Darkness. Darkness is such a fragile thing, he thinks to himself as his footsteps echo in the dank cold that seeps through the rock walls surrounding him. He can see the light at the end of the hallway, leaking from under the doorway like a yellowish virus, poisoning the comforting black that enveloped him. Sasuke stopped at the very edge of the light, waiting. His confidence wavered, but he quickly quelled it. His hands were shaking, but he clenched them into fists and told himself that it was out of his hatred for Itachi, not the fear and realization that he was about to steal his brother's life. He had never allowed himself to think of it that way before: that this was his flesh, his blood, his brother that he was about to destroy, that once Itachi was gone he would be all alone again.
What then? A little voice asked, a tiny chime ringing in the back of his head. What else do you have to live for, Uchiha Sasuke? You will be hollow; you will be barren; you will be haunted and you will still be hateful and angry and then Sasuke knew that his life wasn't worth living if there was no triumph and satisfaction once he had killed his brother. It had become more than just the dream of an avenger….or had it? Wavering on the edge of the light, the thought came to the youngest Uchiha that maybe, after all these attempts to kill Itachi, there was no meaning left to the elder's death. Instead of becoming more than an avenger…maybe he was less.
The thoughts poisoned Sasuke's mind as he wavered on the edge of the flickering light. No.
No. He would not be…he is in control…
His mind was jerked out of its revelations when the sound of soft footsteps neared the other side of the door. The only sounds he could hear were his own heart beating and the drip drip drip of the water against the walls and floors…and then the light was gone. The light was gone and he was enveloped in darkness and there was another heart beating on the other side of the door and he was losing it and his hands were wet and his eyes wide, wide to take in as much nonexistent light as they could…the door opened silently, and the silhouette standing there was still. "Hello, little brother."
Vague thoughts flitted across Sasuke's numbed mind.
It's now or never, and the mask slips back into place as swirling eyes meet.
FIN.