Crow's feathers - Naruto fanfiction

Chapter 79 Guilt and blame

“You know,” Daro said to the little boy while he sat down on the edge of the bed, “I was once very angry with your mother too, when she was still my sensei.”

Ichiru didn’t give any reaction and kept his back towards Daro.

Daro sighed and tried again. “I suppose I was really angry with your father.”

Those words had effect. The boy turned his head to glance at Daro.

Daro smiled at him. “I didn’t’ understand you know, why your mother loved him so much when he only caused her pain.”

Ichiru rolled on his back and looked at Daro with a tear struck face. He didn’t say anything, but stared at the older boy questioningly.

Daro looked at his hands. “I had heard about the things he’d done, that he was a vicious criminal, but your mother still loved him. She protected him. Because of that, people hated her. Even Gaara-sama was angry with her and I knew it made her sad. So I was angry. I didn’t want her to be sad. I didn’t understand why she stayed so loyal to him.” He smiled at Ichiru. “I shouted at her.”

Ichiru crossed his arms. “She deserved it.” His lip trembled. “He killed my dad and she knew. She let him live here.”

Daro nodded. “Yes, that’s true, but do you know why Sasuke killed your father?”

Ichiru sobbed and rubbed his eyes. “My dad killed his family.”

“Don’t you think Sasuke was just as angry and sad as you are now?”

“But he was ordered to,” Ichiru cried.

“Eh?” Daro blinked, “ordered?”

Ichiru sobbed again. “They told him to do it. And he did. And he told uncle Sasuke to kill him.” Ichiru turned his face away and cried in his pillow.

Daro stared at the boy as he tried to comprehend what Ichiru had just told him. Ordered to?

Suddenly a lot of things became clear. Taryn’s trust in Itachi. Why she never spoke about him, why she had taken Sasuke in. Sasuke’s anger.

“No one is supposed to know,” Ichiru’s voice was muffled by his pillow.

Daro placed a hand on the boy’s back and looked at him sadly. “You know,” he said, “I don’t know much about that, but I know your mother loved your father very much. And if what you say is true, then it must have been very hard for her to forgive Sasuke, especially after the war, but she did. And I know for a fact that they both love you very much.” He sighed. “Try to forgive them.”
Slowly he stood up and left the room.

…

Taryn was no longer inside, but when he looked outside, he found her at Itachi’s grave. ‘Is it true, sensei?” he thought, ‘did he act on orders?’  He could only guess at the reason, but it couldn’t have been easy. ‘I misjudged you, Itachi.’ He sighed. ‘I wish I had known.’ Perhaps he should have guessed when Taryn kept believing, but who could have guessed something like that? He had just assumed the stories were true.