Sight and Sound

Rash Words

Itachi and Sasuke sat to dinner with their parents. Itachi watched his father, waiting to see if he treated Sasuke any differently. The meal was silent, except for the clink of chopsticks on plates. Finally, Sasuke spoke hesitantly, "F-father..." Their father looked up. "Don't stutter. No son of mine stutters." Sasuke swallowed hard, nervous and a little hurt at his words. "I have mastered the jutsu you taught me.." he said, trying to sound confident. "It took you long enough." Their father replied harshly. Itachi glared at him. How could he treat his son like that when he only had days left with him? "Itachi mastered that jutsu much faster and much younger than you. Compared to him-" Itachi stood up, throwing his chair backwards and his father stopped talking. "Leave Sasuke alone. He's not me, and you can't compare us!" Itachi glowered at him defiantly. "Uchiha Itachi, you are my son, and I am tired of this disrespect!" his father boomed. His mother and Sasuke were sinking lower into their chairs, but it only infuriated Itachi more. "What about Sasuke? Is he not your son too?" Their father stood, taking a threatening step toward him. "You will respect me, even if I have to beat it into you." Itachi continued to stand his ground. "Like hell I will." His father grabbed the collar of his shirt roughly. "What did you say to me?!" he yelled. "Let go of me." Itachi's voice was quiet and his eyes glinted in a deadly way. "Answer me, boy!" he yelled at Itachi again. Itachi was through with words. He twisted his father's wrist to escape and held him to the dining room wall with a hand wrapped around his neck. "Don't yell at me." His father struggled to escape, but was unable to breathe. He panted, trying to get air into his dying lungs. Itachi could feel him suffocating under his hand, and he smiled. Time seemed to slow as his father began to die. "Stop!" his mother shrieked. "Itachi! Please let him go!" Her voice shattered the trance. Instantly, Itachi realized the magnitude of what he had done. He dropped his gasping father and stared dumbfounded at his mother and Sasuke. They all stood in silence, horrorified at what had just happened. "Nii-san..." Sasuke whispered. It sickened him to think about what Sasuke didn't know. He couldn't take this family anymore. "Sasuke-" he began, but his mother cut him off. "Itachi! That's enough!" she shot him a dirty look. Then it hit him. She knows! Mother knows what's going on too! "Nii-san? What?" Sasuke asked expectantly. "Sasuke-" Itachi tried again. "Uchiha Itachi! Don't you dare say a word!" his mother pulled Sasuke to her side. Itachi wanted to hurl. It was beyond him how she acted like that. He couldn't understand how she could be okay with selling her son. He glared at her. "Damn this house.." he muttered as he rushed out the front door. Vaguely, he heard Sasuke calling out to him as he ran, but he didn't turn back. He broke into a run as soon as the house was out of sight. It scared him to think how good it had felt to choke his father. I'm just like them... He thought as his stomach turned. A cold blooded killer, that was 'Uchiha', and now it seemed 'Uchiha Itachi'. Unsure what to do out on his own at a late hour and without a purpose, he went to the training grounds. It surprised him to find Aster there. She turned around immediately. "Hi.." she said breathlessly. She was thrashed and sweaty. "Training at this hour?" Itachi inquired, an eyebrow raised. It surprised him at how quickly he had become calm around her. "Yes.." she replied absently, continuing to beat on a cut tree trunk. He walked over to the wooden post and stood next to her. He sat watching the post rather than her for quite some time. After a while, Aster stopped and narrowed her eyes at him, confused. "Itachi.." she whispered. Suddenly he contorted his face in anger and slammed the post with his fist. The post splintered and almost broke in two. Aster stared, shocked. She looked from the post to him. He was panting and glaring at. "What happened?" she asked, both of them surprised at her calm even tone. Itachi straightened up and caught her eye. "Some family problems.." he told her calmly. She smiled and chuckled a little. "Wow, don't I know that one.. Don't worry though, it always turns out all right." He was a little caught off guard when she put a hand on his shoulder. Itachi gave her a sympathetic look. "That's not what most people in your shoes would say.." Aster shrugged. "At least I've got you and Sasuke... Right?" Itachi nodded, taken aback by her positivity. "Yeah." She smiled again, patting his back. "Best to get home and face the music! Putting it off always makes it worse. Trust me on that." He glanced at her again. It amazed him how lightly she talked about her past. "I'll see you around then." He said, waving slightly as he walked away. "Of course!" she called.