Ok I know I should be updating something else, but inspiration has struck me in the form of my SAT Vocab( Most of the 's' words reminded me of a drunk/dominating Sasuke or Itachi; simper, subjugate, sophistry, sentient, somnolent, supercilious, surreptitious, and everyone's favorite: Stoic :D). And all of ya'll know I'ma sucker for lovely Uchihas. Sasuke's PV, memory's Regular! as per usual.
Itachi walked stoicly next to his little brother, who was leading him into his bedroom for some kind of surprise. The older didn't really want to take time out of his training to do such a mindless thing with Sasuke but the young had insisted until he had turned red in the face. And being as kind as he was, Itachi decided that Sasuke passed out on the floor due to lack of Oxygen wasn't exactly the best option and he could technically use a break. The older instantly tensed when he heard the faint mews and scratches. So that's what Sasuke wanted to show him. The smaller boy ducked into his closet and lifted up a box. Itachi looked into the cardboard deathtrap, well a deathtrap for kittens, and was surprised to see two adorable kittens looking up with sparkling eyes. He had been expecting more than just the two, but he didn't stop to wonder where the others, if there were any, went. The braver one walked to the edge of the box and smelled Itachi. He put his hand out to the small creature and rubbed it behind its black ear. In fact, both kittens were black. The more tentative of the two was smaller, and it also had shorter hair with a small white dot on its nose. The other had longer black hair.
" That one you're petting is kinda mean," The older looked down at the kitten with a raised eyebrow. He didn't seem mean," What I mean is that he's protective of the smaller one." Itachi thought that he and this cat were very similar to each other. He smirked a little and grabbed the small animal from the box and held it in his arms.
" Let me guess, you found them and you want to keep them both." Itachi mused as the kitten started to purr loudly in his arms. " Well, as much as I would love to keep them, Father would never go for it." Sasuke's countenance fell instantly." But," Itachi said quickly, not wanting to ruin his lovely brother's face with pouting, " I'm sure Neko-baa would keep them for us. She has plenty of cats, two more from us probably wouldn't bother her."
" You mean it?" He said with the brightest simpering he could manage. Itachi smiled a little too, though it didn't have the foolish child-like happiness behind it, the older was happy.
" Yes, come now. It'll take us an hour or two to get there and back. We don't want Mother and Father to know what we're doing. It'll be like our own secret mission together." Itachi said with a smirk. Sasuke nodded and handed Itachi the box where he put the other kitten inside. It mewed at him disappointingly. He headed to the window and opened it. Sasuke jumped off the ledge and into the courtyard. Itachi followed out after him, making sure that he didn't shake up or loose one of the kittens. That would be a traumatic thing to see. He pushed his brother out the back way, through the hole in the fence that no one seemed to notice, or really care about since no one had ever bothered to fix it. Sasuke walked under the low sweeping tree branches, giggling to himself that Itachi had to duck to avoid getting hit. The older smirked and ruffled Sasuke's hair as they came up on a hill. Itachi pointed to the edge of the village where an old building sat. Even from their distance away it seemed dilapidated and corroded. Sasuke's eyes widened with disbelief and even more so when Itachi kicked over a rock that had a secret tunnel underneath it. " What are you waiting for, Sasuke?"
" Uh, nothing Itachi-nii!" Sasuke said as he jumped into the small hole. He was surprised when his feet instantly touched ground. Itachi chuckled a little as he looked down at his little brother, he had obviously thought the hole was going to be much deeper. It was in fact getting a little too small for Itachi himself, and soon enough he probably wouldn't be able to use it anymore. Sasuke reached up, taking the kittens from Itachi as he jumped into the hole. He took the box back from his little brother and made a motion for him to follow.
The tunnel itself was cramped, dark, and frankly, smelled strange. Itachi just ignored those things as he walked. It wouldn't be long now, and as a sign of good faith Itachi saw dim light coming from around the next corner. He squinted a little as he walked into the light. The outline of Itachi made a chill run through Sasuke's spine. It looked like Itachi was nothing more than a silhouette, a ghost fading into the light. The younger felt slightly scared for a moment when he realized that Itachi could die at any second. He rushed out of the tunnel after his brother and ran smack into his back, the older barely flinched at the contact and turned around.
" What's wrong? I wasn't going to leave you..." Itachi said, his voice trailing a bit at the end. He realized that wasn't why Sasuke had left in such a rush, but the boy refused to speak now, which meant it was something he would consider embarrassing or not worthy of Itachi's time. The older huffed and grabbed Sasuke's hand, interlocking their fingers tightly as they continued to walk. Neko-baa's would be just down the road.
When face to face with the building, Sasuke thought that this was becoming more and more of a bad idea. It seemed as though that it would collapse at any second. Itachi just stepped forward and rang the bell. The door opened and a old woman stepped out, her short gray hair was tied up and had a band with cat ears standing up against the blank color of her hair. Her nose was dark with a dot, making it look much more like a cat nose than a human's. Sasuke stepped out of the way as cats came running through her legs. There was a young girl standing behind her, about the same age as Sasuke. Itachi bowed his head slight to the old woman and she grunted in acknowledgment.
" Itachi, come for a visit, eh?" She looked down at Sasuke and laughed a little. " And who is this? Could this be the infamous second son?"
" Yes, this is my little brother Sasuke." He said pushing Sasuke forward a little. The younger Uchiha bowed a little to the woman before quickly hiding behind Itachi. The woman laughed and looked into the box Itachi was carrying.
" What adorable kittens." She said reaching into the box and petting the longer haired one. It hissed at her slightly and she just laughed picking up the more tentative one. " Tell me something, have you picked out names for them?"
" No." Itachi replied setting the box down and lifting out the other kitten. It watched the old woman intently, its tail swishing violently.
" I know what to call the two of them," she said as she took the other kitten from Itachi. " I'll name them, Itachi and Sasuke."
~Uchihacest~
I rolled around in my bed, I haven't been able to sleep recently. I opened my eyes and looked at the clock on the wall, if I didn't know any better I would say that time had either stopped, or the clock was moving backwards. I groaned inwardly as I moved to my feet. I heard shuffling from behind my door and paused as someone grabbed the handle. My heart almost stopped when Madara walked into the room.
" Sasuke," He said with anger playing harshly in his tone. " It is time for the War to begin and we need you to go and catch the Kyuubi and Hachibi and bring them to me. Remember? We had a deal, you get me those two Jinchuriki and I give you Itachi's eyes so you may exact your revenge on the Kohona Elders."
" Your dreams and goals mean nothing to me. Though I am grateful for what you have done for me, I do not wish to continue in your frivolous attempts to take over the world. I want to live my own life from now on."
" Are you saying that you're defecting from Akatsuki?" He asked in a voice that made me very nervous. " I guess that I can let Kabuto collect his bounty early then." Kabuto stepped into the room and smiled wickedly at me. His entire body was white and scaled, like when Orochimaru. I inwardly flinched thinking about how I didn't noticed this transformation not only a week earlier. I mentally cursed when Madara slammed the door behind Kabuto.
" Well, well, Sasuke, I've been waiting for this moment." He said slinking across the floor, it was almost like he didn't have any legs. I instantly thought back to when I fought Orochimaru's in his snake form. The only reason I won was because of the Sharingan and for some reason I felt as though it wouldn't be of much help. " I would have waited 'til the end of the war for you Sasuke, but now is just as good, if not better."
I almost screamed when I ran backwards into my wall. There wasn't much of a way out of this place, well besides the bathroom window but that was a long shot. Though, we could probably wake Lady Sayoshi if our fighting is loud enough. He jumped over my bed and that's when I saw his tail swinging out behind him. Oh yeah, he was definitely Orochimaru-fied. His tail slammed into the wall, making me jump slightly. There was a crater from the impact and I was surprised when I didn't hear the sound of foot steps coming to investigate what was going on. Fuck. I activated my Sharingan, making it instantly go to the Mangekyo. I heard him chuckle at me and I felt the rage swelling up in my gut. Why the fuck was he laughing at me? I felt something grip my arm and I turned towards it. Itachi looked down at me and I felt the air rush from my lung.
" Madara said you had a weak spot for Itachi so I decided that I'm going to use him to my advantage." There was a deathly blood thirsty aura around him that made my entire body shiver. He glared over at Kabuto, who only chuckled at his anger. " You remember that these bodies are conscious correct? Well, he is. He is the Itachi you remember him as. Now then, Itachi hold down your brother."
" No. I refuse." Itachi said, holding down his arm. Laconic as always. Kabuto's smile dropped and he seemed to try and concentrate even harder on Itachi. He didn't budge and activated his own Sharingan. He let Amaterasu's fire fill the room and Kabuto hissed as he backed against the wall. Then all of a sudden the flames were gone. Itachi was shaking and he finally let go of his arm. He grabbed me by the shoulder and tossed me onto my bed before jumping on top of me. He pinned down my arms and I was too stunned to do anything. Kabuto walked up to me, a wicked laugh escaping his lips. I felt a wetness against my cheek and looked up to see tears falling from Itachi's eyes. " Forgive me, Sasuke." He grabbed my wrists with one hand and with his other hand put his pointer and middle finger together, with his thumb underneath. The top two fingers pressed against my eye lid opening it a little. His thumb dug under my eye giving leverage. Tears were bursting from my eyes as I laid there. This was it. But all of a sudden Itachi's fingers just fell limp and I was covered in liquid. It got in my eye and I closed it tightly because of the burning sensation. I heard the clatter of footsteps and the slamming of doors.
" SASUKE!" Lady Sayoshi screamed as she got onto the bed next to me. She pushed Itachi's body off of me and made me open my eyes. Once I was staring her in the face I knew I had been saved. I let out a sigh of relief before she hugged me tightly. I rested my head in the crook of her neck and she turned her head so it covered my face. I tried to blow it out of the way but it stayed firmly in place. I could see Itachi's corpse laying at the side of my bed and I knew that she had to kill that unholy resurrection to save me, but I still felt so betrayed. He was alive and in front of me, and she just slayed him like he was an abomination. I squeezed her shoulder and she pulled back from me, examining my face for any injuries. " I'm sorry that I didn't come earlier. Satoshi and I had stepped out into the shrine for a moment to start crafting Itachi's body when I heard the disturbance. They decapitated my poor puppy and made their way in. We used the secret entrance to get back into the house and that's when I found that unholy creature trying to tear your eyes out. Forgive me. I know it was Itachi, but that also wasn't him. He was nothing more than a puppet, something that can be controlled. When we recreate Itachi's body he will have his own free-will, be what you want him to be again. So until then, you'll have to forgive me for killing that creature."
I pulled away from her and looked at the floor. She wasn't kidding when she said it was a creature, well more like a well disguised human. I knew this had to be one of Orochimaru's old experiments just from the curse mark on his left shoulder. I shuddered as I got up from the bed.
" Where did Kabuto and Madara go?" I asked kicked the body over. She got up from my bed and went into my bathroom, opening the window. She grabbed the body and just chucked it out like some piece of old garbage.
" Well, Kabuto being the coward that he is, ran away when I stabbed that guy in the head. Madara was fighting with Satoshi but I have no doubt that he ran away. Satoshi can be quite the force when he wants to be." She said grabbing up the sheets from my bed. They were soaked through with blood and I was in desperate need of new ones anyway. " What did they want anyways?"
" Madara wanted me to capture the Kyuubi and Hachibi but I refused, which is when he sent Kabuto in. He wanted to take my eyes, big shocker there." She nodded as she tossed the sheets into the hallway.
" But the real question is why they took so long to strike." Satoshi said as he walked into the room. He had a cut across his cheek that he was nursing and Lady Sayoshi walked up to him, pulling his hand away. She pulled a little covered pot from her pouch and opened it with a slight pop. She dipped her pinky finger and gently smeared it across the cut, making sure to cover it completely. In a matter of seconds the cut was closing itself. " Thank you."
" Indeed. We'll ignore the attack for now; I was about to come in and get you before they slayed my puppy. I need to shift through your memories of Itachi so I can program his brain accordingly. This will not only give him essentials to living, such as remembering how to walk or talk but his idiosyncrasies that made him purely Uchiha Itachi. Things like his kindness, or his compassion. Something that a demon, god, or human can give to someone."
" Alright." I said and she made a motion for me to follow her. Satoshi walked with us, not like he had anywhere else to be. I was surprised when we didn't stop in the living room but actually turned into the kitchen. Lady Sayoshi kicked over a mat that had a door underneath it. Why had I never noticed that? She lifted up the door and there was a set of twisting stairs that lead into the dark abyss. Lady Sayoshi said nothing as she slowly started her descent. Satoshi looked at me before making the 'ladies first' gesture, he was simpering a little too. I rolled my eyes and followed Lady Sayoshi down. It wasn't as dark as I had been expecting, however it did remind me of the Uchiha compound. The winding stairs that led to mystery. Very Uchiha, if you asked me. When we reached the bottom, there was a long darken tunnel that didn't really seemed to lead anywhere. Lady Sayoshi grabbed a torch from the wall and it illuminated all of the tunnel. There were drawings on the walls that seemed to be done in...blood? She walked past a rather grotesque depiction of a sealing ritual where the soul of a human was pulled out and devoured by blackened creatures. I followed behind her, unable to pull my eyes from the walls. It was like walking through a comic book or something. Every turn of the head was like the turn of a page, revealing more and more pictures and information about previous events.
" Sasuke you look like a kid in a candy store." She said with a smile. I felt a slight flush go to my cheeks and she just chuckled. " But I do appreciate your love of fine, ancient art."
" This is all real stuff isn't it?" I asked looking at a picture of a woman giving birth to a winged creature that seemed not to have any eyes. Lady Sayoshi nodded.
" Indeed it is. A lot of this can be traced back to the creation of the ninja world, we'll be coming up on the Sage of the Six Paths in a moment. He's the god of all ninjas; he created nin-jutsu, the tailed beasts, as well as the Uchiha and Senju clans. He was the child of Izanagi and a human, making him a Demigod. His eyes were that of the Rinnegan and Sharingan, and with this perfect combination he was able to a create the Izanagi, apply named after his father. With this technique he was able to split the Jubi into nine different tailed beasts. Izanagi is only limited by imagination and well, not having any Senju blood." She said as she looked over at the wall next to us. It was the silhouette of a man, with spiky hair and ringed eyes. He seemed to be staring straight into my soul. I got a chill and Lady Sayoshi made a clicking noise with his tongue. " If only he had lived to see what his children had done. He would be appalled."
She started walking again and Satoshi moved around me so he could walk beside her. I stood there for a moment longer before catching up to them both. We reached the end of the tunnel and there was a door made of solid wood. The wood had been carved with a strange design. It had three interlocking circles with the tomoe of the Sharingan on the outside and in the middle there was an eye. Lady Sayoshi bit her thumb and filled the eye's pupil with blood. The door swung open slowly and revealed a room. It was the shrine that was behind the house. I gasped a little as I entered. I'd never been in here before. My eyes scanned over everything, Amaterasu's fire was burning next to a lump of clay that was being shaped into the right proportions. It was definitely long enough for it to be Itachi's body. Satoshi sat down next to the clay and moistened it with water, kneading it like dough. He closed his eyes and started to shape the head. It was going much faster than I thought it would.
" Come here Sasuke." Lady Sayoshi said taking a seat next to a loom. She was weaving strands of thin, web looking material that seemed to shine like the moon. Oh, well that was an obvious one. I sat down next to her and she handed me a strand. " What do you think? Is this pale enough for Itachi or do I need add or take away some color." I looked at the pale cloth and then at my own hand. He had always been a bit paler than I was. I shook my head.
" Its not pale enough, its about even with my skin tone. Itachi's paler." I said handing it back to her. She nodded once before ruffling my hair.
" Okay, I'll work on that as soon as I'm done picking apart your memories." She said standing up. She took off her kimono and I felt myself getting hot in the face. But that embarrassment disappeared as soon as I saw her shorts and tank top. Her coppery braid shook as she reached down in the pouch on her leg. She grabbed a vile of black ink and opened it. She cut her hand and dropped her blood into the ink. It started to sizzle and pop, blue and purple sparks coming from the vile. She smirked a little and took up a brush. She motioned for me to follow her and she had me lay on a slab next to Itachi's body. She started to draw and write symbols around my entire body. She wrote up my arms in a language I couldn't read and finished with a single symbol on my forehead. I tilted my head completely back and looked in a cracked mirror. It was a mixture of lines and swirls that twisted and mingled together making an eye. The eye itself had rings and inside the rings were words I could read; clarity, truth, purity, and something I couldn't quite make out. She tilted my head back up and I noticed she had written the same symbols on her hands. " Alright Sasuke, whenever I give a trait or scenario of some kind that triggers a certain memory then think about it as a whole until it seems that its being ripped from you."
" Does that mean I won't remember it?" She shook her head.
" No, it'll just be borrowed by Itachi's body. It will be cycled back to you." She said as she rested her hands on my temples. " Are you ready?"
" Yes."
" Let the storm of your clear until there is nothing left but a blank white canvas." I did as I told and I took a deep breath, focusing on her words and the fingers on my temples. She was the only important thing in the room at this moment. " I will say a word and think about the best memory of Itachi that fits with that word or trait. Kindness."
" As I thought." Itachi said as he rounded the corner. " Why are you hiding Sasuke?" I turned away from him and he grabbed my arm, pulling me back around to look at him. " I'm your brother, you can tell me anything."
And as soon as I remembered that, it was gone but then just returned. I was going to open my eyes when Lady Sayoshi shushed me and rubbed at my temples soothingly. " Now, lets think of something else, dedication."
" Itachi killed the entire Uchiha clan because he was caring out Kohona's wishes. They wanted peace and he was the strongest and the most loyal of all the Uchihas at that time. He was able to get information and everything he needed from the Uchihas without even been suspected. Of course when his loyalty to the clan was called into question he acted upon his mission and effectively killed every Uchiha besides you." Madara looked away from me, almost in disgust. " Itachi was perhaps the most foolish man I have ever met."
And once again I felt it being sucked away from me. It was so strange because it was just like forgetting someone's name, you know the memory is there but you just can't locate it, then all of a sudden it floods your senses.
" Cruelty."
"I've had enough, there's no hope left for this pathetic clan." There was a silence from everyone. "The people of this clan are all the same. You focus on the trivial, and lose sight of what's most important. Change is impossible, in this fog of ignorance. How can we evolve when regulation is all we know?"
" To gain eyes like mine you must get a best friend and..." He paused before opening his eyes again. " You must kill him." A gust of air blew the leaves around him and I shuddered a little. I could never kill my best friend.
" Cunning."
"Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me. And yet survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life." And that's just what I did. I ran away and I let that hatred for him fester and build until I was strong enough.
" Love."
Itachi rolled over and buried his face in my hair, his breath tickling my scalp. " I love you Sasuke. Our bond as brothers is very special, though most people wouldn't think so."
" I love you too Itachi-nii...but why don't they think we're special?"
" As your brother, I'm your obstacle to overcome yet here we are, not fighting nor clawing each other down to gain the affection of our parents. It is to be expected that you have a drive to surpass me, which you do have, but you are not willing to play dirty to get to the top. And I do not rub my success into your face and urge you to get stronger in the means of beating me. I want you to go and learn at your own pace just as you gain strength for your own purposes. Though I wish Father wouldn't be so hard on us, I like it much better this way, don't you agree Sasuke?" I nodded with a smile, hugging Itachi's torso. He smiled down at me before giving me a chaste kiss on the lips.
~!~
Itachi carried me on his back and I smiled as I tightened my grip on his neck. He walked into the courtyard and into the house, putting me down as Mother rounded the corner. She hugged Itachi and gave me a kiss on the forehead before returning into the kitchen. He leaned down a stole a kiss from me. I blushed a little as I grabbed onto his hand. He led me upstairs and into his room.
" Mother's kiss made me a little jealous. You are my sweet, innocent little brother after all." I looked over at him with a small smile.
" But I love you the best Itachi-nii." He smirked a little before mussing up my hair.
" And I love you the best as well, Sasuke."
~!~
" Forgive me Sasuke...It ends here." Itachi said with a smile on his lips. There was blood pouring out of his mouth and he had lost his cloak somewhere. His clothes were in tatters and his hair was coming loose from its pony tail. He reached out and poked me in the forehead, letting the blood on his fingers smear on my face. He fell before me and all I could do was stand there. Tears were starting to burn behind my eyes and I looked up into the sky as the rain fell. I couldn't stop myself then, the rain was the only thing that could mask my tears. He was finally gone from me. It was finally all over.
I felt something wet hit me in the forehead and I opened my eyes. Lady Sayoshi was crying, her tears falling from her chin. When she realized I had opened my eyes she pulled her arms back and covered her face with one. " Well that was slightly embarrassing." She said. " Those last few memories got to me. Reminds me very much of my own past."
" Are you finished?" I asked noting that the symbols and writing had disappeared. She nodded drying her eyes. Satoshi came up and put his arms around her waist, nuzzling his face into her neck. I felt a sharp twinge of jealousy. Lady Sayoshi could have all the love she wanted but I was stuck waiting for mine. I wanted Itachi back so badly and she just throws her relationship with Satoshi right back in my face. I glared at them for a moment before I realized how stupid I was being. I shouldn't hate that sight because soon that will be me and Itachi instead of them. We will be together again and I only had a few more tasks to complete before the end of the year. They looked up at me and Lady Sayoshi held out her hand to me.
" Come on Sasuke, lets go get cleaned up and fix something to eat." She said with a smile. I took her hand and Satoshi stood next to me. He smiled down at me before ruffling my hair a little bit. I rolled my eyes a little bit as Lady Sayoshi laughed a little before pushing me playfully through the door. I felt strangely comforted by all of this weirdness. They seemed to know me better than anyone had in a very long time. Until Itachi came back, I could call these people my family.
Awww Sasuke has family :D Though its kinda contradictory since he won't acknowledge Naruto's feeling for him in that similar way. Oh, baby Uchiha how far you've come. Anyway...there's only 4 more quests left! And there are still so many unanswered questions left! WHO IS THIS PERSON THAT MIGHT HARM SASUKE? WHAT ELSE DO THEY NEED? WHAT WILL ITACHI BECOME? find out later :P
Sasuke: I like how you make up memories based off things that have happened in the anime.
Me: Okay it would be creepy if I remembered exactly what happened, like all the dialogue and such. So I just go with the vague general idea of all of it.
Sasuke: Yeah well, think of another good four memories for the opening.
Me: Who says I'm going to need four? I may need more.
Sasuke: Is this foreshadowing i'm sensing?
Me: PERHAPS! BUT YOU WON'T GET TO KNOW! MUHAHAHA! This was Hitoko-Sama
