"We are proud of you."
To Itachi, those words were akin to curses that continued haunting him even after a decade has passed since that fateful night where he drew his blade against his own family.
He had always believed he did it for the village, even till now, but that didn't mean it would stop the nightmares.
"I'll kill you, Itachi. Even if I have to die for it."
Those words to his ears as he sat there on the Clan Head's seat and gazed down on a grown up Sasuke hurt him so much that the words that left his mouth was –
"Then make it happen."
The last two brothers of a dead clan, one fighting to kill the other while the other fought all to complete his duty – at the end of it all, Itachi Uchiha was a great coward.
He owed Sasuke everything after he had taken everything the child ever knew and love from him and yet despite how regretful and crushed he was, he couldn't even properly apologize or confess with his words instead choosing to use his sick sense of recompense to further manipulate, force even, an innocent child to live his whole life with only one goal – to grow strong enough to kill him.
Even when reincarnated with the Forbidden Jutsu, he couldn't face Sasuke until the latter chased him down and even yet, he couldn't say what he wanted to say until the very last second – always hiding and running, stopping only when he finds an escape path.
Itachi Uchiha was the most exemplary and loyal ninja in the history of Hidden Villages, but most of all he was the greatest coward.
....
His eyes slowly flickered open and took in the image of his surroundings.
"Another nightmare." He held his hands over his eyes and sighed deeply and remained in that exact position for the next half hour before he decided to pick himself up and get started with his day.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Picking the sword, he strapped it to his waist and went to the nearby stream of water for a bath.
The cold water of the morning stream was a soothing feeling that helped in getting his chaotically beating heart to slow down.
"I deserve all of it, no questions." He muttered as he got out of the water.
It was this feeling of regret and self-hatred that he couldn't bring him to stay in any of the settlements he came across. That world was something he left behind when he accepted to massacre his clan for the village.
He rejected his family for the village when he was alive, so how could he accept them in death?
With the few pieces of clothing and strap bag he got from the settlements he came across as payment for a few odd jobs, Itachi's aimless wander continued one at a much slower pace.
Having nothing to do for weeks and months on end, Itachi spent most of his time on his sword or figuring out things about the new flow but he was yet to figure out how to use it just like he did with chakra.
In the afternoon, he went into the settlement nearest to him at a 10km distance from him which wasn't much of a distance to him.
"Oh Itachi, you're still around I see." One of the elderly men he helped during his earlier visits called him and Itachi nodded at him.
"Good day, Kanzaki-san."
"Hahaha, upright youngsters like you are hard to find even after death, so you're always a welcome surprise Itachi." The man smiled gently at him before Itachi walked away.
This was something he did every once in a while, every week or two, where he would go into the nearest settlements around him and keep a lookout for recent happenings.
'I guess the news about the recent upsurge of rampaging Hollows is finally affecting this place.' He noted to himself after observing a few huts now having new owners and the lack of familiar faces walking around at this time of the day.
Turning back, he went back to Kanzaki after exchanging two rabbits for a few sets of condiments.
"Kanzaki-san, I can't help but notice that some people are missing from the village. Is something happening?"
The man was already used to Itachi's less than expressive face after the first few times he had met him so he wasn't bothered by the slow monotone that Itachi spoke with.
"Ay, boy. Two small settlements like ours to the east have been run over by Hollows, forcing the Shinigamis to be especially active as of late." Kanzaki-san said. How could he even begin the relocation to another place if he wanted to?
"That close? Shouldn't Shinigamis be stationed at the nearest settlements given that's what the Hollows are going for?" Itachi asked but Kanzaki snorted derisively.
"How can we dictate what the Shinigami-samas can or should do?" He asked rhetorically.
"Until next time, Kanzaki-san." Before the man could finish his words, Itachi was already on his way out of the settlement to go home.
"East huh? That's where I'm supposed to travel to."
He wasn't that worried about coming across Hollows on his way if they were of the same strength level as the ones he saw the Shinigamis killing, anything else will be left to further observation.
With his cloak over his body, Itachi packed the few pieces of belonging he had on his strap bag and went along on his way.
Comprehending the basis of the Shinigamis were quite easy but what he had no idea of was Hollow and the specifics of their race given how all the ones he's seen looked different from each other.
There is only so much that distant observation can do and while he wouldn't go around trying to kill Hollows, it is entirely different if one were to show up in front of him.
"Every passing day causes me to doubt if this is truly the afterlife." Itachi mused absentmindedly.
Given how everyone he has met has no recollection of any of the Elemental Nations and the Hidden Villages or even in some cases ninjas, this 'Soul Society' felt more like a hidden dimension than anything else.
Having constructive conversations with himself, Itachi's days in the Soul Society kept on increasing as the rogue ninja searched for somewhere or something that would make his endless journey come to an end.