Chapter Text
Sasuke never really thought about what kind people his parents were before he was born. He certainly never gave a second thought to what their personal intimate relationships were like. When they died, he was still only seven.
It never occurred to him that there was more to Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto than what he saw. As a child, what mattered was his father’s firm hand ruffling his hair and the familiar scent of his mother’s shampoo. Some aspects are starting to fade with time but Sasuke tries to cling to what he has. Even if he has no one to repeat it to, at least he can remember it for himself
To him, Mikoto and Fugaku were just mother and father.
Sasuke genuinely never thought about it deeper than that.
It isn’t easy when the strongest memory of his parents will always be their deaths.
He never really thought anyone else cared about his parents outside the clan. It certainly hadn’t seemed that way.
Yet here is someone claiming to have known them…quite intimately it seems.
Suigetsu’s certainly going to think this is hilarious.
Yoshino Nara looks as uncomfortable as Sasuke feels as they both stand under the accessing gaze of the Hokage and the gathered members of his council: the village elders and Kakashi. The Hokage's Right Hand man just so happens to be her own son. Shikamaru looks probably even more uncomfortable than all those gathered in the Hokage’s office combined.
Of course, Kakashi puts the situation bluntly for all those present.
He says, “So, Yoshino, you’ve been hiding a secret love child all these years? Do I have that right?”
Secret love child…
Yoshino stammers,“There…there wasn't any sort of affair. I mean, there was a child but it wasn't some torrid secret, I mean from the village, yeah….but, you know things were difficult back then. I didn’t actually know about my pregnancy until after the massacre.”
Kakashi tilts his head. “Do explain, please.”
“It was….well I um…” she fidgets with a strand of her hair. “Fugaku and I were genin teammates.”
“My father?” Sasuke still isn't sure why they've brought him here. This certainly isn't the topic he'd expected they'd be discussing. Yoshino glances at him, only for a moment, before her eyes hastily return to the floor. She speaks quietly,“Yes, Sasuke, I uh…was on the same genin team as your father.”
Shikamaru says, “being teammates as genin doesn't explain what you're claiming, if it is even true.”
Yoshino gives her son a harsh glare for his brusque tone, but she continues, “the war happened…everyone kind of just drifted apart. I started talking to the Uchiha couple again not long after they had Sasuke. Look it's like I planned on seeing them in that way, it just happened. It just started as a discussion between the three of us: Me, Fugaku, and Mikoto”
Naruto chuckles nervously when Yoshino explains how what started as playful flirting from the Uchiha clan head’s wife escalated into….that.
“So a threesome?” Kakashi asks.
The word has the two elders scoffing and hissing and Naruto into a fit of giggles.
Sasuke did not know what to expect when Ino stopped him with a message: he was needed in the Hokage tower. He just assumed Naruto had another mission for him, but if only it were that simple.
“Well uh, sort of…I mean sometimes it was just Me, Mikoto and Fugaku at first…children are often in talks to secure alliances, you know. That's how it used to be in the old days, but well it kind of evolved a bit when Shikaku found out. I still…wanted the baby, even after the massacre, Fugaku and Mikoto didn't even know.”
Shikamaru covers his eyes as he massages his temple,“So now Dad is involved in this?”
Yoshino mutters, “He wishes he could’ve been more involved than he was.”
Shikamaru stares at his mother incredulously, and the longer he stares the more annoyed it makes her. She explains,“Your father and Sasuke’s father used to date as boys. They broke it off when we all went into our respective marriages. Fugaku wasn't originally first in line to lead the Uchiha, and Shikaku never really reconciled with that.”
Sasuke isn’t sure he heard that right.
Shikamaru demands, “Excuse me? What exactly are you saying?”
Koharu Utatane opens her mouth to intercede, but Yoshino interrupts her.
“I'm saying quit looking at me as if I'm betraying his memory or something. You would not have been conceived without Uchiha Fugaku, so quit looking at me like I'm trash! I can miss your father and still say that man wouldn't fuck a woman if you paid him!”
Shikamaru crosses his arms and glares at the ground unwilling to even ask what she means by that. For being a grown man, he certainly looks the part of a petulant child.
He spits, “Why bring this up now?”
Yoshino throws her hands into the air, “forgive me for thinking I wouldn't be locked up for saying it.”
Kakashi sighs, “Look no one's saying that. This is a very sensitive topic, and I think we should all just settle down.”
Sasuke glances at Naruto to see how he's reacting to this, but the idiot's face is bright pink. When Naruto catches him looking, he shoots Sasuke a smile. Sasuke just rolls his eyes in return and gestures his chin to the actual conversation at hand.
Naruto says, “Kakashi’s right. Let’s just talk about this calmly.”
“Fuck you.” Yoshino is shaking, in sadness or fury, it's hard to discern but she turns her back to the Hokage so none of them can see her face, “as if anyone ever wants to talk about the Uchiha. You kids don’t know how it used to be.”
She’s right.
Sasuke wants to say that, but he doesn't. It’s not like anyone wants to hear. After his time in prison, he's gotten good at showing them nothing. Even Naruto can't always tell what's going on in Sasuke's mind. At this point, he prefers it that way.
“Shikamaru, please, I'm not even here to talk about your father's preferences, damn it. I'm here to talk about your fucking brother!”
Brother? Shikamaru doesn't have any siblings. Sasuke desperately wants to ask what the Uchiha, him in particular, have to do with any of this, but like always he keeps his questions to himself.
Homura Mitokado clears his throat, “Miss.Yoshino, is here today because she stands accused of hiding a possible village asset.”
Yoshino's lips curl into a snarl, she ominously steps closer to the elders, “My son is none of your business. I sent him away from this damn place for that fucking reason. It’s take and take and take with you people!”
Shikamaru sighs, “Mom, please…”
Kakashi steps in between them, “Now now, let's not get all worked up. Miss.Yoshino was kind enough to share this information with us now, so we should listen. I do wonder where exactly this young man was sent.”
“I didn’t feel safe enough to say anything!” Yoshino snaps, “ I’ve been in those dungeons. Fuck you, I don’t have to tell you shit. You’re lucky I said anything. I knew Shikamaru would say something, and I thought it was only fair if they both knew.”
Sasuke hasn’t felt like this in a while.This curiosity bubbling in his stomach feels a little too much like hope. There has been nothing to hold his interest in staying in the cesspool that is Konohagakure. There was nothing to stay for. Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi一they all try their best to pretend like things are like how they used to be.
Sasuke sees things clearer now. He tries not to think about it. It’s not like there is anything he can do, but the thoughts persist regardless. It’s easier to talk to Juugo about it, but he’s only able to see his former team sparingly these days. Konoha’s agents always looking over his shoulder doesn’t help, but Sasuke keeps going regardless and keeping close the secrets no one else wants to hear.
It is unnerving when Shikamaru’s mother of people is the first to look at him with such softness and understanding in a long time. Sasuke is kind of used to everyone ignoring him by now. He’s the criminal, the traitor, the stain on their village that only remains free because of the combined efforts of Kakashi and Naruto.
They call it mercy. It’s not like the greater village that can understand how probationary it all is. Sasuke isn’t stupid. He feels the blade hanging over his head every day. The only time it ever fades, even just a little, is when he’s as far as he can get from this place.
Yoshino bows low, “Sasuke, I apologize for hiding this from you. You have a younger half brother, my son. His name is Uchiha Seji. He is fourteen years old, and he is not a shinobi…but he has activated his sharingan. Please, will you train him?”
There are probably words that are perfect for this sort of situation.
Sasuke does not have them.
“Huh?”