True Mastery

MASSACRE

It had been six months since that incident. Sasuke had been strangely calm about the whole 'killing a person' thing. He had, instead, started training more and more. He had most definitely surpassed Itachi in shurikenjutsu, and could keep up with Shisui's speed for about half a minute. He had managed to increase the duration of his battle form by two seconds, and his base speed had also grown considerably.

He had expressed interest in learning to use swords, but his father had shot that down, saying Sasuke should keep both hands free for throwing shuriken. Itachi had gone against his father's orders and gotten Sasuke an Anbu sword. It was perfectly straight, light, and its blade stretched as long as the distance between his elbow and middle finger.

A few times a week, he would go to visit Sakura in an orphanage. Well, not really an orphanage. It was a place run by the police, solely for people with abusive guardians. Sasuke's great-aunt ran the place, and she was the one who'd asked him to come visit sometimes. He and Sakura had become friends, and she trusted him.

But then, Sasuke could feel that his father came home more tired every night, and Itachi was always at a state of agitation. They made time for the second genius of the family, of course, but it was obvious that something was going on.

Then three days ago, Shisui had been found dead, and Itachi had gotten absolutely closed off and irritable about the subject. Then, that night, Sasuke came home after sparring with Naruto to see that everyone was dead. And standing in front of his parents' corpses was-

"Itachi?!"

"Sasuke." Itachi kept his face guarded and closed off. He itched to put his mask back on, hide his face, but he couldn't. He had to do this face to face.

"Mother, Father... Itachi, who did this?'

Itachi took a deep breath, steeling himself. "I did."

Sasuke took two steps back. "B-but-"

"Itachi?"

Itachi froze, looking past Sasuke's shoulder into two Sharingan.

"Izumi?" he asked, inwardly yelling 'SHIT SHIT SHIT' as his calm demeanor broke.

Izumi stared at his face. Then she shook her head. This wasn't happening.

"Kai!"

Okay, so it was happening. But why was Itachi crying-

Sasuke started sparking with lightning, his sharingan whirred into existence, and then he blurred-

Straight into Itachi's outstretched palm.

A quick jab to the jugular knocked Sasuke out (Itachi had planned a Tsukuyomi, but he couldn't do it), and then he turned to Izumi.

He had bargained for his brother's life. She didn't fall in that deal. She had to die. He needed to kill her.

He put his hands slowly into his pouch, bringing out a three pronged shuriken. He willed his hands to move, fingers clenching and unclenching as his body shook, cutting deep grooves into his palms.

Then she smiled at him (how, he had no idea) and he stopped breathing. She walked up to him slowly, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I trust you. I know you had a reason."

She shouldn't trust him! Why did she trust him? His own family was lying dead around him, trusting him was not a good sign for a shinobi. Itachi looked into her eyes, which were open and warm.

And that was when Itachi broke. Through the window. And disappeared into the night sky.

Izumi stood still, feeling oddly serene. She looked around the room in a detached manner. The first thought she had, surprisingly, that what had just happened was better suited for one of Lord Jiraiya's novel endings.