Pulling My Weight

Chapter 25 || Trial II

An inkstone, a set of brushes, and a kunai glinted in the late afternoon sun, an odd sense of finality radiating off of them.

"You sure about this, senpai?"

"Yeah, kid. I trust you."

A pause, and a deep, shuddering sigh.

"Kneel in the circle then, please."

"Ah!" a flinch. "Sorry, sorry, the ink is fucking cold though."

A laugh, only a tiny bit hysterical.

"Sorry, senpai. My bad."

Silence; broken only by the soothing sound of brush against skin and the steady drip of ink.

"Done." A breath. "This may hurt."

A snort.

"I'd be worried if it didn't."

A burst of blinding blue light, a surge of energy, and a stifled scream.

"Did-!" gasping, desperate breaths. "Did it w-work?"

A thud of knees against panelled wood and exhausted pants.

"Can you feel it?"

A pause. Prolonged, and ringing with disbelief.

Then, slowly, giddy, euphoric happiness.

"No..." a sob. "No, I can't! Kid, I-!"

Happy tears and rib-crushing hugs and small, grateful smiles.

Itachi held his arm out for Yoko to land on, and listened as the crow gave an account of what was happening in his old Village.

The news that his brother had betrayed the Leaf to join Orochimaru a few years back had shaken him, but it was nothing he couldn't adjust to. The thought of the Snake Sannin's influence corrupting Sasuke even further was vile, but perhaps the man could give Sasuke the power he needed to kill Itachi a little sooner. So while not happy about the situation (SarutobifailedhewasmeanttokeepSasukesafe!) he'd factored it into his plans and moved on.

Finding out that his brother had been captured and brought back to the Village had not been quite as easy to get over.

Sasuke in the Village meant that Sasuke couldn't kill him. And that meant that Itachi's main, failsafe plan for peace and penance had been sabotaged. He could always kill himself – and it had been a thought he'd entertained more than once – but the dishonour and cowardice of the action disgusted him. No, having Sasuke kill him, take his eyes, fulfil his self-proclaimed goal as their Clan's avenger, all the while absolving Itachi of his guilt, of his crime, his betrayal, of the blood of their family on his hands – that was a much more attractive end.

But now, now the Godaime had thrown a wrench in that plan.

And with the report Yoko had just delivered...

Itachi scowled.

With Sasuke incarcerated, sealed, and stripped off his chakra, his Sharingan, and his ninja rank, Itachi's plan of death-by-fratricide was looking ever more unlikely.

But.

Itachi, same as every ninja worth their salt, was nothing if not opportunistic.

And yes, Sasuke's sentence was a blow and more than a mild inconvenience, but Shimura's trial falling into his lap like that? What better chance would he have to get revenge on the man responsible for his predicament and expose ROOT, the corruption within the Village, and warn Sasuke about Madara than this one?

Itachi flexed his chakra and Yoko promptly dismissed herself, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

This would directly violate the terms he'd agreed upon with Jiraiya, but he found that he didn't care. He had the blood of his family on his hands, the traumatisation of his brother on his conscience, and the instability and PTSD that came from playing the role of the ruthless, emotionless murderer for the last decade on his mental state. Positive emotions, affection, rational thought – he hardly remembered what they felt like. He'd been operating on autopilot from the moment his body had begun to deteriorate; all that mattered was the Plan, his grand finale. And now, years of careful planning had been laid to waste. Itachi made an executive decision, and examined his internal reaction to said decision.