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Naruto blinked and stared down some more. Itachi remained still and silent, his empty eyes gazing emotionlessly at the blonde.
Naruto shifted uneasily from foot to foot. It just felt so wrong, seeing Itachi hunched over in a prison cell! Here was one of the most dangerous S-class nin in the bingo book, simply wasting away in the Konoha, behind bars. The mere thought of it was too bizarre. Naruto shook his head in mild bemusement.
Itachi stayed motionless under the blonde's scrutiny. The silence dragged agonizingly on. Finally, Naruto couldn't stand it anymore.
He raised his hand in greeting. "Hi there, Itachi!"
Itachi merely blinked. Naruto decided that the gesture was all he would receive in place of acknowledgement. He pressed on.
"So…how is life for you?" Immediately after the words left his mouth, Naruto cringed. What a stupid question. Who asks someone that appeared to be on death's door—and rotting away in prison no less—how their life was?
Naruto laughed awkwardly and scratched his head sheepishly. Hopefully the toads will use the summoning jutsu on him at this exact moment and teleport him and his stupidity far, far away from the dark, empty eyes of the Uchiha. He would happily slurp worms for a month if only he could just escape the terrible, awkward silence congealing in the dark cell.
He waited.
Nothing happened.
Naruto sighed. He decided to just take a hack at things and get down to what he wanted to say. "Yeah, I really shouldn't be here right now," Naruto explained awkwardly. "They locked you away in a really tight and secure place, actually. Even ol' Granny Tsunade wouldn't tell me where you were, dattebayo. I had to go into Sage Mode and search for your chakra, and even that wasn't easy! There must be some seal on this prison, dattebayo, cuz I couldn't really find you that way at all.
"Thank god for Sakura-chan though. She secretly looked up your information when Granny had her back turned." Naruto grinned. "I came here as fast as I could! Well I had a lot of missions and stuff to do, but I'm here now and that's what matters!"
Having finished saying that, he looked down expectantly at Itachi for a response. Itachi merely blinked again.
Naruto wanted to hit himself in frustration. He squatted down in front of the bars and took a seat on the dank, dirty ground.
"Look Itachi," he said seriously. "Lots of stuff happened in the past few weeks, and everything is going crazy, dattebayo. Pain attacked our village, and now Madara has declared war, and—"
At these words, Itachi stiffened. He carefully licked his cracked lips. "What did you just say?"
Naruto stared. "How did you not know that Pain completely leveled the village to the ground?"
Itachi remained silent, wondering which episode of pain-induced delirium had caused him to miss such a monumental battle.
"And anyhow, Madara is collecting the tailed beasts for a full-out war, dattebayo. And he also told me things." Naruto paused, but recklessly decided to go on saying what was on his mind. "He told me the truth about you, and the Uchiha Massacre—"
At these words, Itachi made a visible movement, as if to stand. He paled visibly.
"Naruto." Itachi closed his eyes. "Please, keep what Madara said a secret to yourself."
"But—"
"I was proud." Itachi flicked his eyes open and gazed calmly at the blonde ninja. Naruto looked ready to protest some more. "I am still proud, even now, to serve as Konoha's Uchiha Itachi. What I did, I did for the village's sake. Do not bring up the past anymore, Naruto. Let it remain forgotten."
"You could be freed!" Naruto exclaimed incredulously. "If you just told Granny Tsunade, she would catch the people involved and—"
"And incite a rebellion within the Hidden Leaf Village just as the world is upon the brink of war?" Itachi smiled humorlessly. "Think. Think what this would mean if word got out that the village's top officials ordered the Uchiha Massacre.
"It is easier for people to believe in beautiful lies than the terrible truth. Never forget that."
Naruto glared. "Who's going to save Sasuke now?" he shouted. "He's gone crazy. He killed Danzo, and he almost killed Sakura-chan too. Get out of this hellhole and talk some sense into your brother, dattebayo!"
"I will leave that up to you." And for the first time in months, Itachi smiled. It completely changed his features, bestowing a gentle compassion that replaced the harsh lines. Naruto was taken aback by the sudden change in the Uchiha's demeanor. "You will save Sasuke-kun. I believe in you, Naruto. You will be able to succeed where I have failed."
Naruto frowned. He stood up. "I will get you out of here Itachi. You can save your brother for yourself." He turned, and strode down the desolate hallway, disappearing into the dark shroud.
Itachi sighed wistfully. If only matters of the world were as simple as that.
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So, this story doesn't really follow the canon as closely as I would like it to. It's been too long since I updated this story, and the Naruto plot right now is a bit too complicated for me to actually weave an elaborate self-invented plot into the main storyline. I was going to have Itachi escape from prison when Pain destroyed Konoha, but that manga chapter happened eons ago (at least, from my perspective), and I'm just trying to catch up to the war.
I'd like to think of these past couple of chapters as a…re-introduction of sorts into writing. I haven't written an essay in over a year since I started college—oh the woes of being a neurobiology major (though I am deeply interested, just put off from the lack of literature) and I apologize if anything sounds corny, faked, or just terrible in general. I am still trying to regain the vestiges of my creativity back. (:
OH AND PLEASE PLEASE, LEAVE REVIEWS! :D
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.
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