Itachi's Kitten
I do not own the characters. Where the story and the series disagree, the series is obviously correct.
This story was intended to be a chance for me to explore a character that I hate, and see if I could understand him a little better. I'm not sure that I did a good job of staying in character, which embarrasses me a little, but I did try.
Blood... Blood? He could smell it. There was blood. The smell pried at his nostrils, choking them with its thick scent. Why did he smell blood? Why?
He looked around, trying to find where the smell was coming from, before his gaze finally fell on his own hands. There they were, coated in a shiny red coat of blood.
What had happened? He couldn't remember anything. Something had happened, and then... and then? Blood, death, hate, laughing, death... It tickled his mind, there, just out of reach, but he couldn't remember. "Otou-san? Okaa-san?" Cold, laughing, death, blood, death. "Okaa-san?" He looked around, trying to find them.
He heard the click of a door. In stepped a boy. Who? Oh, yes, he remembered. It was his little brother, Sasuke. He watched for a second, as Sasuke's face took on a look of horror. "Okaa-san? Otou-san?" He could see Sasuke turn to look at him. "Brother. Brother, who did this? They're... dead?"
Blood, laughter, death, killing, death, blood. Suddenly, it all flowed back to him. He knew what had happened, how he'd killed them all, slaughtered them without mercy, all the members of his clan, from the strongest to the weakest. Why? Why had he done it? He couldn't remember. Why?
Itachi bolted out of bed with a start, a cold sweat beading on his face. His heart beat rapidly and his breath hammered in his throat. It was the same nightmare again, the same one he'd had every day since he'd done it.
He looked at his hands, still expecting to see the blood coating them. But there was nothing there, as he'd known there would be. He sighed and got out of bed, dressing slowly. But, as he picked up his sandals to put them on, he noticed a small creature under the bed. "Neko?" He bent down to pick up the animal. The cat looked at him hesitantly for a minute, then crept forward.
"Come on, kitty. Come here." Finally, the cat approached close enough that he could grab it by the scruff of the neck and pick it up. He held it up so that he was looking into the cat's eyes. The creature just stared back at him, a calm expression on his face. Itachi gazed into them for a long time, but finally he had to turn away.
"You know, my brother had a cat like you once." He sat back down on his bed and began to stroke the cat. "Yup. It was a very cute cat. It would chase yarn if you threw it to him. And it would try to catch bugs." A smile played on his face as he remembered some of his past.
"Nii-san." Sasuke came running up to him. "Look, look! Akisu caught a grasshopper."
Itachi stared down at the boy with his cat and he smiled. "That's a good cat. You leave him out here long enough and the whole garden'll be clean."
Sasuke gave a big smile. "Yeah. Maybe I'll make him my ninja helper. Like how Kiba has Akamaru. I could be the first cat-ninja."
"Isn't the Sharingan good enough for you? You need a cat, too?"
Sasuke frowned, considering that. "Well, I suppose not." he dropped the cat to the ground, and it ran over to Itachi and started to rub around his legs. "So, Nii-san. Today they'll make you an ANBU captain, right?"
"Yeah."
"Will you still come back and play with Akisu and me?"
Itachi smirked. "Of course. I promise."
Itachi looked at the cat in his hands. "You know," he said, "I think it's actually because of that promise that he's still alive."
The cat mewled, and Itachi storked it some more. "Yeah, I'm serious. I remember that when I had Sasuke in my Sharingan, I was about to kill him. Then I heard Akisu meowing in the corner. And just as I was about to kill him, I remembered everything I'd done, and why."
"Yes, Uchiha, that's correct. That is the truth of your family."
Itachi stared at his friend. "Why?"
"They seem to think that by making you and your brother fight, you can unleash something even more dangerous than the Mangekyou."
"And how did you learn of it?"
"Your family may be the policemen of our city, but we're the spies. If you have it hidden, we'll find it. Even if it belongs to your family."
"But you swear this exists?"
"As surely as you have the Mangekyou. If you want to know... Look under the tatami mat in your family's meeting place."
Itachi frowned at the cat. "He was right. They'd wanted me to kill Sasuke." A dangerous look passed over his face. "My own little brother, they wanted me to kill him. And now it doesn't matter. He hates me. He thinks I did this out of spite, or anger. He'd never understand that I did it all to save him."
"And even then, were it not for a cat, like you, I'd have killed him anyway. I totally forgot myself. I forgot everything, and was lost. I didn't recognize him. Had the cat not meowed when it did... it would all have been a waste." A tear ran down his cheek, and he flicked it away. But it doesn't matter. Now he hates me. But I'll still keep him hating me, until he can survive and protect himself. Even if it kills me, I will not let anything happen to my brother."
Itachi heard soft footsteps from the hall. He knew who it was: the leader of Akatsuki was coming to check on him. He'd spent too long with his memories. But what would he do with the cat.
A few moments later, Itachi sat on the bed, and a man whose face seemed shadowed, even in the bright light of the chamber, stuck his head in. "Uchiha. Did you see a cat run in here? We think it's a spy from one of the villages."
Itachi nodded, pointing at a blood stain on the wall. "It's dead. I killed it."
The man smiled darkly. "Very good. I am pleased." He left the room.
Itachi sat there for a few moments, a deep frown on his face. "I'm sorry." He stood and walked out of the cave slowly. Finally, he came to the river, where he sat down, and took off his hat. He pulled down the small creature that was on top and pet it one more time. "Good cat. I'm sorry."
He walked away slowly, aware of a small wetness on his cheek. From the spot where he'd left the cat, he heard it mewling, and he knew it was alive, but he knew he'd never see it again. He hoped that its life would be much longer than his.
He looked down at his hands, and for the first time, he didn't see blood on them. Perhaps the cat had licked them clean?