Death
Breathe.
Even as he laid dying, life seeping out of him with every choked breath he took, his mind was still processing his whirling thoughts at a dizzying speed.
Dying, Itachi decided, was very much overrated.
Shinobi always did have an odd fascination with death, so it didn't faze him at all to learn that he was dying. There wasn't any dramatic spotlight spilling from the sky, nor was there flames blossoming from the ground like poppies marking his grave. He could only hear the slow thumping of his heart as his body struggled desperately to pump blood through his veins.
Breathe.
Resigned to his imminent death, he decided that he had the right to wish a little.
Firstly, he wished that just one more time, he could have hugged his younger brother again. Just once. But he could only settle on a familiar tap on the forehead.
It wasn't enough.
Breathe.
He wished, wished, that he wasn't half blind so that the last thing he saw wasn't just morbid blurs of black and grey. Perhaps he had been asking for too much, but he had hoped for something more. But he decided not to complain. That would be an insult to all he'd sacrificed and to Shisui's death. His cousin would have only seen the same thing when Itachi drowned him.
He would have preferred it if Sasuke hadn't looked so terrified and close to tears when he last saw him. It would have made dying all the more bearable.
But, his logical side reminded him, if everything goes to plan and the Kyuubi boy does what he's supposed to, you'll be seeing him again soon.
Yes, Itachi admonished himself, I'll see Sasuke again and...
He faltered. He couldn't remember what he had planned to do after that. It must have been the lack of oxygen slowing his thought process. In fact, it felt kind of dizzying, except the last time Itachi had been dizzy had been when he was five. He had been training his balance by spinning around while standing on a high branch on a tree. He felt oddly giddy, and there was a immense urge to giggle hysterically.
Breathe.
No, you can't do that, his brotherly side chided, Sasuke's still here. He'd be so frightened and you don't want that.
Yes, Itachi agreed, everything's for Sasuke. And... and when the plan follows out, there won't be any wars or fighting anymore, right?
He sounded young. Like when he was still merely a child tugging on his mother's skirt, begging for attention.
It was quiet and instead of the dull beating of his heart, he heard the pounding rain pouring from the darkened clouds.
...right?
He was answered only with silence.
End