The almost carefree moment was quickly washed away when we spotted, out of the corner of our eyes, a black blur and a small streak of red dart away at a blinding speed. I turned my head to Kurama who nodded in verification of the sighting as we moved to chase the unknown. I twisted and turned around corners of houses' blood painted walls, my feet nimbly dodged the bodily extremities strewn about the complex in pursuit of the nearing blur. I followed along the possible mass murderer until my patience for his not so amusing game of chase ran out. I morphed several hand-signs in a rushed fury as I shouted, "Water Style; Serpentine Constriction!" Water from the lake shot outwards like lightning as it quickly wrapped around the suspect, starting by swirling around their left leg and working it's way up in a spiral pattern in mere seconds. It suddenly constricted against its victim, causing it to fall to the ground with an uncomfortable thud. As it hit the ground, it disappeared in a cloud of smoke, a log in the su*ious figure's place. I hustled past the substitution with Kurama trailing behind me, but I was faster than the aged Kitsune. In an irritated vigor, I turned abruptly and jumped onto the figure who had not been expecting me to sense him and flipped him around, placing a kunai at his neck as his mask slipped off, tumbling to the side as the me and the captured stared each other eye to eye. Itachi's hard gaze pierced me, as I glared back into his crimson orbs- refusing to demean myself by looking away from my friend's eyes. I nearly grimaced at the sight of him below me. "Kill first, question later!" Kurama announced behind me, thirty feet away from us. Aggravated, I activated my mirrors and a thirty by thirty foot square enclosure enveloped us, locking Kurama put. Returning my attention back to the man underneath me, a strange twist in my chest pulled at me. Here I was, about to murder the only man that hadn't abandoned me in this lifetime. Where others had left, given up, or grown to hate me, Itachi was a comrade through it all. Even my family and who I considered as such proved themselves to be lower than * in the times they didn't know I could hear them. But alas, here we were. Betrayer and the betrayed. Friends now enemies.But that's what the council would like me to think, no?I'd made it a point to always defy the old fools in every way possible. I wasn't going to play the act as an innocent little snot-nosed brat who dreamed about becoming Hokage and serving the village like they wanted me to. No, they'd treated me like a wild animal. A beast.So a beast was what they'd get.The best way to defy them, I'd learned, was to question them. Question their actions, their decisions, their authority. Question the unquestionable.So that's what I did as neither me nor Itachi made no move to break out staring contest, while Kurama barked orders at me to finish him behind the barrier, his commands falling on deaf ears. It was because the council had chained collars and chains on us like the dogs they thought we were. But I knew better. Itachi knew better.We'd never be dogs who heeled and sat at their command.We were rabid wolves that they couldn't contain.That's why we were expendable.That's why we didn't break our gaze. Itachi was telling me to question this. Question it like I'd told him to question his own life long ago. I didn't need him to spell it out for me, but I had my own inquiries for him that I wouldn't give up on. "Do it." I demanded him, a silent warning flashing in my eyes that told him to try otherwise. Not uttering a word, he hesitated but the world still morphed around us, forming a hellish reality.The black clouds orbited the red expanse, the gravitational crystal land mirroring the vermilion view. We sat apart from each other, nothing but a few feet separating us. He stood tall, his stoic features looking down upon my kneeling form, chains bound my wrists and ankles into the almost water-like reflationary surface. My eyes were glowing, hair long and wild with side *s that resembled the Fourth's, the long strands in layers laid like Madara's, but the hair only shadowed small bits of my shining irises, their fearsome show out for all to see. We stayed there like that for hours, not a word spoken. It was quiet until he broke our silence. "Aren't you afraid? This is the world of my own imagining, I can torture you without killing you, you know. And there's nothing you can do to fight it." He stated, but made no notion to wish any movement. I shrugged, the chains rattling at the small action as a nonchalant frown complemented my bored eyes. "Nah. You have no need to. I don't have anything of value to you, and I can't spill any secrets either ever since this-" I opened my mouth momentarily, *ing out my tongue to show the seal imprinted on it. "- happened. Besides, it's me who'll be holding the interrogation." I announced, standing up despite the strain of the iron, wrenching more of the metal out of the ground. Itachi stared at me incredulously, his optics following my movements.Silence nearly ensued a second time at the wordless persona of the waiting Uchiha who gave no implications to comfort my speech. "So, you found out too, huh? The council made you even more of a dog than you originally were, hm?" I implied, a small smile gracing my face for a nonexistent reason. "I have no clue what you mean." The Uchiha prodigy denied. I lost my smile at his obvious farce, tired of beating around the bush. "Let me rephrase the question, then. How'd you find out about the coup d'etat, Itachi?" I pried, making him stiffen. I could tell from all the years I'd spent with this stiff-necked Uchiha about the inner turmoil and questions fluttering about in his head, making me regain the lost smile. "Don't worry, no one betrayed Konoha by telling me. I pieced it together on my own after searching the hidden records in the weapons factory. Didn't know your clan was so well off as to make it rain for the workers." I hummed, seeing the crow summoner relax at the knowledge of Konohagakure's security. "So, what will you do now, Mr. Rouge? After I tell your little Sasu-chan of the reason behind your little endea-" I was cut off by a spiked spear struck through my abdomen, Itachi now right in front of me and leaning into the weapon, pushing it further. "He won't know any of this." He grumbled, glaring into my eyes with his spiraling Mangekyo Sharingan. I gave a toothy smirk, laughing before coughs overtook me, blood leaving with it. I was always a bit of a * to Itachi, and he knew it. My threats never reached so far as to possibly become real as it was only to tease him. He knew this, and yet, he couldn't help but snap. "Rude. I always thought you were the polite type, Itachi." I mumbled as I glared lightly at the protruding object.Yet, I didn't blame him.
"You could've let this all fall on me, you know? I'm the village pariah- they wouldn't hesitate to think I'd killed them, nor would anyone really care. This might've been my ticket out of here. Sure, Anbu'd get in my way, but both of us know I'd take care of them easily." I stated in an accusing tone, crossing my arms as he stared at my blankly. He was still silent and provided no further input, but we both knew the answer to my little sub plot. The seal on my tongue wasn't the only thing chaining me to the village. He knew I'd never be free. "You stubborn Uchiha." I s* my head and clicked my tongue, looking up at the false moon that resembled the one I looked to every night. The same one we'd once looked at together.I heaved heavily, my maniacal look fading as I looked at the crimson heights. It really was too similar to back then. We'd met on a night that, while quite not so grim as this, twas terrifying in it's own aspect. He happened to be there just when they ran away, just when I was sure that I'd kill myself since they'd obviously not done well enough. Just when I'd made the final cut to my own throat, he stepped in and healed my wound, but in a completely *, crappy, Uchiha way.Little shtick though it funny to seal my wound closed with fire."Don't worry, Itachi. I won't tell. I'll let you pay the price for your sins."