The Dark Side of Akatsuki. Chapter 12

But something was odd this time. He tried to blink away the discomfort, only to find that his left eye, his brother's eye, wouldn't close. He couldn't look away. Suddenly, an unexpected surge of chakra threatened to send him to his knees, though when he stumbled it seemed to be in slow-motion. He didn't even have time to cry out.

In the mirror, the tomoe in his left eye swirled about, transforming into a different configuration.

Time stopped.

-?-

When Sasuke regained awareness, he was standing on the surface of a lake, nearly as reflective as a mirror. At the edges of the clear water, dragonflies played in the reeds and rushes. The sky was bright, and the cool wind's breeze brought the scents of spring.

He spun in place, reaching for his weapons, though it was only on his second pass that he saw a figure standing before him, dressed in dark colors.

The familiar face smirked back at him and Sasuke stopped breathing, frozen in place.

"Wow, you really grew up, didn't you? Not quite as tall as me, but you're doing something right, huh. It's good to see you, little brother."

Sasuke's jaw dropped open.

-Seven Years Earlier-

-Uchiha Compound-

"No, little brother." Suddenly, Itachi moved as if he were uninjured, sitting up quickly and grabbing Sasuke firmly with one hand. "I'm so sorry. I love you. Please, find something else worth living for."

With two fingers extended, blood dripping down his hand, Itachi tapped his little brother right between the eyes.

Then everything went black for the young Uchiha.

With that, Itachi slumped backward, exhausted by the sudden exertion. He had a choice to make, now. At the least, he would give Sasuke an eye to replace the one he had lost. Itachi had three in his possession. Two of his own, and one from his best friend.

Amaterasu, with the power to create unending black flames.

Kotoamatsukami, with the ability to perfectly manipulate any opponent.

Tsukuyomi, with the strength to take a single second of illusion and stretch it into three days time.

Normally, when a close blood relative received a donated Mangekyou, there was a chance that the eye might evolve further, losing several of its limitations in the process, which would normally make Obito's Kotoamatsukami a poor choice over Itachi's own eyes. However… it was unlikely that an untrained child like Sasuke had the chakra required to complete the transformation into an Eternal Mangekyou… Still, Kotoamatsukami could only be used once every ten years, and Sasuke would need more protection than that. Furthermore, Amaterasu didn't seem to suit his kind-hearted brother.

The choice was clear.

But first, Itachi had a problem. He was bleeding out rapidly, with only minutes to live, at best. Before even that, he would become dulled by blood loss, which he could hardly afford. What a true tragedy. His brother would need so much help to survive what might be arrayed against him in the future, and Itachi could only spare him just a couple of minutes.

Well, he supposed he had just the answer for that.

In the combat-capable lifetime of an Uchiha ninja, it was likely that he or she would learn hundreds of various techniques simply by watching them being cast. The hand signs, the subtle motions, the flow of chakra… to the Sharingan they were all as easy to read as a children's book. But a person couldn't sustain the infinite variety required to use each of those techniques regularly, and as a result, most Uchiha tended to assemble a repertoire of favorites and simply let others fall into disuse, forgetting them as time went on.

Itachi had never gotten the hang of forgetting a good trick.

For this, he needed a source of water. Ah, the pool of his own blood would do. Once again, he pulled himself upright, bringing himself nearer. With a puff of his own humid, chakra-infused breath, the pool of thick blood turned perfectly reflective, like a smooth, red mirror. A ninja from Mist had once tried to get the upper hand on him by hiding beneath the surface of a lake and bombarding him with long-range water techniques, hoping to force him to come down to the water-breather's element.

Unfortunately for the now-deceased older man, the Sharingan could see through many tricks when he wanted it to.

For now, Itachi brought himself over to the mirror. His face looked haggard and gruesome in the red reflection. Right now, his worst enemy was the steady march of Time, with his few remaining minutes bleeding quickly away from him. Itachi made a point of never letting his enemies keep the upper hand. When your enemy has you on the ropes, you either take the initiative or die immediately.

If time itself was his enemy, then he would just have to launch a surprise attack.

With a pulse of chakra, his Mangekyou Sharingan activated, swirling into place.

[TSUKUYOMI]

In that moment, one second stretched out into three days, reflected endlessly in Itachi's own mind. In those three days, he planned his next moves very carefully. The newest genius of the Uchiha Clan put more effort into this plan than he had ever put into any mission before.

When the illusion finally ended, he moved swiftly and surely. Though he would face his death in the next few minutes, he smiled. It all seemed so simple with enough time to think.

-?-

-THE MIND'S EYE-

"How- How are you here?" Sasuke asked. The question was miniscule compared to the confusion it was meant to resolve. Maybe it was just unchecked hope, but he couldn't dismiss this as a mere meaningless illusion.

His elder brother smiled. "Chakra is a wondrous thing. The energy of mind and body united in harmony. I can't say for sure whether I'm really 'here' or not, but it certainly feels real." He chuckled, flexing his hand, and the scenery shifted around him. "Well, real enough. I had the eye I gave you set to trigger when it looked upon your fully realized Sharingan. I knew that you would then be certain to have the chakra needed to use it. This genjutsu will give us three days together. I think you and I have a lot to talk about."

"Yeah," said Sasuke, face softening. "Yeah, we do."

Then, there was a time of no time.

Sasuke caught himself mid-stumble as the illusion ended and time crawled back to its normal pace. The drain on his chakra had been shocking, but not severe, and he recovered quickly. He raised one hand to his eye, examining it in the mirror, finding that a few drops of blood had escaped from the eye's socket. The Mangekyou Sharingan was a powerful tool, but each use stole ever so slightly from the light of the Uchiha's flame. The difference between his previously perfect eyesight and his current condition was almost imperceptible, but it was there.

The eye was truly his now, though, and he could control its power as his own.

The smear of blood on his hand was a sobering reminder of its cost.

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