Wow... this was NOT supposed to happen...
(Evil grin) Ooh, I love it when I'm nasty!
. .. . .. . .. . . .
"Not just the leaders anymore... Every shinobi capable of using a kunai..."
"No!" Sasuke cried out involuntarily, the implications revealing themselves with devastating clarity.
Shisui looked up in horror, aghast that the conversation had been monitered. Immediately Itachi was at Sasuke's side, steering him away and attempting to distract him.
"It was nothing, Sasuke, do not mind - "
"No!" Sasuke repeated forcefully, ducking under Itachi's grip. "You're going to kill them all, aren't you? That's what this grand plan of yours is!"
Shisui sucked in a sharp breath and Itachi's face grew ashen. "Sasuke... you do not - "
"Don't make up excuses, Itachi!" Sasuke shouted, his voice choked with tears of betrayal. "I thought you'd changed after everything that happened! I thought you were different from what I expected you to be! You're going to murder them all, without a thought as to how it might affect everybody else!"
"Sasuke, that's enough!" Shisui bounded to his feet, stepping between the two brothers. "No one is killing anybody! This conversation is over right now! Now go back and give your brother some space, Sasuke, before you land him in the hospital from an anxiety attack!"
Sasuke refused to back down. "Why?" he demanded, ignoring Shisui. "Why does it have to be this way? Why does it always have to end with you killing them?"
"Sasuke, what are you talking about?" Shisui yelled.
"I thought you cared about what happened to me! You never think about anything but your own stupid power!" Tears of grief and rage ran unchecked down Sasuke's face, veiling the ravaged look in Itachi's eyes. "Fine, then! Kill them all like you always wanted! I never loved you anyways!"
"SASUKE!"
Sasuke dodged Shisui's hand, dashing past a shocked Naruto and bolting from the house. The compound whizzed past in a blur, Sasuke's feet guiding him instinctively as his mind shut down.
I thought he had changed! I thought from what he told me that he would never betray the clan, even if he had his sharingan! And Shisui...
That was almost the cruelest blow. That Shisui would collaberate with Itachi to destroy his own home, his own family...
It's all wrong! It's WRONG!
Slamming the doors to his own home open, Sasuke ran blindly to his room, ignoring Fugaku's concerned glance. Memories bombarded him the entire way.
Blood, everywhere. Soaking into the dust, dripping down the walls, spreading in a pool under the bodies of his parents. The stench of death, cloying in his nostrils. Conflicting images of tears and red eyes, tearing through him, tormenting him and confusing him with each new revelation.
"I don't know what to do," Sasuke moaned, throwing his pouch of kunai against the opposite wall. "It's all wrong!"
"Sasuke?" Fugaku rapped softly against the door. "What's going on in there?"
Sasuke pressed his palms against the sides of his head as though the action could straighten the mess inside. The stricken look on Itachi's face haunted him just as much as the cold indifference of the Clan's murderer.
I did it again, He realized with sickening clarity. How Itachi must hate me now; I didn't even pause to consider how my accusations would affect him.
Don't be foolish! He lied to you. He betrayed your trust and intended to wipe out the Clan behind your back!
I was the real traitor. I vowed to help him, yet I only tore him down. I didn't mean what I said to you, Itachi! I always loved you, even after what happened in the other timeline!
You were only breaking ties before he could hurt you again. Didn't he scorn you to run and hide until your hatred surprassed your love for him?
Not here, not now. This Itachi never asked for anything like that.
Not yet...
Maybe it never would have come to pass, though. Maybe he would have realized his mistake and not followed through with his intent.
He was conspiring against you, against his own parents! This time he dragged Shisui into the ordeal, leaving you no one to turn to. Now what choice are you left with? Itachi is no longer the sole danger to your family.
What should I do, though? I can't kill Shisui, and I couldn't bring myself to hurt Itachi any more. How can I prevent the massacre, then? What am I even preventing anymore?
Revolt. Shisui said something about a revolt. He mentioned the Hokage. What if...
Moaning, Sasuke slid down against the door and buried his head in his hands. What if there was a reason behind everything? What if Tousan...
"If you, Itachi, and Mikoto were to go to, oh, Waves or something... just a few days..."
"Would Tousan come?"
Hesitation, groping for an answer.
"Two more weeks of this and the Hokage's going to do something about it..."
"Leaders of the revolt would have to be destroyed... you know what that means..."
"Not just the leaders... every shinobi capable of using a kunai..."
The nightly meetings. Fugaku's agitation. The restlessness and angry whispers spoken among the clan.
"Two more weeks and the Hokage's going to do something about it..."
"... the Hokage..."
No, no, No, NO, NO!
Cold realization like a slap of cold water struck Sasuke. Konoha was to blame for the Uchiha massacre. The Sandaime Hokage had initiated the killing.
And Fugaku had started everything.
There was only one thing left to do. Sasuke had to question the source of the lies to understand the truth. It was time to confront Sarutobi Hiruzen.
