[FFML] [Naruto][Spamfic] The Truth

[Aaron Nowack]

Yeah... I think I'll just let this one speak for itself.  Hopefully, it
will inspire a chuckle, or at least a groan.

The Truth
A Naruto Fanfic
By: Aaron Nowack

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Disclaimer: Unless I've been transported to an alternate dimension,
Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi.  This story, however, is mine, to
my eternal shame.  Any resemblance to canon - past, present, or future -
is entirely accidental.
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        Uchiha Itachi coughed up blood as his younger brother removed
his hand from the infamous missing ninja's ribcage.  His black, almost
blind, eyes closed.  "It's finally over," he said, no emotion but
tiredness showing in his flat voice.
        "No," Sasuke growled, staring at his bloody hand.  The dark
marking of Orochimaru's Heaven Seal flickered, then retracting.  "It
doesn't end this way," he stated, his hands glowing green and pressing
against the gaping hole his Chidori had made only a moment ago.
        Itachi shuddered as the cold burning of healing chakra flooded
into him.  "Why?" he gasped out weakly.  "Why are you saving me?"
        "You don't get to die," Sasuke informed his brother.  "Not until
I know."
        "Know what?" Itachi asked.
        "Until I know why," Sasuke snarled.  "Until I know why you did
it.  Why you killed them."
        Itachi let out a bark of sudden, mad laughter.  "You... you
don't know?"
        Sasuke stopped what he was doing, the green chakra fading from
his hands.  "Of course not!"
        "You..." Itachi's growl was angry, and Sasuke almost jumped back
at the unexpected display of emotion.  The older Uchiha's eyes opened
once more, impossibly forming the crimson Sharingan one last time and
catching Sasuke's own eyes.  "I'll show you why!  Mangekyou Sharingan!"

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        A much younger Sasuke smiled up at a much younger Itachi, who
offered his sibling a hand up with a smile of his own.  "Wow, big
brother," Sasuke said as he accepted Itachi's help and stood.  "You're
awesome!"
        Itachi shrugged, laughing self-deprecatingly.  "I'm just older
than you, Sasuke.  You haven't even been to the academy yet."
        An oddly thoughtful look appeared on Sasuke's face.  "Hey,
Shisui-kun's a month older than you!  Does that mean he's better than
you?"
        "Hmm... maybe," Itachi said.  "We haven't fought since he beat
me in the Chuunin Exams, and that was years back."
        "I bet you could beat him!" Sasuke said enthusiastically.
"You're the best ninja in the world!"
        Itachi laughed again.  "Not even close," he said.  "You saw
Orochimaru-sama when that Sand spy tried to assassinate Father."
        Sasuke frowned briefly.  "All right," he said, "you might not be
the best ninja in the world yet, but I still say you could beat Shisui-
kun."
        "All right," Itachi said, with yet another laugh.  "Just for
you, I'll train really hard for the next week, and then I'll challenge
Shisui to a duel, and we'll see who wins."
        "You're the best big brother ever!"
        "That, I won't argue with," Itachi said with a wide grin.  "Come
on, I'll give you a piggyback ride back home."
        "Yay!"

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        "I hope you're happy," Itachi grumbled.
        "Of course I am," Sasuke said, giving his big brother a hug.
"You beat Shisui-kun!"
        "That I did," Itachi said.  "Of course, we were both in the
hospital for a week, and now Shisui's challenging me to a rematch twice
a day..."
        "He'll get over it," Sasuke promised.
        "Yeah," Itachi agreed after a moment.  "It'll take a little
while, but we've always been friends."  He laughed.  "Come on, Sasuke,
it's time to go home."
        "Piggyback!" Sasuke demanded.
        "No, not this time," Itachi said.  "I'm still a little sore."
At the pout on Sasuke's face, he added, "I'll hold your hand."
        Sasuke took his brother's hand.  A few moments later, he asked,
"Do you think you could beat Dad?"
        "No way," Itachi said flatly.  "Father is almost as strong as
the Hokage."
        "Only almost?" Sasuke asked.  "But he doesn't have the
Sharingan!"
        "The Sharingan is powerful," Itachi allowed, "but it doesn't
make you a god."
        "So, who's the strongest ninja you could beat, then?" Sasuke
asked.
        "Besides Shisui?"
        "You already beat him," Sasuke said dismissively.
        "Hmm... probably Uncle Teyaki or Aunt Uruchi.  They both used to
be really powerful jounin, before they retired, but they're older and
out of practice now."
        "What about both of them at once?"
        Itachi was silent a moment.  "Probably not," he said.  "They
were a team."
        "I bet you could if you worked at it!"
        Itachi laughed, but then his voice turned serious.  "You know,
it probably wouldn't be bad training, and they'd be happy to help me.
So, sure.  I'll train with them until I can beat them both at once."
        "You're the best big brother ever!"

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        "What about Yashiro-san and Tekka-san?"
        "Father's teammates in the military police?"
        "Yeah, could you beat them?"

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        "What about Mother?"

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        "How about Father?"

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        "Mother and Father?"

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        "Mother, Father, and your ANBU teammates?"

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        "Come on, Sasuke," Itachi said flatly.  "I'll walk you to
school."
        Sasuke frowned up at his elder brother.  Itachi had been so...
depressed since Shisui had gone away to some training ground in the sky
or something after their last rematch.  It was his duty as a younger
brother to cheer him up, and Itachi always laughed when he suggested
someone stronger for him to fight!  "Say, do you think you could beat
all the military police at once?"
        Itachi didn't laugh.  "Sasuke," he said seriously.
        "What is it, big brother?"
        "Why do you always want me to fight stronger and stronger
people?"
        Sasuke did laugh.  "Because I'm going to be the best ninja
ever!"
        "Huh?"
        "The best ninja has to be able to beat everyone else," Sasuke
explained slowly.  "But that takes a long time.  So I'll have you beat
everyone else, and then I just have to beat you!"
        Itachi twitched.  "That's why."
        "Yep!"
        "That's why Shisui -"
        "Don't get so upset, big brother!" Sasuke interrupted.
        Itachi glanced down at him, and his eyes were crimson.  "How
about this?" he said dangerously.  "I'll just go back and kill all the
rest of the clan at once, except for you, to prove I'm the best Uchiha.
Then I'll run away and find Orochimaru, and team up with him, learning
all his techniques until I'm strong enough to defeat him.  Then I'll
just wander the world, finding strong ninja and killing them until
you're old and strong enough to beat me.  Then, everyone will agree that
you're the best ninja, and only a few hundred people including our whole
family will have to die."
        "That'd be awesome!" Sasuke said.
        Itachi gave him a stare.  "Fine," he said, anger boiling under
the tight control that kept his voice flat.  "I'll go get started, then.
You can walk the rest of the way yourself."
        "Sure," Sasuke said, giving Itachi a cheery wave as he walked
off.  "You're the best big brother ever!"

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Author's Random Ramblings

This idea is my sister's fault.  Blame her, not me.  And I would have
forgotten it entirely if she hadn't asked me whether I had written this
story yet.

-- 
           Aaron Nowack
"Never let reality get in the way of a good hypothesis."
http://www.mimiru.net/