( sasuke's bite doesn't take away from the contents of what he says next. it's hard to care when three names are presented to him: akatsuki. edo tensei. shimura danzou.
they brought it to him for him to do what he liked with it. what was it warped into? )
Sasuke. ( kakashi steps forward, closing the distance between them. within an arm's length, the fine details of an older face become pronounced. but it will always be familiar to him despite these differences, memories softening all that's become angular and firm.
his hand raises and becomes a gesture he abandons to conversation. he'd encourage him with a touch to his shoulder or back or head. that was allowed then. he doesn't feel as though he has the right to now. )
I can't hear the story from Itachi. Because I won't believe it, not after everything. I know it's not what you want, but I have to hear it from you.
( his implication here is clear: of the uchiha present, any future impression kakashi develops of the clan and the night of the massacre will be entrusted to sasuke and only sasuke. the burden of truth shouldn't be placed on the shoulders of the one who suffered the most from learning it, but he must determine whether or not his student demonstrates true belief in what he's been told or if his mind has been broken to accept a less terrible reality.
that is the duty entrusted to him.
to apologize for concealing information about his relationships with danzou and itachi that might've benefited this mystery once would be prudent. too late, kakashi realizes. by hours or by years, he's always been too late. would it mean anything now? )
I worked with Danzou. I worked with your brother. I'm aware he was scouted to run operations for the Root division of the Anbu. If they were affiliated beyond that, I must know.
[ Kakashi approaches, and it's more of an interest than a threat. Is it an apology for asking him to speak? Is it a way to communicate the trust that he has in him? Or is it simply a desire for them both to be closer? The second is the easiest to believe when it's what's motivating Sasuke's quiet reconsideration of his previous stance. No doubt Kakashi is telling the truth that a story from his brother would hold little credibility... and is he wrong for having that belief? Didn't Sasuke himself doubt what he'd heard until he'd validated it against three separate men? Though unlike Kakashi, Itachi's word was the one he believed in most.
His chin lifts and his eyes narrow at the mention of Danzou from his teacher, a slip he'd correct if not for what follows. "I worked with Danzou." Wounds long since closed are pulled at and it shows in his expression, those tiny flickers of emotion that would be bombastic in anyone else but in Uchiha Sasuke are left to simmer. ]
Is that so.
[ How much. How much did he know? ]
He must have had an impact on you if you're willing to jump ahead to that question, but I can't give you an answer without context. Which means, if you'll only hear it from me, that that's more I have to tell you first. One thing. The most important thing.
[ Only now does the anger vanish, but it doesn't drain organically from his expression. Instead features iron out into forced placidity, an immediate shield against whatever follows after. ]
My brother did not decide independently to target our family. He had no personal interest in the Akatsuki or his own supremacy. Instead... he was approached by representatives of Konoha in secret. If you worked with both of them then it stands to reason you also knew about the rising tensions between the Uchiha and the village, and what might come of those tensions.
To preserve peace, Itachi removed one half of that equation himself.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
his right eye widens, the left only managing to stay closed when eyebrows arched high sink in an immediate clouding of his expression. half-formed and frustrated is the complex nature of his opinion of shimura danzou, though barely restrained from a complete hatred that rises in his chest like reflux due to the intervention of the sandaime. if shimura danzou possessed information about the uchiha clan's demise, then it was precisely because of itachi's affiliation with root, his previous work as an anbu captain, his stationing on team ro, and their surveillance of a coup d'Γ©tat in its foetal form.
they brought it to him for him to do what he liked with it. what was it warped into? )
Sasuke. ( kakashi steps forward, closing the distance between them. within an arm's length, the fine details of an older face become pronounced. but it will always be familiar to him despite these differences, memories softening all that's become angular and firm.
his hand raises and becomes a gesture he abandons to conversation. he'd encourage him with a touch to his shoulder or back or head. that was allowed then. he doesn't feel as though he has the right to now. )
I can't hear the story from Itachi. Because I won't believe it, not after everything. I know it's not what you want, but I have to hear it from you.
( his implication here is clear: of the uchiha present, any future impression kakashi develops of the clan and the night of the massacre will be entrusted to sasuke and only sasuke. the burden of truth shouldn't be placed on the shoulders of the one who suffered the most from learning it, but he must determine whether or not his student demonstrates true belief in what he's been told or if his mind has been broken to accept a less terrible reality.
that is the duty entrusted to him.
to apologize for concealing information about his relationships with danzou and itachi that might've benefited this mystery once would be prudent. too late, kakashi realizes. by hours or by years, he's always been too late. would it mean anything now? )
I worked with Danzou. I worked with your brother. I'm aware he was scouted to run operations for the Root division of the Anbu. If they were affiliated beyond that, I must know.
How did you meet that man?
no subject
His chin lifts and his eyes narrow at the mention of Danzou from his teacher, a slip he'd correct if not for what follows. "I worked with Danzou." Wounds long since closed are pulled at and it shows in his expression, those tiny flickers of emotion that would be bombastic in anyone else but in Uchiha Sasuke are left to simmer. ]
Is that so.
[ How much. How much did he know? ]
He must have had an impact on you if you're willing to jump ahead to that question, but I can't give you an answer without context. Which means, if you'll only hear it from me, that that's more I have to tell you first. One thing. The most important thing.
[ Only now does the anger vanish, but it doesn't drain organically from his expression. Instead features iron out into forced placidity, an immediate shield against whatever follows after. ]
My brother did not decide independently to target our family. He had no personal interest in the Akatsuki or his own supremacy. Instead... he was approached by representatives of Konoha in secret. If you worked with both of them then it stands to reason you also knew about the rising tensions between the Uchiha and the village, and what might come of those tensions.
To preserve peace, Itachi removed one half of that equation himself.