of his brother again. This made him concerned, as he feared something would go wrong.

Almost as it he could read his mind, the elder greeted him with a smile and a hug, which helped in calming his mind.

After sitting under the tree, the elder had the time traveler give him an account of what occurred after they last met. It was then Sasuke realized how much had actually occurred since he had reawakened as a child. Itachi gave a sad smile when Sasuke spoke about the breakdown's he had but was relieved that Shisui and his younger self were there for him. After a few moments of silence Sasuke brought forward the issue that was on his mind.

"Itachi did the Fire Lord know about what was happening before in our timeline?"

Itachi had to take a few moments to think about what occurred before. In hindsight, a situation like that would have warranted the intervention of the Fire Lord. But the ANBU thought Danzou and his men no doubt would have prevented certain information from reaching him. Itachi told Sasuke his thoughts and saw his brother's eyes begin to narrow. It was then he began to remember one of the reasons why he didn't tell Sasuke the truth in the previous timeline.

"I realized," Sasuke began, breaking Itachi out of his thoughts, "That even though I have my memories, that you of this timeline doesn't'. Not to mention I don't know what was happening in ANBU at that time."

Itachi immediately realized that Sasuke was right. Sasuke has is memories, but he doesn't have Itachi's, which was also important in accomplishing their goals.

"I think." He began after contemplating his thoughts, "That I can somehow reach the me of this timeline and speak to him. It may be overwhelming to him, but if I'm successful, I would be able to pass on some of my memories to him. At least those of the ANBU so far. At least then you would be able to be aware of what's happening."

To say that Sasuke was shocked at this was an understatement. He really hopped at some point; he would be able to see the full details of this jutsu. Something this big has got to be categorized as forbidden. It really makes me wonder where he found it. If he is successful in reaching the younger him, it would definitely be a huge benefit to us.

The two spoke about the plan in more detail. Sasuke would inform his brother about it, and then he would decide when the older one would visit him in his sleep. They decided that so as not to overwhelm him, they would only give him the memories of what was to occur in the village at this time before he was forced to leave. After the talk the elder laid the younger one down and helped him leave the dream space, with the promise that they would be able to meet again soon.