Itachi loved his family. He loved his village more.
That was why when he was asked to kill off his clan he accepted without even the slightest hesitation.
As long as it was for the good of the village Itachi would complete any mission. No matter the personal cost. He could and would sacrifice his life, and in this case his humanity so long as it meant the continued existence of the village he loved.
Itachi could have pleaded for the lives of the children and even his own mother who he was certain had no interest in trying to take over the village.
But he didn't.
He was an ANBU it was not his place to question orders no matter what. His command was clear. Kill every single Uchiha. No if ands or buts.
When he came home that night he smiled at his mother and hugged her as he always had when he returned home. He ruffled his little brother's hair shaking his head when Sasuke begged him to help him with his shuriken for the hundredth time. He went to his room putting his ANBU gear away including the tanto that he knew would soon be covered in the blood of his fellow Uchiha.
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When he woke up the next morning Itachi went about his routine as he always did, he got up, walked into the kitchen where his mother was cooking, ate the meal that she had prepared for him, and put on his gear before leaving to ANBU HQ to continue his duties which today consisted of watching over the village's resident demon container.
Normally Itachi didn't mind watching the boy even he was amused by the boy's antics and it was a rather easy job much better than the S-rank missions he was usually sent on at least.
Itachi followed the boy through the village until he finally returned to his apartment. It was their that Naruto let down his well constructed mask. Itachi could clearly see the pain and sadness that the boy felt even from his place on the rooftop, and today he simply couldn't stop imaging Sasuke with the same expression right before Itachi killed him. It was an image that would haunt him all the way back home.
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The next day was his day off from his ANBU duties. It was the day that he usually spent training with Shisui. Only today was different as it was the first time he wasn't looking forward to it.
He arrived at their usual training spot right at the designated time and began running through some basic kata as he awaited Shisui's arrival knowing that his best friend was always late.
Itachi sensed him before he saw him. When he did see him he wished he never had.
Spinning around to where he knew Shisui was standing Itachi's eyes widened in horror. Shisui was clutching his right eye, while blood leaked from between his fingers, his right arm was hanging uselessly at his side, and Itachi could see blood soaking his shirt.
"'Sup Itachi" he grunted out before collapsing as the pain became too much for him.
Rushing forward Itachi caught him just before he hit the ground tears streaking down his face.
"What happened to you?" Itachi choked out.
Shisui ignored the question letting out a strained laugh instead. "You al-ways try to a-act like a bad-a-ass but y-you're j-just a cry-baby."
"W-who did this?"
Once again he was ignored. "L-listen I ain't gonna m-make it this t-time and I dont have much very long. I want you to—t-take my Sh-Sharingan." Itachi stared at Shisui stunned.
"I-I can't do that."
"T-take it, what the h-hell—am I gonna do with it" Itachi stared at Shisui for a moment before slowly nodding his head.
He steeled himself before reaching forward and quickly pulling Shisui's eye out of it's socket causing him to give a quick shout of pain leading to a blood filled coughing fit. Shisui finally regained composure and gave Itachi a sad smile as he quietly succumbed to his injuries.
Itachi's tears refused to stop as his own Sharingan activated and unknown to Itachi revealed a new pattern roughly in the shape of a shuriken.
At that moment Itachi felt the gravity of his task. He felt just a small sample of the pain that he would feel should he go through with his mission, and for the first time in his life he began to doubt the orders he was given.
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The next few days flew by for Itachi until the appointed day arrived. His days would be haunted with images of his brother and each night he was haunted by images of Shisui's final moments. Despite his doubts Itachi prepared for his mission as he would any other. He planned every action he would take, when he would take it, how he would kill each person. He prepared contingencies in the case of an unexpected occurrence that would make his original plan impossible. He ensured he was well stocked on equipment and finally all that was left was to wait until night had fallen.
He acted as he had planned. It was easier than he first anticipated. None of his clansmen were prepared to fight one of their own most weren't even aware that he was an enemy before he ran them through. He killed them as quickly as possible both to minimize any noise they might make and also to minimize their suffering.
In a mere 30 minutes nearly the entire clan had been wiped out all that was left was his own parents, his dear brother, and of course himself. He was almost disgusted with the ease with which he was able to dispatch his own clan and for a moment he realized how grossly arrogant the Uchiha were that the vast majority of them hd gone down without even recognizing the threat. A few moment later he arrived at his own home and walked through the door to his parents bedroom. He was surprised to see them sitting while facing the door seemingly unsurprised at his arrival nor at the bloodsoaked tanto he held in his hand.
His father wore the same scowl he always did while his mother smiled sadly at him. "Get this over with!" His father barked out. At those words Itachi felt tears fall down his cheeks as he quickly ran his father through with his blade. His mother did not move even as Fugaku's body fell into her lap his blood covering her clothing.
She stared at Itachi "I love you," the same smile that she wore when he entered the room she wore as he dashed quickly at the stunned Itachi and stabbed herself on his blade. As the life left her eyes she whispered "Spare your brother," before she too passed on.
Itachi shook his head, tears still streaking down his face, and whispered "I can't," with that he pulled out his sword and gently laid her on the ground next to his father. He was surprised when he walked outside and saw his brother looking at him with the expression that he had anticipated seeing on his face. The same one that Uzumaki Naruto wore.
"N-Nii-san?" Itachi couldn't bear the expression on Sasuke's face. It reminded him of the terrible act he had just committed. He had butchered his own family. He had betrayed their trust in him, he was to be the hope of the clan, and instead he brought its demise. Not willing to stare into Sasuke's face any longer Itachi closed his eyes and in a single instant ended his brothers life.
Without so much as a glance at his brother's corpse he fled the scene and Konoha, and in that moment Itachi lost the two things he loved more than anything else. His village and his family were lost to him, and no matter how much he repented for his crimes he could never get them back.
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AN: I think this one-shot came out much better than my other one did and I hope you guys enjoyed it. I made a couple of changes from cannon like Obito not being involved and the obvious one of Sasuke being killed. Originally I planned to stick with cannon and just show what I think Itachi may have felt like executing his clan. But I simply couldn't find a way to write Obito in and I felt that the way I had built up Itachi in this it wouldn't have seemed right for him to spare Sasuke. Review if you disagree I'm very interested to see how you guys would have liked to see it handled.
I was originally gonna write a one shot about Kakashi and the memorial stone but I didn't really like it that much. If you guys still want to see it maybe I'll post it later after I fix it up a bit. Anyways I'm kinda rambling so I'll cut it off here. As always review, I'm always trying to improve and criticism really helps with that.
Till' next time.