TRIGGER WARNINGS: VIOLENCE, DEPRESSION, MENTIONS OF SUICIDE ATTEMPTS, SA SUGGESTIVE  THEMES, OROCHIMARU BEING FUCKING NASTY

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"This is ridiculous."

For the umpteenth time, Kazumi asked himself what he was doing. He had sat out the camp training so far, opting to watch from the sidelines, giving comments and yelling out snide remarks to the others.

But here he was now, walking into the dark forest with the two boys he was teaching.

"This is fucking ridiculous," Katsuki repeated from Kazumi's left, Shoto only nodded from his right. The evening activity had began, Kazumi had been forced to come along too. Of course he'd been paired up with daddy issues and anger issues.

"Haah...Is this what teenagers do for fun around here?" He clicked his tongue in disdain. A little ways away, he sensed the presence of three class 1B students, and a few more further. These people didn't have much chakra, but there was just about enough to see right through to them.

"Don't lump us in with the rest of these guys. I'd rather just get back and soak in the bath," Kazumi felt the tip of his ears flush at the mention of the bath. Yesterday's events had left him flustered and even a little shy—not that the prideful Uchiha would ever admit.

"Whatever...I can't believe I—" The boy cut himself off as he paused and stilled mid-step. His eyes darted around at speeds no one could comprehend.

"Oi, cat got your tongue—" Kazumi didn't let the blonde finish however, when he tackled the two to the ground, throwing daggers and beads pierced the air where they just stood, seconds ago.

"Ah—! He dodged it! Ne, ne, the guy really dodged it!"

A high-pitched girly voice rung from a high tree branch, giggles ensued even after sue was done speaking. Kazumi saw a faint yet fiery yellow chakra glowing in the trees. Off to her left was someone with indigo chakra.

"Don't let your guard down, Toga," A deep masculine voice replied, a mischievous tone lined the edges.

Kazumi didn't care who they were, or what they wanted. But he had to get Shoto and Katsuki out of here. Whoever these people were, they had no good intentions.

"Oh look! Mr. Compress! One of the targets is here!"

So they're after the students.

Casting two shadow clones, he hoisted the boys up and teleported back to camp, where he was met with a confused Aizawa.

"We're under attack."

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He jumped through the sea of trees, an all familiar feeling. Aizawa was rounding up the current students, Kazumi took it upon himself to find the rest of the students still trapped in the forest. As of now, they were only missing a few.

He'd sent out around 10 clones, none of them had been dispelled yet, so he could only assume they were doing their job correctly. Earlier, the cat woman's quirk had informed him that their target was Katsuki, but surely in Aizawa's hands he was safe.

Right?

Ignoring the little voice in his head, he pushed on. Locating the students and teleporting them back quickly, he huffed. He'd rescued a few unconscious teens already, but someone he hadn't caught a glimpse of at all was Izuku and little Kota.

Where could they be?

By now, he was sure he'd retraced his steps more than a dozen of times, the boy's chakra was nowhere to be seen. The familiar blindingly bright golden chakra signature would've been hard to miss, considering that Midoriya had more than his peers.

What am I missing?

No.

Nothing gets past my—

Kazumi stills when an all too familiar chakra signature enters his peripheral. Dread fills his gut as he watches the faint glowing light drop on ground merely meters from where he was standing.

He couldn't think.

No.

Why was he here?

How was he here?

Kazumi swore he had never body flickered so fast in his life. Stumbling into the clearing, his breathing quickened. For the first time, his vision went hazy. For the first time he faltered.

Because there—laying bloodied and battered, barely breathing was—

"...Itachi?"

"I see your weakness never changes, Uchiha Kazumi."

A snake coils itself around his neck, squeezing tightly, the all familiar sickeningly sweet voice whispers from next to his ear. A tongue licks the shell of his ear, a disgusting chill and shudder runs out his entire body.

"Orochimaru...!" He can only grit out.

The memories of all his clones being squeezed, poisoned, and tortured slowly to death suddenly flowed into him. Orochimaru had kept them just barely alive so he wouldn't catch on to anything. The images flashed through his mind, painting a sickening, gorey scene.

"The Uchiha clan has always been your strength as it is your Achilles heel," Is that last thing Kazumi sees before...

Everything goes dark.

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Kazumi can't remember the first time he'd met Itachi. It seems he'd always been there, even before the boy could recall. Itachi had graduated a year earlier than him, when he was four as well, and being only a year older than Kazumi, the two got along well.

The boys were two sides of the same coin, like yin and yang. Itachi kept Kazumi tethered, kept him company, no matter the time and place.

But Itachi was different from Kazumi.

While Kazumi saw the flaws, the bad in the village, Itachi saw the good. He was avid on protecting the village and those within, even those who hurt him, even those who looked down upon him with sneers.

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why protect the village? Why not just those you love?" Kazumi had asked him one day, after moving into Fugaku's household.

"Because the village is my home. It keeps me rooted, it keeps me going. I'd do anything to save Konoha and those within. They call that the Will of Fire. Perhaps that's why," Itachi had replied, a kind smile adorning his lips.

"You'd do anything? Really?"

"The village is very dear to me, Kazumi."

...

"Dearer than I?"

"No. Never dearer than you. Kazumi."

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Kazumi never blamed Itachi for the annihilation of their clan. He didn't. He never would. Those in the Uchiha clan were planning a coup, there was nothing else he could've done. He did what he did to protect them all.

But Kazumi hated how Itachi would forever live with the guilt. The guilt of killing his clan, his lineage, his family, the guilt of being alive.

There were some things, Kazumi swore he would never say, some things that Itachi didn't have to know. Some things he was better off not knowing.

Like how Izumi, an Uchiha girl, was planning to confess her love to him that day. How Sasuke was training hard to come see him that day. How Mikoto was pregnant when she died.

The Uchiha twin knew, that if Itachi ever found any of this out, he would hurt himself.

He hated how Itachi did all of that for the very village who turned him away, shunned him, labeled him an ex-nin, a rougue, a heartless killer, and a traitor.

Because how dare they?

They should be at his feet, begging for mercy, begging for apologies.

Countless night after night, Kazumi watched Itachi stay awake, plagued by nightmares and dreams, countless panic attacks and suicide attempts. Kazumi watched the only person he had left, hurt himself over and over again, for the good that he'd done.

He was a hero. Itachi had always been the epitome of the word heroic.

So he could never forgive the village, it's inhabitants for making him feel this way. They should suffer, they all deserved it. And he didn't care if he was the one who would inflict it.

The village.

The cause of Itachi's pain, sorrows, and guilt.

The cause of Naruto's loneliness.

The cause of so many, dead.

The cause of his parents' death.

The cause of Shisui's death.

The cause of Kaoru's death.

And for that, he would never forgive them. For that they would pay. They had it coming, of course.

How dare they? How dare they all...use his only weakness against him in such a twisted, gut-wrenching way? How dare he, Orochimaru, use Itachi against him?

Damn them all.

Unforgivable.

CRACK

CRACK

CRACK

The obsidian marble that confined him cracked upon, Mr. Compress' quirk could hold Kazumi no longer. He sprung out, the world spinning hazily before him. The world seemed to hold their breaths.

His aura was immense, so bloodthirsty and so full of bloodlust, that everyone found themselves unable to move, tear their eyes away, or even breathe. His eyes had never been so angry before, glimmering rubies reflected Dabi's blue flames raging elsewhere.

His eyes locked with Orochimaru's narrow slits as he smirked widely, but even he shrunk under the Uchiha's piercing gaze.

Blood dripped from his eyes, as the glow of the Sharingan seemed to brighten ever so slightly. With blazing eyes full of hatred, he uttered.

"Susanoo."

to be continued...

small clarification:

shisui and kaoru pass on the same day as the massacre here. and no, itachi wasn't the one who killed them. good luck tryna figure this one out !!

a/n :

OKAY IM SORRY IVE BEEN OFF THE GRID im a junior, doing ib diploma now so times are quite busy !! i promise to try to update more often...right now im currently working on the next artwork of kazumi ;) im really excited to show this one.

I AINT LYIN'

p.s. heres a sneak peak !