Don't own Naruto. It would suck if I owned it, so it's a good thing.
Sasuke stared at his brother in horror. "You-you," he choked. He wanted to run. Horror paralyzed his legs and he felt weak and helpless and defenseless against Itachi Uchiha, the great genius prodigy he was always hearing about. Itachi, Itachi, Itachi, it was always about him. Sasuke didn't mind though, not usually. He respected his brother and loved him and he'd always known he'd never be like Itachi, so when people reminded him of this, directly or indirectly, he'd always just smiled and promise to himself that he would always work hard to catch up, and, maybe, surpass him someday. He just wanted his brother's respect, not theirs, anyway.
But now, now was different.
Itachi had killed everyone he loved. He had killed the Uchiha clan. Sasuke's first emotion was horror, grief and crushing pain. Itachi? How could he? What was going on? In his seven year old mind, Itachi was the perfect one. The perfect shinobi, the perfect ANBU, the perfect everything. The perfect murderer. The word stung. It had never affected him before, knowing Itachi killed people. He knew it was the Shinobi way. But this... was a massacre. It was different. It was a living horror, a nightmare. But he couldn't wake up from this one.
"How could you?" Sasuke choked out, starting to back up. "Foolish little brother," Itachi said coldly. What hurt the most was his apathy. He didn't seem to care that he had just killed their parents, the people who'd given them life, had raised them, had loved them. Itachi had been loved the most, and he had killed them. "You're pathetic. Not even worth killing," Itachi said. He didn't smirk or sneer. Just stared at his little brother, who was shaking on the rug. Sasuke's breath caught in his chest.
Itachi was right of course. He could never be worthy for his brother. He'd been stupid, thinking he could ever surpass Itachi, never mind ever catching up. It was a silly dream, a hope, a goal he could never attain. Because Itachi could not be beaten.
Sasuke backed up further, back pressed against the wall. ""You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live... if you wish to kill me, then hate me, despise me... and by all means flee, cling to your wretched life." Sasuke was tempted to. He wanted to run. He feared death. But... Itachi thought he was weak. Itachi wanted him to hate him, make Sasuke stronger. And Sasuke, he wanted so badly to win Itachi's respect. Itachi scorned him, thinking he was afraid of death? Sasuke would show him. Sasuke would show him that he wasn't.
Sasuke took the kunai out of his bag. He knelt and looked up at Itachi once more. "I've always wanted your respect," Sasuke said, voice shaking a little. In his heart, he wondered if he wanted to do this. Then images of the dead, the beloved whose bodies were now scattered around the village, clouded his mind and he felt such a sorrow, a gut-wrenching pain that stemmed directly from the heart and consumed all fear he had of his brother or even death. "And I love you. But, I can never hate you. Not enough, never enough to kill you." What he didn't know, was that,over time, grief is swallowed by rage, and then hatred.
Itachi watched his younger brother. He was taking out a kunai. Why wasn't he running? Itachi expected him to run, run from expected death.
But what he expected, was not what happened.
"I do not fear death!"
And his little brother, his young seven year old brother, plunged the kunai into, and then through, his wrist.
Blood gushed from his ruined flesh and in seconds he was pallid and swayed on his feet. But the pain... was a relief. He liked it, oddly enough. There was a fine line between pain and pleasure, and right now, any form of pleasure, no matter how painful, was better than the emotional hole in his chest. He raised the kunai again and added a slash onto the same arm. Again. He switched hands. Itachi was frozen. His... little... brother.
Sasuke was hurting so badly he had resorted to kill himself. He did not fear death.
No, no, no! This wasn't meant to happen. Itachi had expected him to run, not kill himself. Itachi found his cold frontier crumbling. He dropped his sword and darted forward, catching his brother as he fell. He was so small, so thin and heartbroken. Itachi held back tears for a moment, cradling the child, but then realized, who was going to see the great Itachi Uchiha cry? No one. So he let them fall, wild and untamed and free. "No, Sasuke, no, this wasn't the plan!" he yelled, watching his brother's eyes flutter, almost unconscious as the life ebbed from him.
Review and I might make this one-shot into a full story.