Paint my sunset [Kakashi XObito]

XI. Shattered

Obito talked about Itachi. He talked about what the Clan and the Elders had made him do, how Sasuke's older brother had always hated violence and war, how he cared for Konoha and especially about the one life he couldn't bare see extinguished. He talked about how Itachi had help and that Obito himself had been his accomplice in the massacre. He said that Itachi has sealed his Doujutsu's powers into Sasuke's eyes to protect him while his voice carried on the idea that Obito was the one Itachi tried to protect his little brother from in the first place.

Sasuke looked anguished during the tale, close to breaking down. He didn't let go of Naruto, not even once. Maybe his grasp even fastened on the shoulder of the damn knucklehead, nobody would tell either way. Naruto remained in his spot, quiet for once, just looking at the one person he had lost for so long with a mix of worry and sadness.  Sakura still knelt on the other side of Sasuke's mat, hands lowered, listening intently to what the masked figure had been telling all of them. It didn't make much sense, she reckoned while she looked at the orange spiral and the singular eye that the mask allowed glimpses at.

Why would he tell them all of this? If it was to nourish Sasuke's hatred for the village then why bring all of Team 7 along for the ride? They must be nothing else but unnecessary witnesses to a story that would have otherwise have no back-up. Especially with someone like Kakashi on their team, who could literally go running straight up to the Hokage and be believed almost immediately. Sakura never quite understood what Kakashi-sensei had exactly done to be in such high-regards concerning most of the shinobi she talked to, but whatever influence he had was to be reckoned with.
That a member of the Akatsuki wouldn't have immediately killed both her Sensei and Naruto on the spot, still didn't clear up for her.  Now, this crazy story he was delivering them all. It sounded like one of those mystery-novels that her mother would always read when Sakura came home from her shift at the hospital.
Itachi being a good guy after all these years of painting him a villain? This man in front of them is supposed be the one who have helped him carry the order given from the Hokage himself out? The Uchiha were supposed to be dead? It had all been planned?

Sakura was no naive girl anymore, she knew that the Sandaime couldn't have been the kind old man that he presented himself as when she had met him, in her Ge-Nin days. She knew that the title of a Kage meant a lot more than respect of their people but also responsibilities that are heavier to bear than most things in life. But the order to eliminate one of the biggest and strongest Clans in Konoha just sounded cruel and ruthless.

"Itachi did all he could to prevent his Captain and Brother from finding out just what sort of order the Sandaime Hokage has given him. He believed in Konoha and the Sandaime that this was a step necessary in order to keep the peace. There was nothing on this earth that Itachi had more cherished than peace. He wanted to keep that peace by hiding his sacrifice. It always was about you, Sasuke. He wanted you to keep your faith in the leaf. And you easily fell into his narrative, didn't you? Despite being the last one of the Clan's head family, your eyes really didn't see a single thing about your kind brother, did they? A waste, that you are allowed to bear the Sharingan, if ya ask me."

"YOU'RE LYING!", Sasuke cried out, before the right arm of the cloaked figure suddenly caught fire. Tobi let out a scream as eerie black flames licked up his arms. Tobi stumbled back a few steps, against the rock wall of the small cave.
"YOU'RE LYING! IT MUST BE LIES! HE WANTED TO KILL ME!", Sasuke's voice was desperate, demanding of answers that would fit into his worldview that has been crumbled to the ground ever since he had woken up and looked into Naruto's and Sakura's eyes upon waking up. „ITACHI'S A MONSTER!",the raven haired boy screamed, voice already getting hoarse as he blindly tried to fight the hands that gently, yet firmly held his upper body in place.

"Sasuke, hey! Calm down, your eyes! They look super crazy!", Naruto took Sasuke's other shoulder and turned the raven-haired boy towards him, who immediately looked down on the ground, avoiding looking at any of his friends.
"Watch out, bastard!", Sasuke said and squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to look at either Naruto or Sakura. The Sharingan had caused the guy to go up in flames, he didn't want to do that to either of these idiots. His head hurt, he felt dizzy. He didn't really know what happened but hot rage was still dangerously pumping through his veins. He stared at the stone floor, trying to get air into his lungs.
The Uchiha felt a hand on his thigh, smaller and colder than Naruto's big and warm ones.
Sakura was holding onto him too, which caused him to look up at her, after taking a few deep breaths and ensuring that he stopped the Chakra flow through his eyes. The pink-haired girl who he remembered as a fragile, whiny hindrance who was always glued to his side, didn't even look at him anymore. She stared straight up ahead, a frown on her face that made her look like a completely different person than the tiny creature in his memories. Sakura's back was straight and she was kneeling on the floor next to him, as if she was ready to get into a fight.
Sakura had always hated fighting, didn't she? She sucked at it, always stayed back, always cried when anyone came too close to her, only throwing a few Kunais to pretend like she was being an active part in their team. That's what Sasuke always hated about her, when they were on a team together. He also hated that she would always grab onto him, squeal in delight and use a different voice that was way too high when talking to him.
The grip she had on his thigh now didn't feel like she wanted something from him, it didn't feel like she was explicitly looking for a reason to have an excuse to touch Sasuke.
The grip wasn't soft either, it was strong and felt like the sort of instinctual that Sasuke had caught himself initializing when they were all Ge-Nin together. Protective. Reassuring.
For the first time Sasuke didn't want Sakura to let go of him.