(Sasuke's POV)
" Hey Itachi!" I cried walking up to my brother who was getting ready to go out.
" What is it, Sasuke?" Itachi said looking over at me. I pouted.
" I was wondering if you have time later on today to help me practice my shuriken jutsu?" I asked, hoping his answer wouldn't be 'no' like always and today was another disappointment when he told me that he couldn't. " And why not?" I cried, I could see the sadness and the distant look in his eyes. Itachi looked up at me and motioned for me to come over to him. Spirits lifted, I ran over to him, but stopped short before a poke to my forehead was made.
" Itachi! Why do you always do that?" I cried, rubbing the sore spot.
" Sorry, Sasuke. Some other time, okay?" Itachi replied, knowing that there won't be any other times.
" Promise?" I asked, but never got an answer in return. Itachi got up and opened the door to see three Uchiha clan shinobi's outside. He was about to walk past them, when one of them spoke up.
" Hold on for just a second, Itachi Uchiha. We have a question for you."
" Do you now? And what seems to be the problem, gentlemen?" Itachi asked. I could only look back to Itachi's face then to the three shinobi's.
" Where were you during the assembly last night?" one of the shinobi asked.
" I am not obliged to tell you." Itachi said. " So if you'll excuse me, I'd best be on my way."
" Hold on for a minute, Itachi. Before you leave, let me tell you this, Shisui was found dead near Nakano river. He also didn't come to the assembly too." the second shinobi said.
" Are you saying that I had something with his death?" Itachi replied. I was young at the time, so I only understood partially of what they were talking about. But what really had me confused was the expression on his face when they told that someone in the clan had been killed; his face was expressionless.
" Well, we're not saying that. But since both of you were absent from the assembly and that oneof you were dead, we couldn't help but draw that conclusion, Itachi." one of the shinobi said.
" I see." Itachi replied.
" You two were friends, more than brothers. And that the thought that you might've been the one who killed him, states that there was something wrong, wasn't there?" the other sneered.
" Now what seems to be the problem, gentlemen? And Itachi, why weren't you home last night?" a voice replied. I looked over to my father who appeared. Itachi stood there without answering his question.
" Mr. Uchiha. My apologies for this scene but we just came to tell Itachi that his friend's body was found near Nakano river last night." one shinobi cried.
" I see, I'm sure Itachi is devastated." my father said. One shinobi scoffed,
" Doesn't look like he's mourning over his riend. We know you killed Shisui." The three shinobi's left and Itachi could finally leave to where he was planning to go.
" Wait, Itachi! Come back here!" my father cried, but Itachi was gone, never turning back. Sighing desperately, my father walked passed me without a 'good morning' as expected. Forlorned, I walked down the path that Itachi walked, hoping to end up where he was. While walking, I realized where this place was! It was near Nakano river. I wondered what my brother could be doing here of all places. Could he be visiting his friend? I spotted Itachi standing next to the river bank. I hid, not knowing that my brother had already noticed my presence. He mumbled something that I couldn't hear. Suddenly, my brother quickly pulled something from his pouch and spoke out loud and clear for me to hear.
" Sasuke, Mother, Father and all of the members of the Uchiha Clan. I was the one who killed Shisui and threw him into this river before me..." my brother's words surprised me. Why did he kill him? "... I only killed my friend, Shisui whom I've grown so close to, just to obtain more power than that of the Sharingan. In the end, all I could think of was my friend's blood on my hands. I'm sorry everybody. But I'm joining Shisui on the other side, so I could see him again." After that moment, Itachi slit his throat with one of his katanas in a blink of an eye and I couldn't prevent his death as I ran over to him.
" Itachi!" I cried, kneeling next to him as blood gushed out of the wound, it was deep, very deep and it was dripping into the river. " Itachi, why!!" I cried, bawling over his body.
" Y-You heard right? I have every right to do this. I've killed my friend. Besides, I'll only be used if I stay. Used in the way Father sees fit. I don't want to be the Uchiha's pride no more. I-It just makes me sick." Itachi coughed while I could only stay by his dying side.
" You promised you'd help me train!" I cried. Itachi raised a hand up to me and placed it on my cheek affectionately. It was the one time he did that and it had to be when he was dying.
" I'm sorry Sasuke..." Itachi whispered as his body gave a final jolt and his eyes slowly closed, forever.
" No, NO! Itachi, you have to wake up!" I cried, clinging onto his shirt. He didn't wake and I could only stay with him until it was very late at night. His blood soaked the front of my clothes as I walked back home. My mother gasped at the sight,
" What happened, Sasuke? Where's your brother at this time of night?" My heart stopped beating after that one word, 'brother'. " Sasuke?"
" Brother is dead!" I confessed, dropping to my knees.
" W-What? Stop it, Sasuke! Stop this nonsense and tell me where he really is!" my mother scolded me. She was afraid that I might be right, she should be scared. Because Itachi is really dead.
" It's true! This blood you see on my shirt? That's his! This is brother's blood!" I cried. My mother slapped me at that moment. Holding my cheek, tears fell down my cheeks.
" You're lying! Itachi's not dead! He would never die!" my mother screamed, my father came into the scene and took one look at me and looked away. Shunned, my father told me to wash myself off. I walked into the bathroom, discarded my clothes and got into the shower to wash the stench of blood off, brother's blood.
' Brother... why'd you leave me alone?' I thought.
Downstairs, my father called some shinobi's go out looking for Itachi and after 30 minutes, they found him, more likely they found his dead body. They brought Itachi's body to our house later on that night and my parents both grieved over him. I just stared at them in sadness, they were the reason, no, the whole clan was the reason of his death of his sacrifice for power. Everyday after that, everytime I passed by Nakano River, I kept seeing Itachi there with the river that was tainted with his blood; the blood red river as I would call it. My brother, may you rest in peace.
OWARI