Summary
Itachi still has some reservations... as well as some nasty skeletons in the closet.
A/N: Okay, so this one is much more angst than I usually go for. But I felt it needed to be done. Itachi's going through a lot of emotions, therefore, he's also going through a change of heart. An extremely difficult change of heart. He's just resisting more than most people. Then again, we can't have an Uchiha without the angst, for some strange reason. So, here we go!
Warning- Dark. And definite violence. I'd say this one-shot would be a little closer to the M rating. If you don't like that, then don't read it. If I accidentally make you cry, then I apologize in advance. Angst galore. You've been warned. Should it cross the line, I'll change the rating.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
He hated being cornered. Actually, he hated a lot of things. But this took the cake. To be honest, he wasn't sure how they had tracked him down. The Uchiha had been careful, as usual, about leaving evidence; which there had been none. The only thing that could have tipped them off would have been...
'The tea. Why did I stop there again? Especially if the owners decided to report me,' the Sharingan user thought, resisting the urge to smack himself in the face for the genin mistake. It would make him look insane.
Well, to be honest, the ANBU surrounding him already thought he was insane. Though there were only five, he wasn't taking any chances.
"Itachi Uchiha. Konoha missing-nin. Former ANBU Captain. S-class criminal. Part of the Akatsuki organization," the bird ANBU stated, crouching down to prepare to attack, "You are under arrest for the massacre of the Uchiha clan. If you come quietly, we'll let you live."
He scoffed inwardly. What, was that supposed to frighten him? So they knew a crap-load of information about him. Big deal. It was obvious now they were Konoha ANBU.
'Sentimental fools.'
"I can't seem to stress enough that I won't be going anywhere with any of you," the Uchiha answered, carefully wiping his voice blank of any emotions. It was the mark of a good ninja.
A twig snapped behind him. Itachi and the ANBU whirled into motion. Judging by the weak chakra signal, it was a civilian that had stumbled upon their battleground.
Bird ANBU fired several shuriken in the direction of the civilian. Itachi flashed in front of the attack, blocking every metal star. A gasp was heard behind him, and the sound of something dropped, followed closely by the civilian falling over.
"Run!" the Uchiha hissed, unsure if the civlian took the advice or not. It was obvious the ANBU were surprised.
"Never took you as the type to protect something, Uchiha!" one of the other ANBU, a bear, cried, lunging in and performing a series of devestating taijutsu combos. He landed every hit, and Bear smirked beneath his mask smugly. Itachi crumbled to the ground, breathing heavily.
"That was easy!" Bear crowed, stepping forward to deal the final blow. Itachi looked up at him, Sharingan eyes blazing in anger, before he smirked suddenly and began to glow.
"Bear! Don't-!"
"Shadow Clone Explosion." The resounding boom shook the trees and sent nearby birds into the air in a panic. Itachi reappeared next to where his clone had been. Bear dropped to the ground, dead.
"Bear," Bird muttered, anger clouding his judgement, "I'll avenge you." He rose to his feet and signalled to attack. The other three ANBU, a cat, a snake, and a hawk, all jumped in to try and take down the Uchiha.
The Sharingan user flipped through a series of hand seals to fast for them to see and he inhaled deeply. Smoke poured from his mouth and the four ANBU skidded to a halt, fear on the faces underneath their masks. This was-!
"Fall back!" Hawk shouted, jumping away as Itachi released an enormous Fireball Jutsu. Snake wasn't quick enough, though, and she was caught in the blaze. In seconds, she was incinerated.
"Damn! What now!" Cat hissed, gripping his kunai in a shaking grip. Itachi Uchiha had just killed two of their comrades without breaking a sweat. It was incredible. It was monsterous. He blinked, and Itachi was gone.
"You let your guard down," his enemy whispered, flipping over Cat's back when he swung to impale the Uchiha. His eyes widened at the sound of his sword being unsheathed by the Uchiha. Cat panicked and scrambled away. Breathing heavily, he kept a careful eye on Itachi.
"Formation B! Go!" Bird snarled, sprinting head-on at the Uchiha. He performed a series of deadly martial arts moves, all of which the former clan heir either dodged or blocked easily. Hawk fired severeal volleys of shuriken and kunai at Itachi. Their enemy quickly jumped, blocking some of the metal with the sword and deflecting one back at Hawk. It hit him square in the stomach, and Hawk snarled in pain. Cat snuck up behind the occupied Uchiha and came in for the kill.
Itachi, sensing someone approach him from behind, flipped his borrowed sword and stabbed it behind him. Cat choked, unable to speak with his katana in his throat.
"You forget, ANBU-san, that I know these attacks well," the Sharingan user announced quietly, flipping his hand and yanking the blade upward. Cat's shriek of pain was cut off as the blade sliced through his head. He fell to the ground in a pool of blood, dead.
"Cat!" Hawk cried, holding his injury and backing away from the insane Uchiha. How could he be so stoic and calm when he'd just committed horrendous acts of bloodshed? Itachi disappeared suddenly and Bird looked around anxiously, waiting for the next attack.
"Running?" was whispered from behind Hawk and his eyes widened in fear.
"HAWK!" The ANBU wasn't quick enough. In one clean sweep Hawk's head left his shoulders and his body dropped to the ground, dead.
Bird shook his head and scrambled back several steps. It was impossible. Itachi Uchiha had just taken out an ANBU squad with little to no trouble.
'There's not even a scratch on the bastard,' he thought, watching carefully as the Uchiha genius looked over Cat's katana idly before discarding it carelessly, 'He's a monster.'
Itachi set his sights on the final ANBU and approached slowly. He hated this technique; the Cat and Mouse game. It would be easier to just kill the terrified ANBU. Bird stumbled back and hit the tree behind him. He glanced back for half a heartbeat, but that was all the time Itachi needed. He pinned Bird to the tree easily, hand on the ANBU's throat.
"I won't kill you if you give me the information I'm looking for," the Uchiha stated conversationally, peeling the mask away from Bird's face. The ANBU sucked in a breath and snapped his eyes closed as the mask came away. Itachi glanced at it, then tossed it carelessly aside. The porcelain mask shattered easily, and Bird whimpered just slightly.
"Tell me how Konoha is doing."
"Never."
"Your resistance is futile, ANBU-san. Wouldn't you rather be allowed to return home to your family and friends?" Itachi asked quietly, squeezing Bird's throat just slightly. He coughed and his eyes snapped open, bulging from the pressure of being choked.
"I won't tell anything to a monster like you! You killed your own clan and deserted the village that was your home. You're as good as damned to the rest of Konoha!" Bird spat, glaring defiantly at the Uchiha genius with blue eyes. Itachi froze, unable to even think properly. Bird's blue eyes... they looked like...
'Kagome.' His Sharingan morphed into the Mangekyou and he saw the reflection of it in Bird's eyes. He'd never actually watched the transformation for himself. It was... fascinating.
"I believe... I'm going to let you live, ANBU-san," he decided, the pinwheels in his eyes beginning to turn slowly, "But not without giving my foolish little brother a message." Bird choked, true fear dominating his features. Itachi leaned in and smirked. "Tell Sasuke I said 'Hello'."
Bird screamed as he was pulled into the Tsukiyomi.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
Itachi glanced around at the the four dead and one unconscious ANBU scattered around him in annoyance before turning to the civilian cowering near a tree. As he approached her, she lifted her head up, brown eyes shining with tears.
"It's all right. You're sa-!" He never got to finish because the girl screamed in terror and backed away from him.
"You... You killed them! Murderer!" she shrieked, scrambling away from the former heir in a shaking heap.
"They tried to kill-!" She screamed again when he took another step and he winced inwardly at the noise. Itachi finally just stopped where he was and attempted to placate the traumatized female. When nothing he was saying seemed to register, he sighed and backed away from the civilian girl, Sharingan swirling in preparation. He'd knock the girl out if he had to.
'This is how it always is,' the Uchiha thought bitterly, watching in anger as the girl managed to get her act together enough to flee back to her home, 'They always run. Even if I try to help them. Why?' He glanced down and took an absent note of his bloodstained hands.
Kagome flashed through his mind, all smiles and happy thoughts. He clenched his hands hard enough that his nails bit into skin.
'Why does she stay?'
Without looking back, he disappeared in a flurry of smoke. He had to know.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
Kagome sighed and ran her fingers reverently on the well's rim. She'd picked today to come out here because it was sunny and reminded her of cool November days spent in the Feudal Era. Gently, she set a bouquet of flowers at the foot of the well and bowed her head to pray.
'I hope... that everyone is safe. And happy. Really happy.' She stood there for a few moments longer before clapping her hands twice and exhaling noisily. A sound rustled the bushed behind her, but when no forboding feeling followed the noise, she figured it was just an animal.
Therefore she was completely taken aback when arms circled around her, one hand covering her mouth to prevent her from screaming, and the other pulling her against someone's body roughly.
"It would be so easy to kill you now," the person, which she identified as male, whispered, breath hotly tickling her ear. The priestess shivered and his grip tightened minutely. "You wouldn't even know until after I snapped your neck."
"You're so fragile. I've killed others for lesser reasons than yours. Merely living in their sins; their hatred overwhelming every innocent child and mother." Kagome bit her lip and swallowed to keep the whimper from escaping her throat. His fingers moved, loosening the hold on her mouth, before he leaned right next to her ear. The wind suddenly blew harshly, whipping their hair around them erratically. She noticed that his hair was black when it blew into her face.
'Is that... Itachi?'
"Don't move. Don't scream. Don't even speak. Otherwise, you're dead." Kagome nodded minutely and he released her as though she were on fire. He paced behind her, not letting her see him, but the priestess already knew. Now that she'd calmed down enough to pinpoint some things, she could identify Itachi's aura. It was singing with grief and agitation. Something bad had happened.
"Ita-!"
"I said no talking!" the Uchiha genius hissed, whipping her around and snarling at her. She flinched back, not used to the anger dominating her friend's emotions. He was usually so calm and controlled. What had happened to make him lose his cool?
"I don't understand you. I don't know what you're doing to me," Itachi muttered, closing his dark eyes before taking a deep breath, "But I do know you should be afraid. You should hate me. You have to. It's for the best." Kagome gasped when he opened his eyes. They were a deep blood red. The only other person she'd seen with eyes that color was...
'Naraku.'
"One day, you too will run from me," he whispered, cupping her face with a hand gently. Kagome gulped, unsure of what to do. She had no idea what to do in this type of situation. The former heir's emotions were volatile at best, and one wrong move might set him off.
'I can't leave him like this,' the priestess thought, steeling her resolve even though she wanted to run, 'He's hurting, and I need to help him.'
"I... I'm not..." she stopped, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. And then she opened them and looked him straight in the eye, "I'm not afraid of you, Itachi. Because I trust you."
His breaths shortened, fury lighting a fire inside him, and the hand against her face tightened. She winced, but stood completely still, waiting for his judgement.
"You... are foolish."
"Maybe I am. But that doesn't stop me from knowing that you're a good person that had to do bad things. That doesn't make you a bad person," the priestess replied, lifting a hand to touch his cheek. He flinched, afraid of her touch. "Do you know why?"
"You know nothing about me!" Itachi shouted, glaring harshly at the unmoving girl. The tree nearest them began smoking heavily. If he didn't get his emotions under control, he would set the entire forest ablaze.
"It's because you feel guilty. It shows that you're not a machine. You're not a mindless killer. You're human, Itachi. Just like me." He froze, eyes too wide, mind too full of his recent mission. The ANBU with her eyes. The screaming girl accusing him.
"... How do you know?" Kagome let out a tiny smile, settling her small hand on his cheek. He didn't flinch this time.
"You wouldn't be this upset if you didn't care." That was true. It hurt because he did care. They all thought he was incapable of emotions other than anger or hatred. Well, he could be hurt too. He'd only run because he was afraid.
Afraid of the monster staring back where his reflection should have been.
"What happened?" Kagome asked, playing with his long bangs patiently.
"Nothing!" he hissed, stepping away from her. She was too innocent. If she stayed, the blood on his hands would taint her. He didn't want that. He didn't want to change someone so kind, so nice, so...
Pure.
"Something must have for you to be like this," the priestess countered, reaching out to take his hand, "So let me in and let me help you for once. You're so stubborn."
Itachi caught her small wrist in a vice-like grip, knowing subconsciously that his fingers would leave bruises.
"You can't handle that. You're too... good. There's nothing wrong!" he realized belatedly that he was yelling again and tamped down his anger to the best of his ability. Fire licked at the tree closest to them in agitation. Waiting to consume it's prey. In a sense, he was waiting too. For her judgement.
"... Why don't you try me and see what happens," Kagome finally whispered, glaring defiantly into his whirling red eyes.
"... Five ninja attacked me today. They were all fairly high ranking. I killed four, and tortured one. I couldn't kill him. He had..." he stopped, not wanting to voice that thought out loud, then took another breath, "The civilian I saved wouldn't let me help her because she felt that I was in the wrong." The Uchiha never broke eye contact with her, the dark tomoe in his eyes spinning lazily, waiting for her reaction. Her rejection. Her blue eyes widened in shock and he sucked in a breath.
This was it.
"... Are you hurt? What did they want from you?"
"They wanted me dead. Do you know why?" She shook her head and he pulled her close, leaning down to breath into her ear, "Because I am a murderer. I kill for a living. An assassin. I'm not a nice person, Ka-go-me." The pirestess shivered at the sound of her name.
"I don't fight on the side of justice or love. I don't protect people. I'm the bad guy. I'm the one you cry yourself to sleep at night for because if you show weakness, I'll kill you." He leaned back, his face inches from hers. "And now you know the truth. What will you do?"
She knew what scare tactics were and how to use them, but for the first time, Kagome was really truly afraid of Itachi. This side of him was sinister, dark, angry. And had she not met him in that drugstore so long ago, she would be inclined to think that this was his true nature. But, because of that one incident with the Nail Polish...
"If... " she started, swallowed, then continued in a stronger voice, "If you were really that bad, I wouldn't be here right now. You would have killed me already. If you were really as evil as you say you are, you wouldn't keep coming back to see me. You wouldn't have taken care of me when I got sick. You wouldn't have pulled me out of the way of that vegetable cart. You wouldn't have come looking for me when I was at the well last time. You would slit my throat right now for being so impudent; for being so trusting."
How could she believe all those things? How could she stand there so calmly, when all he wanted to do was scream and rage and scare her away? How could she just stay?
How was she right?
Itachi swallowed, realizing the fact that she wasn't going anywhere. For some reason, she wanted to stay. He couldn't even begin to fathom the type of devotion she was exhibiting. He didn't understand it. At all.
And he hated himself for the full blown curiosity she'd ignited within him. The need to know more about her. To have every single secret she kept locked away in his grasp. To know what she liked, what she hated. What made her afraid.
How could she...
Itachi chuckled, dropping her wrist like it was on fire and shaking his head. Suddenly, it all seemed pointless. How had it come this far? How had he not known? And he called himself a genius.
"Are you... okay?"
"... Yes." He couldn't believe he'd just had a mental breakdown. That he'd nearly killed one of the few people that called him friend. He was... ashamed of his actions.
"Are you sure?" She looked so afraid; as though he would shatter again with just the wrong words. In a way, that was how he felt. All the fight was gone; he felt completely drained.
"... I'll... manage," he muttered finally, avoiding her blue eyes guiltily.
"But you know, if you need me," she pulled him down and wrapped her arms around his neck to hug him, "I'm right here."
He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then he shakily released the breath he'd been holding and awkwardly held her back, resting his face in the crook of her shoulder. She rubbed his back gently, muttering soothing words meant to calm him down.
"It's okay. " But it wasn't. It was not okay.
Because now, he was completely attached.
Now, he was going to truly hurt her and himself in the end. Because, no matter what Kagome came to mean to him, he would always choose his brother. That was the inevitable end result.
After all, that was the plan.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
A/N: And ta-da! Nothing like a good dose of angst to mix things up a bit. I feel a bit evil. Sorry guys, it's not all going to be fun and games. I blame the mindset I had to get into for Vampire Knight. They're always so angst in there.
Next update will be on Christmas Eve Day! Please be on the lookout!
A thank you is always appreciated by any author. Including me. Please be kind and leave a review. That way, I know you're still out there! Until next time!