His past

Itachi sat in the onsen and looked at the sky. The slanting rays of the setting sun gave a warm orange tinge to the sky.

`The colors are so bright and beautiful, reds, oranges, blues and grays, they all mix together to form a breathtaking view. In my past life I could never enjoy such a spectacle, that's what happens when you live in a metropolis in an era where pollution abounds... But here, even though the technology is at the level of the 20th century in some cases, contamination is practically non-existent. I could bathe in all the rivers and streams that run through Konoha without fear of contracting any disease, this world is beautiful.`

The heir reflected on his past.

In his past life he had the misfortune to be born with an autoimmune disease, a pathological condition in which the immune system becomes the aggressor attacking and destroying one's own healthy body organs and tissues, and narcolepsy. That fatal combination made Iker (Itachi's past self) spend his entire life in a hospital.

`A defective immune system that also caused me to end up with diabetes. Add to that a disease that made me fall asleep at any time of the day... My parents were too scared that I would drop dead at any time, so they kept me trapped in a hospital bed all my life. I can count on my hands the times I was out of the hospital in more than two decades of life... In the end they were right, my condition killed me before I was 30. But what life was that? Without friends, without freedom, forced to see the world through the window. Being Itachi is so different, so wonderful. I can run through the woods, or just sit in the shade of a tree and enjoy the breeze. And I won't randomly fall asleep! Thank you God!`

What Itachi loves most about his current life is the freedom he enjoys thanks to him having a healthy body. He will no longer be trapped, will no longer be locked up against his will.

`Mikoto and Fugaku are different from Janet and Robert, I feel closer to them. I know Janet and Robert loved me but they just visited me once a week in the hospital. It is not like their jobs were very demanding. He worked in a museum and she was an architect, and we lived in Sweden so healthcare was free so the exuse to be working a lot for my behave was stupid. I realized so the fifth time I saw their friends' Facebook pages with pics of some parties when they told me they were working overtime. At the time I was pissed but later I realized they had the right to be happy and live their lives, having a sick child shouldn't consume all their lives. But because of that I never felt very close to either of them, I remember being way closer to my doctors and nurses, I even made them drawings as a child on mother and father day.`

Itachi has a bittersweet smile on his face.

`Mikoto and Fugaku love me and they show it in a more visible way than Janet or Robert. Whenever Kaa-san is free, she reads me all the books I want and takes me to different restaurants. Tou-san is more distant but it's because he's the kind of person who prefers to show what he feels instead of saying it. When I wanted to go camping but couldn't leave the village because of the war he took me to one of the training camps and we spent two days sleeping under the stars. I learned to fish, hunt, light a fire, and many more survival techniques, it was a lot of fun!`

Thinking of his father brought back the interaction they had an hour ago and suddenly he remembered the air that filled his father's office. And then, for some reason, the battlefield he saw a few months ago came to life. A tense atmosphere, the air felt thick and it was as if the gravity had increased. The aura around the men in the room was equally somber.

`I could make out only part of what they said but...`

"What's going on, Tou-san?"

Itachi had no answer and there was no one to answer his murmured question.

***

After leaving the onsen Itachi dressed in his Neko-nin pajamas, blue pants and shirt with a cat on the shirt and cat paws on the pants, and went to the dining room.

The mansion has two dining rooms, one for formal occasions that can accommodate dozens of guests, and the family dining room. The family dining room is smaller, it can only seat 10 people, in it there is a low oak table on a tatami floor. The wall on one side is made of sliding doors facing the garden, another wall has built-in wardrobe, and another has a tokonoma (alcove, typically a few inches above floor level, for displaying flowers, pictures, and ornaments) with an ikebana (traditional floral arrangement) and a built-in wardrobe. On the wall where the door to the interior corridor is located, there are some traditional paintings of landscapes hanging.

Itachi enters the dining room and sees his father sitting with a glass of sake in hand, the table is already set and only his mom is missing.

"Where is Kaa-san?" He asks as he sits across from his father.

"Preparing the tea." Fugaku replies in his usual tone.

"I see."

Father and son are silent for a few minutes while Mikoto prepares the tea. The silence doesn't feel suffocating or uncomfortable, it's nice and quiet. Both are in their own thoughts and coexist peacefully with each other.

"The tea is ready!" Mikoto enters the dining room holding a tray. "Today we are going to have curry for dinner." She says after sitting down.

The three Uchihas have dinner discussing different idle topics, talking about their day and such.

"Itachi, come home earlier tomorrow." Mikoto says to her son while they are drinking tea after dinner.

"Eh?"

"We're going shopping, so be home before 4."

"Shopping?" Itachi looks at her curiously. "We already bought clothes a few months ago, they still fit."

"Buying clothes is not the only reason to go shopping." His mom replies.

"What will we buy then?"

"It's-a-secret～" Mikoto winks at him.

"Ah, we're already in October." Fugaku says with a gleam of recognition in his eyes

"Yes," Mikoto nods.

"What happens in October?" The boy asks, confused.

"Something very special."

"What?"

"You'll have to wait to find out～" Mikoto smiles as Itachi pouts at all the mystery.

`Is there a festival or something?`

"It's the first time Itachi celebrated it, I think they don't even know each other yet." Fugaku looks at his wife for an answer.

"Many things happened and it was not the right time." Mikoto answers.

That conversation gives Itachi no clue and he sulks even more.

The two adults smile amusedly at the boy's pout.

***

The next day Itachi went back to the forest near his house to train, thanks to the bath in the onsen his muscles are like new and the boy is ready for another training session.

`Although I shouldn't overdo it, I'll have to go home early today.`

Itachi begins his training with a twenty-minute warm-up followed by an hour of stretching exercises to improve his flexibility.

`All the ninjas in this world are more flexible than an Olympic gymnast, and according to those training manuals I read, the younger you start training flexibility the better.`

After finishing Itachi begins to run through the forest alternating between sprinting at full speed and jogging. After an hour he stops at the bank of a stream, he sits in the shade of a tree and begins to meditate.

'Just because I'm not going to start using my chakra until I have a tutor doesn't mean I can't learn some passive training.'

Meditation has many uses for a ninja, the most basic of which is learning to identify your own chakra.

`The chakra feels like a sip of hot tea on a cold winter afternoon as you sit on the kotatsu watching the snow fall.` he thinks with a soft smile. `It's comforting, like a friend who will always be by your side no matter what.`

(Meanwhile with Itachi's babysitter)

Shisui is sitting on a branch a few meters from Itachi looking at his ward with a bored expression.

`He has been sitting there for a long time... Meditating is important but if you don't even have your chakra unlocked, why meditate? It's like fishing and releasing the rod just as the fish bites. Pointless`

Shisui frowns and suddenly his expression changes completely. A metaphorical light bulb lights up above his head and a mischievous smile blooms on his face.

`This will be fun!`

Shisui disappears from his position and appears a few meters from Itachi on the ground, he picks up a fairly small twig from the ground and very accurately throws it at Itachi's head.

Itachi startled and quickly turned around, only to see no one.

"It must have fallen from the tree." He murmurs looking at the twig.

***

NOTE: Iker spent his entire life in a hospital and given his narcolepsy, a good part of it slept. We are the fruit of our experiences, Iker living such a lonely life never had the opportunity to become a full grown adult. Despite dying at the age of 23 mentally he was much younger, that combined with how much his physical body (his physical age) influences him, Itachi can be said to be a child (but a very mature one).

Given his past life he very much enjoys the simpler things in life like being able to take a walk in the park.

As for his parents, Janet and Robert weren't bad parents, they loved him but having a child stuck in a hospital 24/7 is hard. They had the right to have their life, to enjoy living, and Itachi understands that. But because of that he never had a very close bond with them, which had the result that it was much easier for him to accept Mikoto and Fugaku as his parents.