[Azrael's POV]
Itachi Uchiha, a murderer, a criminal... but somehow... someone I couldn't stop thinking about.
Is he a sinner? Tsunade had spoken to me about him, about the crimes he committed, but at the same time, the incongruence.
Before heading off to my objective, I went up north as I usually do and flew across the forest before landing on the branch of a tree.
I stood there for several minutes until I saw three silhouettes flash past me; they didn't notice me. But the one chasing after them did.
As he flickered across the trees, he saw me. I only nodded once, and he returned the gesture, continuing with their exercise.
But one of them was already aware of my presence due to this small gesture.
Hatake Kakashi was a quirky teacher. He was assigned to team 7, which was the most interesting team out of what Tsunade called this new generation of Shinobi of the village.
Naruto Usumaki, Tsunade's nephew... he is a very brave young boy with a good heart and within him resides a beast that could cause terror in the whole world. Nevertheless, the hate born by this beast doesn't affect him. This kid will have a bright future.
Haruno Sakura, perhaps the most normal out of the three. She's a young girl in love, passionate and hardworking, but easily distracted. Her future can be bright if she manages to focus on what's important.
And lastly...
*CLANGG!*
The tip of my wing blocked the kunai that flashed at me, one of those odd weapons of this world.
I turned around, with a swift movement, I caught the kunai with my wing and flashed it back in a certain direction in the forest.
*BANG!*
It wasn't the noise of metal crashing; it was the sound of a metal shattering another. I heard a pained yelp and something dull falling off a branch. My body disappeared like a haze and caught the boy mid-air, then I put him down.
He stared at me in silence with a scorn that seemed to say, 'I will reach you one day'.
Uchiha Sasuke, the last survivor of his clan, and also Uchiha Itachi's little brother.
And also, the reason for my doubt.
If he massacred his entire clan in cold blood, his mother, his father... why did he let his little brother live?
Being stared at with desire by men was something I was used to. Even kids couldn't help their hormones. But Uchiha Sasuke was the first person that, upon seeing me and my power, his first thought was not to possess me, but instead... to defeat me.
He is way more talented than both Naruto and Sakura, and most of all... he is focused. He wants vengeance, and he knows the only way to attain that vengeance is to get stronger.
I like that.
But while I like his resolve, that is not my main interest in him. The only way I can get to understand Uchiha Itachi's motives is through this little brother of his.
"Don't try to be smart, Sasuke... I can see you coming even before you do" I said to him and flicked his forehead, doing so seemed to piss him off even further each time, but he knew he was already defeated the moment my kunai shattered his.
"Azrael...!" He mumbled my name.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Sasuke?! Stop being disrespectful to her!"
Kakashi flashed next to us and pulled the kid, bowing down to me in an apology. I shrugged it off. Ever since he met me, he has been like that. I showed him a display of strength once, thinking that would stop him. But ever since, he has only come at me with the intention to kill every time he has a chance.
"It's okay, Kakashi... he wants to train, let him train", I said and then looked at Sasuke, who was now being nursed by Sakura. The girl flashed me a threatening look that almost made me laugh.
She thinks I am trying to steal her crush...
"You can come at me however many times you want, Sasuke... the answer will be the same, your defeat".
"Only time will tell," He mumbled, "If I can't even get past you..."
"Onee-san! (big sister)" Naruto came flashing as well and hugged me from behind; he was the last to come.
'This boy...' I sighed and allowed him to hug me just reluctantly, merely because his heart was far from harbouring any ill thoughts.
"Naruto, I hope you're working hard", I patted his head.
"I am -tebayo! You can't go on snitching on me with the granny".
"There won't be money coming your way for Ichiraku if you don't pass your tests", I threatened, just as Tsunade told me I should. Don't mess with this boy's food.
He shivered as expected, released me and puffed his chest out.
"He is doing just perfectly. Naruto is not an amateur as he used to be. Right, Naruto?" Kakashi patted his head too. You could tell he also had a preference for the boy of the light, rather than the one of the dark.
"Look, I can even use the Rasengan whenever I want now -tebayo! The perverted toad has nothing on me".
Naruto created a clone and used the technique he calls the 'rasengan'; it took him a few seconds, but he managed to do it.
Then, to his shock, I lifted my hand and created my own, but using Sun Energy instead of Chakra, the output was way stronger, the ball was brighter and naturally, if released, way more destructive.
Sasuke stared at it in awe and then at me. He bit his lips.
!!!
"You can use the Rasengan?!" Naruto was so shocked that he lost his motivation, and his Rasengan scattered.
"See? It is not that hard, increase the difficulty, Naruto... do it with one hand next" I challenged him.
"You're unfair! So what if you can do it? You're a genius!"
"You're a genius too, brat, don't make excuses. In any case, I am going now, I should be coming back in a week".
"A week?! Who is going to make breakfast for me?!"
My brows pressed so hard, and my veins bulged up, this entitled kid!
"Shut up, brat! I don't even make breakfast for my master... make your own thing!" Even though I said that, he only nodded and smiled.
"I will make my own breakfast, promise! Onee-san, be careful".
I looked back at him as he waved. He can be quite dumb, but he is still cute sometimes. I wonder how he can be Tsunade's nephew. Although thinking about it, they're both very stubborn.
"I will, Naruto".
"Don't kill my brother", I heard Sasuke say.
"..."
"Whatever you do, don't kill my brother. I am the one who will do it!" He hissed.
"Kill this, kill that... shut up, will you? Nobody cares-tebayo..." The blonde boy sighed, slanting a small laugh out of me.
"Naruto! Don't joke with that!" Sakura yelled at him.
They went at it again.
While Naruto and his crush discussed, I pulled the emo vengeful boy, and he yelped, tried to release himself, but I wrapped him in my wings.
"I will be taking him for a minute, Kakashi".
"D-Do as you wish, ma'am" The teacher stuttered and jumped away, taking him along.
We landed in front of a cliff, not too far away from their training location, where I let him go like he was potatoes.
*cough!*
*cough!*
When he stood up, he was still holding his pained wrist. However, the pain seemed to fade when he saw my ten wings.
!!!
"Sasuke, what can you tell me about your brother?".
"Why do you want to know?".
"I want to understand him. Understand why he did what he did".
"He's crazy, he's a lunatic... he hated our clan and our blood, what other reason could he have?!".
"Then why are you alive?".
"Isn't that obvious? He wants to torture me. He told me to become stronger to kill him! Crazy people... they don't have a reason to act!".
"..."
"I don't think it is that simple".
"You're just someone who came out of nowhere, you don't know anything about our village or our clan, don't act like you know and understand everything!".
"... I understand you though, Sasuke".
"I was there too, standing on those same shoes, filled up with desires for vengeance. I wanted to do nothing more than exterminate all devils".
"Devils...?"
"Not only devils, humans too... I didn't understand why we angels had to suffer for the sake of sinful humans. We went to wars and majority of us died. My beloved little brothers and little sisters... to fight devils, sometimes even fighting humans who allied with devils. I wanted it all to end".
"H-How?".
"I thought if I ended the human race, it would all end... at the end".
"I don't understand what you're saying".
"I don't expect you to... but I hope you at least understand that I know what vengeance is, and. know you have all the right to have those feelings after what you went through".
He gasped. I was the only one who wasn't trying to convince him against it. I was the only one who understood.
"I am not going to come here and tell you that vengeance is a bad thing, because it is not. It is a perfectly justifiable feeling to have. I am only here to tell you that if you expect to feel good after vengeance, you are wrong".
"What made you change your mind?" He loosened up and asked, I saw the real him past the walls he built around himself.
'My master's dick'.
*cough!*
"Lots of love and therapy from my master. I massacred thousands of devils and never felt better. I could have destroyed Lucifer himself and still wouldn't have felt better. That is what vengeance is... just a fuel".
"Love... such a weak thing", He scorned, but I pressed my finger against his forehead just like he hated. This time, though, he didn't push me away.
"If it was that weak, you wouldn't be fighting so hard not to feel it, Sasuke".
My words impacted him, he fell silent for a while, and I thought that was my cue to go and leave him deep in his thoughts. But Sasuke spoke to me again.
"My brother used to be a good person. He would teach me... I thought he loved me... I thought he loved our family, but I was wrong".
"..."
I had nothing to say to him. How to love if you were betrayed by the person you thought most loved you? Although I understand his desire for revenge, that is not something I have personally experienced.
"He became a different person one day, and he did something terribly, I never expected him to do. And he made me witness it all, and I will never forgive him for that!".
I patted the boy's head.
"Don't let go of vengeance if you can't, Sasuke... but remember you have friends too who care for you and home. Vengeance won't bring you happiness, they will".
I let go of him, and my clothes changed, a dark cloak that covered my whole body, my wings gained a darker hue, and he saw me for who I am.
When I prepared my ten wings for flight, he asked something.
"Can I ask you something?".
"..." I nodded.
"Why? If you are a killing machine, as they say you are... why are you trying to involve yourself?!"
His words left me in a pinch, because not even I understood very well why. I was told to kill Uchiha Itachi. I was told he massacred his whole clan and family. That alone should have been enough for me to want his head, regardless of what reason he had to do so.
And perhaps, even if his reasons are justifiable, I will still execute him for his sins.
But, I just... wish to understand. Why do I want to understand?
"I don't know", I looked at the sun high above and answered.
He looked at me, then at the sun.
I put my hands together and did a small prayer, wishing that my master would help understand these feelings welling up in my heart. And then, just as if I had gotten an answer from him... my mind cleared up and I looked at Sasuke.
"It is because of love".
"Huh?".
"It is because I love my master. I want to show him I am more than just a killing machine. I am also someone who understands the pains of others, and... I understand there is a cause to sin".
Inwardly, I also thought, 'I hope and pray that when I have children, they can see a softer side of me too'.
When I looked at the sun again, it seemed to be shining a bit brighter, a bit warmer.
"Love is a marvellous thing, Sasuke. Perhaps in your lifetime there won't be anyone else that can understand you as your friends do, don't lose this chance".
With that said, I flew off with a clear answer in my mind.
Nobody doubts the boy is a villain; nobody thinks he should live, not even Tsunade.
But I...
'I will slowly understand your motives, Uchiha Itachi'
Sinners do not sin without cause. What is yours?