Mark It
Itachi stared at the clone impassively.
"Sasuke activated his Mangekyo Sharingan," the clone responded. Pakkun, who sat right beside her, gave her a curious look. "He didn't kill anyone for it, rather, he watched someone dear die for him. He knows what it means to have one, now. And, he knows that your apathetic guise is a load of bullshit."
Itachi did not respond. He kept his perfect poker face, waiting for her to finish.
She swallowed roughly. "He knows that you manipulated him, because of your guilt, and he knows that something is fishy about the massacre."
Well. He suspects, at least.
"Danzō won't allow him free reign, if he finds out about his eyes," she told him. "You know that. No one, but his teammates, can protect him from inside Konoha from that man."
"How do you know Danzō?"
"I'm the jinchūriki of Konoha. Kurama, the Kyūbi, is my best friend. He knows quite a bit about the warmonger. Including his unhealthy obsession and revulsion for the Uchiha clan. I don't know all the details about him, nor the entire truth in regards to the massacre. All I know is that Danzō is a threat to my brother, and Sasuke. That's all I need to need to know. But, you understand that, don't you? You understand what it's like to have to watch over your sibling; to protect their innocence from this disgusting world."
Itachi blinked at her, and Pakkun brushed his side against her leg. The clone remained strong, though, certain. Her gaze was hard and convinced. "You love Sasuke, like I love Naruto. Maybe more. I have a theory that you massacred your family for Sasuke. Or perhaps, you became a nukenin for Sasuke. Nothing you say or do will convince me otherwise."
"Nothing?" Itachi inquired softly, lethally, his Sharingan whirling to life.
"Nothing," the clone repeated. "That's why I'm here. That's why you're here. You were on your way to Konoha, not to capture Naruto or myself, but to check up on Sasuke. It's the same as it was after the Orochimaru's invasion. You could have taken Naruto, or myself, but you chose not to. The minute you saw Sasuke—and the minute after you enforced his desire to kill you—you left. Even now, you took my code—my warning for Sasuke—with the utmost care. You risked exposure to your identity to hear my warning for him. No, Itachi. There is not a single thing you can say or do to convince me that you do not adore your brother."
"The real you is not near here, is she?"
"No. She's fighting Danzō right this very second," the clone said.
Itachi's eyes flashed. "Danzō? You... she is really so reckless?"
"Maybe," the clone allowed. "I told you. He's a threat to Naruto, and Sasuke. That's all I need to know. Now is the perfect chance to eliminate him. When he has been taken care of, I will then track down each of his bases and continue to exterminate the problem. I will not allow this threat to continue when I have a say in it."
"Miwako," Pakkun breathed. "Do you realize what you're saying?"
"That I am exterminating a secret, illegal ANBU operation?" the clone asked dryly.
"No. That part I'm okay with. Never liked Danzō, and ROOT has to be taken care of if it's still up. You're talking about this like you're going alone."
"Maybe I am," the clone said, leveling her gaze with Itachi. "Maybe I'm not."
Itachi's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"
"The truth of the massacre will be found out one way or another," she said simply. "I will find it. Either you allow me to find it, and me to inform Sasuke, or you tell him yourself. If I do it, I cannot promise to paint Konoha in a good light. I'm not that good of a liar, especially to him. You can, of course, try to deny it, but I will find undeniable proof, one way or another. It will be your word, against mine, and my proof. And if I do tell Sasuke, I will probably tell the others. Tell many of the others. Then no one in ROOT will be safe."
"That would create chaos in Konoha," Itachi admonished, his eyes widening.
The clone smiled. "I know. I'm a spiteful bitch. It won't destroy Konoha (probably), and I can argue that it's for the best of Konoha. After all, it is such a dark, and dirty secret, right? It would be best to get out in the open, right? Like ripping off a band-aide, right? Naruto will understand my reasoning, and that's all I care about. Sasuke couldn't care less, I bet, the state Konoha is in."
She folded her arms across her chest and cocked her hips. "So either I do that, or you tell him (and me) the truth. You tell him the absolute truth, and you help me clean up Danzō's mess. If you love your brother, you'll want him to be happy, right? To be safe, yeah? Well, here's your chance. Here is your chance to return home to your brother, and be happy. You want Konoha to be safe, correct? Here is another chance to protect it. From Danzō and myself.
"And just to remind you: I am a clone. The real me is far away, and should anything happen to her, my Pack will inform my friends the truth of what happened. And I have faith that they will continue what I started, and they will uncover the truth without me."
"You're blackmailing me."
"Yes."
Itachi closed his eyes and let out a long, tired sigh.
Several minutes of tense silence ticked by until he finally re-opened his eyes. Before the clone, Uchiha Itachi seemed to age decades. His shoulders slowly slumped, and his gaze grew dead, and dark. When he spoke, there was a weary edge to his monotone voice. "I do not have faith in Danzō's ability to properly cover his tracks. He is a fool. I do not trust fools. I will tell you the truth."
She smiled. "I believe you. Will you assist me in eliminating Danzō?"
"Yes."
"Then I will take you to him now, along with the real me."
Itachi's eyes widened, and he stiffened. "You would trust me not to stab you in the back?"
"I already made it clear that killing me will not keep your secret safe. What good will it do you? Besides, I did just call bullshit to your apathetic, psychotic mask a couple minutes ago, didn't I? As far as I'm concerned, you're just a seriously unlucky guy who needs a hug, and chocolate."
He gave the clone such an odd look.
('・ω・')
Danzō stared at me impassively, unhidden irritation flaring behind his eyes. He dropped his walking cane to the ground, and started to pull out his bandaged arm. "Foo, Torune, assist me. I'm going to break the seal on my right arm. Keep the brat occupied. We cannot take the risk of allowing one of Konoha's jinchūriki to be so uncontrolled. We will capture her, and bring her back to ROOT for desensitizing."
My eyes narrowed. "Do you really think you can capture me?"
"We do not have a choice. None of us are compatible to reseal a monster," Danzō said simply.
My upper lip curled back into a snarl. "It is you who is the monster, you disgusting, delusional, scum-bag. Not that it matters. You, and your ilk, will be dealt with properly. I will see to it myself, even if I have to drag my broken body to each base with just my teeth. I will not allow you to threaten my brother anymore!"
"A shame you couldn't have been more like your brother," Danzō remarked, musing. "Then we wouldn't even be having this issue."
"I'm not an idealistic person."
"No. You're a bit like me."
Anger, and disgust spiked through me at that, and I snarled. "I am nothing like you."
"You would do anything to protect that one thing that matters most to you. You are committing treason; throwing away your own life—both physically and spiritually. Not to mention your mutilation."
"I do not obsess over power. I do not throw away other peoples' lives' at the drop of a hat over something as fluid and fading as power! I would never do that."
"But for your brother, you would," Danzō returned.
"Enough!" I growled, dropping down to all fours and then launching myself at Torune. These two were at a horrendous disadvantage against me. Torune was an Aburame ROOT member, who specialized in parasitic bugs that devoured the victim at a microscopic rate. Thanks to my Kyūbi cloak, though, his attacks would be useless against me. I had too much chakra for his bugs to absorb, and if they touched my cloak, they would burn up almost instantaneously.
Foo, on the other hand, was a Yamanaka clan member. Thanks to being a jinchūriki with an unlocked seal, my mind was safe from his influence. Unless he wanted to be eaten by Kurama.
Too bad for him, he didn't know that my seal was unlocked.
It was generally risky entering a jinchūriki's mind in the first place. It took incredible skill and chakra control to enter the host's mind, not the bijū's. If done correctly, the member could still sort through the jinchūriki's mind, safe behind the seal. However, because I unlocked my seal, Kurama and my own minds' could be joined. There would be no discrimination between the two, or at least no clear one.
If Foo used his clan technique on me, he would be brought into the cage with Kurama and myself.
I hoped he did. It was easier dealing with a vegetable for a body than an actual working, thinking shinobi.
Torune backflipped into the air above me, narrowly dodging my attack. I purposely did not flicker, nor go my full speed. It would be best to limit myself in this fight, and to surprise Danzō afterwards with my speed. I whirled around, preparing to launch myself into the air after him, but stopped when I saw him throw a paper bomb at me.
I leapt back, away from the explosion. The debris and smoke that picked up from the attack shielded my vision. Before the smoke could die down, or I could launch a wide-area long-ranged attack, many kunai hurtled themselves out of the smoke at me. I ducked and evaded each one, but I quickly noticed that they were forcing me in a specific direction.
I realized, and acknowledged, that I could just use my tail to knock back the kunai, but this trap seemed very familiar.
Stepping back, I turned my head to see Foo raise his hands in a familiar, family-signature handseal. "Ninpou: Shin Ten Shin no jutsu!"
I smirked.
Fool, Kurama and I thought together.
And then, in that split second, I refocused my mind and visualized me standing on top of Kurama's head. Kurama's cage, this time, was transformed into a gory, blood-filled, red-moon, rotting-corpse-filled graveyard.
A heartbeat passed, and there I saw Foo.
He stood in front of us, and his eyes widened.
I smirked. "A good idea. If you had entered just my mind, you could have quickly used my body to suppress Kurama's chakra, or knock me out. Very smart. Kudos to you for having the balls, and chakra-control to pull it off."
Kurama chuckled, the sound seeming hauntingly sadistic. His eyes glowed with dark mirth, and he smiled humorlessly upon Foo. "But, you did not account for the fact that she unsealed me. Understandably so. Even the Hachibi isn't unsealed with his host."
Sitting down, I dangled my legs off Kurama's head, smiling at Foo like a master would at a pet. "Of course, not anyone is allowed privy to this information, and now that you know..."
Foo raised his hands, a determined look on his face. "I may not have the home field advantage—"
"And understatement!" Kurama laughed, and he swung down his mighty paw upon the man. "Brat! You deal with the outside world. I will play with my new toy."
"Have fun, my dear one," I purred.
Returning to the outside world, I dropped down to my knees, and forced Kurama's chakra back down inside me. I hung my head, and then collapsed, face-down, onto the ground.
Feigning unconsciousness.
"Good job, Foo," Torune said, approaching me. "I'll tie her up, and then you can head back to your body."
When Torune was mere inches away from me, my hand snapped out and I grabbed his leg. Kurama's cloak flared to life around me, and I grinned wickedly up at him. Torune's expression was unreadable behind his mask, but I could smell the shock and a sliver of fear from him.
Using every bit of my enhanced speed, knowing it was time to end this and move onto Danzō, I threw my other hand up into his chest. There was a sickening crunching side, and I could feel a warm liquid start to sizzle on Kurama's cloak, as I dug my hand further, and further into his chest.
Blood guzzled from his mouth, as Torune choked, and I slowly stood back up.
I could feel his bugs trying to bite me—to kill me for killing their host, but Kurama's cloak was strong.
Four tails waved around me, and I smiled, almost apologetically, at Torune. "No hard feelings, but I will not allow you to harm my brother."
Ripping my hand out of his chest, I stepped back and allowed him to fall on his knees. Knowing how people in Naruto, especially enemies, had a tendency of living stupidly long, I placed my right foot on top of his head, and stepped down with all the strength I could muster. It might have been too much, as I made a small crater before the shattered head, but, couldn't be too sure...
Stepping out of the brain matter, blood, and cracked skull fragments, I began to approach Danzō. Just as I took my second step towards him, Danzō finished unraveling his right arm.
My nose crinkled in disgust as I stared at the vile, grotesque thing. "I cannot wait to fucking end your pathetic life, you sick, twisted old man. I'd be doing the world a favor."
"For someone with such a strong mind, you're such an idiot," Danzō commented, his eye opening up to glare at me.
"You don't know anything about me," I retorted. "I would have recognized your disgusting scent in my childhood—me or Kurama, and Grandfather would have kept your ilk away from us."
"For the most part, he succeeded," Danzō agreed, then he took in a gulp of air and released it out in a torrent of winds.
For the most part?
For the most part?!
The thought sent a surge of anger and fear inside of me. Most part. Most part implied he failed in some part. What part did he fail in? What did Danzō do when we were younger? No, no, he couldn't have touched us. He wouldn't have been able to. Kurama would have told me if anything was fishy. Or at least, he would have told me by now if Danzō was near us in our childhood.
That didn't mean his operatives were incapable of getting near us, though.
I leapt up into the air, and sucked in my own gulp of air. Then channeling Kurama's chakra into my vocal chords, I roared. The sonic wave slammed into the ground, decimating the area within the seal and completely obscuring my field of vision on the ground.
But not my smell.
Falling to the ground, I dug my heels into it upon impact and then flickered towards Danzō. And although he could see me with his Sharingan eye, he could not react fast enough. With his old age, against my superior speed (again: I trained for years to get my speed to use the FTG technique, along with four tails' worth of chakra pumping through my system), he had no time. I slammed my clawed, open hand against his face and then spun around and hurtled his head into the ground.
It cracked beneath me.
One death.
Inhaling deeply, I prepared myself for Danzō's return. When I got him down to only a couple, or few lives, I knew he would try to use Hashirama's Wood Style. He wouldn't risk it before—he knew full well he could not control it, and if he lost control, it would be detrimental to him.
Still, he would be forced to draw upon it at some point to subdue Kurama's chakra inside of me.
He would be vulnerable, then, and I would strike, and strike, and strike.
I would strike until there was nothing more left of Danzō, than a bloody stain.
The second I found his scent, I launched myself at him, lightning already building up in my mouth in preparation for a four-tailed powered-up False Darkness. The lightning blinded me, but with my nose as a guide, I successfully launched the sped-up technique towards the warmonger. The area around him exploded in a bright, red light, and I smelt his body burn to a crisp before disappearing entirely.
Two deaths.
Don't overexert yourself, brat. Your body hasn't built up complete immunity to my chakra. If you use just it for so long...
I know. Naruto was able to combine Sage-energy with your chakra to eliminate that risk. A few more deaths, and I'll have to stop using your chakra. Besides, that'll be about the same time that Danzō is forced to try and use his bullshit wood style.
Alright. Just don't push it... no transformation or bombs. He's not worth that kind of strain you.
Don't underestimate him, Kurama.
Don't underestimate yourself, brat.
Mn. Kurama... about what he said earlier...
Aa... About that... I had no access to the outside world until you were roughly two years old. Your body wasn't mature enough to allow that much of my chakra to flow through you, so...
So you're saying it's possible... it's possible he got his hands on us when we were young?
Maybe. I don't know all of his ROOT members, so it's possible one of his subordinates came in contact with you two even after I gained some semblance of access to the outside world.
What... Just what did he...?
I don't know.
When Danzō re-appeared again, I launched another wide-area False Darkness at him. I made sure to span it tall and wide enough for no escape. There was no point in letting him see more of my abilities than necessary, and it was pointless to engage him in close quarters. My mark would disappear each time he died, and in the anime, he was able to pass on Curse Marks through contact. While I was fairly confident in my ability to overpower them (or, actually, in Kurama's ability to overpower them), I couldn't take the risk that he might have one specially made for jinchūriki.
Not to mention it would give him a good opportunity to use his Wood Style in a kamikaze attack. An attack that he would have nothing to lose in, and I would have quite a bit to lose.
Taking a deep breath to try and steady my heavy breathing, I ignored the burning sensation that continuously crawled across my skin (or where my skin used to be). It wasn't too painful, or bad enough to actually hinder me. It was more of an annoyance than anything. Kurama told me when I had built up enough immunity, his chakra would feel like an actual blanket to me.
Needless to say, I was looking forward to that day. It would definitely be better than this current sensation.
He said the only reason I was in pain was because it was my chakra that was creating the pain. Kurama's chakra could numb all physical pains, but because his chakra was taking over my chakra (or at least mixing in with it), it essentially pissed my chakra off and caused it to have a temper tantrum. Hence the burning sensation.
The best way to describe it was like getting in a really hot bath. On the surface, it burns, but as you stay in it longer, and the water cools and you adjust to the temperature... It feels heavenly.
That's how Kurama described it, anyway. Perfectly possible for him to have exaggerated that heavenly detail.
When Danzō appeared again, I hesitated a heartbeat. "Danzō... you mentioned for the most part. What did you mean by that?"
"Just precautions I took to ensure Konoha's safety. You understand."
I bit my bottom lip in irritation, and whirled around on him, preparing another False Darkness.
I didn't get the chance.
There was a white plume of smoke that joined the debris, and I smelt a new creature. My eyes widened and I let out an oath.
Baku. One of Danzō's summons. A creature that could literally swallow anything and everything, with a strong enough suction to make a tornado look like a wussy.
Immediately, all the dust and debris was sucked away and I had to drop down onto all fours and grapple at the ground to avoid being sucked in. The large mammoth-like creature continued to suck everything in it, including most of the ground. With a snarl, I began to run away from the suction, but each piece of the ground I stepped on, was picked up and sucked away.
Danzō leapt up and soared above me, using his wind-style to guide him above the suctions and soon, all too soon, he was in front of me.
With Baku vacuuming everything inside of him behind me, and Danzō preparing a ninjutsu in front of me, and me being unable to properly move my body from the sheer pressure Baku created... it wasn't looking too hot.
Danzō's hands whirled into seals and he then let out a gust of sharp, focused wind. I tried to raise my tails to defend myself, but the vacuum behind me made it impossible to do so in time. The attack slammed into me, and I was sent hurtling through the air... straight into Baku's mouth.
At least, that's where I was headed.
Then a purple hand grabbed at me in midair and yanked me out of the suction, and straight into the arms of a familiar shinobi.
Immediately recognizing the scent, my eyes widened in disbelief. Sasuke spared me a glance, and set me down on the ground. "Good thing I caught up to you in time."
"W-What are you doing here?" I demanded. "It's too dangerous! How did you even find me?"
"I did train under Kakashi, too, you know. I'm not that horrible at tracking. While the barrier threw me for a loop for a couple minutes, it doesn't prevent people who are actively trying to find you from sensing you."
Although he could not see it due to the cloak, I furrowed my brows. "Sasuke, it's too dangerous..."
"... For you to do this alone? Yes," Sasuke agreed.
"But—but—but—"
I cut myself off, when my clones' memories flooded through me. I faltered, and fidgeted nervously. "I, uh... I wasn't expecting you to show up."
Sasuke stared at me impassively.
"I, uh... I sent a clone out, um... earlier... to track down Itachi and, uh... confirm, your, uh... our, uh... thoughts."
Sasuke stilled, his expression immediately going blank. "And?"
"And he has some interesting things that you should know."
"And?"
"And I might of, sort of, just maybe, already offered him to help me kill Danzō, and now my clone will be here any second with him."
"I see."
"Um..."
"Miwako?"
"Yes...?"
"You're an idiot."
"I know."
Sasuke glared at me. "I would hit you, but I don't care to get burned by your cloak. You went to confront Itachi without me. Am I understanding this correctly?"
"Not confront," I objected. "I just... I mean, I saw, I just... I just wanted to help you. I thought, maybe, if I could figure out the truth—"
"—Without me—"
"—I could give you a heads up, and, and... I mean... I just..." I wiggled nervously under his dark glower.
Sasuke sighed, but he didn't seem any less angry. If anything, he seemed even more furious. "I understand you wanted to help. However, what you did was not... not... not good. Don't ever do it again. And as soon as this is over we will be talking about this."
"I know, I'm sorry, I just..."
"I know. You're still an idiot, and I'm still pissed, but—"
There was a flash of red, and the clone of me, along with Itachi appeared.
I felt a rush of fatigue hit me, as the clone dispersed. The clone had burned up the chakra-reserve seals I had given it, along with its own chakra for that one transportation. Thankfully it was enough chakra to safely bring Itachi to me, but...
"Sasuke?" Itachi questioned, looking surprised.
Sasuke gave him a blank look.
"Well now," Danzō said, as he began to direct Baku to face us. "This should be... interesting."
Immediately, Itachi's Susano'o flared to life to shield Sasuke and myself from Danzō's summon's suction. In the same instance, his left eye bled and black fire engulfed Baku. Within seconds, the creature had de-summoned itself, and the fire wrapped around Danzō.
Three deaths. Seven more to go.
"Itachi," Sasuke began, "I have eyes like yours. I know—"
"Sasuke, we do not have much time before he returns," Itachi said swiftly, turning to face his younger brother. "It has... it has come to my attention that you and I need to have a proper talk. In regards to... the massacre."
Sasuke gave Itachi a levelled stare, then slowly nodded his head. "Alright. But first, let's take care of this little problem."
"Indeed."
I smiled nervously.
Danzō did not stand a chance.
('・ω・')
I fidgeted anxiously, waiting for Itachi and Sasuke to finish their conversation. It had been an hour after we knocked Danzō unconscious, and the two had gone off to... talk.
Would you stop fidgeting?
I can't help it! I just... I'm worried about them.
My eyes roamed over to Danzō's lying state. I had gouged out all of his Sharingan eyes, and returned Shisui's eye to Itachi. The man was helpless in Itachi's genjutsu for the moment, and when Sasuke and Itachi returned, he would be prepared to answer any questions we had under Itachi's influence.
I personally wanted him dead, but Itachi refrained me, citing Danzō had valuable information.
Suddenly, Sasuke stormed across the destroyed clearing, a mutinous expression on his face. "I want him dead."
"Sasuke, wait until we have the information we need," Itachi said patiently, strolling behind his brother, a mildly worried expression on his face.
"He's the reason our family is dead!"
"No," Itachi corrected. "That was father's own fault. The Uchiha were reckless and arrogant."
Sasuke tossed his brother an irritated look.
"If we're keeping him alive, I don't suppose we could use him to redeem Itachi's name, could we?" I mused. Sasuke's eyes widened and he whirled around on me.
"Do you think that might be possible?" Sasuke demanded.
"I bet if we get Jiraiya and Tsunade in on this—as neither share a love for Danzō—we could get Inoichi to mind-walk and confirm the events," I suggested.
Itachi gave me an apathetic glare. "That would cause distress in Konoha. The secret must die with me—"
"Don't you martyr yourself," Sasuke snapped, his Sharingan whirling to life. "If you martyr yourself anymore for father's foolishness, I swear I will make damn sure that every person in the world knows the truth."
Itachi's glare darkened, as he turned his gaze on me. "The whole reason I agreed to this was so that the secret could stay just that—a secret."
I shrugged. "Not my fault you have a loving brother. Probably better it goes out this way, though. It'll stay a secret in the T&I group, and the higher officials. If you hadn't consented, I would have roped Sasuke in on the deal and we would have been the seeds of chaos."
"Undoubtedly," Itachi said, his tone accusing. I wasn't quite sure why he was glaring at me as if this entire situation was my fault.
Then again, it kind of was. He was fully prepared to die by his brother's hands in a sort of poetic justice. Then I came along and threatened everything. I dragged him out of his mask, kicking and screaming.
I smiled at that thought. Still, I would rather have Itachi be pissed at me, than Sasuke coming to know the truth after his brother's death.
"Oh," I then said, "before we further consider that option, Itachi... do you mind asking what the hell Danzō did to me and Naruto as children?"
Itachi pursed his lips, but turned towards Danzō. He made a few handseals, then parroted my question towards Danzō.
"I planned on having a compulsion seal on each of them," Danzō responded, his voice a low monotone, and his gaze flat. "But, I could not get near either of them with the seal without risking being found out. I settled for relying on psychology."
"What?"
"Subliminal messages were implanted and enforced upon both at early ages to develop a strong obsession over the safety of Konoha. It was a success with Naruto, but proved fruitless with his sister."
"Oh. Wait, so he brainwashed Naruto?" I asked, my brow furrowed.
Of sorts. Subliminal messages, huh? That's tricky, but clever. It would ensure that Naruto never strayed from Konoha. Still... those things can only go so far. They have to have an already strong foundation. Naruto adored Konoha without the messages, with them, they just... heightened his infatuation with it.
"That's so... weird," I said.
Sasuke shook his head. "Not surprising, though, if you consider it."
I guess. He did a similar thing with Kabuto and that one lady. It's just... weird to think that it was done in the first place. Still, I'm glad it was just that.
He wouldn't have been able to get away with anything more than that.
I certainly hope so.
"So then... what now?" I asked.
"We take him back to Konoha, hold him prisoner until Jiraiya gets back and have Inoichi mind-walk him," Sasuke said stubbornly.
"You do realize that by the truth coming out, it paints the Uchiha in a less majestic light?"
"I don't care. Itachi deserves to come home."
Itachi sighed. "It would probably be for the best if you don't do that. I need to keep up my cover in the Akatsuki—"
"Why?" I asked incredulously. "The Akatsuki is mostly taken care of. All that's left is that Tobi guy to deal with, really."
"And it would be best not to underestimate—"
"You would do more good in Konoha, than in the Akatsuki," Sasuke argued immediately. "We can handle the Akatsuki, anyway. We already took down their leader."
"He was just a puppet," Itachi said softly.
"Doesn't matter," Sasuke dismissed. "We can handle whatever they throw at us. You do not need to concern yourself with them. You need to come back to Konoha. Right now."
Itachi turned towards his brother. "Sasuke—"
I sighed. This is going to be a long fight, isn't it?
Probably.
"Well," I said, "while you two argue about that, I need to go plant some seals. There's a cave a couple days ahead of me that I need to be able to transport to immediately."
"Oh, no you don't," Sasuke said, whirling around on me, glaring. "You are not running off alone. You and I still need to have our conversation."
I gulped nervously.
('・ω・')
"Just what the hell were you thinking?" Sasuke demanded the moment we were alone. His face was pinched tightly together, and his eyes were dark. His posture was tense, and his hands were clenched tightly to his side. It looked like he was trying his damndest not to raise his voice, or show just how furious he truly was with me.
I felt small under his gaze, and my stomach flip-flopped with guilt, but I held firm. I knew he would be upset with me. I knew it, and I accepted it. I would much rather he be upset with me... than him wrongfully murdering his own brother and then losing himself to the truth behind the massacre.
If it was a choice between Sasuke hating me for lying by omission, or hating himself for murdering Itachi... it's a no-brainer.
"I-I was merely trying to protect you," I defended, resisting the urge to avert my gaze from his mutinous look.
"Don't you dare try that bullshit with me. I do not need protecting. I am not some broken boy who needs to be sheltered from the world," Sasuke snapped.
"I never said you were," I retorted hotly.
"Your actions certainly say otherwise!"
"I had no intentions of purposely hurting you. I merely wanted to assess the situation myself, and—"
"You confronted Itachi without me!" Sasuke snarled. "You know, you know, how important that was for me. You know that that was something between me and him. You, and Naruto, were to remain out of that issue."
My eyes narrowed, and I had to consciously control my breathing to keep my voice even. "If I hadn't, the truth would never have been revealed. You would have murdered Itachi."
Sasuke flinched, as if I had just delivered a fatal blow to him. His face drained of color, and he took a step back. For a full minute, he did not respond.
"I know you're upset with me, and I understand that. I don't expect you to forgive me," I said softly. "I will take on your hatred, so long as it means you're safe."
"Don't do that."
I blinked at that, and Sasuke was glowering at me. "Don't you martyr yourself, either. You always do that. You always shove everyone away from you, and charge off into the situation alone. You don't trust anyone. You say it was for my protection," Sasuke bit out the world like it was a poison, "but really, I wonder if it was just because you couldn't bear the thought of allowing anyone else to help you more than you allowed?"
Even though I knew, rationally, that Sasuke was angry; so much so that he would say anything to hurt me, or get a rise out of me at this point, it was still... painful. Immediately, anger, and hurt flared through me, and I snarled, "Don't be absurd."
"I'm not wrong, am I?" Sasuke demanded.
"Of course you're wrong!" I exploded, temper flaring. My heart hammered loudly in my head, and I could feel my blood pumping through my body like white-hot lava. It took considerable effort to keep Kurama's chakra from flowing through me, as well. "If I didn't trust you, I would have knocked you out the second you let your guard down."
"If you trusted me, why didn't you tell me you were confronting Itachi?!"
"Because it was treason! Sasuke, I am committing treason. Do you understand what that means? It means I am a missing-nin right now. It means I cannot return to Konoha so willy-nilly. I originally intended to remain as a missing-nin until ROOT was completely eradicated, and I had suitable physical proof to secure Itachi a safe position in Konoha. If I told you about confronting Itachi, you would undoubtedly have forced yourself along and guess what? Now you have committed treason."
Sasuke stared at me stonily, his loathing slowly dissolving away into stubbornness, and mild anger. "And what makes you think I care about that?"
I gave him a blank look. "Jeeze. I don't know. Because you're a Konoha shinobi? Because you have shown no prior inclination to wanting to be a missing-nin? Because I thought you were sane?"
Sasuke shot me a venomous look.
I gave a frustrated sigh, throwing my hands up in exasperation. "What do you want me to say, Sasuke? I'm sorry? I am. I regret it? I do. I want you to be happy. I definitely do. But I can't go back and change the past any more than you can. If you want to hate me, then hate me. Just do me a favor, and go back to Konoha, with your brother, and clear your names."
"And where are you going?" Sasuke bit out.
"I have business to take care of."
"Clearly, you're just proving again how much you trust me."
"I'm obviously not going to make the mistake of telling someone who currently hates my guts where I'm going," I snapped.
Although that's not why.
It's just too dangerous for you.
Hate me, that's fine.
Just stay safe.
Please.
And before Sasuke could respond, I disappeared in a flash of red.
('・ω・')
You know that's not going to help his anger with you.
Not looking to make him think better of me.
Still... it's only a matter of time before Konoha realizes you aren't returning so soon.
I have things I need to take care of. If Naruto were to help me, he would be a prime and open target for the Akatsuki. And anyone else... they would have to become missing-nin. Even if it is temporary.
Perhaps. Regardless, you have a week to be done with your tasks, then you must reconcile with Naruto and the others and meet with Bee. We'll need the privacy to continue your training.
Continue? Is there another step past Beast-Transformation?
Possibly.
Mn. Okay. A week isn't enough time to completely destroy ROOT, but it is enough time to find that cave where Kabuto and Tobi will be hiding, and mark it.
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