Chapter Text
You have two options.
Itachi Uchiha could hear his feet slam into the pavement as he ran towards the Uchiha section.
“Come on, come on,” he growled to himself, “Pick up the pace, Itachi.” He was going to get there in time. He had to.
He needed to be fast enough to stop this from happening, or everything would go right down the drain. Danzo Shimura had taken everything away from him. He’d taken his loyalty to his family, the trust of his clan, his dedication to the village, and his free will.
Itachi had always had very little, always lived with what was given to him and nothing more. His emotions had always been muted, he had always been alone. He didn't put faith in much, didn't put hope in much. But Danzo had taken the little he had.
Everything he already mentioned and… He’d taken Itachi’s best friend. Itachi had lost his best friend .
You're my best friend and the only one I can count on. Protect the village and the Uchiha name.
He had lost Shisui- no, he had let Shisui die. Whether Shisui had really killed himself or Danzo was responsible, it didn't matter.
It was his fault, and all his parents cared about was the clan. But that didn't matter now. None of that mattered now. Danzo had asked him to kill his family, his own family.
He refused, he couldn't- he couldn't do it. Or, even scarier, he could. He could slip into the mask of an Anbu and pretend he was going about a mission, and that was probably what scared him the most. How easy it would be to say yes. To do the unthinkable. So before he could think about it further, he refused.
Which just meant that now Danzo was going to do it himself, he was going to have Anbu do it, but only if Itachi couldn't get there first.
The options were to kill his parents, and they would spare Sasuke, and he didn't know what it was. Maybe in another life he would have made that decision, but he couldn't now.
Not like this. If he killed his clan with his own hands, if he left everything behind, including his little brother… it would never end. He would never do that to Sasuke, even if he hardly ever cared about the people in his clan.
Sure, he knew their names, he knew some of the basics about them, but he hated his clan for so many reasons. But this shouldn't happen. This couldn't happen.
I don't even know if there is such a thing as justice in the shinobi world. We fight believing in our own justice. But if the enemy is doing the same thing, who's right?
“You were on the right track, Shisui,” Itachi muttered bitterly. He never should have chosen the Anbu over Shisui, because he was right, all those years ago. There was no justice in the ninja world, not like this. Not now, not with Danzo and the Elders and everyone who made this possible.
He ran and kept running, he ignored the pain in his lungs along the way. He ran past place after place, stores and residences belonging to people he’d seen. People he barely ever knew because of where his clan was confined. And the funny thing is that there was so much good in this village.
Smiling children and happy people, few homeless and few poor in their happy little village. But through all of that, he couldn't help but wonder exactly what had been done to keep it that way. How many massacres were there? How many had there been? What did the Anbu do, really?
Shisui had been right, Itachi should have listened to him. Rule from the shadows was no rule at all. Itachi crashed through the gates, staggering. He couldn't think, couldn't breath, couldn't do anything except run and keep running. He should be moving like a ninja, should be thinking like his training instructed.
But he couldn't, not with Shisui’s blood on his hands and the beating drum inside of his head. He called out as he ran past darkened houses, and saw the blood in the windows. He turned a corner and came upon the first body, quickly realizing that it was someone he knew.
“Yashiro,” he muttered under his breath.
Itachi shook him, tried to push on his chest for CPR, and quickly realized it was useless.
So Itachi stood up again, and continued. Once again, it was a bit alarming how easy it was for him to act like this was nothing but a mission, how easy it was for him to pretend this was like any Anbu mission.
Maybe it was because he hated Yashiro, but this wasn't what he wanted either.
The village anticipated a war, and then didn't even let the Uchiha’s attempt at one. They killed them in their own homes in the middle of the night, catching them unawares. They never had a chance. Yashiro never had a chance. Frustrated, he got back to his feet and kept going.
There were more bodies as he ran, and he only faltered upon seeing one of them. He dropped to his knees immediately. Izumi. They had killed Izumi. The poor girl seemed to have something like a crush on him since fucking grade school, and now she was dead.
Everyone was dead, it looked like a ghost town. It had been too late and-
Don't cry, Sasuke. Your big brother is here to protect you, no matter what happens
His own voice echoed back at him through the haze. No. No no no! Itachi scrambled to his feet, turned down a corner towards his house. His parents were dead, he had a feeling they had gone for Fugaku first. He’d had many differences with his father, and it was his mother he’d miss the most.
Mikoto Uchiha would never make anyone’s lunch again, never look at their father like he was the only thing in the world, never smile at Itachi, never ruffle his hair. But Sasuke. Sasuke .
If they had gone after his parents first, that meant they had gone to his home, they had gone to where Sasuke had returned home to after school.
His parents were adults, they could protect themselves theoretically, even if they could die. But Sasuke was a child, Sasuke was far too young to protect himself. And Sasuke was his responsibility, his brother , the only thing that kept him in this nightmare of a clan and stopped him from leaving entirely.
And they were going to kill him. He picked up the pace, practically threw himself around the last bend and across the street. The door to his house was open, thrown wide, and his parents were dead on the floor, bloodied. He tried not to think about it, just two more bodies.
They didn't matter, but Sasuke wasn't among them. I was too late, his mind screamed. I was too late, I was too late, I- he heard it then, footsteps behind the house.
He heard voices and ducked behind a wall. Voices coming from the yard, outside just behind the house. On the porch probably.
“Where the hell is that little shit? He couldn't have gone far!” Itachi closed his eyes, exhaled. He could smell blood, but at least Sasuke was hiding somewhere. It hit him that this meant his parents were dead, but he was too numb and yet overcome with relief for it to hit home. But if Sasuke wasn't there, then where was he?
“He left because he was scared, dumbass,” said a second voice. “He was supposed to be taken out alongside the others. You took too long.”
“Oh fuck you!” the first one growled back. “I wasn't the only one that took way too long! We should have gone for the brat first, instead you insisted on-” Before Itachi had a chance to process any of that, there was a sound of something shifting. Itachi froze. The Anbu froze as well. The second one spoke.
“Did you hear...?” There was another sound, steps, and then-
Sasuke screamed, shrill fear laced in his voice.
“Would you tell him to shut-” Itachi saw red and that was that. He had both of his swords in hand in seconds and dove past the corner. His sharingan activated, and the world phased into slow motion for an instant. He had been right, Sasuke was hiding under the porch.
Smart kid. Too bad it didn't matter. There were two men outside, both pulling their own swords from their scabbards. One of them was standing to the side, and the other was dragging Itachi’s little brother from his hiding place by his wrist, the other hand pulling him by his hair. Itachi moved before he knew what was happening.
He elbowed the one holding Sasuke so he’d let go and collapse back into the grass, decapitating the second one with a single stroke. Itachi whirled to face the final person he’d just pushed, and he considered grilling him for information, but what would be the point?
So he murdered that one too, stabbed him in the center of his chest. Breathing hard, he let the body crumple and pulled his sword from it. Then he turned around.
Sasuke was sitting against the wall, breathing hard. His hair was fucked up, the shirt he wore was covered in blood, and his face was covered in bruises. But that's not what Itachi noticed first. Sasuke’s sharingan had been activated. Two tomoe, somehow.
Itachi took a step forward, but Sasuke flinched, throwing his hands in front of his face and clawing at the wall behind him, backing into it further, realizing he had nowhere to go.
Tears ran down his face. Disgust rose in Itachi's gut, as well as a few other emotions such as fear and some kind of fucked up rightous fury.
Sasuke could have died, he could have died, and there were so many emotions swirling through his head, vengeful and angry- but none of those were helpful right now, there would be time for that later. He tried to push those feelings aside.
Itachi dropped the sword in his hand immediately, putting his hands up.
Sasuke was shaking. Itachi dropped into a crouch slowly, making sure Sasuke could see every movement.
“Sasuke, it's me. It's- It's just me,” he said evenly, carefully. “It's Itachi.” Sasuke seemed to deflate, unfurl from the ball he had curled into. Itachi got closer and all Sasuke seemed to do was keep shaking. Itachi pulled his little brother into his arms, surprised at how light he was.
It was only a few seconds before Sasuke was sobbing into his shoulder.
“T-They killed them,” he rasped, burying his face in Itachi’s shirt. “They killed them, t-they killed, they killed, they killed mom and dad they killed them, Itachi, ‘tachi they, m-mom and dad are dead, they're d-dead I h-hid, and they, and they- I saw them-”
“I know,” Itachi said softly. “I know, Sasuke, I know. We have to go, it's not safe-
“I just sat there,” he whimpered, babbling, unable to stop. “I just sat there and l-let them kill them, I l-let them kill m-mom and dad, they're d-dead, i was useless, how could they k-kill them, they killed mom and dad, why ? Why w-would they, why ‘tachi why, why would- why, why Itachi-”
Sasuke’s voice broke and Itachi pulled him closer, almost fiercely. He stood up, carrying his little brother with him. There was a town just outside of the village, a little place with an inn. If he could get Sasuke there, they'd be somewhat safe.
From Konoha at least. From whatever else awaited them… he had no idea. Itachi didn't care anymore, not really. He would become a rogue ninja, very well then. Part of him always thought he’d end up like this anyway.
He hugged his brother close to him, let Sasuke sob hopelessly into his shirt. Itachi watched the moon with eyes as red as the blood they were both drenched in before he lept into the night.
Itachi didn't really think about it often, but he left his sword, refused the country that put it in his hand and chose his brother instead. He left his sword behind that day, along with a lot of things. Including pieces of himself.