Don't Stare at the Sun or You'll Go Blind

Chapter 20

"He stole his brother's eyes."

Sasuke's eyes widened a bit before he schooled his expression. "I don't remember reading that in the clan's history," Sasuke replied.

"It's not common knowledge. After the death of his last brother, Izuna, many in the clan felt that Madara's actions and decisions were questionable at best. Standard protocol of the time was to remove and burn any Uchiha's eyes upon death, long before the funeral was normally held. No one knew that he had kept Izuna's eyes," Itachi explained.

"But he didn't go blind? Why keep that hidden?" Sasuke questioned, his confusion and frustrations growing. There was a cure- not just for his brother but for him, Shisui, and anyone else in the clan with their eyes. Why not share clan secrets amongst the entire clan? Why bury such important history?

"The loss of his last close family member ravaged what remained of Madara's sanity. By the time he implanted his brother's eyes into himself, he was unrecognizable by even those that knew him well. Madara's condition was believed to be an extreme form of our clan's curse- a madness so profound that no one was spared. By the time the first Hokage was able to break through the madness and darkness surrounding Madara, he had already singlehandedly killed many Senju and Uchiha alike," Itachi continued.

Sasuke couldn't keep the stunned disgust from his face. Could their clan's curse really drive one of their own to madness? Could it really make them so homicidal (and fratricidal)?

"Everyone shared the blame in his brother's death- his clan for not being strong enough, the Senju for opposing them, and Senju Tobirama for striking the killing blow," Itachi answered Sasuke's unasked question.

"But the curse was broken. The fighting between clans stopped, Konoha was starting to thrive, and the Uchiha were prospering again after decades of death and war," Sasuke pointed out. History may not have been his favorite subject, but Sasuke did know that much.

"Yes, but Madara eventually succumbed to his hatred once again. He tried to use the Kyuubi to attack the village, and those actions sowed the seeds of distrust towards the Uchiha. Our clan's tumulus relationship with the village is believed to be partially Madara's fault by many of the clan's elders. Needless to say, the clan elders buried the history and made the practice of exchanging eyes forbidden to prevent another Madara from being born within the clan."

"None of that matters now!" Sasuke loudly objected. "At least half of the clan elders were outed as traitors to the village. What they want doesn't matter."

"I understand your upset, Sasuke. But even if you and I were to trade eyes and neither of us suffered any side effects from the change, it wouldn't save my life. At most, my life would be prolonged by some years," Itachi pointed out, but Sasuke was no longer listening.

"That's what these are for, Nii-san," Sasuke said in exasperation and held up a book. Sasuke waited for his brother to offer up any more excuses, but Itachi remained silent. For the first time in days, Sasuke was starting to remember what hope felt like. He stared pleadingly at his brother for what felt like a lifetime before Itachi finally released a heavy sigh and held out a hand. Pure elation overtook his features as Sasuke happily handed Itachi a thick, medical scroll to read through. "We can cure you, Nii-san. I know that we can."

"Hn," Itachi grunted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

~:~

Sasuke was sure that he'd managed to blindside Sakura when he practically accosted her in front of the hospital as she was heading in for her morning shift. The poor pinkette had let out a girlish shriek and stumbled backwards at his sudden appearance, but Sasuke hadn't focused too much on the mild panic he'd instilled in his friend before dawn.