It's like the manga but you put feeling into it...Good Job!

Oh, this was brilliant! Completely heartbreaking and in-character. This was like the missing piece in the manga, I loved it!

I do have one piece of concrit though: the opening sentence should read "He and Shisui are standing near the riverbank," not "Him and Shisui." 'He' is the subject of the sentence, not the object. I hate to quibble since this is such an extraordinary piece, but I thought I'd point that out.

Again, this was fantastic work. Great job! _

whooa

coolness, man. 0_0

I love the way you write. This is absolutely beautiful- my favourite line is this:

"Itachi takes note that his cousin is a good four inches taller than him, and dimly wonders if this is what inferiority feels like."

It's simple but powerful. Thank you so much for sharing this.

Wow... That was really, really well written. And horrible - what happened, that is. Like I said, the writing was still awesome. Great job!

ALSO, the first word should be "He"

:D

Lovely story!

Wonderful wonderful woderful :)

I've been on the hunt for Itachi stories ever since the big reveal, just becasue his character is so damn interesting- I've been looking for a greater insight. I loved you characterization :D You are very talented

(p.s. I just had to point out, Itachi got the scratch on his hiatae when Sasuke ran after him and threw and kunai at him. I love it- the fact that he keeps wearing it makes becomes just another mark of his tragic love for Sasuke. That's ok, your's can me a metaphor ;) )

I love the harsh, clipped style to this. Minimalistic, yet with an attention to small detail that begs the reader to take in every word with especial consideration. And this is so important, because fandom has written and re-written Shisui's death and the Uchiha massacre a thousandfold-it's stark and fresh and real, here. New life in two situations almost killed by too much (well-meaning attention).

I think the perspective and characterization you use for both Itachi and those around him is spot-on, as well. My favorite part, by far was this scene:

'He reaches his home, finding his parents in The Room, the one where so many stories were told and so many stitches in their tense family were sewn up. Father is standing proudly, eyes accusing, Mother gazing at her own son in slight fear but determined, such a strong-willed women she once was. Facing fate.

He speaks for the first time in hours, pouring any indifference he has left into it. “You know why I’m here.”

...

“We’ll always love you,” her voice whispers, so thin and fragile, spider web threads.'

That final pronouncement, even though it's simple (perhaps even trite, under vastly different circumstances and different build-up) is immensely poignant.

I liked the way you approached canon and wove your own intricacies around it. Itachi is not a villain, nor is he a hero. He's that interesting little in-between space, and you've captured the feel of that space perfectly.

Amazing.

Kalliel

*adds to author alert, favorite stories*

Itachi is such a hero. His life story is a beautiful tragedy. I love this piece because it really shows how things went on that night from his point of view, killing his very family.

Gosh, this makes me want to cry and smile because Itachi is not evil- he's a friggen HERO, YEAH!

But honestly, this is beautiful. I love you're writing - so good, and lately this kind of amazing writing is hard to come across.

...Poor Itachi. I just love how you portray his emotions... and how he is a human and dammit, how much it hurt to do this.

ITACHI PWNS ALL. no question.

Stupid village elders. It is an awesome story, good job.

5/5. Very well written.

Honestly, I keep on finding myself, wishing, hoping, that Itachi really wasn't evil at all. So reading this made me very happy.

But then what he does after this is, his choice, so it's back to how it was.

But I loved it.

beautiful story. with every new story you write you continue to surpass my expectations. the way you captured itachi's thoughts and emotions, he might as well have been telling me this himself.

OH ME GEE.

That was amazing. Utterly beautiful in that sad pretty way. You're writing is amazing AND Gosh. Itachi - The tortured soul.

His eyes flash scarlet as he slashes through the leaf symbol.

Wow. Words cannot describe how amazing this story was.

:)