TH: Ha, I triumph over final exams! And in my moment of victory, I bring you another chapter to celebrate. Please review! Thanks much!
In a Life
25. Enigma
Kakashi had found it strange the first time. The second time was downright suspicious. Why did the man who had killed an entire Clan—men, women, and children—not finish off his enemies? He had had plenty of opportunities. And yet, Uchiha Itachi left only injured bodies in his wake, instead of lifeless ones.
He had returned to Konoha, the Village from which he had defected, and hadn't killed a single of its citizens. Not one civilian, not the gate-guard, not a single of the loyal Leaf-nin who had confronted him. He could have killed Kakashi, several times over. But he hadn't. He had come ostensibly to kidnap Naruto, evidently interested in the Kyuubi the boy held. But he hadn't taken the jinchuuriki, even though he'd had ample opportunity.
Then Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, and Chiyo-baa-sama had encountered the notorious Uchiha on their way to rescue Gaara. Or at least, encountered his body-double, which he had been controlling from a distance. And once again they had walked away, despite Itachi having several chances to kill them, and/or kidnap Naruto. Overall, despite having a bevy of openings for striking fatal blows, either to Konoha or to its individual ninja, Itachi had yet to take one. It was strange. It didn't add up.
In a way, it made Kakashi very uneasy. Based on his own, albeit limited, experience with the younger man, and others' descriptions, Uchiha Itachi was a shrewd, calculating genius who was not given to actions that did not have some logical base. It made Kakashi wonder exactly what Itachi's goal was.
Obito refused to say anything on the subject. Having been reassured that Kakashi wasn't going to let hatred of Itachi corrupt him, Obito had become completely closed-mouthed about the other Uchiha. He'd said something about that rule of not being allowed to interfere with the living, which Kakashi understood only marginally (wasn't Obito interfering by visiting Kakashi?), and then ignored any other questions on the topic. Which also worried Kakashi, because that meant it was almost certainly important. Otherwise, why wouldn't Obito tell him?
There was a secret here. But Kakashi was unsure how to uncover it aside from just waiting. He could hardly question Itachi about it, and Obito was less than forthcoming. Look underneath the underneath… But with a genius like Itachi, that had to be taken even further, the truth buried under even more layers. Kakashi simply didn't have enough evidence to form any coherent theories. All he saw was the S-class nukenin Uchiha Itachi, genius, wielder of the Mangekyo Sharingan, murderer of the Uchiha Clan, almost refusing to take the lives of his opponents. It was strange to the point of irrationality. Why would such a notorious killer leave an enemy still breathing when he had the chance to finish the job? Everything Itachi did was fueled by logic, strategy. There had to be some reason. But Kakashi couldn't see it. Yet.