Chapter Text
Kakashi alternates between wondering if this sudden burst of boldness is the result of abject stupidity, or merely an unexpected burst of resolve.
Regardless of which it is, here he stands- in Danzo’s dim and rather austere office. With both Danzo and the Hokage standing in front of him. After flat-out demanding this meeting with the two of them. He clutches the folder of paperwork in his hand and decides to get right to the point.
“I’m taking them with me.”
Danzo’s eye narrows dangerously. Hiruzen merely looks confused.
“Kakashi, what are you-”
“-I’ve already put in all the guardianship paperwork. As long as Itachi is willing to sign off on it, he and Sasuke are gonna come live with me from now on.”
“What’s gotten into you?!” Hiruzen demands.
“Where else are they gonna go? I’m not letting them go back to that house,and who else is gonna take them in?”
“And how does a man in your position go about taking care of two children out of nowhere?” Danzo inquires, his voice low, and dangerous.
“I’m glad you asked!”
Kakashi dares to smile, hoping Shimura spots it from under his mask, and gets the defiance in that gesture.
“Turns out, my dad wasn’t bad with money- he had some stashed away that he’d never told anyone about. It’s not a ton, but it’ll keep us comfy while I take a leave of absence to get Itachi back together. Oh- by the way, I’m taking a leave of absence. I’ve got all the paperwork for that too if you want it.”
Danzo’s expression is carefully blank, but the way his hands curl up tightly around his cane betrays the fact that he isn’t fond of Kakashi’s newfound spine.
Hiruzen, on the other hand-
“Well, it looks like you’re heart-set on this,” he relents, with a small sigh.
“That’s right.” Kakashi replies.
“So why ask our permission?” Danzo asks.
“With all due respect- I’m not asking. I’m telling you this is what’s happening.”
Kakashi says these words with another smile, and can practically see Danzo’s blood boiling under his skin.
(Although exactly why he’s so livid isn’t quite clear.)
“Will there be anything else?” Hiruzen asks, sensing the tense atmosphere.
“No, Hokage-sama. That’s all.”
To Kakashi’s surprise, Sarutobi raises his hand to cut Danzo off when he opens his mouth to speak.
“That’s that settled, then.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
Kakashi makes his exit from the room, heart bursting from his chest.
Never, ever, ever in his entire life has he mouthed off to a superior like that. He’s a little bit surprised that his heart hasn’t exploded from all the adrenaline coursing through it. However, he also feels an immeasurable relief.
Now, to convince Itachi to agree, as well.
To be quite frank, Itachi looks like death.
Itachi has always been pale, but at the moment he’s positively bloodless. The dark circles under his eyes give him an almost raccoon-ish look. The thin plastic tube up his nose stands as a silent reminder of why he’s suddenly gotten so much thinner than normal.
“They warned you you’d need that thing if you didn’t start eating,” Kakashi scolds gently.
Itachi throws a dirty look in his direction.
“Not like it’d do me any good if I just threw it all back up again.”
The boy tucks his knees up to his chest and scowls.
“I want to go home.”
“It’ll be another two days at the most. Just be patient.”
Itachi lets out something approximating a whine.
“Hey, speaking of home-”
Kakashi takes his chance to steer the conversation toward a new topic, reaching for the folder of papers he’s set on the bedside table.
“Have you thought about where you’ll want ‘home’ to be after you get out?”
Itachi pulls a face. He fiddles with the fringe of his hair for the sake of having something to do with his hands.
“I- no. I haven’t.”
“Well-”
Kakashi moves in a fraction of an inch closer.
“Since Sasuke’s already been with me the last week- how about you just come join us?”
The boy’s dark eyes grow wide.
“You’re kidding-”
“-It’d be a bit cramped for the time being, but I’ve already been looking at bigger places we can move to. If you’re okay with that, anyway.”
Itachi falls silent for a moment, wringing his hands while he contemplates the offer.
“...Has Sasuke been happy with you?” he asks, in a tone that almost sounds like a warning.
“As happy as he could be, with what happened,” Kakashi answers, truthfully.
Itachi falls quiet again.
“I won’t force you if you don’t want to. But you’re still young, and I wouldn’t feel right sending you and your brother out on your own.”
“I’m-”
Itachi looks at the papers, then at his hands, then back to Kakashi.
“...If it’ll be good for Sasuke, I’ll go too.”
He takes the paperwork, and the pen at the bedside table, and scribbles his name in a few places.
“This’ll be fine, right?”
“That’s the only thing you needed to worry about. Just let me handle the rest.”
Itachi nods.
Kakashi puts a hand on his shoulder, trying to be reassuring.
“I’m not gonna lie and say everything’s gonna be okay. But we’ll do our best, alright?”
Itachi doesn't seem particularly comforted, but he offers up a smile for Kakashi’s sake.
“Yeah.”
(he wishes he had even an ounce of Kakashi’s confidence.)
“What did you do? ”
Danzo doesn't even bother to look up at Hiruzen, pretending to be absorbed in paperwork.
“Would you rather have lost such a valuable asset to the village?” he asks, in a curt, matter-of-fact way. “This way he can stay where he belongs, and we don’t have to worry about him accidentally spilling the truth about what happened.”
“But what if he remembers?! What happens then?”
“He won’t remember. I made sure of that.”
“How can you be so sure?!”
“When have I ever failed before?”
Hiruzen has no retort.
“I told you it will be fine,” Danzo continutes, scribbling his signature onto a few documents. “You’ve entrusted me with these sorts of matters for years. What’s one more?”
Hiruzen rubs his temples in annoyed defeat.
“Just make sure he never remembers. You know what will happen if he does.”
“I’m well aware.”
Danzo finally bothers to lift his eye upward.
“If he ever happens to remember, he’ll be dealt with the same as his clansmen. I’ll see to that.”
Hiruzen wisely decides not to question what that means.
Anxiety gnaws at him while he leaves Danzo’s office, following him all the way back to his own. He can’t shake the image of Itachi’s haunted, bloodless face, the terror in his black eyes. Can’t get away from the echoes of his panicked screaming, the heartrending pleas for a mother and father who can’t comfort him any longer.
(And oh, how poor Sasuke had howled., trying to throw himself at the doctors eliciting all of Itachi’s pained cries. “What’re you doing?! Stop it! You’re hurting him! That’s my brother STOP IT!” He’d been utterly inconsolable for hours, thrashing against Kakashi’s grip until he’d exhausted himself at last.)
But that part’s over now- Itachi will survive his injuries. Now, Itachi will be one of only two Uchiha left alive. And the poor child will never even know he did it.
Is that for the best? Sarutobi isn’t sure.
But Uchiha Itachi is nothing if not resilient. He’s always been able to come back from any situation he’s been placed in. Surely this will be no different.
(one can only hope.)
“Hey Sasuke, I got a present for ya!”
Sasuke’s head jerks upward, his hand freezing on Bisuke’s belly.
Itachi pushes Kakashi’s arm off his shoulder, mumbling “I can walk,” under his breath.
Immediately, Sasuke’s wide, dark eyes flood with tears. He stands up slowly, like he can’t quite believe the sight before him.
“Niisan-”
Itachi holds his arms out, taking a few wobbly steps forward.
“I’m here, Sasuke-”
The younger boy leaps forward, throwing himself into his brother’s arms. He muffles his sobs in Itachi’s shirt, clinging to him like he never wants to let go.
“Niisan-” he wails. “Niisan- Niisan, you’re okay-”
Despite the pain Sasuke is causing by clinging to him, Itachi smiles and hugs his brother back.
“Shh, yeah, I’m okay. It’s gonna be okay now.”
“Never leave me again!” Sasuke demands, glowering up at Itachi. “I’ll never forgive you if you do!”
Itachi manages to laugh, in spite of everything.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he assures his little brother.
“Promise me!”
Gingerly, Itachi gets down on his knees; Kakashi keeps a careful eye to see if he’s hurting himself too much.
Itachi hooks his pinky finger around Sasuke’s, and puts on a faux-serious expression.
“I promise, Sasuke. I’m not gonna leave ever again.”
Sasuke can’t hide the tremor in his lower lip, despite his best effort.
“Niisan- what if- what if whoever did-”
He wipes his eyes on his shirtsleeve, but it does nothing to stem the flow of tears.
“-What if they come after us again? What’re we gonna do?”
Itachi’s warm smile falls, replaced by a look of steely-eyed determination. He pulls Sasuke close to him, cradling his head in the crook of his arm.
“I’ll protect you no matter what, Sasuke. If anyone ever tries to hurt you, I’ll kill them. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Sasuke hugs his older brother tightly, hiding his face against Itachi’s shoulder.
They stay like that until Buru strolls over to them, nudges them apart with his massive head, and licks a long, wet streak up the entire right side of Itachi’s face. Then knocks him over to continue licking him.
“H-hey!” Itachi squeals, trying vainly to shove the enormous dog off him.
“Buru likes Niisan!” Sasuke giggles, through his hiccups.
“You gotta get all the way better before you go around killing people,” Kakashi says, through his laughter. “How about we get something to eat instead of plotting revenge?”
Itachi takes advantage of Buru’s distraction to push him away and sit upright.
“I want dango,” he says, without hesitation.
Kakashi raises an eyebrow.
“Me too! Me too!” Sasuke chirps.
“Alright, I guess I’m outvoted,” Kakashi mutters, pretending to be disappointed. “You two sit tight, I’ll go get you your dango- gimme ten minutes, alright?”
Itachi uses Buru as leverage to push himself back onto his feet.
“There’s extra futon stuff in the closet down the hall. You can set that up and chill out if you want.”
Itachi nods, and follows Urushi down the hall to retrieve the bedding.
“I wanna go with you!” Sasuke pouts.
“Nah, someone’s gotta stay here and make sure your brother is alright- I trust you.”
Sasuke frowns, but he obeys.
“Why couldn’t you eat like this in the hospital?”
Itachi swallows down a mouthful of dango, looking annoyed that he’s been interrupted.
“Because hospital food is disgusting,” he grimaces.
“You couldn’t even just choke it down?” Kakashi asks, more teasing than anything.
“I’d rather starve.”
“You almost did.”
Sasuke frowns.
“Niisan, you need to eat,” he scolds, taking on a serious tone that’s absolutely comical coming from such a small child.
“I’m eating now,” Itachi answers.
“But you can’t just eat sweets all the time! You’ll rot your teeth!”
Kakashi laughs, but Itachi doesn't.
(Those are the exact words their mother always used to admonish him when he was being a fussy eater. In that same tone of voice, too.)
“...Did I do something wrong?” Sasuke murmurs.
Itachi struggles to perk himself back up.
“You’re fine, Sasuke. I’m just- I’m just tired, okay?”
Sasuke makes a small sound of understanding. Kakashi continues to nurse his cup of green tea, contemplating what he’s just gotten himself into.
How did he wind up sitting around his kitchen table with a couple kids he’d never intended to bring into this apartment that’s far too small to accomodate all these people.
Well. He’ll just have to take this as it comes. That’s what he’s good at, right?