I don't own Naruto, and sadly never will…
Only twice in his life had Uchiha Sasuke thought of himself as weak. Once, when his clan was murdered, staring into his brother's merciless, crimson eyes –as red as the blood that covered his body- as he cried and feared for his life. The next was when they'd met again, after five long, painful years; the same day he'd realized just how big that gap of power between them really was.
He'd feared for his life many times, felt pain that seemed unbearable, this was true. Fear and pain were what came with being a shinobi, he knew that. During his battle with Orochimaru he had felt that crushing fear, that incredible agony, but he had known his skills would help him; that he would at least put up a good fight. But it was when he stared into that man's eyes that he felt truly small, weak; pathetic.
And here came that feeling again, standing on the cold, concrete floor, gazing at that man whom he despised. Simply looking into his eyes made Sasuke doubt that he could go through with it. Was he really strong enough to kill this man? Sasuke often wondered to himself if the man knew what effect he had on him; to shatter his confidence in his abilities, make him doubt himself, revert him back to his days as a child, when he was naïve and helpless…
No.
The one word reverberated inside his head, shocking him from his thoughts, crushing the doubts that had slipped through the crack in his confidence. Swallowing down the thoughts of 'what if he's still so much stronger than me?' 'will I really be able to kill him?' and steeling his resolve and feeling his eyes morph into the Sharingan, he finally brought up said eyes to stare directly into those blood red orbs so much like his own, the eyes of Uchiha Itachi.
Sasuke felt like those eyes were going to swallow him. His body and clothes were ripped and damp with sweat, and pain was blaring at him from all sides. Most of his charka was gone, he was losing energy from using the Sharingan so much- he was almost at the end of his rope. And the fact that he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from those cold, emotionless pools of scarlet that mocked him so only made things worse.
Itachi wasn't even making an effort to make him hallucinate, doubt himself or anything of the sort. He was walking –or stumbling- towards him, reaching out, with his eyes slipping in and out of focus. Sasuke knew he should run, run while he still had a chance. But he couldn't. He was frozen in place, feeling that mind-numbing fear descend upon him, preventing any kind of rational thought from accumulating.
He was starting to lose his senses. The world had narrowed down to nothing but Itachi, who was getting closer by the second, and this incredible fear.
It was the worst fear he'd felt in a long, long time. And he knew the reason that this fear was particularly bad- Itachi. The mere thought of his cursed brother sent a twinge of fear down his spine. The last time they'd met, he'd known it was probably one of the last chances he would get, and rushed in without really thinking. But this time, Sasuke had fully known what he was doing. He knew Itachi was going to be there, waiting for him, for their final battle. And yet now here he was, paralyzed with fear and about to have his eyes ripped out, feeling so weak.
What a horrible way to die, he mused as Itachi came closer still. Here, on this deserted wreck where nobody would ever find him, lying there with no eyes…
That was his last thought before Itachi's hand was so close he could feel its heat against his skin.
All he could do was stare in shock at the space his brother had been only moments before. His mind had gone blank, but not from fear. Why was he alive, with both eyes still in their sockets? He had been fully prepared for the pain as Itachi gouged out one eye at a time, only to have his forehead poked, just like when he was a kid.
"Sorry Sasuke, this is the last time."
That made it perfectly clear that now, lying motionless on the ground, littered with wounds and scars, Uchiha Itachi was dead.
He had achieved the one thing he had strived for; the only reason he was alive. He had exacted revenge for all his clan members that had died, his mother and father, his lost happiness…
He should be overjoyed. He should be thankful, relieved that finally the man he had hated since the age of eight had been killed. His goal had been accomplished. This was what he should be feeling. If so, why did he feel so bad? Why did he feel like he had lost someone important to him? Why did he feel so…weak?
Um…there it is. Sorry it's so short. Please tell me what you think!
