Nightshift 44: M51-M60 Hallway

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

Sai changed quickly. Whether he was less emotionally stable that usual or not, he was far better off than he'd been the night before. He would perform the mission required of him tonight. It was nothing that should put anyone's lives at stake, and holing himself up would only decrease his ability to perform his duties later.

The vial of sedative was secured safely in the sweatshirt he used as a makeshift belt. It was important that he got the item to Sakura tonight. They might not get an opportunity to get hold of a replacement if this one was lost.

M90 was in the men's block in the opposite hall. He should make haste so that his teammate wasn't delayed.

[to here]

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Re: Inside M58

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

... and that was the end of the preliminaries. Sasuke had no further stipulations to use to stall the truth -- not that he wanted to, but -- there was a long pause after Jiraiya spoke while Sasuke steeled himself to have to speak the words out loud for the first time (and that made them real in a way that hearing them in Kakashi's voice didn't, made Sasuke's failure more stark and huge against the backdrop of silence in this room).

Sasuke stood abruptly, something about the way this space felt smaller and more of a cage when he could feel the delimitation of its size -- and because he didn't need support here, didn't want it and didn't deserve it.

Sasuke's village had killed his clan. Sasuke had killed his brother. Those were the facts, irrevocably.

"Konohagakure ordered the massacre of the Uchiha clan," he said, and his voice was steady without inflection. "Itachi was ordered to play a double agent and ultimately dispose of the entire clan. Konohagakure then labelled him an S-class criminal, a murderer of his own kin, and he had to flee the village and allow everyone to believe the lie."

Another pause, and then in the same flat, factual tone: "Including his brother."

Inside M58, FFFF sorry HARDEST REPLY EVER. OTL

[toadally4boobs.livejournal.com]

Jiraiya stiffened and stared at Sasuke like a criminal caught in the spotlight. Except he wasn't a criminal, and definitely not one that was part of the conspiracy, judging by the look of complete shock on his face. Not even Orochimaru's disappearance had taken him by so much surprise.

His first reaction was that Sasuke was lying. That Sasuke was trying to make something up to put a rift between Jiraiya and the rest of the village--more than there was already, anyways. It was easier to explain, easier to believe, because what Sasuke was telling him was incomprehensible. They ordered Itachi to murder his entire clan? And he had done it? But then--

"Why?" The question was out of his mouth before he knew he had asked it, and then he shut his mouth, still looking at Sasuke with outright shock.

He slowly thought over what he knew about Itachi. Itachi had been considered a prodigy before the massacre, and was one of the most brilliant shinobi that Konohagakure had seen in a very long time. People had said that he had crossed the line between genius and madness, and that had been the reason... but now, it almost made sense for it to be otherwise.

When he returned to Konoha to kidnap Naruto, not a single person had been killed. He could have easily done so, but he had not. And when Sasuke had followed Itachi in an attempt to kill him, Itachi avoided any sort of lethal blows. If he was truly insane, then why didn't he kill his brother? He could have fought much harder than he did back then, but instead, he had run away after a short battle.

Kakashi had told him about the next time they fought Itachi. Once again, Itachi had killed no one from the village. So then....

It made sense. What Sasuke said made sense. Almost. There were problems. Or, one big problem.

"But... even he wasn't strong enough to do it alone," Jiraiya stated, his shock slowly being replaced a grim expression. "If what you are saying is true... then how did you find out? He would have carried that secret to the grave."

There were too many questions. He knew that he was starting to believe Sasuke, and the questions were painful that he was asking.. but if Sasuke wanted him to answer questions, then he was going to have to give him more information to work with.

Re: Inside M58

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

Why, the man asked, as if that hadn't been the first question Sasuke had asked himself. The file had given just enough information to explain what had happened, but -- but why it had to have been the way it was, why it had to have ended in the annihilation of an entire clan, why it had to have used Itachi the way it had, those answers weren't available. Not unless Sasuke found someone who had actually been involved.

"The Uchiha were planning a coup," Sasuke explained shortly, hands loose by his sides out of sheer force of will. For the first time in a while he wished for the ease of carrying a blade, the convenience of having something on which to rest his hands, to give them purpose instead of being forced to let them dangle without threat or action. "Konohagakure saw fit to kill every member of the clan, using Itachi, in order to prevent it."

No wonder nobody had ever discouraged Sasuke from forming his life around seeking out Akatsuski and killing Itachi -- it would have sealed the silence about the Uchiha massacre with a finality unattainable otherwise, because Jiraiya was right. Itachi had taken the secret to his grave.

Had hidden the truth from Sasuke, allowed his foolish little brother to believe in the village that had betrayed them instead of the brother who had sacrificed himself to keep him alive.

"The file Landel's kept about his so-called delusions," Sasuke said, the tone of his voice recognising the irony of it. Truth hidden beneath lies; hadn't Itachi said something about how easily flawed a reality could be, depending on the perception of it? But Sasuke had never been smart enough, never --

He forced his thoughts away from the subject and waited for Jiraiya's reaction. What the Sannin did now would decide whether Sasuke would mention Madara, or indeed anything else he had learned -- and whether Sasuke would be able to trust any information he might give.