Never Forget

Planning

Chapter 23

'You could've told me something like that earlier!'

'It was unimportant at the time. He hasn't made a move yet, so why waste your thoughts on him?'

'I mean, he's Madara Uchiha! He's supposed to be dead – not to mention that he's extremely powerful, you know?'

'You knew he was alive! I made a deal with him that night!'

'I knew he was alive, but I thought you'd tell me if he ever became important in the grand scheme of things!'

'I'm telling you now, aren't I?!'

I let out a muffled scream of frustration into the arm of the sofa. Kakashi reached toward me, concern showing on his face. How could Itachi have kept this a secret from me? I'd met Madara in person that one time!

'Kira, are you still there?' asked Tsunade.

I let out one last growl and responded, 'Yeah, sorry. I'm conversing with the other one right now. I'll be back to you in just a moment.'

'Look, I'm sorry for not telling you earlier, but at the moment we were pretty occupied with other things. Not to mention that I have to put up my front with everybody else, including the Akatsuki themselves – and also tracking Sasuke and relaying everything to you. I'm not complaining, but I have to prioritize some information and actions over others.'

This was possibly the most serious I'd ever heard Itachi. To me, he was usually a bit of a jerk, annoying, and disruptive. He had lived in my mind for quite a few years now. We'd gotten to know each other better than virtually anybody else; he witnessed my every waking thought and action. He had directly saved my life once and had saved all of us numerous times.

And as usual, he was right about this, too.

'You're right. I have to apologize. I was – and still am – in shock.'

'Yeah, I know, I get it. It's kind of like the time I cracked a joke in front of you for the first time. Your eyes were about to pop out of your head – I know that, and I couldn't even see you.'

'What? These two issues aren't even similar – one puts our lives at stake, and the other was – was – was you being a jerkface!'

'Very mature,' he commented dryly. Hypocrite. 'You're going to have to think of a good way to get around this – otherwise, you'll have to tell them all the truth.'

'And the only problem with the latter is that the Leaf needs to maintain its reputation, right?'

'Well, yes, there's that. But there's also the Elders – they won't be happy if they find out that not one, but two outside countries know the truth about the massacre.'

'What if they don't find out?'

'That's a possibility. No matter what you say, there's going to be a risk associated with it. Stay silent, and they'll stop trusting you. Lie, and there's a chance you'll get caught. Tell the truth, and the consequences could backfire on you as well as Konoha.'

'So what should I do?'

'I don't know. You're quite smart, aren't you? Or was it all a bluff?'