Chapter 10
He should've seen it all coming the moment Sasuke had chosen his side over the masked man's, and the very moment the masked man, or 'Madara' tried showing Sasuke exactly how he felt about his decision. Part of Itachi had seen this happening to him, but he'd hoped that for once in that single moment, luck would be in his favor because there in that moment, there had been no other choice.
But luck really did seem to hate him nowadays.
And now he and Tobi were both locked in a genjutsu that many Uchiha had never come out of alive, and for unknown reasons in the past. The Tsukuyomi Koteisuru.
Itachi knew that in here he was either going to live, or he was going to die. But one thing was for certain. He wasn't going down without a fight. And little did anyone know, he had a plan. Yes, getting caught in one of the top forbidden Uchiha jutsu hadn't been on his to-do list, but Itachi had reminded himself that catching Madara in some type of normal genjutsu had been. Deadlier or not... This was still a form of Tsukuyomi, and there was no better place to put his plan into action.
So the moment the darkness left him and he found himself in a very familiar world surrounded in red, where his feet were planted atop blood red water that danced under him, Itachi had performed several hand signs, putting the first step of his plan into action. Feeling a tingle he looked down at the palm of his right hand to see four newly formed dots at the center, the indication that the jutsu had activated. When it was ready, all four dots would be fully lit. He only prayed that in the end, it would work, despite the fact he'd rarely used the jutsu. Despite the fact he was stuck in a genjutsu.
For now, he would have to wait until it was ready.
Not even ten seconds had passed afterwards under Itachi's cold, red sun before a certain masked figure blurred into existence a distance in front of him.
"Tobi, welcome to my world," Itachi broke the silence.
The masked man seemed to completely ignore the Uchiha's existence for the first several seconds as he took in his surroundings as well, gazing at the waters, the red clouds and pitch black sky. "Hah. So that's how it appears. This is your world, isn't it?" His deep voice sounded light and unpleased at the same time, but there was no hint of anxiety evident in the tone at all. If anything, the man only sounded annoyed. "It's a nice Tsukuyomi chamber you've got here, Itachi, but if you ask me, it's a bit drab. I think some change in scenery would be nice. I wonder if I..."
Suddenly Itachi felt a harsh pull; it felt like some sort of weight was being put on his brain and as the pull continued, he noticed the red world around him was quickly fading and turning a blue color, unfamiliar territory. Realizing what was happening, he forced himself to concentrate and he realized he could pull back, and it was almost like tug-of-war. Itachi could tell that the pull was strong, but it was not vicious. It seemed to only be a test.
"Ah, so that's how it works," the masked man sounded somewhat pleased.
Itachi understood. This Tsukuyomi Koteisuru was a battle of mental dominance.
The pulling on his brain that Madara was causing finally ceased and the backs of his eyes were already starting to throb. It was their way of telling him like they normally would when he performed Tsukuyomi that they were not enjoying the experience at all, and it had only been a short amount of time. He hated the fact that his sickness had always made him quicker to tire, especially when it came to casting genjutsu. If this was a game of stamina the Uchiha knew he most likely would not stand a chance against this Madara. But the power of Tsukuyomi was mostly about focus of the mind. While he waited on his plan to take hold, Itachi knew he would only stand a chance of making it up until then by scrambling his opponent's focus. He couldn't let him get the upper hand, and distraction was key. He needed to take advantage of distraction before the masked man had a chance to overpower his own mind, or he himself ran out of chakra. Because that would mean his demise.
"You don't look so comfortable over there, Itachi. In fact you already look a bit tired. Tell me, how have your eyes been fairing lately? You're not going to succumb to exhaustion before the fun really begins, are you?" Madara asked.
Itachi's glowing eyes narrowed. "Don't appear so smug. Don't let it slip your mind that moments ago you attempted to take out my brother. Don't think I'll just let that slide." At the moment, this was his realm. He brought his arms up and in the blink of an eye a solid grey board had appeared behind the masked man and with his mind, he forced him against it. Restraints appeared as well and not even a second later Madara was buckled down to it just like many of Itachi's previous opponents had been. Itachi needed time and he couldn't go under. Distraction, stalling for time was his greatest weapon. "Just know that no matter the circumstances, my eyes are always efficient enough to see your defeat."
As seconds of silence passed the Uchiha prodigy was finding it hard to be unaffected by the fact that Madara, who seemed to be staring back at him from the board, didn't seem to be bothered by his situation at all. At the moment he was putting up absolutely no resistance. It looked as though he were just... being.
"Oh boy, this is different, I gotta admit. What are you planning to do, torture me into some type of submission? Oh, that's super original," the masked man sighed and Itachi stared, a dull spike of annoyance surfacing as he realized the man sounded a lot like Tobi once more. It appeared 'Madara' was perfectly capable of changing his entire demeanor as quickly as a light switching on and off. "Um, hey- but before you start cutting me up and stuff, I thought I'd tell you that I've trained myself to endure high levels of pain. You know, the mind-y kind of torture and the physical type too! Trust me, I've gotten a ton of practice with Deidara-Senpai and his 'art'!"
Though Itachi could use time wasted like this, all the better for his plan, it did little to stop the growing headache he was receiving, even if it was only imagined pain all in the mind. Was there any way to keep his opponent distracted like this while remaining in his realm as well as getting him to shut up all the while? He stared deeper into the orange swirls of the mask, Tobi unmoving looking back at him, seeming to be waiting for something. There was something about the man that highly put him on edge; there always had been. And he didn't need to, but there was so much about his opponent that he simply did not understand. One moment he was completely serious, bent on trying to force everyone to accept his scheme to end the world, and now, in such a vulnerable state, he was acting a complete fool again...
"What is it, Itachi-san? You haven't suddenly lost your nerve, have you? I just wanted to see what fun it was you had in store, but if you're just gonna keep me hanging here like this, then-"
"Like I mentioned before, my intentions aren't to kill you." Tobi didn't reply. He had always been someone hard to figure out, he was harder to now more so than ever before. But something told him that Tobi had something up his sleeve just as much as he himself did. He was tired of his words, of his philosophies and his mind games that always left he, Itachi Uchiha unsure and guessing.
He wondered if things would be even slightly easier to decipher about his opponent if he were able to read what was beneath the mask.
….
There, that should do it..." Suigetsu sighed standing up and dusting himself off, looking down at his work before glancing over at Sasuke with a slightly annoyed look on his face. "Now that we've got this outta the way, Sasuke, quit leaving us in the dark."
"I already told you, Suigetsu. There's nothing else to elaborate on. I've shared with you the extent of what I know is going on in there," Sasuke said blankly. After the absurd reality of the situation had sunk in a bit more for him, Sasuke had somewhat managed to pull himself together. But he'd been staring numbly at the dwindling campfire that they'd all decided to make their way back over to for more light, with the unconscious Itachi and Tobi in tow, and now they all sat quietly around the fire again like they had earlier that night.
All the while Suigetsu had been given Sasuke's 'permission' to detain the masked man as long as he made sure not to do any bodily harm to him, in case of it possibly interfering with the mental connection he had with Itachi. It really hadn't been much work considering Tobi was dead to the world and all. Not to mention Suigetsu possessed excellent knotting and tying skills (though no one knew where he'd gotten them from) and when he was finished, by just one look at Tobi, they all knew even if he were to wake up, with little to no chakra left in his body to help him, it would take some time to get free of the restraints.
Unfortunately leaving the enemy behind and fleeing was not an option. Tobi and Itachi were linked and there was no telling what would happen if Sasuke were to try and flee with his brother in tow, no guarantee that his brother wouldn't suffer any damage to his brain. They could only wait, and the silence along with the seconds ticking by were slowly breaking down the little sense of calm Sasuke had managed to regain.
Suigetsu was more than willing to tie Itachi up as well since "neither of them can be trusted, really," according to Suigetsu. Though Sasuke had a feeling Suigetsu's true desire was simply to get more tying practice in, the proposal was shut down by the young Uchiha as soon as it was pondered. And needless to say, both Deidara and Karin especially had a few things to say to that.
Sasuke scowled at them, growing extremely impatient. "I apologize, but I thought that by now, for someone who saved all of our lives, the answer to Suigetsu's question was obvious," he stated, settling down next to his brother's motionless body. He watched over him like a hawk. "If he hadn't interfered back there it would've been over for me, for all of us." Sasuke fixed blue eyes on Deidara who stared back stubbornly. "My brother can be trusted. None of you will touch him."
"Oh-ho no," Deidara said glaring right back at his own face. "Listen Uchiha, he may have saved our assess this once. But don't think for a second that him doing that 'good deed' will get him off the hook that easily, yeah. It's not a matter of trust for me. I haven't even begun to pay him back in full. Any of you, hm," he muttered, sitting back down a distance away from Sasuke and his brother.
"Am I supposed to feel threatened by that?" Sasuke's icy stare was still on him. He'd come to realize some of the reasoning behind Deidara's feelings and hatred toward Uchiha a while ago, but there were times in which those feelings could be put on the back burner. It ticked him off that even in this situation, Deidara especially, remained sour and threating toward his brother now, even after the sacrifice he'd just made for them all. He stared him down. "Like I said before, and as you saw. Itachi saved our lives. It doesn't matter what happened between you two in the past. Not anymore. Just think about the here and now."
"Look, Sasuke, no one's gonna tell me what matters and what no longer matters," Deidara snapped, "he may be your older brother but guess what? Itachi's gotta atone for his own transgressions against me. In case you've forgotten, what I have against him is none of his little baby brother's concern, hm." An eye twitched.
Sasuke tightened Deidara's fists as he fought to control his growing irritation. He wouldn't allow anyone to lay another finger on his brother. Not after his revelation. Not if he made it through this. There was still so many unanswered questions. "This conversation is over. If you intend to hurt him, you'll have to go through me first, you lunatic."
Deidara ground the Uchiha's teeth together, standing from where he sat on the dirt. "Oh, is that so? You're really beggin' for it, aren't you, you damn brat?!-"
"Come over here and try it," Sasuke growled.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a minute, will ya?" Suigetsu cut in, in front of Deidara in an instant. He looked at the artist for a moment before glancing over at Sasuke, that same slightly amused expression never leaving his face. "As much as I think it would amuse us all to no end witnessing a sorry excuse of a fight between you two in those forms right now, I'd better be the responsible one here for once and remind you that now isn't exactly the time."
Deidara hated to acknowledge it, but Suigetsu was right, and he already knew that. He had to keep his emotions in check for the time being. This was a bit of a stalemate that could become a victory or a nightmare at any moment, and for the time being, they all had to be on their toes, ready for anything. He would keep the peace because that was their remaining stability. Looking at Sasuke again he could tell he was thinking the same. He only hoped both Uchiha would make it out alive so his desires could still be fulfilled. If they lived, there would be no stopping him from dealing out his payback. He owed a little to each and every one of them.
"Eww." Karin had been peering over at Tobi. "Sasuke, are you sure he's not already dead? He looks even worse than ever."
Sasuke watched the masked man. He searched for what Karin may have been talking about but all he took in was he and his normal Akatsuki attire and his orange mask. If anything he looked like a rag doll the way he sagged against the log in the ropes. Suigetsu looked.
"Eh, Karin? Sorry to break it to you, but nothing's changed."
"It's his chakra, you idiot. It's grown so faint and yet there's a smell to him that's become so rancid I can practically taste it."
"No surprise there."
"I don't know. The feel of his chakra can only say so much. There's no telling what's happening," Jugo mentioned, staring off into the night. "Though… I think it would be easier to notice any changes going on in there between he and Itachi if we could see his face as well."
Of course. Sasuke supposed he had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he'd completely forgotten. Tobi's true identity. He turned his gaze away from Itachi to look at the nameless man. But... Even if they saw his face, would any of it truly tell them anything?
"Heh, now you're talking, Jugo." Suigetsu stood, walking over to them. "Let's see what this pain up the butt's really been hiding under there." He rubbed his hands together, grinning widely.
"Go wild. I couldn't care less what the dumbass looks like. I'm still gonna kill him. Hm." Deidara was turned away from them as Jugo, Suigetsu and Karin were already looming over Tobi, Sasuke silently peering between his teammates bodies to get a look.
"Hmph, suit yourself..." Karin leaned down, arms outstretched before she recoiled back suddenly, nose scrunched up. She turned to Jugo. "You do it. I refuse to touch that piece of trash."
Soundlessly, Jugo gave the redhead a look before shaking his head, reaching his own arm out and doing the job.
...
It hadn't even taken a snap of his fingers. It had only taken his own mind's will and the mask was gone from his face in an instant. He had always known that Tobi was an Uchiha, and once the mask was gone, he'd waited for that sense of familiarity to sink in. Surely he'd seen him around at least once or twice in the Uchiha compound in his younger years, or even when he was just a small child. And yet as he stared back at him with only one glowing red eye on the right side of his scarred face, nothing came. All that was there was this heavy unknown feeling at the at the pit of his stomach that refused to go away. Foreign and unpleasant.
"Who... are you?" Itachi asked.
"Who am I?" With the mask gone, so went the charades. "Let me first address the fact that really, I am no one. I abandoned my identity a long time ago. But I suppose... that my past identity was once Obito Uchiha." From where he hung on the board, his chin went to his chest, casting his face in shadows. Only a small smirk was visible. "But like I said, it's all irrelevant now, and it was back then. No one cared who I was until I put on the mask, isn't that humorous?" He chuckled. It contained no humor.
But the name did have a funny familiarity to it.
Obito. Obito... Uchiha.
He was an Uchiha, no surprise. But there was something about him. Something familiar, and yet not...
Itachi's breath caught in his throat. This couldn't be him. It just... couldn't be. He was certain there were other Uchiha Obito's in his clan. It couldn't be-
"And his name was Obito…"
'Obito'
'Obito'
The sound of Obito's voice brought him from the voice inside his head. There was a hint of amusement. "Oh, you've realized, haven't you? No, Itachi, you aren't mistaken. I think it's safe to say that that name was quite original; no other Uchiha of past time has been named it." He paused for a moment, taking in Itachi's face as his eyes searched his own features. "That's right, Itachi. There's only been one time in which you've heard that name. And from only one person, I assure you."
Itachi couldn't take his eyes from the man. He had been so young, he had barely remembered, almost forgotten. But he did remember. "Shisui... he told me that you died-"
"And I have. I am dead. Obito, Shisui's elder brother, died years ago, when he was a mere child. And dead, he will remain in this world."
This made no sense. None of it was making any sense. For a moment, the younger Uchiha couldn't find his voice. Contrasting thoughts and memories threatened to overwhelm his focus, his hold and upper hand in this jutsu. He couldn't afford to lose focus. Even under these circumstances. Even now, when he was feeling increasingly numb. He shook his head slightly. "Impossible. He told me. He told me when I first met him that he lost you during the Third Shinobi World War. He told me all about it." It was so long ago. But he knew Shisui hadn't been lying. It all had been so real, bitter sweet, genuine. How?
"And he did." Obito seemed like none of it phased him and he was just confirming a simple, trivial fact. "I say it again. Obito died in the war and then he died again and for good shortly after that instance. And he never returned."
Many memories from his five year old mind came rushing back to him. This time he was unable to stop them. The time he first met Shisui, two years after the Third Great Ninja War. He remembered when Shisui and he became very close. He remembered when he and Shisui would spend time together on the training field, at each other's houses, and Itachi had slowly grown to see him as an older brother figure. He remembered the warm feeling in his heart when he realized Shisui felt the same way as seeing him as the younger brother he never had, and the brother he had always longed for again. But most of all, he remembered the one night Shisui shared with him who he'd lost that day to the war. The brother he'd loved so much. The one who hadn't exactly been the most elite yet, although he'd just become a chunin. Shisui had described him as someone who was protective and silly, optimistic and kindhearted; always willing to help out those in need. And he remembered Shisui telling him that his name had been Obito.
Itachi's mouth was dry. "No, it isn't true. The Obito Shisui knew... he looked up to him. I could tell that he loved and admired him with all he had. The Obito Shisui described was so full of promise and light," Itachi stated forcing himself to believe his own words. He refused to believe this Obito was once that person, even though he knew there was no denying it.
"You know it yourself, then, I'm telling the truth. After all, Shisui grew up to be exactly like the elder brother I know he once described to you. Shisui was courageous, kind and optimistic, wasn't he? He grew up to be so sacrificing..." Obito's smirk only grew.
"He died a hero, having faith that the good of the world would overtake the bad." As Itachi's voice grew firmer as he fought to keep the memories of his best friend's legacy at bay. "But now you are striving against everything your brother lived for, everything the old Obito Uchiha would have lived for." He balled his fists. "You-"
"Are gone. That's what this world has done to me and I'm glad it has. It has finally gotten me to see..." Obito trailed off fixing his single red eye on Itachi once more. He was then expressionless. "Now, are you just going to keep staring back at me with those cold eyes of yours, or are you actually going to do something?" Another dark smirk slid onto his face when Itachi remained silent. "You're saddened, conflicted. You're angry. So now what? Don't tell me- you really can't bring yourself to do anything, Itachi, not now." He tilted his head slightly to the side. "Why? Is it because you still feel like I can be swayed? You now feel all the more obligated to change me? You still think you can SAVE ME?! For Shisui's sake?" A bark of laughter that would send ice up anyone's spine left Obito before Itachi felt the familiar pull again, but this time it was more of a mercilessly powerful yank. Itachi clenched his jaw, fighting back, his eyes shining with strain and ignored emotion.
Obito had stopped laughing, a disgusted look on his face. "If so, you are pathetic. It is either I die or you die."
This time, the pull really wasn't letting up. He had to act now. Time passing was good, as his plan was getting ever closer, but he would not slip under during his waiting process.
He steeled himself again. He would have to kill his emotions, and put away his friend's memory for the time being. "I think it's only fair I pay you back for that near broken arm you gave me out there. But allow me to show you how it should've been done."
Itachi thought them up and two large, narrow swords appeared, fitting perfectly in both his hands' grasps and he wielded them both with ease. He'd brought the swords down at lighting speed with perfect precision and grace and both swords perfectly hit their targets, his directed thoughts easily making him twice as physically strong as normal. He was powerful enough to slice cleanly through the skin and bone of both of Obito's arms just below the elbow joints. Powerful enough to dismember.
He had done it with his own mind's eye and had seen it as well, which is why he was surprised beyond compare to feel the almost unbearable pain hit him like his arms had just been maimed by a starving lion. He knew before his Sharingan had met the tragedy and even before the sound of heavy metal hitting the water reached his ears as blood was gushed dangerously from both wounds, or better put, stubs of his forearms. He couldn't breathe once he caught the sight of his very own arms below him and his fingers twitching mindlessly around the handles of his weapons, lying on the waters surface at his feet were decorated in dark, bubbling blood.
He had sliced through Obito's arms but when his wide eyes met where he thought he inflicted damage he saw that his arms weren't dismembered or bleeding at all. Only two thin black lines where the cuts would've been were visible.
By inflicting pain on Obito, he had only done major damage to himself. He realized, it was a penalty of the Tsukuyomi Koteisuru. He bit his lip trying to hold back the unbearable pain and blood slid own his chin.
"Yes, you're right, that's exactly how it's done, Itachi. You should've shown me that trick of yours a long time ago."
Being a shinobi who'd seen his fair share of death and gore, Itachi thought it all would've been more than enough to prepare him at least a little for an instance such as this, and yet he was having trouble keeping down what was fighting to come back up. He hadn't even remembered eating anything that morning.
But the lightheadedness he began feeling was the feather that broke the camel's back and whatever was in his genjutsu stomach left him. All he could see was red and dots in his vision. Was it even possible to bleed to death in this world? It all threatened to take over. It wasn't real, his mind screamed. It was all in his head. This pain was just an illusion-
Obito grunted against the force of Itachi's will and again he resisted trying to block it all out. HE was in control, not anything else. This was Tsukuyomi Koteisuru, but this was still his side of the jutsu. Here, he controlled it all... Slowly but surely he commanded his arms to come back and as seconds passed it was as if paper was slowly forming around the stumps, growing into skin which would completely form two arms once more. The blood leakage was already weakening as they slowly formed back. He breathed heavily. Fighting against Obito while trying to pull it off was taking its toll.
"So it seems you found one of the downfalls of this Tsukuyomi Koteisuru. Well, at least for you. How unfortunate," Obito said.
He'd been trying to stall for as long as he could but how would he be able to make it through alive until the plan was ready if he was unable to effectively defend himself in his own realm? Harming Obito here was impossible.
"I... have no doubt that... in your world, the penalties of this jutsu will only follow... us," Itachi breathed.
"I'm glad you mentioned that. What better way to know if that's true than to see for ourselves?" Resistance continued but this time Itachi decided to let go. At this rate… maybe he was better off in his enemy's world.
By the time the surroundings changed to large dark blue blocks, Itachi was sweating profusely. The moment they reached the place, the younger Uchiha felt more drained than he had before despite the fact that in this world, both his arms were present and all the previous pain was gone. That was most likely because he felt as if he were carrying three hundred pounds more than normal, and he knew he was slowly being drained of his remaining chakra. Either this was Obito's doing or it was another penalty that the Tsukuyomi Koteisuru had to offer, and with it, his eyes hurt even more. Whichever it was, if it didn't change soon, there was no questioning if he would last much longer.
Obito appeared several feet away from him. And instantly his entire body seemed to sag slightly with the world's heavier atmosphere. Well, then, this heavy affect wasn't his doing, but another disadvantage of the Koteisuru. It was then clearer to Itachi why those who'd fallen into the jutsu rarely made it out alive: If most Uchiha and Sharingan welders who faced it ran into this particular problem, they most likely were drained even quicker to the point of death since unlike in any other jutsu, a ninja would be able to cease their attack once they lost too much chakra. But here, many were trapped with no clue of escaping while their chakra and life's energy was inevitably sucked out of them.
Like Itachi, Obito's breathing began increasing. "…I'm finished humoring… you. You will die here."
Itachi didn't know how long it had been since he first activated what he was waiting on. He slowly glanced down at his hand all to see that it showed that it'd reached the halfway mark.
If there truly was no way out of this, well, then they both really were dead.
But if it meant Obito would go down with him despite everything, Itachi was ready to accept that.
"Do you know why I allowed you to see my… face? It's because it'll be the last one you see. You won't spread this to anyone else."
Obito bent forward going through hand signs. "So, allow me to introduce you to a jutsu of mine that I've been dying to try out... It was made especially for genjutsu instances such as these, and though I've... barely bothered using it at all, but let's just say it's one of my more... deadly." He finished the signs with his back turned to Itachi. "I call it the Jitsugensuru Jutsu."
The world around them both shook. Itachi saw it coming and tried to avoid it, but both of them were briefly encased by a strange blue aura that dissolved into their clothing, into them. Aside from some brief tingling, it was like nothing had happened.
"Heh. I would advise you not to get yourself harmed... Or you'll figure out what my jutsu does soon enough." Obito wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I won't restrain you like you did me... not as fun, not... my style." He like Itachi was already plummeting on energy, and apparently the jutsu he just pulled took a lot out of him, but the Uchiha still had enough energy to run at Itachi at near full speed. Itachi blocked the punch. Though more sluggish due to Koteisuru, their battle continued.
…
"Well, who in the hell is he?!" Suigetsu continued staring on with wide eyes, gripping onto Jugo's shoulder.
"GAH- I already TOLD you, you idiot, does it look like I've ever met this psychopath?!"
"I'm not TALKING to you, Karin!" Suigetsu shot back trying to block the swing at his head from said girl before fixing his eyes again on the newly unmasked man once he was safely out of her reach on the other side of Jugo. "But somebody answer me!"
"No, no I don't think I've ever seen him before either," Jugo said trying to ignore the grip on his shoulder.
Sasuke had remained silent simply taking in the features. His face had a scarred swirl pattern on the right. And on that side his eye was wide open and there lie his own Sharingan that, like Itachi's was moving slowly around in its eye socket. Normally, one wouldn't necessarily be able to tell right away, but Sasuke was certain he really was an Uchiha. In fact, it was strange. He almost looked a bit like someone he'd known when he was just a little kid, but it was very faint.
"Huh. I knew he wasn't Madara, the phony." Karin rubbed one of the lens of her glasses before looking at him again. The markings on his face were quite odd, but intriguing. Karin wondered what he'd been through to receive them. And his skin tone wasn't exactly the same color as Sasuke's, but it had the same pale look. She knew for sure he must be an Uchiha, but-
"Ahh, gross! Why are you staring at him like that, Karin?" Suigetsu narrowed his eyes at her, a look of disbelief on his face. "Oh wait- kami, no- don't tell me you're starting to develop a thing for his looks like Sasuke. If so I think I'm gonna throw up."
"W-what are you taking about?! I can't believe you would- I-I wasn't even THINKING anything like that, you PERVERT! I'LL-"
"Okay, sure you weren't." He leaned forward suspiciously. "I mean, what could you even see in him, anyway? The dude's even missing an eyeball for-"
"Good to hear." Deidara was halfway turned to them all, peering at the man subtly from where he still sat several feet away. Maybe he had been at least a bit curious about what the idiot looked like. "Hm. I'll make sure to gouge out the other one once he awakens. Preserve it and blow it up later." At that he almost grinned.
...
Neither of them were sure how much time had passed after Obito started their rounds of hand to hand combat. And Itachi was sure this was perhaps the strangest taijutsu match he'd ever been in considering how both their movements were substantially more sluggish. With every twist and step forward and back they took they were forced to move at least three seconds slower than normal. And by the time they'd sprang back to catch their breath his muscles were shouting at him in protest and his eyes were blurry, throbbing still, head pounding even more than before. No more than five minutes of going at it had passed, but considering the absurd weight on them both, it almost felt like an hour of exertion had gone by. His vision was getting worse and he could barely see... that three out of the four small dots on his palm were glowing. There was only one more to go. One more before his plan was able to fully activate, before perhaps, he would be able to end it all.
Obito too was breathing harshly. It was obvious he was nearly just as worn as Itachi was, but ultimately wasn't as affected by the loss of energy. Itachi knew then why Obito decided to fight him again in taijutsu under these conditions, as Obito was perfectly aware of his poor health, aware of his condition. He... was trying to tire him to the point of total exhaustion... So he could really strike. He wasn't going to wait and find out what Obito really had planned. The palm of his right hand continued to burn where the lights were. It was time to perform the second step. He only hoped he had enough energy left within him to pull it off.
"How... are you... holding up, Itachi?"
Itachi gave no response but instead briefly closed his eyes, focusing all of his chakra to the single point, feeling the pressure in his head as it grew hotter. He hadn't even opened them fully before Obito was charging at him again. It was as if it all were happening in the blink of an eye, and yet all in slow motion. Obito was just as determined as he. If they were both going to die, there was one thing Itachi knew for sure: Obito would make sure he was gone first. Itachi dodged from another slower power-packed punch, feeling as though he were still yanking three hundred pounds of weight to the side as he did so. And as he did, Obito had thrown a kunai in the direction he knew he would lean and it nicked his shoulder.
But now Itachi encouraged it. His eyes landed on the kunai. 'Yes, come at me.'
Sweat stung his eyes as he dodged the next attack, grabbing the foot that swung at his head and using the momentum to throw Obito down who rolled away and jumped shakily to his feet. However the strain of standing when being weighed down paid the price as the scarred side of his face was met with a brutal punch to the cheek and he stumbled back.
But as Itachi advanced on him again, he'd vanished into a puff of smoke.
'Shadow clone.' Apparently almost anything could be performed in Genjutsu world as well. But as Itachi whirled around, Obito was nowhere in sight.
But then he felt him. Or better put, he felt the blade of a sword being shoved right through his back until he saw the end of it appear right through his abdomen as well. He lurched forward, gasping. "I'm… right here," Obito muttered from behind him. "You're… finished."
The younger Uchiha's form had turned blue again just as it had when Obito cast that strange jutsu in the beginning but as soon as the color surrounded him, it was gone. He gripped the tip of the weapon tightly enough for his palm to take some damage. Blood left his mouth.
"You... see now, don't you? You did all this fighting, all… of it… For nothing. All of your actions have been foolish! You should've... just stayed in your place... Stayed in Akatsuki. Out of the way. Now, all I… really can do is pity you. You will finally die, Itachi, and everyone will see... you as nothing but... but a f-failure." He further pushed the sword in his back and Itachi's grip on it tightened, keeping it in place. That didn't stop the numbness in his left arm and hand. The damage to his spinal cord was causing paralysis to set in. "Accept defeat. Accept despair, and accept the change," Obito said sinisterly.
"No, Obito. You... accept reality." The Uchiha blocked out the pain as much as he could even as more blood fell from his mouth and torso, hitting the block they both stood on. He slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder at the man. Watched as the triumphant look on his cold face morphed into an unmistakable look of disbelief of what he had completely failed to realize before. His single eye was wide, iris trembling as it stared at the left eye of Itachi, an eye that was no longer the same. "You have already lost."
Obito paused. "W-what? No," he forced a smirk, denying. "I've killed you! You're the one... The one who's lost." But the eye that stared back at him, mocking him was saying otherwise. Without a second more passing in silence, Obito yanked the sword mercilessly out of the Uchiha's back and had thrown himself around him so he was standing a ways in front of him once more, but to his dread as Itachi stood before him the blood that had been pooled at his feet mere seconds ago was now completely gone. And so was the wound he'd inflicted in his torso. It was as if all that had happened thirty seconds ago hadn't, and like before, the sword was not in his hands.
His breathing quickened, and Obito had lunged at Itachi like before, throwing a punch which was dodged, Itachi threw himself to the side, all for Obito to throw a kunai in that same direction, successful nicking his shoulder yet again. He growled and swung a leg up aiming for Itachi's head all for him to grab his foot and swing him forcefully to the ground. He rolled away and got to his feet and was met with a fist to the scarred side of his face. He stumbled back and willed himself to vanish into a puff of smoke. He summoned his weapon and had plunged it again into Itachi's back. There. That was how it was supposed to be.
But again, Itachi turned his head coughing up blood to look at him, and again he was met with the same left eye that was no longer the same as his right Sharingan. His stomach dropped. It was a white eye. A white eye that had lost its light.
"No, Obito. You... Accept reality. You have already lost."
...
'Hah. Looks like the Uchihas' ultimate Kekkei Genkai isn't so perfect after all. Pathetic really... hm.' Deidara stared down at the hands of Sasuke, waiting for that familiar feeling of pleasure he would get whenever anyone's demise was very possible, but he felt no urge to smirk or laugh manically; not even in the slightest. Tobi and Itachi's situation should have been way more amusing to him, but all he continued to feel was disgust and frustration. Why him? Why did he have to be caught up in any of this? Here he had been trying to rid of any Uchiha he came across, all to find himself more entangled in a web concerning them. More up close and personal than he would've ever fancied. He knew he should've just killed Sasuke when he'd had the chance in the very beginning of it all. He remained a distance away on the ground. But he still couldn't look away from Itachi and his previous partner. 'It's been what, over ten minutes now? Still nothing. I can barely sense their chakra signatures anymore… hm. The Tsukuyomi Koteisuru, eh? They really are more than likely doomed, aren't they?'
Jugo's voice broke the unusual silence. "Hey, guys? Come look at this." He was staring down at something next to Itachi. Being the closest, Sasuke reached Jugo first, catching sight of what Jugo was staring at right away. Karin and Suigetsu were right over his shoulder.
There was a black square marking of noticeable size; it looked as though it had imprinted on the grass where it sat only a couple inches from Itachi's outstretched arm.
"Sasuke… where did this come from?" Jugo asked hesitantly. "Did your brother do this?"
For a while he didn't respond. "From what I know, pulling something off like that is unheard of."
"And yet, here it is."
"Hold on a minute, now. That marking doesn't necessarily have to be Itachi's doing," Suigetsu cut in wisely.
"Who else could it have come from then, Suigetsu?!" Karin said.
"Look I'm just saying that last time I checked, a person caught in a genjutsu isn't capable of summoning things through their 'dreams'. Especially if they're caught up in something as deadly as the Tsukuyomi Koseitet-whatchamacallit."
Sasuke felt yet another one of Deidara's headaches coming on. "Tsukuyomi Koteisur-"
"Who cares?" Both Suigetsu and Deidara said at the same time.
"Well, Sasuke? Is it possible?" Karin prodded.
He stared at the black marking for so long he wasn't sure how many seconds had passed. "I can't say. As far as I know, it's not. All we can do now… is wait." Uselessness. He despised it.
...
It had been the fifth time he lunged at Itachi, each time, with Itachi staring back at him waiting for him to approach. Each time he threw the punch and again, the Uchiha dodged. Each time, the kunai was thrown. It grazed Itachi's shoulder. Obito's leg flung out. It was grabbed. He crashed to the ground. He stood. A punch to the face. A puff of smoke. A stab in the back. Blood everywhere. A turn of the head. A white eye looking back.
He felt an unbearable feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach.
This wasn't happening. A genjutsu could not be cast within a genjutsu. It was impossible.
"No, Obito. You... Accept reality."
He shook his head furiously, charging again blindly forward. Punch, dodge, kunai, kick, grab, crash to the ground, stand, punch, puff of smoke. Stab in the back. Blood. A turn of the head. A white eye plaguing his mind, taking over.
The seventh time. Eighth time.
"You... Accept reality."
It happened again. And then again. It happened another three times.
No. It was all a fluke. It was all just one big dream. Or nightmare.
Losing was impossible. This was his realm. HIS. It couldn't be happening. Not to HIM. Not NOW, not like this, not here. Here, he was in control. And yet, by Itachi falling into his own trap, he had fallen right into Itachi's. And there really was... no escape. In the Izanami he was trapped.
"No- IMPOSSIBLE!" He growled in denial, yelling, shouting obscenities. Itachi could not win. He was the chosen one, the true savior of this world. Even if Itachi were to be defeated, Obito himself could not allow himself to be. He twisted the bloody sword as viciously as he could, with all his dark heart and empty soul. But Itachi showed no excess signs of pain or distress. He looked the exact same as he had the very first time he'd stabbed him. He still grabbed onto the tip of the sword, slowly turning his head, and Obito had no choice but to look back into a bottomless white pit. Nothing but white, not black darkness. There was nothing else he could do.
And it happened again, and then again. And again, again, and again, again-
"...You have already lost."
"AARRGGH! DAMN YOU, ITACHI!"
...
It had been done.
He had completed the second to last step in his plan the moment Obito went completely still behind him. His grip was loosening on the sword he'd wielded to plunge right through him, and when the younger Uchiha shakily took a step forward, ignoring the blood dripping onto his feet and the burning nerves coursing though him from the back to the front, he had finally managed to turn completely around to face the man who's hands had fallen limply by their sides. Obito would not be breaking free for quite a while.
He stared into his face with the remaining functioning eye he had. On the outside, his features were blank, only sweat ran down it, but deep down, Itachi could see more than just nothingness. He knew that the pain he felt from the stab wound would soon be gone once he was out of this jutsu, gone like the illusion it was. But he had a feeling that Obito's pain would last much, much longer.
And as he looked at him longer, he saw something more there and like earlier his chest tightened.
It felt very strange and he felt a small chill with the realization. This man really did resemble him.
"His name was Obito…" Shisui's young seven year old voice rang distantly in his mind.
'Shisui. I'm so sorry.'
His best friend had spent the remainder of his short life believing that the brother he loved so much and looked up to died in honor and died saving his comrades with a good, hopeful heart. But in reality that brother had turned into a monster, wanting to destroy it all, destroy everything he'd ever been and everything he'd ever believed in. This was no longer Shisui's brother, and as Obito said, he would never be again.
The burning sensation on his palm spiked, catching his attention and when Itachi glanced down he saw that all four dots were lit up, and they were shining brighter than ever. Relief washed over him.
Finally. His plan was activated, ready. And just on time.
And now, he only prayed that it would work.
There was only one more thing he needed to do.
Letting out a slow breath as his heart pounded in his chest, Itachi reached out his dotted, glowing palm. He placed it on Obito's shoulder, and instantly his entire body lit up and grew hotter. The genjutsu world around them was soon filled with the light. Itachi kept his hand firmly in place despite the increasing sting in his hand. It was all in the mind, but what was happening was real. The pain would all go away soon.
But when he looked into Obito's eye once more and saw the complete emptiness there, no matter how much he tried, he could not imagine any happiness that was there before. Despite his victory, Itachi felt a painful loss.
'I can bring myself to do this much.'
Still gripping Obito's shoulder, he closed his eyes.
…
It was torture. Surely only fifteen minutes had passed but Sasuke was certain it had been an hour. He spent five more minutes sitting right over his brother's form waiting for something, a twitch, a cough, anything but alas, Itachi's glassy eyes continued roaming back and forth, up and down, around, looking this way and that into a world Sasuke was no part of. At least watching that much showed that the older Uchiha was still alive, but Sasuke wondered how much longer it would last. Unable to be right over him any longer, he stood, striding away from Itachi to pace back and forth a few times- making sure to keep a subtle eye on a certain artist all the while as he watched him stare at both Uchiha with still barely contained hostility- before taking a seat on a rock several feet away again.
But then he heard mumbling and it wasn't coming from Deidara or team Hebi.
"No..."
"What was that?" Jugo jumped and they were all on full alert.
"No... I... I've killed you.. cannot win. I'm… I'm the savior…"
"Wait, he's talking to Itachi, isn't he? What on earth is going on in there?" Jugo muttered sounding just as confused as he did apprehensive.
His glassy eye that was staring right through them all widened.
"No…" the sound was spoken from the man so softly. He repeated the syllable. How was he even able to speak? No soon became a mantra under his breath, but his entire body continued to stay frozen to the world. That was until his form began to shake.
And for a moment, all Sasuke could do was relish in it. The very small sadistic side of him that most of those in Konoha would frown upon, but he didn't care. Although Obito had become silent once more and still frozen to the world, the emotion brewing within rolled from his form in heavy waves. Sasuke could almost smell it, a strange energy coming from him. Sasuke tensed. He felt the other's body heat over him, peering down as well, apparently oblivious to the strange vibe.
"Whoa, check that out. Now he almost looks constipated or something," Suigetsu commented, leaning over even more to get a better look. "...Man, you would've thought Itachi stuck a kunai up his butt or somethin' in there, with the expression on his face."
"Tch, serves the bastard right. I only wish I had been there to give him at least half of what he deserves, hm." Nothing would be able to fully satisfy Deidara. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder which Uchiha he hated most.
"Holy-" Suigetsu's mouth was agape. "Wait, what is that?"
Tobi was glowing. It had started at his shoulder and was rapidly expanding until he was white with blinding light, almost completely covering him. The light was painful to look at and everyone jumped back as he only got brighter.
Sasuke was grateful that Itachi was a considerable distance away already.
"I-is he about to explode?!" Karin gasped, half covering her eyes. "The intensity of his chakra is huge!"
"Sasuke, I think he might!" Jugo cried.
"Dammit! That was supposed to be my doing!" Deidara cursed, shielding Sasuke's eyes. He cast his own form a quick glance. "Tell me it isn't true, Uchiha," he growled.
Sasuke felt Deidara's heart speeding in his chest. The pressure of the moment further frustrating him. "Why do you assume I know everything?"
"I don't, but apparently everyone else does, hm!"
Tobi was covered completely now. "Just shut up and-"
An earsplitting shout snatched all speech from Sasuke and zapped any sound from them all as they stumbled further back. It was coming from Obito who looked as though he was liquefying.
"AAARRGH! DAMN YOU, ITACHI!"
Suddenly Obito's shining form was sucked out of the ropes and all that was visible of him was a blinding white flash as he was shot into the sky like a very close shooting star. All were frozen at the sight before them as the liquid blob swirled in the air and crashed right onto the black marking on the ground near the motionless Itachi that they had noticed earlier. And Obito disappeared into the black Kanji on the grass as if he had used his jutsu to morph into it. Only he hadn't. The last thing they all heard was a silenced cry before the black marking glowed white as well and there was a huge flash that reached the stars, lasting for five seconds. When the light finally dispersed all was silent once more and where Obito and the mark had been, there was small, solid dark blue box in its place.
Everyone's eyes were glued on the little box, not sure what to call what had just happened.
Sasuke then understood. "I think… that was some type of seal." But how?
"Did he just...?"
"Wha- but that's not possible. How did-?"
Sasuke was the first one to look away from the box, gaze landing on Itachi. The first thing he noticed was that Itachi's hand was glowing white just as the seal had, but the glow was fading away. There was a groan coming from him and a feeling intense enough to stop a beating heart seized Sasuke. He nearly chocked on his feeling of relief when another small groan met the air followed by movement from his brother. "Itachi."
Itachi had survived. Maybe Tobi was dead, or maybe he survived as well. But at the moment it didn't matter. Because his brother had made it out of the deadliest jutsu known to Uchiha alive. It was more apparent now than ever where his brother stood in his heart and in that moment, Sasuke honestly couldn't deny the fact that he was grateful that fate was finally giving him some good. The legs he controlled felt numb as he dragged them toward his brother.
"I did... all I could do. Now it's finally done."In his waking moments he had rolled over and his face was pressed to the earth.
Sasuke saw as Itachi shakily attempted to push himself up with only one weakened arm. It was understandable considering how much chakra was sucked from him. When his brother tried lifting himself up again with the same arm that's when he saw the blood. A devastatingly large pool of it spread out over the grass beneath him. It dripped from his abdomen, from his mouth as he began coughing it up as he collapsed again. And that's when Sasuke saw the stab wound reaching straight through the center of his back.
….
Author's note: Thanks for reading :D
*WARNING If you haven't noticed, fairly long author's note ahead… Read on with caution*
I bet a lot of readers skip right over this, but I hope you all read this anyway
A bit unsurprisingly a while ago I got some negative comments, and I say unsurprisingly because I could expect some anger coming since it took me a while to update. I'm not addressing these reviews I got to complain, but I found them hard to just simply ignore, not just for my sake, but for everyone out there who has faced the same thing. Many writers on here strive to become the best that they can be, and just so you all know, I, including a lot of us would love to get constructive criticism because it helps us grow. It's not like I will only take reviews of praise and reject anything else.
I want all readers to be honest with me. If you want, tell me if you didn't really care for the chapter/story, but make sure to tell me why. I am perfectly fine with that and my feelings won't be hurt. But you can always express your thoughts without being rude, and without sending a message aiming to insult me or any other writer on here. I decided to speak up about this because I always see flames and/or just plain rude comments about someone and/or their story that were plainly made to tear them down. You may be disappointed or angry that the story didn't meet your expectations but it's always so much easier to sit and write a terrible review than to spend time doing your best to write something and finish what you've started. (Trust me, I and a lot of writers can agree on that). In this community, we are supposed to build each other up without purposefully harming.
That's one of the reasons I am a supporter of the Fanfiction Review Movement (FRM); a movement on this site that is all about spreading support by leaving a kind review on a story. The review can even consist of polite feedback that can help the writer improve. It REALLY makes a difference :D (Please PM the founder of this movement, Fanofthisfiction if you want to be a part of it!)
I know this message won't stop everyone from trying to hurt others because that's how life is, but we can at least make an effort to reduce it because no one deserves to be addressed in such a negative way