Title: Dead Man Walking
Fandom: Naruto
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: none
Summary: A few years down the road and Sasuke has reached his goal. So, what?
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A world was ending but it was the smallest details that now seemed the most important. And it was raining. The rain had started at dawn and hadn't let up once since. Sasuke would know. He had let his feet lead him out of the borrowed room and out of the village before the first drops had hit the ground. Then he had walked.
--
"Where are you going?" The voice was subdued. Calm. The tone had struck something odd in Sasuke and made him pause.
"Out." The quick flash of anger and frustration in the blue eyes was familiar and that almost make the Uchiha boy smirk. Almost. But the odd, thoughtful look had already reappeared in the other teen's eyes.
"When will you be back?"
"I don't know."
Another thoughtful look and a quiet nod were his responses before the blue-eyed boy disappeared in a puff of smoke.
--
He hadn't had a destination in mind. He had just needed to get away from this small backwater village in the middle of nowhere whose name he did not even know. There was no Shinobi presence for miles around. In this forsaken land, the closest Hidden Village was weeks away on foot. The closest human settlement, days. There was nothing but hills, plains and a few trees over here.
--
"Anou sa, anou sa, Sasuke. We haven't seen anyone for days! Where are we?"
"On a plain, idiot. I knew you were stupid but I didn't know you were blind too."
"What? Take that back! And tell me where we are!"
"You've got a map, look for yourself and leave me alone."
A pause. Then, "Sasuke, these plains are immense. There's no way to find outwhere we are precisely."
Sakuke ignored him.
"Sasuke, are we lost?"
"Shut up, idiot."
"Ha! I knew it, you got us lost. Just admit it, bastard. And don't call me idiot."
"I don't get lost."
"And what do you call this, then?" Naruto had made a vague gesture towards their surroundings and Sasuke had glared at him furiously. Angrier than he had any right to be at the innocently meant remark.
--
Now, mid-afternoon found him sitting against the trunk of a dead tree, staring at the grey sky. His mind kept circling back to the absence of Shinobi. He wondered if these thoughts came from homesickness but dismissed the idea immediately. He had left Konoha years ago without looking back. He could probably blame Naruto for the origin of this line of thoughts if he wanted to. The blond idiot kept talking about the Hidden Leaf village like he had left it yesterday. He had caught up to Sasuke a couple of years ago and stayed. The black haired boy had stopped trying to get rid of the nuisance. It just wasn't worth the effort.
--
Feral red eyes glared down at him but it was Naruto's trademark determination and spirit that came out from between the bared fangs. "I can't force you to come back. I understand that now. But I damn well can wait for you to get your head out of your butt and make sure you stay alive until then."
Sasuke lifted his head off the ground and tried to get a grip on the boy straddling him down. "Get. Off."
In response, Naruto slammed his head back on the ground. Sasuke saw stars and tasted blood again. "Make me. You're not getting rid of me this time, Sasuke. Try that and I'll kick your ass. And if you win and leave me behind, I'll find you. The only way you're getting me out of your life is by killing me. And…"
Silence. When Sasuke's eyes stopped showing him blurs, red had bled to blue and pure misery was written on every line of the blonde's face. "You didn't kill me two years ago. You couldn't. Do you think… do you think you'll be able to today? Sasuke?" The question was barely a pained whisper.
For a long moment, Sasuke could only stare. Then he raised a hand slowly, to touch Naruto's sleeve, to check this impossibility's solidity. There was Naruto, the dead-last loser who was used to being put down in pursuit of his goals. It was the same Naruto who always got up again and again because he didn't know the meaning of the words 'giving up'. His rival to the bitter end. His best friend.
A headache of the worst kind, the kind that never went away. But it was his chest that hurt, seemingly too tight and barely getting enough air as Sasuke closed his eyes and stopped struggling against the inevitable.
--
In a corner of his mind, Sasuke knew he was soaked to the bone but he didn't care. He even welcomed the sensation as he welcomed the temporary solace the wandering of his mind could bring. It was raining and idly, he found it appropriate. Someone had to cry and Sasuke didn't know if he could. The Uchiha genius son was dying today. Was already dead. It was past midday and Itachi's execution had been scheduled for noon. Sasuke had missed it. Itachi's death had been his life's goal, revenge for the slaughter of his whole family his driving force and he hadn't been present for the end.
--
"Where are you going?"
"Out."
"When will you be back?"
"I don't know."
--
It had been sheer dumb luck that had Sasuke and Naruto arriving at the village the day before and following the commotion to find Kisame having his fun, Itachi watching nearby. The Mist missing-nin had not survived his fight with Naruto. Itachi had survived his with Sasuke to be executed later by common villagers. Their justice. Or vengeance, he had never been clear on the difference.
--
"You've finally gotten stronger, little brother." The man stated smoothly. As if he wasn't bleeding, wasn't down on his knees and as if his voice hadn't been made coarse from the smoke. As if he hadn't been blinded in the fight. Always and no matter what, without a care.
Sasuke was barely in a better state. But he was still standing, still had his eyes and he had a kunai in his hands. And he was poised to strike. But first, he had something to ask, his voice impossibly thick in contrast. "Why?"
Itachi tilted his head. "Why not?"
They loved you. We all loved you, he wanted to say. But his throat had closed off and no words came out. In the end, he knocked Itachi out. But he didn't kill him. And when he tried to walk away, he did not take two steps before falling to his knees and throwing up bile, eyes burning. "It's the smoke", he told Naruto when he showed up later.
--
There would be no glory in Itachi's death. That struck Sasuke as disappointing. The whole clan hadgone in the night without the other ninja of Konoha realising anything before it was too late. Itachi too would go without a bang. And no other ninja, none of his peers would realise. And now Sasuke knew why the lack of Shinobi bothered him. The pride of the Uchiha clan stung at the thought of going with barely a whimper. His eyes flicked to the side, distracted.
"It's done."
--
"Ne, Sasuke, what's that?"
"Watch out, idiot! It's acid."
"Whatever do you need that for?"
"Itachi is a missing-nin. But he still bears the training of the Leaf. And he still shares the bloodline of the Uchiha. Do the math."
Naruto didn't speak again that night and Sasuke didn't look at him. He just set the bottle in sight beside his backpack and tried to sleep. The blond believed ninja weren't simple glorified tools and had feelings to take into account. He might be right. But they both knew they had duty first.
--
The blonde boy didn't say anything else, merely flopping down on the grass beside him. His friend watched him for a moment, and then turned back towards the grey clouds. There would be nothing left of Uchiha Itachi. Naruto would have made sure of this before coming to find Sasuke. The dark-haired boy could picture him picking up reluctantly the bottle of acid he had left in their common room and -
"Say something, bastard."
He glanced back towards Naruto but the other teen didn't seem in the mood to push more aggressively, still lying down on the soft ground. Say something. He thought about apologising for leaving Naruto to deal with Itachi on his own this morning but decided against it. He'd want to know why he had left and Sasuke didn't know himself. He thought about apologising about other things, things they had left unsaid for a long time. He thought about thanking him, for having made the effort of looking for him, for staying, for believing, for so many things he wouldn't usually voice. He thought about telling him he was ready to follow him back to Konoha. In the end, he only sighed and turned his eyes towards the sky, looking for something he couldn't find. Say something.
"My brother's dead."
Fin.