Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Summary: A series of character studies, because every character deserves a tale, even if it is never heard. Part Seven: Black Coffee

Chapter Summary: Black Coffee; Sasuke, Itachi, Shino, Mikoto, Fugaku

Desserts

Part VII: Black Coffee

i. Uchiha Sasuke

Sasuke is hot, burning, bitter hate burned down to ashes, embers, and a faceless, nameless purpose. He is bitter, only bitter, but always bitter, always dreaming of what life would be like if that man had not done what he did, always dreaming of what could be done once that man had been wiped off the face of the earth. He never really gets past dreaming.

ii. Uchiha Itachi

Itachi doesn’t know. He’s lost, in a manner of speaking, blind, in another. He isn’t quite sure what he’s supposed to be doing. He isn’t quite sure why he did what he did. There were reasons, though, of that he is sure. He remembers quite well the clear-headed debates before the bloody massacre, remembers quite clearly that death won. Over what, he asks himself. Life? He drains his coffee, smiling at the bitter taste. Maybe he’s masochistic. Maybe he’s punishing himself.

iii. Aburame Shino

He is very, very accustomed to the stares and disgusted faces of those who discover who – what – he is. A home for bugs. It is sometimes very, very difficult to be polite, when no one dares to meet your eyes, or even raise their eyes above your chest; when no one dares to touch you. Sometimes, he wonders whether he will have to marry an Aburame – maybe his second cousin twice removed on his mother’s side, who is sixteen, just two years younger than him. Or maybe his third cousin’s daughter – she is nineteen, a few months older. So he keeps looking, keeps going out even though it hurts in the hope that, well, someone will see him, won’t they? Someone will eventually see him as something other than a catalyst of their fear, their disgust. He tries, very hard, not to feel too bitter about it.

iv. Uchiha Mikoto

Mikoto is a bad mother, a terrible wife. She doesn’t love Fugaku, though it is her duty, and she knows that she ought to. And she loves Itachi, her son, but not enough. No, not enough. She wasn’t strong enough, didn’t love enough, for her to stand up to the Clan and take her son, her beautiful, intelligent son from their grasp. She stood by and let them take him, let them mold him, let them break him – and did nothing about it. She places her hand over the bulge of her stomach. She will not fail again, she vows. This time, she says she’ll be strong enough.

v. Uchiha Fugaku

Fugaku is unused to failing. He is strong, cold and burning at once, and always exactly what and where and when he needs to be. He has been trained for that, for this. …Not this. Never this. They had never imagined that his could happen, had never imagined that he could be so, so… A shake of the head. He couldn’t finish that sentence, didn’t want to finish that sentence, didn’t quite remember what he was to say. Something very unimportant, but vital. Was that paradoxical? When one is dying, when one’s life is dripping from one’s veins, it doesn’t matter as much anymore. He tried, so very hard to be strong enough. Slowly, he turns to face his wife. Mikoto. Beautiful, frail Mikoto. And he wonders, could he have failed?