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Chapter Text

This is decidedly fucked. That is all he can say to describe this situation. Honestly, it's actually a little worse than fucked but one makes do with what words they have at their disposal. After all, how does one define watching a teenager massacre a whole clan of people? The screams that are torn out of the throats of parents as their children are gutted like fish is too much for him and like the coward he is, he closes his eyes desperately wishing that when he opens them again it will all have been a dream and he won't be here anymore. Because if he is still here when he reopens them, he will kill himself before he lives out Sasuke fucking Uchihas fate.

He doesn't know how long he spent curled up on the hard dirt with his eyes closed to the tragic event happening. He presses his hands forcefully against his ears, rocking himself back and forth and back and forth and chanting in his mind ‘It will be over soon. It will be over soon’. As much as he would like to remain in denial forever the thick, pungent, metallic scent of blood defiles his nose and clogs his throat. He feels like the victims of this massacre are trying to avenge themselves as they claw their way into his body and threaten to make him choke on their suffering. He may not have killed them, may not have been the one to bring about their deaths, but he made no attempt to stop it. No matter how vain it would have been in the end what type of person, no what type of monster, does not even give the pretence of attempting to help.

His mental breakdown and frantic whispering of ‘i'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry ’ are cut off by a sudden sharp pain in his neck. When despite the pressure of the object, which he is certain is a sword, and the blood slowly oozing down his neck, he still refuses to open his eyes, the person begins to speak. Sasuke would recognise the sound of Itachi's voice anywhere even when his hearing feels as if he is submerged underwater. However, Sasuke is a coward and refuses to see nor hear any evil. That evil being the 13-year-old staring at him blankly. 

"Sasuke, I never expected you to be this weak. Snivelling on the floor like a coward. What would our parents say?" Itachi coldly questioned. His voice seemed to almost echo in the vast emptiness. Not even a cricket made a sound as if they too were holding their breath in anticipation.

In Sasuke's opinion (identity crisis incoming), Itachi is a bitch. Who kills their parents and then shames their little brother for not being able to stop it? This is undoubtedly gaslighting. He is getting gaslit by a 13-year-old. Sasuke does not know why those cruel comments ring repeatedly in his ears or why, despite his eyes remaining closed, he is brutally assaulted by the savage scenes from earlier: of kids, babies even, eyes still open wide, with the remnants of the terror and horror they experienced splashed across their face. All the while they lay in a pool of their own blood, limbs splayed out like puppets with their strings cut. And all Sasuke can feel is rage. Cold, furious rage.

Sasuke doesn't cope well with rage. He has always been one to react first and then think even before he was forced into this horrific dream (because that is what it has to be). It's fine if he is in this situation, it wasn't his parents, his family, that was killed. So why? Why are his eyes welling up with tears and why can't he breathe? It feels as if his ribs have cracked and pierced unrelentingly into his heart. These can't be his emotions, he had no emotional connection with the clan. So apparently now he has to deal with Sasuke's trauma too. 

Sasuke opens his eyes and glares into Itachis. Itachi isn't visibly affected by this development but if you focus you can see his eyes slightly widen in surprise at the snarl that contorts Sasuke's baby face into an animalistic rage.

Sasuke is gonna regret this but this is for the little 8-year-old who had to watch his older brother ruin their clan. Itachi had a reason, sure. But does that reason eliminate the ordeal Sasuke went through? This is for the child who lived alone in a compound haunted by the ghosts of his failures. So he squares his shoulders and looks Itachi dead in his red pinwheeled eyes.

"Go.Fuck.Yourself." Sasuke snarls spitefully. He recklessly shoves his neck further on the blade and slices his neck before Itachi can respond. Fuck his plans . Sasuke is not getting put in a Tsukuyomi for 3 days.

The pain rippling through his body and the blood gushing down his neck is worth the look of agony that crosses Itachi's face. He knows deep inside that Itachi is just another victim who fell for the mechanisms of old men but Sasuke was his brother. Older brothers are meant to be the ones who pick up the pieces of their siblings not further crush them.

So yeah it's petty of Sasuke to do this. To hurt Itachi in the only way he knows how. He understands Itachi is hurting too but he really doesn't wanna live out Sasuke's life. He doesn't want to learn how to slaughter others all because of a fucked up system that doesn't bother to redeem itself. That is content with forcing kids to abide by propaganda and continue a cycle of violence. 

Sasuke refuses to become another murderer for the sake of a village that would forsake a clan for wanting more. For wanting to feel appreciated and that they belong in the very village they helped protect.

So yeah it's cruel to do this to Itachi, to take his last living member of his family from him. But Sasuke is greedy and selfish. He doesn't want his hands to be coloured red and he doesn't want to deal with the fucked up plot that is Naruto. 

He blearily opens his eyes when Itachi clutches him desperately and watched the teenager shakily puts pressure on the wound. It's funny. These kids are taught to cause these injuries but never how to fix them. The gurgled laugh that bursts out of his throat at the thought leads to a sharp, agonising burst of pain. He is brought out of his thoughts by Itachi.

"Sasuke, what have you done?!" The older boy whispers anguished. Sasuke is a sight to see. His small body is carefully held in Itachis arm (because Itachi is and has always been a gentle soul despite everything) like a prized possession. 

He dazedly reaches up and pats Itachi's cheek, smudging blood on his face. "Aniki, it's ok. I'm gonna see Kaa-chan and Otō-san again," Sasuke smiles gently. Or as gentle as one can smile with blood staining their teeth and leaking down their face. Beauty is pain and all that.

The last thing he sees before he closes his eyes and welcomes the oncoming darkness is the wretched, broken look on Itachi's face. 

Chapter Text

Sasuke is disappointed to say the least when he feels himself coming to. His fingers twitch against the itchy bed sheets as he tries not to scream against the unfairness of it all. The grief and rage tumbling around in his chest like a tornado makes it hard to breathe and Sasuke wishes that he would just stop all together.

Eventually all the anger and grief leaves and all that is left is a deep, gnawing emptiness. For everything he and Sasuke have lost. Sasuke doesn't even know if he has the energy to feel anything anymore.

It seems like Itachi will never let Sasuke be free of his grasp. He doesn't know whether Itachi thinks letting him live is a kindness or he really does want Sasuke to suffer.

He would have liked to lie there forever, eyes blind to everything around him. It'd be nice. No more pain, no more bloodshed. No more of this wretched village that takes and takes and takes. Of someone who by the course of being older thinks they hold some ownership of his destiny.

Sasuke frankly thinks fuck that. They want to cage him up as the last Uchiha? To force him to remain in this corrupt village and fight for them? He will do everything in his power to make sure that he will never live long enough to become a tool for this village.

Sasuke doesn't know if his suicide not sticking is a result of weird ninja powers or whether some power beyond his grasp wants Sasuke to stay here and fill in for this stupid, shitty plot. But Sasuke is gonna fuck this shit up.

They keep healing him? He'll keep killing himself so there'll be no time to get the plot moving. They want him to have offspring? Sasuke will dismember himself. Itachi wants him to go on a wild fucking goose chase for him so he can fufill whatever destiny Itachi seeks? Sasuke will never think of him again.

Sasuke doesn't have much left in this world. But what he does have is his spite . And that is all he needs.

And so he waits. Patience is a virtue after all.

When the door creaks open and the Hokage enters his hospital room, Sasuke is not shocked at the lack of respect or courtesy shown. No knocking on the door to inform what they think is a traumatised child of their leader's visit. Why should they? After all Hiruzen Sarutobi's arrival is not a visit of a concerned and well intended village leader. This is a warning .

The Hokage for all he gives off the impression of a senile, gentle old man is the sharpest weapon in the village. You would have to be to rise to the position Hiruzen is in and still pretend innocence is a thing he can even understand anymore.

He seems surprised ( irritated ) that Sasuke is awake and  almost expectant of this ambush. The Hokage doesn't like losing the element of surprise. If Sasuke was not looking for it and thought the farce of a grandfatherly man was convincing he would miss the way the Hokages hands flex against his cane in annoyance and how a barely visible line appears on his forehead before being smoothed over as if it was never there.

Sasuke is looking though and he is thoroughly entertained. The one thing old, white men in power have in common is that they always underestimate those beneath them. Had Sasuke been anyone but the now orphaned 8 year old he is, it would be doubtful to say the least that the Hokage would have even let those little tells through. But arrogance blinds those who believe themselves above it.

And that is what Sasuke is relying on. 

"Ah Sasuke, you have awakened," the Hokage says, smiling gently. Honestly creepy as shit. That perfected warm smile makes goosebumps appear on his body. Sasuke immediately shivers, not in fright, but in disgust . This man, instead of coming to another solution, weighed his clan's lives and future against the villagers' and found them lacking . 

For all that the Uchiha massacre was outside of his control, he watched their spirits die long before they were murdered. As Hokage he failed them. He let them be shunned and judged by the villagers til the only way they felt they could be seen was through a coup. Hiruzen may be old, but that doesn't necessarily equate to wiseness.

The Hokage may not have been the one to wield the blade, but he sentenced those 2000 Uchihas to death. All for the greater good. Sasuke is so fucking tired of the greater good.

When Sasuke just stares back at him blankly, the black colour of his eyes reminiscent of a black hole, Hiruzen is only a little unsettled. His eyes are dark and so very empty. As if he is no longer a child but just an empty shell. And Hiruzen feels pity. The striking scar that shines against the pale neck of the Uchiha boy is just another reminder of how Hiruzen has failed. 

But regrets don't change the past and what's done is done. All that could be will never come about and all that's left is the broken boy in front of him. But as a Hokage he has a duty to this village and that overcomes any sorrow he has towards the actions taken. 

Sasuke Uchiha is the last loyal Uchiha. And he will become a loyal ninja and protect this village.

If Sasuke could hear these thoughts he would laugh. And laugh. And laugh. 

Right now all Sasuke can see is the old man staring at him in pity. As if he is some injured animal and not a person, a child . His hands roughly grasp the hospital sheets and he squeezes until he loses sensation in his fingers. Sasuke has plans and he will not be able to achieve them if he lets himself break now.

So he breathes in and puts on his best fucking performance.