re: chapter 590 (possible spoilers in comments)

[anbu]

A better end to 'the life of Uchiha Itachi'?

... I suppose it was a long time coming.

[Look, okay, it takes him almost 600 chapters to speak his mind. So what.]

Comments

[anbu]

Yes, I understand. [Uchiha Itachi does not "dig" things, though.]

You have a very open mind.

[Oh god he wants to fistbump.

He can see the meaning underneath, which is the main reason Itachi reciprocates. There's little else to hide, and little reason to lie. What is holding him back? So... fistbumping happens. Awkwardly. And Bee is now privy to his gentle and tortured soul.]

[goninjagoninjago]

[That he does, and that he will. They will make this bump happen Itachi. It will not be awkward, it will be magical and rad.

To Bee's credit, he doesn't pry into what he knows is too personal. He skims the surface, sees that which stands out the strongest. He sees Uchiha Sasuke as he's never seen him before- wide eyes looking at his biggest inspiration, an idol beyond reckoning and his constant goal. He sees Danzou and his poison words, sees Akatsuki and what Kisame was to someone who he didn't have to kill...

And he takes it all in. And slowly lowers his fist, a low whistle on his lips as he does.]

Some story, alright.

[anbu]

[If nothing else, he is humble. Enough not to brag or act as if his story is anything worth telling, full of mistakes and full of regrets as it is. But it is still Itachi's life. It's a lot to see, he understands.

Not to mention he sees some of Naruto in this man, beyond their relationship as jinchuuriki.]

I suppose so.

[goninjagoninjago]

[He contemplates what he's just seen for a brief, quiet moment... and then, he simply laughs.]

My life was nothing like that.

[And when he puts his hand on Itachi's shoulder as he walks past him, Itachi sees just how different they were. On the surface B has been a killer since before he was even ten years old AND the distrusted carrier of the hateful eight-tailed beast.]

We didn't keep secrets.

[But his brother was always there. Even from a young age Killer B was never Killer A's shadow, but his complement. His other half and partner.]

And I've never had any the qualms you had. Maybe I'm just crazy like that, maybe it's the jinchuuriki in me... or maybe I was okay with it because I had him. There's no secrets or deceit between Killer A and B. Not a single one.

Of course, my life is completely different from yours so don't take this as some kinda advice. I'm just saying that I get you, even if I'll never get where you're coming from.

[anbu]

[A small, half-buried part of Itachi can't help but make the comparison. He's sure it's meant to be made, if the man has made his own life visible to the Uchiha -- something of an offer in return for what Itachi has shown. There are clear differences, which he expects. No one's life, no one's choices are the same as anyone else's.

Yet the relationship between these two brothers is so vastly different from the relationship he knows that it's difficult not to scrutinize it. What it could have been like, in another lifetime, if Itachi had opened up to Sasuke. If he'd told Sasuke what was going on, rather than keep him in the dark.]

It sounds as if you were fortunate, in some ways. [A world without lies, without illusions. Itachi can't imagine it. It's so deeply rooted in the nature of Uchiha.] Do you regret?

[hoshigaki]

[ OI what was that about him ]

[goninjagoninjago]

[Dude. You and Itachi were totally best of broskis. You totally had a secret handshake and everything, right? Come on you can spill it to B, he won't judge!]