Glow of a Sharingan Pt.1

It was a beautiful sunset. The sun, still bright, but slowly turning warm orange, was streaming its rays through round, fluffy clouds coloring them purple and golden, creating an aureole of a heavenly light. The silvery water of a river was shimmering with the last reflections of an ending day.

Itachi sat on a large boulder on a riverbank, watching the sun cast it's final goodbyes to the land below. A light breeze was running through his black hair, moving the flaps of his cloak. Sunsets always brought a yearning to his heart. There was something in the colors of a dying sun that reminded him how fragile life was, how little it took to extinguish the light in somebody's eyes. The sunset was just like this on that fateful day too…

The sound of careful footsteps and ruffling of leaves caught Itachi's attention, but he didn't look back. He knew who that was.

"Do you want something?" he asked, his voice showing nothing more than reserved politeness.

"I want to ask you a question, Itachi." A female voice came from behind him. "Tell me, why did you let your brother live? Why didn't you kill him with the others that night? You could have done him a favor."

Itachi turned around and looked at a young woman standing beside him with a stern expression on her face. A pained surprise flashed in his eyes as he continued watching her in silence.

She felt her determination faltering slightly. Those eyes… It seemed hard to concentrate under that gaze. But since she came this far, there was no way back. For a long time now she was preparing herself for this conversation. She wasn't even sure why it mattered to her to confront him. The injustice done, that must be it.

"I know you had your orders, so why didn't you follow them through?" she went on, trying to keep her voice steady. "Was it because you loved your brother that much? Then you should have let him die!"

It seemed even the wind stopped blowing scared off by the intensity of her words. She paused, then continued in a low voice. "I understand the terrible burden you took on by agreeing to execute your clan. Torn between the loyalty to your village and your family, you had no choice. It's not easy throwing your life away when it looked so promising, turning your back on everything you held dear and going down the path you wouldn't wish your worst enemy. That takes a lot of courage. You are a very brave man, Itachi."
"But courage itself doesn't ensure the right decisions. What went through your mind as you watched your little brother standing there, with the dead bodies of mom and dad at his feet, slowly realizing who killed them? Was it the concern for his wellbeing that was guiding your actions? He was just a little wide-eyed boy, seeking love and recognition, looking up to his big brother, adoring and secretly envying him. He wanted nothing more but your care and attention. That's why his world was shattered the moment he looked into your eyes and saw Death looking back at him."

Itachi's eyes started glowing red, yet he didn't say a word. She felt chills running down her spine. Sharingan. The dreaded and wondrous power. Itachi was a man of mystery that she didn't think she wanted to solve. But there was something about him, something that bothered her for no apparent reason. Maybe she just didn't want him to be evil, silliness like that. Too much death and betrayal around, too much pain and cold-heartedness. Itachi killed his whole clan, still he let his brother Sasuke live. It would seem like an act of kindness, but was it really?..

"You had a choice there, Itachi. You could've told him the truth, yet you decided not to. It seemed better for you to make him resent you. Why? You doomed your brother to grow up in the world of emptiness and hatred, only to fall prey to someone like Orochimaru, who took advantage of Sasuke's obsession with revenge and turned him into a monster. Did you really think he would be fine if you left him like that? Or were you just savoring your role as a martyr?!"

She suddenly realized she might have gone too far. Her heart skipped a beat as she was preparing for the worst, but nothing happened. Itachi sat frozen like a statue, only his eyes reflecting a turmoil of emotions she couldn't read into. She wondered why he wasn't responding to anything she said. He could have told her to stop, or defended himself, or… She didn't want to think of other things this man was capable of. Fear and frustration inside her were growing into a strange mix, her body started shaking as she stood there looking at him. Suddenly he turned away.

Every word she said was piercing Itachi like a thousand swords. How did she know such things he could only guess. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift back into the past where it was living all these years anyway. Why didn't he kill his brother? Why indeed…

Itachi remembered it all like it was yesterday. The peaceful life he had with his family; ninja academy; his friends; his father's face, so strict yet so proud of him; his mother's smile… The happy hours he spent playing with his brother… It was all gone. Gone in one terrible night. No matter how many times Itachi thought about it, he still felt helpless. He always had this sickening feeling that his fate was predetermined long before he was even born. He probably wasn't aware of it at first, not until he met him, the man in a mask. Who claimed to be Madara. Who claimed to be innocent. Itachi didn't believe a word he said. Madara was the beginning of a downfall of the Uchiha clan, it was him who unleashed the Nine Tail Fox on the village. So in a way it was Uchihas fault, they were too proud, too self absorbed to notice what was going on. Then it was already too late to do anything.

Itachi hated war, hated the bloodshed, yet he had to spill blood with his own hands. It seemed like it was happening in a haze. He remembered his body moving, his sword slashing, the blood splattering around, the screams… And still his mind was numb, detached, observing everything from a side. His house, it used to be so full of light, now was dark and cold, with the bodies of his parents laying on the floor. It could have been so easy to take his own life and follow them… But his work wasn't done yet. He had to wait for one more person. Sasuke. He heard his brother's footsteps in a hall; there he was, opening the kitchen door, calling for mom and dad, then staring at him in disbelief. So small, scared and defenseless. Foolish little brother… At that moment Itachi felt something snapping inside of him. His mind, that remained in a dreamy state all this time, suddenly became clear. He couldn't do it. No, he wasn't going to. Almost instinctively he used Mangekyo genjutsu on the boy. Let him see it, let him feel it. Let him fill up with hate. The plan hatched in Itachi's mind, the same one he was following till this day. He didn't kill his brother, no - he made him an avenger. The one who will do what he couldn't do. The one who will come for him some day and make him pay for all he's done. Stupid plan…

Why does it hurt so much? Itachi opened his eyes, slowly coming back to reality. The voice, that was somewhere in the background all this time, was gradually getting louder.

"…and if you knew it all, why didn't you kill him then?" That girl. It was like the voice of his conscience coming alive. He couldn't take it anymore.

"It's enough now." She almost jumped when Itachi suddenly turned around in a flash. The red glow of his Sharingan intensified as the pattern in his eyes started to change. She knew what he was about to do. He was going to unleash Mangekyo on her. Her body stiffened, while her mind was working frantically. She was begging for the response, now she got it, he obviously reached his limit. Is that it? On the other hand, why would he open up to her? Nobody knew much about him, not even his partner. And still she felt let down. Some sort of righteous anger stirred inside her. She lifted her chin up.

"You can torture me if you like, but that won't change the things that you've done. Or rather the things that you didn't do." She turned around, her long hair making a wave in the air, and walked away. She was sure Itachi was going to stop her, but he let her go. His Sharingan disappeared yielding his eyes to their natural color as he kept on looking the direction she had gone, seemingly lost in thought.

The man in a mask walked out from behind the trees and stood beside Itachi, crossing his arms on his chest.

"This girl, how much does she know?" he asked, looking the same direction Itachi did.

"She knows everything." Itachi whispered, blinking his eyes, snapping out of his thoughts. Without saying anything else he turned around and looked again at the setting sun barely hanging above the horizon, its golden shadow rippling on the surface of the dark water. Just like that day…