Update? Who? What? Me? No. Of course not. XD FYI Itachi is 22, Sasuke 17.

Metamorphosis

Chapter XI

Return

"For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return." - Leonardo da Vinci.

When the war had finally finished, Itachi hadn't felt relieved. He hadn't felt happy, nor victorious: he hadn't even felt sad. Just... empty. Almost as empty as the corpses that littered the fields where he had fought.

It had taken him awhile to realise that it was over, and that they had won. They had triumphed over the Country of Sound and the Country of Earth, and the main instigator in the war from the opposing side's body was found dead in his own room. Charred to bits. People supposed it was suicide, and that he did it because he couldn't take the weight of his own failure; of course, conspiracy theories followed - maybe he wasn't actually dead and had disappeared - whatever the case, it didn't change the most important fact: the war was over.

Itachi had lost count of the amount of people he'd killed, but he was well aware that it was at least over one hundred. Probably over two hundred, too. It would be well over five hundred if he counted the amount of people he killed indirectly - though well devised plans and schemes. Throughout it all, his rank had been raised extremely high - he was one of the most well known generals and war-leaders in the war. Praised. Praised for killing.

It was disgusting.

But it was over. And that's what was most important. It was time to return - return home - return to where his family was. Be aware that he was one of the few that was able to do so - so many others were killed.

And while his family would be crying tears of joy when he returned home all safe and in one piece and displaying badges of honour on his chest, he knew that other families would be crying tears of sorrow knowing that their men would never be returning - they'd forever be buried deep underground. That was if they were lucky, and the bodies were found - some, it was not so - they didn't even have a body to bury.

But that was besides the point - he was just glad that he'd be able to see Sasuke again. Even though he was beyond certain that his little brother didn't miss him as much as Itachi did. That was okay, though - it was understandable. Even though Itachi did his best to be a good example for his little brother, he knew he might have overdone it - and in the process, pressurised Sasuke to be like him.

When he finally did return - one month after the war actually finished (as a major general, he had to stay to wrap everything up) - his family greeted him with smiles and tears, just like Itachi imagined they would.

Mikoto had been crying and laughing at the same time. "I was so scared that you were going to die, Itachi! But you didn't! And you're so esteemed now - you're our pride and joy! I'm so proud of you!" And then she had given him the biggest bear hug he had ever experienced in his life. His mother obviously wasn't aware of what happened on the battlefield, Itachi thought bitterly. Obviously wasn't aware of the horrors he'd seen and experienced. But that was okay. It was good that she had no idea - it was good because other people didn't have to know. Such things were better kept a secret.

His father had been more stoic - but still proud. Itachi could see it gleam in his father's dark, dark eyes - and in the past, Itachi might have felt happy if he hadn't felt so heavy. Too heavy - was his father proud that he killed so many people? That now he was a complete monster? But the question he asked almost caught him off guard- "Do you regret it?"

Regret? Did he regret having going to war? Did he regret having to kill so many people? Yes, he did - he was certain he did. But he would've regretted it more if he'd stayed back and stayed ignorant while other people went to fight where he had been too cowardly to. So, in short, "No. I don't regret it."

"Good. Welcome back, Itachi." Fugaku then smiled before pulling Itachi into a hug, too. Not quite as tight as his mother's, but tight enough. Tight enough.

Sasuke was the last to greet him. Itachi could sense jealousy mixed in with his joy - but he was joyful, and that was all that mattered. And to see his stoic and distant brother giving him a hug and expressing the fact that he'd been missed - it really had made Itachi feel warm. A lot warmer than usual.

All of his other relatives had seem exhilarated at his return, too - claiming that they were all boasting of him whenever talking to other people. That an Uchiha had actually won esteemed awards and become a highly respected general - it was news enough to make all the other four remaining families jealous!

To be quite honest, Itachi couldn't care less - the more he matured and grew in age, the more he understood how truly shallow his relatives were - in a very bad day.

But the first day he had returned, with shiny badges and good news, was a good day. Itachi hadn't sensed anything out of the ordinary.

It was the second day that things started getting strange. It wasn't anything major - but it was there. This strange tenseness in the air - and he didn't sense it in his mother - no, it was predominately with his father and Sasuke.

Why?

No, more precisely, what the hell was going on?

It was the third day he learned something that made Itachi furious. No, it made him beyond furious - way beyond angry.

While he had been away at war, Fugaku had taken it upon himself to teach Sasuke the family business. It was everything that Itachi wanted to avoid - what was wrong with Shisui? Why couldn't Shisui inherit the family business - why did Sasuke have to be taught? Wasn't he way to young - he was only seventeen, for Christ's sake.

Itachi hadn't thought that Fugaku would have the gall to teach Sasuke about somethings so dirty at such a young age - a very large miscalculation. Now, if he would have known that, would he had gone to war?

But what's done was done. No, even though he clearly had to have a talk with his father - there was something that was bothering him, even now. Because five days after he had returned, the strange air he had sensed on his second day back still hadn't disappeared. It was still there, lying underneath the surface - and as much as Itachi tried to find out, he still couldn't discover who and what was causing it.

But it was merely a week after Itachi had returned that his father had been shot.

Cliffy. Wow that was badly written. But I think I got what I wanted to across.

Thoughts? Reviews? Aurora.