Tortured Uchiha [CURRENTLY EDITING]

Choice

Itachi’s three-stage Sharingan illuminated at the sound of my threat. Any word of Sasuke concerned Itachi, whether it be either good or bad news. His lips, once turned up in concern, twitches downwards in a sneer. Nobody touched Sasuke; I should’ve known that by now.

“I think we need to talk,” Itachi said rather dismissively.

One day, echoed through my mind.

Kisame had no objections to a private conversation with Itachi so he started back down the dirt track to Iwagakure while Itachi and I took to the tree canopies to discuss the matter at hand―Sasuke.

In Itachi’s mind, Sasuke was just a misled little boy, acting out on his hurt and rage. Sasuke Uchiha can’t possibly do any wrong because he’s the prodigy of the first branch Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha can’t possibly be capable of slaughtering countless of people on the hunt for the ‘man’ that killed the Uchiha to protect him. Sasuke Uchiha can’t possibly be a cold hearted sociopath. Sasuke Uchiha can’t possibly have any justification to leave the village.

“My little brother is not your concern, do you understand?” Itachi hissed.

I lowered myself onto the branch, dropping to my haunches in warning. Itachi was breaking my boundaries which I’d so delectably placed for my own personal protection. There was a time where I truly cared for Sasuke, the little chubby legged child that thought I was Itachi―but then that admiration turned into disgust to see how he treated Naruto, how he forced the tailed-beast to manipulate Naruto’s brooding emotions. I hated Sasuke Uchiha, and not even Itachi’s bond could change my mind.

“Name one good thing that Sasuke’s done for his beloved Nii–San,” I mocked, vehemence to my tone.  

Itachi flinched back slightly, “You wouldn’t understand, you were an only child.”

“He wants to kill you!” I screeched, angling my fist at the branch that held me. Fragments of bark splintered in every direction, clattering against the porcelain mask I wore. “Why can’t you see that Sasuke will only hinder your very existence!”

“He is my brother,” Itachi said.

“He’s your undoing,” I snapped.

“Sasuke shouldn’t be your obligation,” Itachi growled.

“I did what you couldn’t, I protected him,” my voice rose another pitch.

“By giving up your Sharingan? You’re foolish Etsuko, Sasuke is indeed my brother but there was no need to give up such gifted prowess. Sasuke is my responsibility, Otosan intrusted his safety to me, not you,” Itachi’s three Tomoe slowly interlocked into the three-prong pinwheel formation of his Mangekyou.

“You left him there! What was I supposed to do―die and have Sasuke stumble upon another corpse? Wake up Ita–Kun, life isn’t a game of Shogi…we can’t avoid the inevitable, Sasuke will find you,” my chest heaved.

“And when that time comes Etsu–Chan,” Itachi’s eyes softened around the edges, his shoulders relaxing, “I will make sure that you’re not left alone, I will never leave you.”

“But you will, because Sasuke won’t stop until you’re a hollow shell,” I recoiled back to the trunk of the tree. “It will always be Sasuke, you will always choose him and there’s nothing I can do to change that. It’s not the question of choice between me and your brother, but when you should give up.”

“What do you propose I do then?” Itachi gnashed his jaws like a dog. “Do I become a ghost like you? Leading everyone I love to grieve for four years in guilt? Shall I put on a mask and flit through villages for the rest of my life like you have? No, I have pride Etsuko, something which you lack.”