朱 [003] The irony behind his worst nightmare...
[Itachi had survived for almost a week without sleep. His record had been five days before but this, it had gone over board. There was nothing else he could do to lie to his body that he was not tired. His eyes burned, his back ached, the tension that had built up from helping the others with their nightmares had made his neck horribly stiff with nerves. It wasn’t until he realized he had run out of substances to consume. When his body finally gave out, he didn’t even realize it. He was moving around his room again, the last thought of his brother appearing in his mind. Then strange things began to occur. He didn’t know how or when but. There was only one thought running through his head.]
[There was nothing more precious in the world then smiling lips upon a siblings face.
The hallucinations had caught Itachi into a rather confused state of being. It was now almost fifteen minutes that he had been staring without blinking at a Sasuke. The young man, so bold and serious, had walked into his bedroom and stood there watching him with a strange tinge of suspicion in his eye. The older Uchiha had tried to speak to him but the other had said nothing. Was it shock? Anger? Had his brother been offended by his sudden and unprecedented departure as Anko had been? Perhaps. The air between the two was thick with tension, almost tangible. Itachi gave a frown. He had enough.]
Speak your mind.
[Sasuke looked down at the ground, a small smirk forming across his lips. There was something ominous and malicious about the way he was acting. There wasn’t exactly any point in his silence, until he rose his eyes. Itachi blinked. His sharingan… it was just like Madara’s…]
Brother…
[His voice made the older Uchiha wince slightly as Sasuke spread his arms out before him, as if beckoning his brother to come to him. That strange look still planted across his face. Itachi stared from hand to hand confused. Was he serious? Did he really want a hug from him? When had things between them changed into this sort of stuff? Something wasn‘t right and Itachi stood his grown. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows flicking the tips of his fingers.]
Are you proud of me, Aniki?
P-proud of you?
Yes. Proud of me. I have been very active since your death you see…
[It was as if something illuminated the corner of his bedroom where bodies laid sprawled on the floor in a pile of glistening blood. He recognized those faces. Kakashi, his eyes staring lifelessly off towards the Uchiha’s feet, his hair tainted, made a knot start to form in Itachi’s chest. Beside him lay an Anko, throat slit and most of her face bloody and bruised. A Hokage, a Kurunai, Asuma, the a few limps that even he could not even recognized but had all suffered the similar fate of being slaughtered. He turned back to Sasuke with a glare. This couldn’t be true, this had to be an illusion. His brother did not seem to mind the reaction Itachi was giving him and continued to hold out his arms, beckoning him over again. Itachi shook his head.]
What did you do.
What you wanted of me. Are you proud?
What I wanted-
[And again, another light turned on, this time near the door. There was a body contorted in an incredibly awkward position, hands and legs tied behind her, eyes blindfolded and only the pink of her hair seemed to give any indication of who the person was. Her legs were bend so grotesquely that Itachi perceived this Sakura had been tortured. There various wounds along her chest, her arms, her mouth was slightly agape and a fine line of blood was tricking down her chin. She gave a small twitch and Itachi winced. Torture. She was being tortured, a slow death. She gave a whimper voicing some incoherent name as his attention turned. This time, it was Naruto. He was tied to a wall, crucified by the only person that he had ever truly trusted. His shirt was torn exposing holes along his person, his neck and wrists had various outlines where someone had either tightened a rope too tightly or had burned them. He was unconscious, his blood was dripping against the floor. Itachi moved forward to get him off when Sasuke’s voice rang through the chilly air again.]
Are you proud of me, brother? Have I surpassed you?
[Itachi turned again, glaring at Sasuke, his own sharingan at full swing. This just couldn’t be happening.]
You fool, what have you done.
What you wanted of me: to win back our families honor.
By destroying those that respect and protect you?
By any means necessary. They were only in my way.
I did not want this for you, you were not suppose to become a-
A murderer?
[Itachi froze where he stood. As Sasuke began to take steps forward, arms still outstretched, face looking livid and his sharingan threateningly playful.]
But brother, why run away from me. I am what you made me.
Th-that is not true…
You murdered our clan and spared my life. For that I am grateful. You wanted the world to remember the Uchiha name with me and I have done so. I have taken my hatred for all that opposed us, I have avenged those that hurt you.
What are you talking about…
Konoha, brother. Konoha and all its selfish people are dead. I made them suffer and avenged your death. Are you proud?
[Itachi was speechless. Sasuke continued to walk towards him before he placed an arm around his shoulders, Itachi could feel his brother’s breathing with his very ears. He shook. What if this was real, what if…]
I killed Danzo, the elders, the Hokage- everyone that ever dared hurt us. And now that I have Naruto, I will be able to extend my revenge on the rest of our world. No more wars. I will destroy everything with the nine tailed beast.
[Itachi tried to move away from his brother but Sasuke was gripping onto him, not allowing him to move an inch. He did not want this, he did not want his brother to fall into the darkness. What had he done wrong, where had he misplaced his reasoning’s? Sure, he had treated him with hate, warped his mind to believe that the only reason he had been left alive was because he was weak, but he did not want his brother to become a murder, to become what Itachi had eradicated when he murdered those of their clan. He closed his eyes, his chest aching. The village was suppose to teach him what to protect, what to love. What to fight for. This, this was far beyond what Itachi had planned. This wasn‘t right!]
You are not a monster, Sasuke. Y-you are innocent and pure. There is so much you do no-
You are the monster brother… you created me, you fed me with the hate, you spawned my madness. Are you proud of me? This was what you always wanted, to keep me away from war. I will end war. I will kill the entire world in your name. As he spoke, Sasuke rose his trusty blade and was positioning it to slice through Itachi‘s back.
Sasuke…d-don’t-
The name Uchiha will reign supreme again. We will have our honor and respect. Once Madara has taught me how to control the Kyuubi, I will end his life for all the hardships he brought on to you. Be proud of me, it was all done in your name. Unfortunately brother…
[Itachi gave a gasp as Sasuke brought the sword slicing through his back. Itachi was shaking. He could no longer contain it. A stream of bloody tears began to fall down his cheek as Sasuke brought the blade deeper into him, twisting it at the handle causing Itachi to groan in pain. Sasuke was inches away, his face beside Itachi‘s ear as his smile seized to fade.]
If I want to make you proud, you have to die Itachi. You are too weak now. I have surpassed you.
Sasuke, how could you, I-I never meant to do this but to hel-
[Sasuke brought the blade in deeper, twisting it again making Itachi gag into silence. The younger Uchiha, satisfied by his brother’s state, removed his blade and set it aside as Itachi went limp. He held him in place slowly allowing him to sink to the floor. Itachi pitifully held to his torso, his tears tainting his white shirt, his legs in attempt to stop and fight his brother…to his feet because he was loosing consciousness. He felt sick, shocked, ashamed. He had hurt Sasuke beyond repair. He had created what he had tried to destroy. There was no other way to put it… he had failed Sasuke. His brother on the other hand continued to stand, that same look on his face Itachi was starting to fear.]
Rest in peace brother. Victory will be yours in the end…
[There was nothing more precious in the world then smiling lips upon a siblings face.
The hallucinations had caught Itachi into a rather confused state of being. It was now almost fifteen minutes that he had been staring without blinking at a Sasuke. The young man, so bold and serious, had walked into his bedroom and stood there watching him with a strange tinge of suspicion in his eye. The older Uchiha had tried to speak to him but the other had said nothing. Was it shock? Anger? Had his brother been offended by his sudden and unprecedented departure as Anko had been? Perhaps. The air between the two was thick with tension, almost tangible. Itachi gave a frown. He had enough.]
Speak your mind.
[Sasuke looked down at the ground, a small smirk forming across his lips. There was something ominous and malicious about the way he was acting. There wasn’t exactly any point in his silence, until he rose his eyes. Itachi blinked. His sharingan… it was just like Madara’s…]
Brother…
[His voice made the older Uchiha wince slightly as Sasuke spread his arms out before him, as if beckoning his brother to come to him. That strange look still planted across his face. Itachi stared from hand to hand confused. Was he serious? Did he really want a hug from him? When had things between them changed into this sort of stuff? Something wasn‘t right and Itachi stood his grown. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows flicking the tips of his fingers.]
Are you proud of me, Aniki?
P-proud of you?
Yes. Proud of me. I have been very active since your death you see…
[It was as if something illuminated the corner of his bedroom where bodies laid sprawled on the floor in a pile of glistening blood. He recognized those faces. Kakashi, his eyes staring lifelessly off towards the Uchiha’s feet, his hair tainted, made a knot start to form in Itachi’s chest. Beside him lay an Anko, throat slit and most of her face bloody and bruised. A Hokage, a Kurunai, Asuma, the a few limps that even he could not even recognized but had all suffered the similar fate of being slaughtered. He turned back to Sasuke with a glare. This couldn’t be true, this had to be an illusion. His brother did not seem to mind the reaction Itachi was giving him and continued to hold out his arms, beckoning him over again. Itachi shook his head.]
What did you do.
What you wanted of me. Are you proud?
What I wanted-
[And again, another light turned on, this time near the door. There was a body contorted in an incredibly awkward position, hands and legs tied behind her, eyes blindfolded and only the pink of her hair seemed to give any indication of who the person was. Her legs were bend so grotesquely that Itachi perceived this Sakura had been tortured. There various wounds along her chest, her arms, her mouth was slightly agape and a fine line of blood was tricking down her chin. She gave a small twitch and Itachi winced. Torture. She was being tortured, a slow death. She gave a whimper voicing some incoherent name as his attention turned. This time, it was Naruto. He was tied to a wall, crucified by the only person that he had ever truly trusted. His shirt was torn exposing holes along his person, his neck and wrists had various outlines where someone had either tightened a rope too tightly or had burned them. He was unconscious, his blood was dripping against the floor. Itachi moved forward to get him off when Sasuke’s voice rang through the chilly air again.]
Are you proud of me, brother? Have I surpassed you?
[Itachi turned again, glaring at Sasuke, his own sharingan at full swing. This just couldn’t be happening.]
You fool, what have you done.
What you wanted of me: to win back our families honor.
By destroying those that respect and protect you?
By any means necessary. They were only in my way.
I did not want this for you, you were not suppose to become a-
A murderer?
[Itachi froze where he stood. As Sasuke began to take steps forward, arms still outstretched, face looking livid and his sharingan threateningly playful.]
But brother, why run away from me. I am what you made me.
Th-that is not true…
You murdered our clan and spared my life. For that I am grateful. You wanted the world to remember the Uchiha name with me and I have done so. I have taken my hatred for all that opposed us, I have avenged those that hurt you.
What are you talking about…
Konoha, brother. Konoha and all its selfish people are dead. I made them suffer and avenged your death. Are you proud?
[Itachi was speechless. Sasuke continued to walk towards him before he placed an arm around his shoulders, Itachi could feel his brother’s breathing with his very ears. He shook. What if this was real, what if…]
I killed Danzo, the elders, the Hokage- everyone that ever dared hurt us. And now that I have Naruto, I will be able to extend my revenge on the rest of our world. No more wars. I will destroy everything with the nine tailed beast.
[Itachi tried to move away from his brother but Sasuke was gripping onto him, not allowing him to move an inch. He did not want this, he did not want his brother to fall into the darkness. What had he done wrong, where had he misplaced his reasoning’s? Sure, he had treated him with hate, warped his mind to believe that the only reason he had been left alive was because he was weak, but he did not want his brother to become a murder, to become what Itachi had eradicated when he murdered those of their clan. He closed his eyes, his chest aching. The village was suppose to teach him what to protect, what to love. What to fight for. This, this was far beyond what Itachi had planned. This wasn‘t right!]
You are not a monster, Sasuke. Y-you are innocent and pure. There is so much you do no-
You are the monster brother… you created me, you fed me with the hate, you spawned my madness. Are you proud of me? This was what you always wanted, to keep me away from war. I will end war. I will kill the entire world in your name. As he spoke, Sasuke rose his trusty blade and was positioning it to slice through Itachi‘s back.
Sasuke…d-don’t-
The name Uchiha will reign supreme again. We will have our honor and respect. Once Madara has taught me how to control the Kyuubi, I will end his life for all the hardships he brought on to you. Be proud of me, it was all done in your name. Unfortunately brother…
[Itachi gave a gasp as Sasuke brought the sword slicing through his back. Itachi was shaking. He could no longer contain it. A stream of bloody tears began to fall down his cheek as Sasuke brought the blade deeper into him, twisting it at the handle causing Itachi to groan in pain. Sasuke was inches away, his face beside Itachi‘s ear as his smile seized to fade.]
If I want to make you proud, you have to die Itachi. You are too weak now. I have surpassed you.
Sasuke, how could you, I-I never meant to do this but to hel-
[Sasuke brought the blade in deeper, twisting it again making Itachi gag into silence. The younger Uchiha, satisfied by his brother’s state, removed his blade and set it aside as Itachi went limp. He held him in place slowly allowing him to sink to the floor. Itachi pitifully held to his torso, his tears tainting his white shirt, his legs in attempt to stop and fight his brother…to his feet because he was loosing consciousness. He felt sick, shocked, ashamed. He had hurt Sasuke beyond repair. He had created what he had tried to destroy. There was no other way to put it… he had failed Sasuke. His brother on the other hand continued to stand, that same look on his face Itachi was starting to fear.]
Rest in peace brother. Victory will be yours in the end…