Disclaimer: I'm always forgetting these... but y'all know I don't own it... At least you'd better... Anyway, I do not own Naruto. That's owned by Mr. Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own the poem utilized in this story, "A Poison Tree". The story's mine though. :)

Sasuke's Poison Tree

Blood was splattered everywhere, evident signs of the battle. Two broken katanas lay discarded on the side from when they had been deemed no longer useful. Trees lay toppled over, sections of the forest completely charred away, the acrid scent of death and burning hung like an announcement of the fighter's battle in the air. Of the two fighters, one lay still; his black cloak with red clouds was no longer moving in time to his feeble breathing. The other, clad in a Sound uniform, was breathing his final breaths as he dragged himself over to be certain that his sworn foe was really dead.

Blood trailed behind Sasuke as he shuffled with difficulty toward the hopeful corpse of Itachi. He thought he would feel joy at the thought of his brother's death, but all he felt were mixed bittersweet feelings. One of his lifelong goals was finally accomplished, but chances were he wouldn't live to see the other pulled through to fruition. He may have ended the one who had almost completely annihilated their clan, but he doubted he would live to revive it. As it was, he doubted by the time anyone found them, he would be dead.

His bittersweet emotions washed over him. He had finally ended his older brother's life, though perhaps at the cost of his own. He couldn't help but try to search for his joy that he was supposed to be feeling, but he only found the thought about how his old Team 7 teammates were probably right…. Revenge didn't buy him happiness. Only betrayal. Ruin. Hate. Death….

I was angry with my friend:

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

He thought about how he had looked down upon Sakura and Naruto. He called Sakura weak while rivaling with Naruto to help himself get stronger. He bonded with him so much that Naruto thought of him as his brother. There was a time when he would've liked nothing more than to see Naruto dead, or finally convince Sakura to leave him alone, and hated them for not being strong, but over time he had come to have a bond with them. He could almost call them friends, but friends only allowed emotion. And emotion was a sign of weakness. Any weakness wouldn't allow him strength enough to defeat Itachi.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow.

Itachi… the one who killed his family, his clan… The one he had always looked up to, admired, wanted to become… And, ironically, now he had. He had killed off his only remaining relative while becoming him at the exact same time. How irony loved to destroy his life. The one person whom no one would have ever seen a massacre like that coming… went and destroyed everything, while leaving him to try and re-erect the shattered fragments once he had become strong enough for the avenger to avenge the destroyed by destroying the destroyer.

And I watered it in fears,

Night and morning with my tears:

Every night he saw the massacre. Lived it. Breathed it. It became his whole life, the reason of his existence- to avenge those that had died that night. His brother had called him a coward. Itachi had said to settle for clinging to life without honor, to hate him. So he relived the massacre when the night brought its shadows and darkening veils, and then let the sun dry his tears with the morning light as it came back to reveal reality. And as his brother had said to, Sasuke hated him. He hated Itachi with every pore of his being. It was Itachi that did this to him. Itachi that made him into this.

And I sunned it was smiles,

And with soft deceitful wiles.

He fed his hatred with the memory and used it for strength: he would avenge his clan and kill the one who stole their lives. He would acquire strength great enough to defeat him, and finally put an end to his nightmarish life. He trained, became as strong as could in his village. Then he began to lose sight of his hatred by being with "friends", something that wouldn't allow him to kill his brother. He would always be weak, and forever drown in the memory of the massacre. He couldn't rest, couldn't give up the purpose of his existence.

He was the avenger. He had to kill Itachi. He had to lay his own past cowardice to rest by proving he now had enough hate to kill his brother.

So he ran away from Konoha to Sound, and offered his body to Orochimaru in exchange for the power to defeat his brother. So what if Orochimaru took his body? He didn't care what he had to offer in exchange as long as he could acquire the power to avenge his clan. He would go to any length to acquire that power. No matter the bond severed or cost.

And it grew both day and night

Till it bore an apple bright.

He trained constantly. Pain? Suffering? Already experienced it; they were mere words from the extremity of it that he had borne. Under Orochimaru's tutelage, he became much stronger than he ever could have become while in Konoha. He became emotionless and colder, just like Itachi. He became stronger, just like Itachi. He was a killer, just like Itachi.

And soon, he would end his clan, just like Itachi.

And my foe beheld it shine

And he knew that it was mine,

The news that Itachi was within Fire country was enough for Sasuke. He hurried to the surrounding forest where he had last been seen.

Sure enough, there was Itachi. He wasn't alone, however. His partner was with him.

"Hey Itachi, looks like your kid brother's here," chuckled Kisame. "Finally, some fun. Shall I dispose of him?" He reached eagerly for Samehada.

Itachi's narrowed eyes bore into Sasuke. "No," he finally murmured. "Head back to the base. I'll do it myself."

"Fine, then," Kisame growled, disappointed. He released Samehada's handle as he huffily turned and left.

"Bad idea to send away your partner Itachi," Sasuke had commented, pulling out his katana. "Today's the day I will kill you and avenge my clan."

Itachi closed his eyes, activating his Sharingan. "Foolish little brother. You're weak. And this time it will cause your demise." Itachi set his Sharingan on Sasuke. "You still don't have enough hate."

But when Sasuke initiated the first attack, and Itachi saw how much stronger he had become, he knew that he couldn't hold back.

Sasuke smirked in satisfaction. Itachi had finally come to realize his strength. "No, Itachi," Sasuke said. "It's your inability to see the strength of my hate that will cause your demise."

And into my garden stole

When the night had veiled the pole

They fought long and hard. The warmth of the afternoon sun set into the evening cool. The evening cool gave way to the moonlit night. Still they fought, never resting, never ceasing. They were equally matched. Both their katanas had been broken in battle long ago. They're chakra's were both running low. Sasuke wasn't sure how much longer they could continue fighting before they killed each other.

Finally, Itachi greatest strength had proved to be his undoing. All the times he had used the Mangekyo Sharingan that slowly deteriorated his eyes had finally showed its evidence on him. When Itachi had attempted to activate it once when Sasuke was down, it didn't activate; instead it caused a few seconds of momentary blindness from the over usage of it and low chakra levels. But it was only those few seconds that Sasuke required to generate his chidori and ram Itachi through his heart. However, at the same moment, Itachi had known he was coming and faster than Sasuke could see rammed a kunai through him at the same moment.

Itachi fell to the ground as Sasuke pulled back his bloodied arm and collapsed, clutching his bloodied stomach. Blood was already pooling greatly around them, but from Sasuke's position he couldn't tell if Itachi was truly dead or not. But if he hadn't killed him on impact, the blood loss would kill him eventually. As it would for him.

In the morning glad I see

My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

In the end, the Uchiha brothers had destroyed each other. The avenger took the life of the destroyer as the destroyer took the life of the avenger. And Sasuke felt none of the joy he thought he would be feeling. Just that mixture of bittersweet emotions.

Slowly, Sasuke had forced himself to his knees. He had to be certain that he had killed his enemy before the final darkness claimed him. He wouldn't pass on until he knew that he had really ended the life of his brother with his hands.

Pain seared through his protesting body as he tried to make it move. He clenched his teeth in frustration and agony, but he wouldn't stop. In what seemed like lifetimes later, he made it to the side of his brother, a bloodied and shaking hand feeling for a pulse.

Sasuke let his body fall in a mixture of weariness and relief. Itachi was dead.

Sasuke collapsed to the ground, lying beside his enemy. He felt the morning light begin to gently caress his skin, but he knew it wouldn't chase away the final darkness that he was beginning to succumb to. His eyes slowly closed, sealing away the light and world around him. Shakily, his lungs inhaled his last breath, and he whispered,

"I guess I did have enough hate… didn't I… brother…?"

And as his final words faded into the air, he drifted into the slumber of eternal rest.

A/N: Yeah, rather morbid. Haha. Please tell me what you think! I would really appreciate it. Thank you!