OOC: Application: Uchiha Sasuke

aimlessronin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:38:29 GMT

Intro/arrival to be posted Friday, 12-9-11 (tentatively).

PLAYER INFO

Name/Nickname: Kaylene or vernajast or Lene
Age: 30
Journal:
AIM/MSN/IM: vernajast (MSN/AIM/Gtalk)
Email: vernajast@gmail.com

CHARACTER INFO

Character Name: Uchiha Sasuke
Canon: Naruto
Point taken from canon: Moments after killing Itachi, while lying beside his still warm body (end of chapter 394)

Age: 16
Gender: Male

Appearance: At age 16, Sasuke stands at 5’ 5” tall (not including his hair, naturally) and weighs 115 pounds. His tendency toward looser clothing hides lean muscles and long legs. For the purposes of comparison, while Naruto’s muscles are thicker and formed through thuggish physical combat, Sasuke has focused more on genjutsu and ninjutsu, and his musculature is influenced by disciplined martial arts kata and training rather than...brawling. His outfits tend to mimic traditional samurai and ninja uniforms in design, reflecting his traditional values, and he wears a chokuto blade in the katana or uchigatana mount style at his waist. His open-style shirts were originally designed to allow for his curse-seal form to spread its “wings,” though this is no longer a necessary consideration. The arm guards or wraps that he typically wears usually hide seals on his wrists from which he can summon shadow shuriken in battle.

Sasuke has pale skin made all the more pallid by his time in Sound with Orochimaru, and his jet black hair is feathered and styled in what can only be described as “a J-pop duck-butt” (to which he merely tilts his head away, too proud to admit that it might just be an accurate comparison). He has always been considered “handsome” and “attractive” to the female population of the village in which he grew up. In fact, the initial reaction of nearly every female he’s crossed paths with since age 12 has been to blush and flirt, even if they were meeting in battle. While he’s aware of this, he’s never really considered his looks a useful asset on his path to vengeance and considers females to be mostly troublesome and annoying.

The Cursed Seal of the Heavens that once resided on his left shoulder, just at the base of his neck, was removed during the battle with his brother not long before the soul imprint was taken. He isn’t quite used to this yet and can be observed occasionally pressing his fingers to the curve of his neck and shoulder, as if to touch the missing seal.

His eyes are dark brown to the point of appearing solid black. They are sharp and often narrowed in a glare, as if seeing the world through a cynical, discriminating filter. When his Mangekyou Sharingan is activated, the iris changes color to blood red and a dark design is etched around the pupil. Each Mangekyou Sharingan is unique to the bearer, and Sasuke’s appears as three ellipses located on an axis, similar to the Rutherford-Bohr model of an atom, a symbol of energy...of power.

(Sasuke will arrive in Kannagara with the lower half of his outfit intact, but without his shirt or sword, which were lost in his battle with Itachi; he will be healed of the wounds sustained fighting Itachi.)

Background: http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Sasuke_Uchiha

Personality: Sasuke is calm and calculating, in battle as well as most other situations. He is more likely to hold his position and wait for just the right moment to attack, interject, or react. His unruffled exterior hides a very passionate, emotional core, which he keeps protected from the rest of the world with his stoic attitude and stand-offish behavior. He sees connections to others as distractions from his goal of revenge, particularly his bond with Naruto, who both infuriates and frustrates him. Sasuke has constantly compared himself to his rival in order to measure his own progress, and without taking into account the influence of Kyuubi’s chakra on Naruto, unfairly underestimated his own growth on a regular basis growing up. This led to simultaneous deep-seated resentment and distant respect, as well as a bond between the boys that can’t seem to be broken (try as he might). Sasuke has described them as “special friends,” and has said Naruto is his “most precious person”...while simultaneously trying to kill him.

Sasuke’s core values include family, honor, duty, and strength, and he regularly disregards logic in favor of upholding these values. Because of the traumatic events of his past, Sasuke has abandonment issues—another reason for keeping everyone at a distance—and post-traumatic stress that has practically taken over his life. The forced interactions with Team 7 were therapeutic, helping him to deal with these feelings in a healthy way. He even admitted to Sakura that he had thought they, as a team, could continue down their current path together, indicating his own brand of respect for Sakura and Kakashi, as well. But just as he was starting to feel like a normal, mostly well-adjusted person again, Orochimaru infected him with a curse seal, which magnified Sasuke’s emotions of hatred, fear, anger, and sorrow. The curse seal was only removed by his brother during their final battle three years later, removing with it Orochimaru’s influence and the magnification of those emotions. However, the damage has already been done as Sasuke has exhibited signs that his psyche is still very distorted.

Because he has grown into adolescence without the steady, guiding influence of his parents, Sasuke gravitates toward people of authority: initially his father, then the memory of his brother, Kakashi, then Orochimaru, and lately, Tobi. In general, he is willing to take orders rather than make his own decisions, preferring to be told what path to take--all the while keeping his own goals at the forefront of his mind. He tolerates this for as long as his own goals are still moving forward, but as soon as divergence is detected, he has no issue with stabbing (literally) this authority figure in the back and changing sides. In this way, he is opportunistic, leaving his motives to be constantly questioned. In his heart, Sasuke was only ever interested in exacting revenge for his parents’ deaths; he hadn’t thought past the final moment, believing that he would die in the battle alongside his brother, ending his suffering and restoring his clan’s name.

He never planned for his own survival; he was too single-mindedly focused on his goal. There was an endpoint and he was rushing toward it with everything he had. When he awoke to find that he had survived, he was apathetic, quiet. He didn’t speak for nearly two entire chapters while Tobi baited and taunted him with Itachi’s name. It was over. He was relieved, numb. Tobi pushed harder, telling Sasuke that he had information about Itachi’s motives, information he definitely needed to hear. He wouldn’t relent until, finally, Itachi’s amaterasu in Sasuke’s eye activated and burned Tobi with black flames. Even this wasn’t enough to pique Sasuke’s interest or convince him to ask Tobi any questions.

In fact, even when Tobi revealed himself to be “Uchiha Madara,” whom Sasuke knew helped his brother slay his clan, Sasuke’s response was, “Enough! I don't even care anymore! Go away and never come near me again!” Previously, he would have been very interested in any scrap of information about his brother. Instead, it took much coaxing, taunting, and persuasion for Tobi to finally get him interested. This leads me to believe that Sasuke truly was finished with revenge. He had achieved his goal, his life’s endeavor. He didn’t want any more to do with it. Tobi caught Sasuke at a very vulnerable time, just as the full impact of what he had done and the grief of killing his beloved brother would be washing over him. This is why Tobi was so adamant about leaving Naruto and the others and rushing back to where the battle had taken place. It was crucial to his plans that he should take Itachi’s body and Sasuke, before the opportunity was missed.

This crucial moment is where I will be taking Sasuke’s soul imprint, as he is lying on the rocks, half-conscious, beside his brother’s body. Tobi won’t have the opportunity to take advantage of Sasuke’s vulnerability. Sasuke won’t learn of Konoha’s alleged involvement in his family’s death, and he won’t know the truth of his brother’s love and protection. This means that he won’t set out on a second, more destructive mission of vengeance. The empty space left by Itachi (and all of his family) in his chest won’t be filled by the rage Tobi provided to him in canon by goading him about his loving brother and how the village he grew up in betrayed them both. He will retain the quiet, serious demeanor of when he first awoke in Tobi’s cave—seemingly calm, but full of sorrow, fear, and confusion bubbling just underneath the surface.

Sasuke’s issues with his brother are layered and complicated. He spent nearly 10 years chasing after his goal. Every movement, action, thought revolved around his brother, killing him, exacting revenge for his family. It was his entire life. An obsession acquired while still in his formative years. When one lives under a specific mental pressure/state for so long, it becomes automatic, instinct to think in that mode. It takes years to undo the damage. Even on a physical level, it will take time for his brain to "rewire" itself. Every mention of Itachi will send a surge of fear, pain, and the remembered need for vengeance through his body. His heart will race. A burst of adrenaline will fill his veins. His mind will always seek to fall back into the deepest groove, that of following his desire for revenge. Once he finally accepts it (something that will be neither easy nor quick in coming) he will logically know that it is over, that his brother is dead. Emotion and psychology rarely concede to logic, however, and the body and mind tend to react on instinct. Much like a beaten spouse who continues to feel involuntary obedience to his/her abuser anytime they encounter the person, Sasuke will not be able to fight his conditioning. He will need to first decide that he wants to break free, and then it will take a very long time and force of will to actually reach out for that freedom.

He also believes it was his own hand that killed his brother (despite readers seeing Zetsu’s indication that Itachi seemed to be unwell, that he didn’t seem to be fighting at full strength to start with), and the act of killing someone in and of itself takes a toll on a person psychologically. While it’s true that Sasuke has battled others to the death, none were so up-close and personal. Orochimaru didn’t die, but instead tried to take over Sasuke’s mind and took up residence there in hiding, only to be killed by Itachi during their battle, and Deidara caused himself to explode. Training to kill can never prepare you for the actual act, and Sasuke will have to deal with the fallout from both taking a life and the fact that it was someone dear to him, despite all that has happened.

Also, with the death of his brother, Sasuke’s “idol” has fallen. His hero. The person he looked up to and aspired to surpass more than any other. To Sasuke’s thinking, there was Itachi from his childhood and Itachi who betrayed his family. Both sets of memories exist separately in his mind. However, during their battle, Itachi made sure to connect the two with his final words and actions. Sasuke didn’t witness the death of a betrayer; it was the death of his beloved big brother. And while killing the man who murdered his clan was justifiable, noble even, killing his brother who protected and trained him was despicable, a deeper betrayal. He was the last connection to their lost family. His only blood relative, and before the massacre, the person to whom he could most closely relate.

Which introduces another issue: Sasuke wanted to be like and surpass his brother. His brother who betrayed their family and killed the village. The person he spent his entire adolescence hunting. Sasuke’s self-image is closely tied to his own perception of Itachi. After the battle, it is hard to reconcile the caring, protective brother with the person trying to remove his eyes and destroy him. And then, at the very end, the kind brother returns for one moment before his death. It’s a constant push-pull, up-down ride for Sasuke and his own self-image has been left frayed by the encounter. Without this pinnacle of perfection to aspire toward, without the goal of revenge pushing him onward...what else does he have left? Who is he? He can’t say because he doesn’t know. Sasuke the Avenger overtook Sasuke the Person at some point, and now Sasuke the Person has been drawn out from the darkness, but without any preparation. Sasuke has always masked insecurities with false confidence, arrogance, and coldness; I don’t expect that to change now.

With no new agenda provided by Tobi to distract him, Sasuke will be forced to face the regret and guilt of killing his brother and the confusion of no longer having any direction or meaning in his life. He will have to accept that victory didn’t feel as good as he had imagined, that it was bittersweet at best, and that it didn’t actually change anything. Plus, as there are many Naruto cast members already in Kannagara, he will eventually face the team members he betrayed, though he will put forth his best effort to avoid them for as long as possible. All of this while stepping through each phase of the grieving process in real (game) time.

Abilities/Strengths: Sasuke’s strengths speak to the man he could have become had he traveled a different path in life.

Physically, Sasuke’s body has been molded by constant training from a young age. His muscles are slender and built for agility and martial arts. He is a graceful fighter whose mind and body are equally as quick and deadly in battle. He is an expert swordsman and excels in the use of shuriken and kunai thanks to his brother’s ANBU-level training before Sasuke was old enough to enter the academy. He is very accurate, a perfectionist when it comes to fighting, and has put in the hours of training necessary to be the very best.

As a strategist, he has shown himself to be a genius, living up to the expectations of those in the village who remembered the skill of his clan. In Team 7, Sasuke would have grown to be the brains behind Naruto’s brawn and Sakura’s medical skills. And on more than one occasion, the boys proved that when they put their heads together they could outsmart, outmaneuver, and in Naruto’s case, outnumber anyone. This skill made Sasuke the only member of Team 7 who stood any chance against Kakashi alone in their first bell challenge as a genin team.

Sasuke’s eyes give him a distinct advantage over most opponents. The Sharingan are a family trait passed down through his Uchiha heritage from the Sage of the Six Paths. It emerges in the bearer for the first time under extreme emotional distress. In Sasuke’s case, his Sharingan emerged for the first time while defending Naruto on their first mission. (Or so he thinks—while in canon he will remember later in the manga that it emerged the night Itachi killed his family, the Sasuke I’m introducing into Kannagara won’t have this knowledge. It was a suppressed memory unlocked by his first conversation with Tobi.)

In its basic form, the Sharingan allow the bearer to see the flow of chakra, allowing them to detect genjutsu and other chakra disturbances as well as deconstruct jutsu visually. This allows the wielder to copy any jutsu he or she sees and make it their own, providing they have the skill level to perform it. Even if they don’t, they can at least deconstruct it and find its weaknesses, making ninjutsu and genjutsu weak against an Uchiha bearing Sharingan. Unfortunately, taijutsu or martial arts is also weakened against the Sharingan because the Uchiha can use it to pick up minuscule details, such as the tightening of a muscle or the exact arc of a kick, giving them an advantage in hand-to-hand fights. It also allows the user to exert a small amount of hypnotic suggestion on his or her opponent—such as when Sasuke held the Kyuubi in thrall using the basic Sharingan while inside of Naruto’s mind. These abilities are magnified when the Sharingan is forced to upgrade to the next level.

The Sharingan upgrades to the Mangekyou Sharingan upon the bearer taking the life of his most precious person (though there must be other ways as Kakashi also has Mangekyou Sharingan and nothing in canon suggests that he has murdered his most precious person; Sasuke would find this highly questionable, curious, and irritating, something I’d like to explore in Kannagara). In Sasuke’s case, this person was Itachi, but before leaving the village, he could have earned it by killing Naruto instead, assuming he actually went through with it. The Mangekyou Sharingan grants the user two high-level Sharingan techniques: tsukuyomi and amaterasu. Using tsukuyomi gives the Sharingan bearer hypnosis-like genjutsu abilities that can infamously induce 72 hours of torture on the victim. Tsukuyomi is also capable of putting an opponent to sleep, inducing paralysis, replaying memories, or creating various illusions of the user’s choice, and it can only be broken by another Uchiha according to Itachi. This technique originates from Sasuke’s right eye. Itachi was considered a master of this technique; in canon, Sasuke has shown that he isn’t nearly as skilled. On the other hand, Sasuke has shown great progress with his left eye technique, Amaterasu, probably due to his masterful control of the fire element jutsu. Amaterasu creates black flames at the point at which the user is looking. The black flames cannot be extinguished normally with water or anything else, and they can supposedly burn for seven days and nights, with or without anything to burn (trees, clothing, etc).

However, while using the basic Sharingan takes very little effort and is second nature for the bearer, using high-level Mangekyou Sharingan techniques requires a large amount of chakra and they must be limited in their repeated use. Plus, the Mangekyou Sharingan’s sight deteriorates with each use of these high-level techniques. And each use of Amaterasu leaves Sasuke’s eye bleeding. As the Sasuke from which the imprint will be taken has only just gained Mangekyou Sharingan moments before entering Kannagara, he has yet to actually activate it or test it. (And while there are further levels and stronger techniques available, this version of Sasuke will not be capable of using them in his current state.)

Aside from Sharingan-related techniques, Sasuke is also skilled in fire and lightning element jutsu. He learned katon (fire release) jutsu from his father after Itachi’s fall from grace, not long before the clan was massacred. Learning katon is considered a rite of passage for Uchiha, and by teaching it to Sasuke, Fugaku was acknowledging his coming of age and his status as his son. Sasuke practiced it to the point of exhaustion in order to master it and impress his father, and it became one of his strongest techniques until he began to master lightning element chakra. After Orochimaru marked Sasuke with his curse seal during the chuunin exams, Kakashi took Sasuke away from the village to teach him chidori, his own famous original technique, in order to persuade Sasuke not to leave the village. He thought the sense of empowerment gained from such a powerful technique assuage his desires for even more power. He never expected Sasuke to use it against his own teammate. After the timeskip, Sasuke returns with the ability to use several variations of chidori, including chidori senbon (needles of lightning chakra), chidori spear (a single shaft of lightning chakra extended over a distance), chidori katana (lightning chakra channeled through the length of his sword), and chidori current (lightning chakra given off in all directions from his body, itself). When he was infected with the curse seal’s chakra, he could mix it into these attacks to increase their power, but since Itachi removed the curse seal, this is no longer an option.

Aside from fighting skills, at his core, Sasuke is a very strong person. He’s been through more than most people could handle, and while he’s come out somewhat worse for the wear, overall, he’s proven he’s a survivor. He is intelligent, having scored consistently high on tests in his academy days and having mastered multiple jutsu and fighting techniques far ahead of his age-mates. Generally speaking, he is also level-headed and displays a great deal of grace under fire. He maintains a strict poker face and approaches problems logically, even while those around him are panicking. The exception to this rule, of course, is when the matter at hand has to do with his family and his quest for revenge or those people whom he has allowed to get close to him. He is passionate inside, despite trying to affect a cool, distant exterior. It is this passion that drove him to hunt down his brother, to compete with Naruto as a rival, to defend him at the risk of his own life, and to master techniques like chidori and push himself to the limit. Sasuke’s passion is carefully controlled most of the time, but when unleashed, it can mean the difference between failure and victory, giving him an edge over his opponents. As a ninja, this could be considered a drawback as it could lead him to sometimes react emotionally instead of intelligently, but as a person, this is a great asset as Sasuke, who could have turned completely cold and inhuman, was forced to live and feel and exist here and now. It connected him with Naruto and the rest of Team 7. It kept him human. And while the curse seal actually magnified and used his passion against him to corrupt his mind, it was this passion that protected him when Orochimaru tried to take his body for his own (as Sasuke had promised him). Sasuke’s passion fueled his need to live, to continue his quest, to keep existing in his own right and not hand over the reins to someone else.

As will be detailed in the “Weaknesses” section, Naruto (and their bond) is one of Sasuke’s biggest weaknesses. Naruto is also one of his biggest strengths. There is no denying the way that Sasuke’s demeanor changes with the mention of Naruto’s name. Theirs is a friendship forged in battle, teamwork, and shared hardships. Though Sasuke likes to point out that Naruto never had a family so he can’t really know what it’s like to miss them and to suddenly be alone, something inside of Sasuke resonates with Naruto’s loneliness and recognizes it as similar to his own. Naruto was someone who, on some level, Sasuke felt could understand or at least didn’t look down on him with pity from the safety of a comfortable life. Naruto always saw him as an equal and a rival, and it was this rivalry that helped Sasuke to become stronger, to learn the value of teamwork, and to (almost) find his place in the village. And just as Naruto pushed him to excel, Sasuke pushed Naruto. In that situation, one can’t help but be affected by the other, and for a while, Sasuke felt he could remain in the village, give up on revenge, and become part of Team 7. If not for the curse seal, he most likely would have integrated comfortably back into society. Naruto took his mind off of Itachi and forced Sasuke to live in the here-and-now of their missions and their training. He forced Sasuke to display emotion, to react, to be more human. Orochimaru and Tobi both seem to have understood this as both sought to keep the two separated, and each time Sasuke and Naruto met, Sasuke was urged to “come along,” “hurry up,” or not “waste” his time with Naruto. And yet, Sasuke always waited and always listened to what Naruto had to say. No one else has this effect on Sasuke, and Sasuke always walks away from Naruto seemingly more confident and alive than before.

[While this is true, in Kannagara I expect Sasuke to want to avoid Naruto (and his other canon-mates) as much as possible for as long as possible. They represent things he’s just not ready to deal with or face, and there is a certain amount of fear in him that he can’t consciously understand or acknowledge when the thought of meeting them arises.]

Weaknesses: Sasuke’s weaknesses are mostly due to trauma or are self-inflicted. If he had Naruto’s attitude, but his own strengths, he would be unstoppable. As it is, his weaknesses are often self-defeating.

Sasuke’s many mental problems originate from a childhood spent in a mentally and emotionally abusive household. He received inconsistent treatment from his father, who was domineering, cold, and severely disconnected from his youngest son. His mother was a passive “good wife,” and his brother was torn between obedience to their father and protecting his younger brother. Sasuke often felt unwanted by his father, unloved, and unnoticed. He turned his hero-worship on his brother instead.

He suffers post-traumatic stress from the night his family was killed. He has flashbacks, nightmares, and moments of intense fear and anxiety. Not only did he witness the last moments of his parents’ lives, but Itachi forced him to relive the entire massacre in his mind with tsukuyomi as if he had actually been there. He displays symptoms such as hypervigilance, anger, avoidance of even speaking Itachi’s name (instead, he refers to him as “that man” or “a certain person” often), obsession over taking revenge for the inflicted trauma, and the inability to feel certain feelings, like happiness, optimism for the future, and joy over accomplishments.

When Itachi slaughtered their clan, Sasuke not only felt the betrayal of his family, but a personal betrayal of himself. His hero, his brother, his most important person took away everything in his life and left him alone. It instilled in Sasuke the belief that all good thing are transient, that there is no hope for the future, that happiness is always one moment away from being taken. This influences his decisions. For instance, when Sasuke was leaving the village, he told Sakura that he had thought that they could all continue down the path together as a team, but that it wasn’t meant to be. It’s natural for someone with borderline personality traits to believe that good things don’t last, which makes it easy for them to give those things up without feeling the loss until a much later time, if at all. In Sasuke’s mind, it was only normal that he should have to lose what was becoming a very good part of his life in order to continue toward his goals. In fact, he never completely believed he something so good could last anyway. This is why Sasuke is loath to form bonds to start with. He knows that it will only hurt when they are broken. These beliefs keep him from properly integrating into the rest of the village after his family’s murder. Thus, he felt even more alone.

In battle, these traits come into play when you examine his fighting style. Sasuke is a lone fighter. His techniques, particularly his lightning jutsu, are dangerous for others fighting nearby. And he has no problem harming his “teammates” in order to complete his task. He can’t tolerate weakness and believes that they should either fend for themselves or they deserve what they get. He can’t afford to feel things like compassion or empathy for anyone else because allowing such weaknesses also gives exposes him to the eventual pain of losing that person. In his youth, he only learned to work as a team with Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi over time. When Itachi arrived in Konoha, he nearly lost Kakashi. When he fought with Naruto on the roof of the hospital, he nearly lost Sakura to his own impetuous need to prove himself. And to add insult to injury, he witnessed just how much Naruto had grown by comparison to himself.

Which leads to his next major weakness: Sasuke measures his self-worth by comparing himself to others—his brother, Naruto, Kakashi—but he never takes into account factors like level of experience or available chakra. Thus, he has always been disappointed in his progress, failing to see just how far he has come. This has pushed him to take drastic action in the past, including leaving the village to seek out Orochimaru (whose curse seal only magnified his feelings of inferiority), and he has often forced himself to train and fight far beyond his limits. For instance, when Kakashi was teaching him to do chidori, Sasuke was told not to use it more than twice per day, but when he discovered he could use it more often if he channeled curse seal chakra through the jutsu, he did so despite knowing that each use of the curse seal would allow it to more deeply corrupt his mind. It is this need to be better than anyone else—to surpass all of the others in order to get anywhere close to surpassing and beating Itachi—that fuels Sasuke’s unquenchable thirst for power. It is a trait his father began ingraining in him from a very young age, showing obvious preference for his brother until this was no longer an option, and only when Itachi was disgraced in the eyes of the clan did Fugaku turn his eye on Sasuke and begin to train him in the ways of the Uchiha. In his own way, Sasuke is always trying to earn his father’s approval, even from the grave.

It was this need for rivalry and fast growth that caused him to compete with Naruto, the closest thing to a rival available to him at the time he was assigned to his genin team. This bond has shown itself to be one of his biggest weaknesses throughout the series. During their first mission, Naruto nearly cost Sasuke his life, nearly cost him his vengeance, when they were fighting Haku and Sasuke jumped between the two, defending Naruto from Haku’s ice senbon. Later, when he should have killed Naruto at the Valley of the End to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan, he chose instead to leave him seriously wounded and walk away. Killing Naruto would have brought him far closer to surpassing his brother and completing his revenge, yet he couldn’t claim that power. When they finally met in Shippuden, after the collapse of Orochimaru’s hideout, Sasuke could have, once again, killed Naruto and gained the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan. Again, he chose not to. Each time he encounters Naruto in canon after leaving Konoha, Sasuke takes time to talk to him, to hear what he has to say. He can’t help but respond, but he also can’t make himself take that step, cross that line, and completely sever his bond with both Naruto and all he represents. This causes him to hold back, miss opportunities, and actually progress more slowly than he would have.

And now that he’s actually done it, surpassed Itachi and killed him, Sasuke can’t handle it. It’s gnawing at his insides and breaking him apart. He sees him everywhere: in the faces of people he encounters, in his dreams, in his mind. He hears his voice. He only wants him to go away, it’s over, but Itachi is always there lurking in his thoughts. This is another symptom of borderline personality disorder and post-traumatic stress, as Sasuke has created an alter (a separate personality) in his head in which to put all of his doubts and fears and given it the face and voice of his brother. It gives him unbidden ideas, sows doubts, keeps him from being the decisive, confident person he had always tried to be externally. The thoughts may not reflect his own conscious desires, but it doesn’t stop Sasuke from acting on them, or starting to, before he realizes he is doing so. In canon, the Itachi in his mind appears as happy memories of his brother after Tobi explained his version of Itachi’s betrayal. In Kannagara, without the reinforcement that Itachi was a good person, Sasuke is left with the memories of his brother the murderer. In reality, it is Sasuke’s broken mind using the image of his brother to protect him from the world around him despite his revenge having been completed.

Defining Quote(s):

"Just shut up for once! What the hell do you know about it?! It's not like you ever had a family in the first place! You were on your own right from the beginning, what makes you think you know anything about it?! Huh?! I'm suffering now because I had those ties, how on earth could you possibly understand, what it feels like to lose all that?!" - Sasuke

"I know the four of us have worked together. And for a while, I thought I could choose that path instead… but in the end… I've decided on revenge. That's always been my purpose of living." - Sasuke

"We are brothers. I am the wall you must climb over, so you and I will continue to exist together." - Itachi speaking to Sasuke

“Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero

“Brevity is a great charm of eloquence.“ - Marcus Tullius Cicero

“The solitude and anger / that do battle inside me / will always guide me to the answers / that I know I may not see. They are the bonds that hold me tighter. They are the chains that weigh on me. One day I know they will be gone.” - Distant (Rubicon II), VNV Nation [Sasuke’s theme song]

Other: At some point in his life, Sasuke enjoyed reading books and scrolls, though this was eventually eclipsed by training. He is very devout in lighting incense and saying prayers for his deceased parents and family, though he doesn’t consider himself spiritual. He hears his brother’s voice in his head occasionally, mocking him, a symptom of his mental illness and representative of his own self-doubt and fear, personified (similar to an alter in someone with borderline personality disorder).

between the idea and the reality...

OOC: Application: Uchiha Sasuke