Two black haired boys lay back in the sun on the grassy slope. Their clothes were scuffed and they each sported their fair share of bruises. Between them was an empty bento box bearing traces of dark and pungent sauces. The wind blew past, rustling the long grass in undulating waves. Like an ocean the fronds bent too and fro, dancing in the light. They had become second years a few months back.
"Hey Sasuke..." began Tetsuo, before trailing off. Hey Sasuke, your clan is going to die soon. I can't stop it, I'm not sure I would if I could. See, they're both cursed and genetically predisposed to being arseholes. Yeah, that'll go down real well, he thought sarcastically.
"Yeah?" Replied the contented Uchiha, oblivious to his companion's turmoil. He had studied, fought and eaten. Now he was resting, and it was glorious.
Fuck, just try to prepare him a bit for what's coming, thought Tetsuo. Anything to help keep him on a sane path afterwards, maybe make it a little easier for him to open up to someone. Lay the damn groundwork. "Did I ever talk about my parents?" He asked, knowing full well he hadn't.
Sasuke noticed his companion's discomfort, aware that this was a sensitive subject. He had seen inside Tetsuo's apartment, it was not softened by a mothers touch, nor knew a fathers hand. He was hyper-aware that how he answered mattered. "Never, before today," he spoke carefully.
"I never knew them properly," he started slowly at first, then faster as the memories flowed. "My best memories of them are the day they died. It was the day the Kyuubi came. Dad never made it out the house, mum got me to the shelters, then went back to the front lines. I still remember her expression. That the creature would pay for daring to attack her home. Never a fiercer woman. I wonder sometimes, if she had known that dad was already dead, would she have stayed back? Could things perhaps have been different? But then I remember her face and I think she would have charged in anyway." His eyes were dark in this retelling, thinking what he could have had.
"I wanted it dead, for a long while. It put itself ahead of a whole village, thousands of people dead because of one being. I wanted to punish it, it and everyone who decided putting a biju in a woman was a good idea when they knew that pregnancy would weaken the seals. Everyone who was involved." He laughed, bitterly. "It was the reaction of a child. No nuance, no understanding, no hope of improving the world.
"I think, in the end, that all value flows from people living good lives. So, I decided that I would take the path that saved the most lives and did the most good. The past of a person is meaningless, except as a way to understand their future actions. Vengeance is pointless, except as a way to halt future actions." He hadn't planned this, and was rambling slightly, hoping something would catch in the Uchiha's mind, something he would come back to at his lowest point and perhaps take a different path. He no longer cared if he was acting in line with his age. His friend was going to lose a part of himself, maybe most of himself and there was nothing he could do. "I don't hate the Kyuubi. Not any more. If I get the chance to get close to a similar being, I will follow the path that leads to such a thing never happening again. If that means destroying it, so be it. Not for those it has killed in the past, but for those it will kill in the future. To lose myself in hate would be just adding another death to the pile. My own."
Sasuke was momentarily stunned by this outpouring of words and emotion. Tetsuo did not normally talk much about anything other than fighting or insane ideas that sounded as deadly as they were impractical. "So you wouldn't seek revenge on a killer?" He asked, confused.
"Not revenge, no. Maybe I'd kill him to discourage similar acts in the future, or if I thought he would keep killing." Mused Tetsuo, taking his question seriously. "Doesn't matter so much if I end them or someone else though, so long as they end up in the ground. Otherwise it's just pride, not retribution."
"Doesn't that mean you should be a trader or something, then?" Questioned Sasuke, eyebrows drawing together.
"Ah, well normally it would, wouldn't it? Let's just say sometimes there are people that must be stopped, for the good of all." Replied Tetsuo softly, thinking of a man who made children kill their emotions then their friends, thinking of world that sometimes seemed like it wanted to end. "Tell me when you figure it out."
"Tetsuo, you are very strange. You know that?" Then stiffened as he immediately regretted his words. Some things were not said after a friend finally opened up about his dead parents. Tetsuo didn't seem to mind though as a strange smile split his face.
"Only one of my kind on this whole damn planet. Accept no imitations," Tetsuo declared warmly with a small laugh. "Now come on, Hinata's Gentle Fist is kicking my arse, lets work on our deflections." Yes, definitely a strange boy. Sasuke liked him anyway though, he was the only boy he could fight all out with, and that was enough.
A/N Two updates today because I skipped yesterday. The Massacre approaches. Edited things a little because it turns out propaganda says Kyuubi is dead. Went back and edited this chapter a second time, it needed it.
