An age had passed or so it felt to the former prodigy of the Uchiha Clan who was now lost to the outside world beyond the organization that he had become affiliated with. It had become the entirety of his world, something that he would have never foreseen in the days of his youth no matter how tarnished his perspective might have gotten due to the trauma he'd suffered. How sad it was when a life could stray so far and become so dark, so tainted…
Darkness had engulfed him, swallowing him completely all save for one tiny light of hope that he held close to his heart hidden from sight. That hope was the only thing that kept him going now when all he would have liked to do was end it all and so long as it remained then he would continue to walk amongst the damned, the forsaken and consider it another chance. But nurturing the faint light was not an easy task, nor was simply keeping it alive when so many sought to snuff it out without even knowing its continued existence in the first place. It came as a natural draw to them or so it would seem and in the midst of darkness hope shines like a beacon and he was surrounded by those that were all but consumed by it.
Not only were they consumed by it but some of them reveled in it, taking a sickening pleasure in their decaying humanity. Morality was only a pipedream here, while acts of depravity, degradation, and corruption were the norm, something which turned his stomach. He was careful to hide that too, knowing that no one must ever learn the truth about him or all would be lost and that was something that he could not risk. Too much was riding on him and even as it wore away at him piece by piece he knew that he must endure, although it would be a lie to say he was not tempted at times to allow himself to succumb to the darkness coiling within his own heart.
So far his resilience had paid off and he could only hope that it continued despite being tested on a daily basis and no one tested it quite like the man standing in the encroaching darkness watching as the sun began to dip below the horizon. He was one tainted far too deeply by life and its horrors and now he sought to spread that 'disease' to others and eventually the rest of the world if he had his way.
Itachi could understand what brought his master to this point and sympathize to some extent even if he felt that he could never go that route himself. Maybe the ancient Uchiha could see this about him too, for it seemed the man tried his best to turn him every chance he got or at least to manipulate him with enough finesse that he would play right into his hands. It was a task the prodigy would not make easy on the man though, and the battle of wills and the silent struggle they engaged in regularly was bound to eventually take its toll. The question remaining after all was said and done then being who would emerge victorious?
"What do you see when you look out there?" The younger Uchiha inquired in a soft voice that barely carried over the gentle breeze. "You often come out here to watch the sunset as if you are searching for something…or is it that you're remembering something instead?"