Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing. The title of this story is a Rocco DeLuca song…which is total love, by the way.

I Trust You to Kill Me

"My father once told me that I've always been the strong one in the family. And that it's people like him and me that have to make the tough decisions in life, because it's people like my mom and sister, who can't." – Samurai Smee

X

Chapter One

Third Person POV

"Argh! What do I do now! What the hell am I supposed to do now?!" Sasuke shouted for the umpteenth time to himself as he continued to furiously pace around the candle-lit but still dreary room of his lair – his nerves in a straining frenzy as he grit his teeth and squeezed his fingers tighter against palms.

Forcing his hurrying feet to come to a stop, Sasuke suddenly halted and hollered, "Why the hell did I save him; I should have just let him burn!"

With that, Sasuke raised one of his fists and brought it down hard on the nearest table, easily shattering the old but stable wooden fixture into an impressive display of splinters and pieces – the many glass jars filled with different colored liquids and things that had been sitting atop the table clamored noisily to the cold ground below as well.

However, for Sasuke, seeing such destruction of something that once stood whole and complete, made him unclench his hands and take a deep, calming breath – his more rational side coming back to him and reminding him of exactly why he was in his current situation.

There was no need for second guesses or sudden wonderments – Sasuke Uchiha had imagined this opportunity for years, and now was his opportunity.

The gradually simmering missing ninja remained quiet for a moment to better collect himself – he could not make any mistakes or mess this up in any way; this was too important.

Tipping his midnight head back a little he could stretch his neck and cast his empty, equally black stare to the intricately designed ceiling, Sasuke answered his previously question solemnly.

"I have to talk to him."

X

Itachi's POV

I awoke with the kind of start that immediately made my pulse quicken and chest tighten in a dull pain, just like what one would feel when first going into battle. The sound that jolted me from my dreamless slumber was the excruciating screeching of an old, rusted metal door handle being twisted against the jamb and then pried open.

In an instant, staggering amounts of sensory information flooded my systems – the very first of them all, though, was how I could not see.

I blinked, and blinked again; already tasting the old residuals of blood and battle in my mouth; but still able to see nothing.

Everything was just a solid, terrifying black, but for some reason, I did not panic…maybe, I could not panic.

My back was freezing and my shoulders felt overly strained, and I knew right away that I was shackled to some kind of stone wall – my nostrils already taking in the damp, putrid aroma of my ill-vented surroundings.

I remained physically and emotionally indifferent to it all; not really caring one way or another at thing point of where I was or what was going on – a certain kind of hulking depression already pressing down on me and rendering me in a state of callous, unmovable melancholy.

That stench in this room; a horrifying mixture of death of many and the despair of even more; served to frighten and soothe me at the same time – both sensations being possible because it was so familiar.

My bare feet were numb on the icy stone floor below, and I forced my senses to work their way upwards so I may know more about my situation.

I was rid of my short-sleeved black top and fishnet undershirt; explaining why I could feel every painful groove of the textured wall firmly at my back; leaving me only in my sash and black pants which hung loosely down my legs, leading me to believe that I was also stripped of my white calve wrappings.

My filthy, unkempt hair hung around my down-turned face and shoulders, as I took a few deep breathes through my nose and closed my sightless eyes – memories too barbaric for any normal human to have thoroughly scouring me with all their jagged points in poise as I finally understood where I was and why.

I listened intently to the sounds of the measured but purposeful footsteps as they drew nearer and nearer to me – thoughts already spinning out of control inside my conscious until I forced them to be silent so I may welcome my impending death with some kind of dignity.

I knew it was Sasuke approaching; I knew we had to be in Orochimaru's old lair which Sasuke must have obtained after killing him; and I could only imagine the look of pure, burning hatred that Sasuke must have had at me at this moment.

I took in another heavy breath of air as I kept my head down and shame visible.

I knew…it was all over for me.

BAM!

A firm, experienced hit was administered to my cheek, making my head violently turn to the side and I could already feel another split in my bottom lip start to bleed.

Sasuke's breathing was haggard, so I remained quiet, just waiting for the next blow to come that I deserved.

"Why…why did you…"Sasuke growled out at me; red-hot malice present in his strained voice; prompting me to turn my head back in his direction and slowly open my colorless eyes.

I knew in an instant what he was trying to ask; his own anger strangling his words; but I only moved my tongue around inside my mouth to try to bring some moisture to my parched cavern.

WHAM!

Another hit, this time to the other side of my face, quickly followed by a kunai being driven deep into my left thigh.

At this, I hissed and grimaced; my hands curling into light fists beside my head as I tried to mentally deal with the sharp, hot pain that was suddenly being inflicted on me.

Maybe finally seeing me respond snapped Sasuke out of his limitless fury, for he then stated more calmly, "Everything. You're going to tell me everything, right from the beginning. I…I need to fucking know why you ruined my life, Itachi!!!"

I frowned at my younger brother's words and loosened my fingers – too many words and phrases already relentlessly clashing within me far too quickly as to what I should say back…but it truly was now or never…

…and I had never felt so defeated and tired in my life.

"It's…complicated, but…" I began, my voice impossibly hoarse as I filled the eerie room with my low, timbered words.

My unsure, pathetic opener was cut off, however, as I winced again in my throat as I felt the kunai get pushed deeper into my leg.

Sasuke's face was so close to mine, though I could not see it, as he said venomously, "Try…just…make me understand."

He was not letting up on the constant pressure he maintained on that well-placed kunai and I felt more of my skin break and blood flow down my leg in response.

"I was acting on orders," I said at last, my sweating brow scrunched up in both pain and utter anguish that I had just said that aloud.

Sasuke noticeably stilled before aggressively snatching back the kunai from my leg as he moved away from me a little bit; my words serving as an obvious shock to the naïve young man.

"What do you mean you were 'acting on orders'?" Sasuke asked from his short distance before me, his words sounding like he was uncertain of if his own voice would work properly or not.

A drop of blood from my lip made a soft 'plap' sound as it hit the hard floor before I said, "I did…what I did because they were orders given to me by the Leaf Village elders. You see, the Uchiha Clan was under suspicion of betraying Konoha by becoming its own territory…something that would have inevitably called for war between the two sides."

Another drop of my blood hit the floor as I paused; my fatigue increasing exponentially from finally telling my own little brother the exact same words I have often dreamt of saying to him over these past years. Now, it was really happening…and I could not even see his face.

Despite that, despite the silence, I continued.

"I was sought out and made a spy for them. I had to report on all of the Uchiha Clan's decisions regarding this shift in power…while still being a part of them and their actions every day. It was…tiring. But one day, when the elders were certain the Uchiha were planning to annex themselves from the rest of the village, I was called in. My orders…were to eliminate every member of the Uchiha Clan…for the sake of the rest of the village."

I felt like I had been talking for days straight and my mouth was so uncomfortably dry, I did not was to say anything ever again – my head dropping out of sheer exhaustion and overworked mental capacities.

Much to my surprise, however, after a moment Sasuke shakily replied, "You're…you're lying!"

I only shook my lowered head, but not for too long as I suddenly felt Sasuke rush toward me. I could not suppress the tiny gasp that I let out upon feeling Sasuke lay his forehead on my collarbone and weep openly against my chest – my every fiber was alight with a keen, renewed energy from such an unexpected act from him.

It suddenly became clear why Sasuke's voice had been unsteady a second ago – Sasuke had been crying while I had been speaking.

My heart felt painfully heavy against my ribcage upon realizing that.

Sasuke's fists hammered aimlessly at the stone wall beside my head as his smaller frame quivered with uncontrollable sobs and countless murmurs of how I must be lying to him. I fought to remain perfectly still as I painstakingly felt his body practically come apart at the seams against my own as he vented.

His warm tears fell onto my chest like a sorrowful symphony and my hands yearned to be free of their restraints so I may comfort my devastated younger brother.

Knowing that he was like this was positively killing me; I just bore the front of it and waited patiently until he calmed down and hopefully ended my tortured life.

Within a moment or so, his blows against the stones had gotten considerably lighter as his sobs had been reduced to a few, sporadic sniffles and hiccups, and even thought it was thoroughly melting my long-forgotten soul to have Sasuke so close to me like this, I said quietly, "I am so sorry, Sasuke."

I meant it.

"Why not me?" Sasuke said with a little more ice than I had expected; his body still lightly pressed up against mine with his head lying flat on my chest; "If you were ordered to kill everyone…then why am I still alive?"

At this, I gulped – my most sensitive subject.

Damn.

Thoughtfully slipping my eyes closed again and lowering my head a bit; just enough to where my chin would touch the top of his soft, spiky hair; I said truthfully, pridelessly, "Not you… anyone but you. I could not kill…my little brother, the only person I ever really cared about. You have to understand that I knew full well what those order truly meant for me that day. I was to be Konoha's scapegoat; someone to take the fall for them…and that I would have to leave the village and be persecuted as a criminal for as long as I lived. So…my death by your hands…is exactly how it needs to be, Sasuke. What better way to…"

"Just shut up! Stop it!!" Sasuke suddenly shouted, pulling himself away from me; the tears that were once raining down on me were now cleanly falling on the floor in between us.

I wanted to say that I was sorry again, but did not dare open my mouth – the tension in the atmosphere having changed dramatically…a change to which I had no idea how to respond.

"I…I just need some time to think," Sasuke said at last, probably more to himself than to me, " I just need some time to fucking think!"

Booming footsteps sounded as Sasuke hurried towards my prison's metal-barred door, swung it open, then banged it shut – abruptly leaving me alone to my draining, depleting thoughts and inner, most personal fears once more.

One thought stood out the most in my mind, though, as it kept repeating over and over in the most merciless of ways – and it was simply that now he knows.

X

Third Person POV

"I just can't believe something like this," Sasuke said into his hands that he kept over his tear-stained face.

The younger Uchiha had only made it to the third corridor before having to stop walking completely – the weight and immense strength of Itachi's words finally starting to sink in and rattle his every nerve.

Sasuke knew his world, everything he had thought to be true and without a doubt, had just been flipped upside down.

Sasuke honestly felt like throwing up at the moment as his mind continued to turn and maul over this new information; forcing him to read even deeper into what his older brother had just finished saying to him.

Sasuke sank down into a crouch as he moved his hands into his hair, his confused onyx gaze cast directly onto the floor as his helpless mind was still trying to catch up with everything that had just happened...and more importantly, what needed to happen now.

Sasuke swallowed thickly and pitifully whispered to himself, "All this time…all this time, Itachi had…"

Sasuke could not finish his own thought right away, for more hot tears started welling up in his beautiful eyes again and began to obscure his vision and choke his throat.

"…Itachi…you've had to live this way…all because you only did what they fucking told you to do…you had no choice, and I…" Sasuke went on remorsefully, fully intending on actually throwing up in the darkened hallway on account of how terribly knotted his stomach felt, "...and I've been hating you all this time because of it."

Sasuke closed his eyes and released his hair, instead favoring to wrap his arms around his churning stomach as he also reminded himself of how he was even still alive because Itachi confessed how he just could not kill every single member of the Uchiha Clan after all.

"Not you… anyone but you. I could not kill…my little brother, the only person I ever really cared about."

One last tear hit the chilly floor in between his feet as Sasuke remembered those words especially – they had made his heart stop when he had first heard them come from his brother's mouth against his hair.

"But, if I am the one to kill you, Itachi," Sasuke spoke as if he was still standing in front of his shackled, depressed brother and speaking to him directly, "then that means that your life is in my hands now, and that it is mine to do with it whatever I want."

Sucking in a bit of air, Sasuke rose to his feet and quickly swiped his long, white sleeve over his face before continuing down the path that he had originally started before – thoughts of exactly how Sasuke wanted Itachi's life to be already becoming crystal clear to the younger Uchiha as he now re-examined this situation for what it could actually become.

"Not anymore…never again," Sasuke said quietly to himself as he walked with a lot more pride down the winding corridors and towards his destination – his words were his vocal response to when his conscious reminded him of his previous, consuming hatred of his older brother, a man that had devoted his life to ensuring the peace at Konoha and the safety of his younger brother.

All that, everything had changed, and Sasuke was now going to make sure that Itachi would know that soon enough as well.

Author's Note: Alright, so I started another one. Seriously, this one has been keeping me up at night, so I figured what the hell. lol. Be sure to drop me a line about what I have so far. Thanks a bunch! XD