The Dango Gesture...

Chapter 6: Blinded

Itachi's Pov

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The raw intensity that he had shown had startled even himself. The voice inside screamed that being so angry, so awful was wrong. He ignored it as he stayed rooted to the ground. He saw the flash in front of his eyes again as his eyes teared from going and delving deeper to returning to their first stage, an example of him trying, but failing, to rein in his anger.

It failed, dramatically so. Why did this happen? Every fucking time. This happened.

He would find something-someone, he mentally corrected, that he held dear, even if only admitted it recently, it still made his chest throb painfully behind his ribs.

The familiar heat that seemed all consuming, yet at the same time it seemed to shy away from his very being consumed his body. His eyes seeing the world through that of red, black, and white now, thanks to his Sharingan flashed as his Susanno's came into reality.

How long had it been since he'd used Susanoo? The last time he remembered using it was when he first acquired the rare ability.

The mission had been simple, him and Shisui, along with a newly assigned team member named Genma, had been sent to the Land of Iron. He remembered the blood that had splattered his teammates clothes, soiling them with the rich color of death. The terrible stench that had wafted from the, even as Itachi stood frozen, unknowing of what to do. All he could see was the decreasing pressure in his elder cousin's chest cavity. The thought of him dead, his only friend, his best friend, dead had sent his eyes roaring with pain, and him collapsing onto his knees, tearing away his ANBU mask as blood tears rolled down his childish cheeks.

Yes he remembered quite clearly. That had been the last time he'd had the overwhelming need to maul. To hurt. To kill.

He'd kept the Susanoo's a secret that only he knew, he kept it from his family even. That hadn't stopped his anxiety when his father smeared his thumb over the old blood-tear stain that Itachi had tried fruitlessly to remove.

His focus found the two chakra signatures, the two that caused this whole damn mess.

The ones who are responsible for the state of her deteriorating health...

The rage slammed back into him full force, taking over his subconscious, and he willingly let it.

He was here, and as long as he still stood tall, he would avenge the girl that he suddenly felt very protective of.

The stark white of his Susanno's with Sharingan vision kept him on his toes. The figure's were red through the veil, he saw their eyes widen, their mouths gape openly at the scene that unfolded in front of them.

It wasn't every day that you pissed an Uchiha off to the point that he unleashed the power heard in myths and legends.

Definitely not a common occurrence.

He lashed his right arm out, maybe a bit flamboyant yes, but he always had a flare for the dramatic, and damn did he work it.

With the action came the Sword of Totsuka, unsheathing itself with ease as Itachi's Susanoo's struck down on the ground creating a crater he wasn't affected by.

Because he was up in the air now, he hadn't even known that the Susanoo could be this developed. The upper body was fully formed, with the armor still intact. The legs were an entirely different situation, they had the bone only, they were not fully developed. As the exact same sensation of pain assaulted his nerves, just as the first time, he felt the familiar streak cross his left cheek, he almost didn't feel it.