The Black Leaf (Part 2)

Chapter 33: Meeting Him

We sat in front of Itachi's grave for a while, Ichiro didn't say a thing. Sasuke just looked at Ichiro then back at me and so on. Kakashi just sat next to me, and held my hand tight. I took at deep a breath and turn to face Ichiro one more time.

"Ichiro, talk to us," I said searching for his face, "tell us, what is going on your head?"

"Who else knows?" he asked in a low voice. 

"Naruto," I said and both Sasuke and Kakashi turned to look at me, "but he wasn't the one who talked to you, who was it?" 

"Does it matter?" he asked in a low voice, "people know, people always knew, everyone knew except me."

"You know now," I turned to look at him.

"Hmph, yeah, now I know why everyone looks at me weird and why everyone whispers behind my back," he said. 

"We all been there Ichiro, your mother and I get those looks all the time even your sister," Sasuke said and Ichiro snapped.

"You two deserve to be treated that way," he stood up and shouted at Sasuke. "You are a rogue criminal who murder his own brother, and she," Ichiro pointed at me,"is an international criminal who has a never paid for her crimes."

"Ichiro that is enough," Kakashi stood up and walked towards him. "You are upset right now, I understand that, but you are saying things you will regret."

Ichiro turned to face Kakashi and his sharingan was fully activated. "You are to blame as much as they are," he shouted at Kakashi, "but what can I expect from a man who kills his own comrades." I got up and stood in between Ichiro and Kakashi then we heard her.

"Brother, stop it, please, just stop," Kaori was watching the whole thing, she stood next to a tree scared as she cried. Ichiro looked at his sister and immediately snapped out of it, he took a deep breath and deactivated his sharingan. Kakashi went to take Kaori back to the house and stayed with her. Ichiro sat back in the log and threw his hands on his face and cried. I couldn't help but to cry as well, I sat next to him and then Sasuke walked over knelt in front of us.

"Ichiro, I loved my brother more than anything, your mother knows this," Sasuke said in a low voice. "When he left, I felt broken and alone, I hated him, maybe as much as you hate me right now. But after finding out the truth, I just wanted to follow my own path but always keeping him in my mind. I promised him I was going to watch over you and I was going to help you understand his story. Before he died he gave me this," Sasuke took Itachi's necklace out of his pocket, "he wanted you to have this."

Ichiro looked at the small chain on Sasuke's hand and hesitated to take it. "I gave him that necklace on his eleventh birthday," I told him.

"He never took it off after that," Sasuke said, "but he wanted you to have it. He said you would understand everything once you put it on." Ichiro looked at Sasuke and took the necklace. He stared at the necklace for a while, he looked at every loop and caressed it softly. "Put it on Ichiro, after that, you decide, if you want to revenge your father, you can kill me." 

"Sasuke," I looked at him in shock,"I will not-"

"Very well," Ichiro said and looked at Sasuke before he put the necklace on. Kakashi was walking back towards us when Ichiro's body when limp and his chakra became disturbed.

"Genjutsu?" I looked at Sasuke and Kakashi who just stared at Ichiro seating with his head hanging. 

Ichiro's POV

I felt mad, sad and betrayed more than anything. Everything I knew was a lie, my family was lie, I didn't know what think anymore. I looked at the grave in front of me, no wonder I always felt at peace when I came here. He was my father and he died at the hands of his brother. I looked at the necklace on my hand and brushed my thumb over the loops.