Disclaimer: Unless me and Kishimoto and I suddenly had a body switch then yes, Naruto belongs to me.
"Onii-san! I want to be just like you when I grow up! I'm going to be big and strong!"
Itachi closed his eyes.
"Yeah?" came an amused voice and a chuckle.
A young Sasuke nodded enthusiastically. "No. I don't want to be just like you. I want to be better!"
Itachi smiled fondly at his younger brother.
"Well then I wish you luck."
Sasuke pouted. "Are you suggesting something?"
"No little brother. I was just saying that as you grow stronger, I will too," said Itachi ruffling Sasuke's hair.
The younger Uchiha made a small whine of protest. "I'm not a little kid and I'll definitely beat you!"
"I'll be looking forward to that day," Itachi replied, distant, gaze clouded over.
It was so painful…
"Onii-san!" a joyful voice cried out as Sasuke ambushed his older brother, tackling him and laughing in pure happiness just for being able to see him.
So painful to have everything that he loved to be taken away, to have to kill his own family and watch their bodies bathe in their own blood. He no longer had the comfort of his mother, the approving eyes of his father, the happiness of his little brother…
He hated it.
He hated having no choice but to kill, for the sake of everything.
It hurts…
It hurts having Sasuke hate him, to want to kill him, to not know the truth underlying the massacre.
It hurts to have to leave Sasuke to deal with the anguish and trauma he himself had left behind.
His own existence hurts. Everything he's ever done… When was the last time he had tasted his own happiness? His heart was always plagued with a heavy feeling that would never leave for the entirety of his life.
When he was with Sasuke, he could always forget the world for a few cherished minutes. He was not the prodigy that became ANBU captain at the age of only thirteen. He was not worrying about his clan's stirring uprising. He was not trying to meet everyone's expectations.
With Sasuke, he was simply an older brother and a human. His carefree nature and laughter eased his heart, making him want to protect that.
His ambitions to kill him has made him stronger however… and he managed to grant his own wish to surpass him…
Good for you…
Itachi wanted to cry. He had not felt so since he watched his otouto run out of the room, run away from him, crying in intense sadness that he cannot comfort Sasuke from… not this time. He had not actually cried since he watched Sasuke fall in the middle of the street in the dead of night, exhausted, knowing he is no match for his older brother and feeling the pain of having your own brother killing his own family weighing in his heart when he wakes up.
Itachi wanted to laugh. Although he couldn't remember when the last time he even twitched the corners of his mouth was, he was sure that his defeat should grant Sasuke at least a smile.
Everything was according to plan. Now, there was nothing else that could be done. He had carefully planned everything, chess pieces in place but now, trusting that they would move on their own, to their designated roles.
For everything he was willing to die a disgrace.
For Sasuke, he was willing to die as his faithful big brother.
"Onii-san!"
Sasuke…
"Play with me!"
I'm sorry…
I'm sorry for failing you. Sorry for making things difficult.
"Onii-san is the best!"
Sorry for not being the best big brother you could have.
"Onii-san… Practice shuriken techniques with me today…"
But please understand what I had to do.
It was my duty to devote my life for the future of the shinobi world that I have pledged to but most of all, you.
Because…
"I'm busy… Can't dad teach you?"
I am…
"You always act like I'm a pest."
Your…
"I'll always be there for you."
Big brother…
A/N: You know what? I had actually entertained the idea that Itachi was a good guy a long time ago because I had always wondered why Itachi had wanted Sasuke to go after him in revenge instead of just finishing it.
But anyway, I was so upset when I found out Itachi died and actually did turn out to be a good guy. I'm also pretty mad at Sasuke for deciding to attack Konoha because that's like flushing Itachi's life down the toliet. And revenge never solved anything. You'd think emo boy (no offense to Sasuke lovers but I don't hate him, just mad) would have learned his lesson already. And to top it all off, Sasuke's hatred had stemmed from not finding out more about Itachi's intentions of killing his clan and now, he's not finding out more information about Madara's story. What kinda shinobi are you Sasuke!
Anyway, thanks for reading my rant and that is all.