I guess everyone found out about the kittens then, huh? [Al giggles softly.] I should have known it wouldn't stay a secret forever. I found them Thursday night while it was raining and I just couldn't leave them out there in the cold, you know? I stayed with them all night and their mom didn't come back, either.Itachi, Sasuke and I are taking care
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[Itachi is silent for a while, and then when he speaks again his voice is completely neutral and monotonous, devoid of emotion.]
I will try to put this in easy terms and not make it too long.
Nearly a hundred years ago our world was in chaos--endless war. The ninja clans did not exist as villages, but mercenaries that were hired. The two strongest clans were Senjuu and Uchiha, and because they were the strongest, whatever side one was hired to support, it was almost a given that the other clan would be hired for the opposing side.
The leader of the Senjuu at the time was a man who could control the bijuu--powerful demons of chakra and malice. But the man who led the Uchiha could control the most powerful of these demons, the nine-tailed demon fox, or the kyuubi. As a tangent, both Sasuke and I share this power with that man, but it comes with a price.
To continue.
The Senjuu and the Uchiha eventually formed an alliance, and founded the first ninja village, Konoha. Their example was followed and eventually the world stabilized with clear power distribution and borders--though war is always a part of human nature, at least the chaos was not so bad.
But there was a conflict between Uchiha Madara--the leader of the Uchiha at the time--and the Senjuu leader, Hashirama. Madara was paranoid and delusional, he wanted to seize power, and he opposed the alliance and the Senjuu leader becoming the Hokage--village leader of Konoha. However Hashirama did become Hokage, and Madara left, enraged and vengeful. He returned later, attacking the village and his own clan with the kyuubi--the Hokage faced him and killed him, or so everyone believed.
But he wasn't dead. He merely retreated, biding his time for his revenge. He formed the organization of Akatsuki in secret, among other things, waiting for his chance.
Sixteen years ago he set the kyuubi on Konoha a second time. Now, the first attack had left a rift between Senjuu and Uchiha, the Uchiha had been given control of the military police--but they still were not the main power within the village. The second attack left the rest of the village and especially the council paranoid that the Uchiha had been behind the kyuubi attack, and the Uchiha were segregated and isolated within the village after the massacre of the second attack.
The Uchiha were placed under black ops surveillance, given few freedoms and generally met with suspicion among the villagers. Eventually this treatment led to the very thing the council had feared in the first place--the Uchiha, led by our father Uchiha Fugaku, began to plan a coup d'tat.
About this time I was progressing as one of the most skilled geniuses of my generation. My father placed me as one of our chief spies within the village, but he did not realize that though I was young I was not easily used. I turned to the village leader and became the Hokage's double agent--together we worked to try and reconcile the council and the Uchiha, but...
Our efforts were fruitless. Completely in vain. My father was stubborn, as was the council, and the war that would have resulted from the Uchiha's rebellion would not only have dragged the village into chaos, but the rest of the world.
So I was given the mission to eliminate my clan.
[Itachi stops there, voice still cold and completely remote.]
Any questions?
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So your father wanted to start a civil war...?! Didn't he care about everyone who might be hurt in the crossfire?
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Casualties in war are just that--whether those casualties were his own sons or someone elses, he had his goals and his ideals, and the clan shared them. They wished for equality, they were willing to take it the only way they thought they could.
Is wishing to be treated with respect and fairness, wanting to pass that to the next generation, even if it costs you and your family and may cost many others, such a bad thing? I do not believe so. Yet I opposed them secretly, and I eventually killed them, for those desires and goals.
So yes. I think he probably did care, but when you are preparing for war you must make choices. I had lived through war by then, my father had fought through one; it was not, I think, an easy choice for the clan to come to, and it cost them dearly.
I did not hate my parents Alphonse-kun, when I killed them, nor do I hate them now.
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... so you killed them to prevent a war that would kill countless more.
They were the sacrifice for peace.
[Al puts a hand over his face, and his fingers tremble. He takes several deep breaths.]
I-I can't... imagine. What that must have been like. To have to make that decision, let alone to go through with it.
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Compassionate as always, Alphonse-kun.
Have I answered your questions or was there anything further you wished to know?
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... Sasuke. You couldn't kill him, could you...?
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My mission was to wipe out the clan. In not killing Sasuke I failed the mission. But I knew something no one else was aware of--I was the only one who knew Madara was still alive. I used him to help me kill the clan, but I knew he still desired revenge on Konoha.
I made a deal with the Hokage and the elders for Sasuke's safety, and left the village to keep an eye on Konoha's enemies, Madara among them.
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[Al closes his eyes and takes another shaky breath. putting his hand over the PCD for a moment before taking it away.]
Don't say it.
... so after all that, you still protected Konoha...? What happened with the Hokage, did he deny involvement in the killings? Did he-
Of course he did.
God. They let you do that. They let you become a martyr for their cause, didn't they... I...
I understand now. I-I understand why Sasuke is so angry.
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I intended for the secret to die with me, Alphonse-kun. In provoking Sasuke to kill me, he would have become a hero for the village, someone who destroyed an evil. He would have been both powerful and untouchable.
And no, the Hokage concealed the truth from Sasuke because I begged him to, not because he wished to. He was a good man, Alphonse-kun. But politics are what they are; we both understood that the council would never reveal the truth if they did not have to, and if the Hokage and I kept silent the village and the clan retained a good name. Only one person needed to become a villain, and the village would not lose standing in the political arena.
I have never once resented my duty or my village, Alphonse-kun. I would do anything to protect Konoha--but I would do more than that to protect Sasuke.
[His last declaration does hold some emotion, the barest edge of something, too controlled and repressed to be easily identifiable.]
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You are... amazing, Itachi.
...
Thank you for telling me.
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Hm. And why do you say that, Alphonse-kun?
You are welcome, I suppose.
Thank you for befriending Sasuke.
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... not that all of that's not amazing, but-
The real thing that I find amazing is that through all of that, you held no grudges. You understood why it had to be done and you accepted the consequences, yes, but... you aren't bitter about it.
You're a rare person. A good person. Only someone with a strong and compassionate heart would be able to do what you have done.
Thank you for giving me the chance to.
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Long held grudges are what begot the whole mess, Alphonse-kun. Do not believe I am above them, however.
He needs companionship more than he lets on.
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I understand grudges. I hold one against someone from my world, but considering what he did, I don't think I can be faulted for it.
So... I get it.
He's good company to have, actually. I just wish he wouldn't coop himself up in his room so much. Maybe I can lure him out with something...
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But that is all I will say on it. You've told me of Envy, you may choose to tell me more. I do not fault you for hating him--I presume it is of him you speak.
He is good company, and he has reasons which I understand, even if I do agree with you.
If you can lure him out of his hiding I will not only help you if you need it, I will thoroughly applaud you.
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You'd be right. Envy is... something so twisted I can't even begin to understand why he wanted to hurt us so much. Hurt us he did. Repeatedly. ... but for all I hate him, I kind of pity him too. Maybe someday I'll tell you the whole story, even though it'll take a while to do.
I'll have to think on ways to do it.
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