The Dark Side of Akatsuki. Chapter 27

"Your entire family wasted their potential. Itachi had a heart that could embrace the darkness and thrive, but that he thought you could do the same? Clearly he grew insane in the end." At that, Danzou leaned forward, straining slightly against his bonds. "Do you want to know what it is that you lack?"

Sasuke grit his teeth at the condescending question. With another flash of rage, he drove his sword into the man's side, causing another gasp of pain.

"It's irritating that you think you can buy yourself a reprieve by insulting the Uchiha name," Sasuke said, face contorted in anger, "but by all means feel free to continue to try."

The man pierced Sasuke with his one-eyed gaze. "Oh, but you and your family were doing all too good a job of that yourself. The Uchiha clan stayed steeped in darkness for hundreds of years. You wallowed in it, you see, like a pig in the mud. No other clan managed to pass so much madness down from generation to generation. It kept you dangerous, kept you strong, but it made you unpredictable enough that the village had no choice but to end you all."

"Shut up. Stop smiling, you asshole." Sasuke drove the blade deeper, but this time Danzou didn't even flinch. Now they were close. Eye to eye. Danzou spoke in a low and menacing tone, each word slowly growing in intensity.

"-And then they produced you. You worthless reject. The runt of the litter. Only protected by your big brother, even now. I know your plan. You want to hurt me, break me, here, inside this illusion, so you can kill me for real when it all ends, but I can tell you that you don't have what it takes, you little worm. This nightmare will eventually end, and then I will stand up and kill you. I will take that eye from your skull, and Itachi's gift will finally go to someone who deserves it."

"You…" Danzou pronounced, speaking calmly once more, "Lack hatred."

Sasuke stumbled back, unable to stop his face from betraying his wild emotions. Danzou just sat there, smirking. Then, he began to laugh. It was the cruel laugh of a man who found genuine humor in a joke, knowing that the joke was, in fact, the person standing right in front of him.

Sasuke had failed. Faced with this phantom from his childhood, tears of shame came unbidden to his eyes, something he hadn't felt in many years.

Then, his rage came erupting from him once more. With a roar, Sasuke brought the sword arcing through the air and cut off Danzou's head.

Gulping down air, Sasuke left the room, willing himself instantly to appear back in his old bedroom. Danzou would be returning in a moment, but Sasuke needed time to get his head together. With visible difficulty, he began working through breathing exercises. He had to get back control somehow. It was humiliating, but every time Danzou spoke Sasuke ended up feeling like he'd lost. Maybe he could gag the man?

Then he felt a change. Like something in his mind had just shifted. Had Danzou done something? With a panicked thought, Sasuke willed himself back into the basement room.

Nothing happened.

He moved to the door and found it wouldn't budge. Forcing it accomplished nothing. How could this be happening? The Tsukuyomi was supposed to give him full control of this world inside his own mind! Then he heard the voice. Danzou's voice, coming to him as if from some distance.

"Pathetic," he said, sounding almost bored, "You think you can scare me like that? It doesn't matter what form you wear; it doesn't change the fact that underneath you're still the same worthless child."

What was he talking about? A moment later, another voice responded. It was deep, calm, and very familiar.

"Not worthless. Not at all. I always knew my little brother wasn't cut out for ANBU," Itachi said, his voice bringing a lump to Sasuke's throat. "Unlike me, he has a truly kind heart. But, you see, I'm proud of him for that."

Danzou snorted derisively, but said nothing.

"In truth, I don't want him involved in this twisted world at all any more. A world made by people like you, who want to paint every living soul with darkness. That's not a world for him. And neither is this. Because of you, he was forced to make the world inside our eye into a world of pain." Itachi paused for a moment, before adding, "It's not where he belongs."

"One who can't walk in a world of pain has no place in a village of ninja, you fool," said Danzou.

Itachi sighed, then spoke quietly, as if to himself. "Sometimes I wish that Roger had just opened up our world completely instead of leaving us as we were."

"What are you talking about? You're clearly delusional, boy, if you think I'm going to be intimidated by nonsense words spoken by the image of a dead man."

"Indeed," said Itachi. "They say that one should prove one's self with actions, not words. I don't need to prove myself by speaking with you. We have quite a bit of time together for me to demonstrate my identity through my actions instead. When I am done, I hope that you will learn the wisdom of leaving my brother be."

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