Love was a strange thing, he decided. It wasn't something that could be measured so simply. People always said there was a fine line between love and hate. He never understood it until now.

Itachi made him see that.

There had been a finite time, he thought, when Sasuke had loved his brother very dearly. He had been young and trusting, and Itachi had been his whole world. All that disappeared the night his brother had seemingly betrayed him. That was what he had believed. But the truth was, Sasuke had never lost that bond with his brother. Even when his heart turned black and he had hated the man with all his might, it was the love that had made it all the more painful. He was just so consumed with vengeance that he never realised it.

Having a heart hurts. Itachi must have hurt too.

Sasuke used to think his brother was a heartless monster, one driven by the need for absolute power. How wrong he was. In the end, it was his father, the man who he had reserved a special place for in his heart, that had led the clan to near oblivion. Itachi had been the one who loved the village so much, loved him so much, that he would willingly walk through even the deepest pits of hell to keep them safe. His brother had risked everything to protect him, planned a way to ensure his survival, and saved him from Orochimaru's curse...

Unlike him, Itachi knew to treasure the people precious to him.

Gods... Naruto, Sakura... He must have hurt them so much. Sasuke only hoped it wasn't too late to salvage whatever was left of their relationship. Seeing how they were still stubbornly trying to bring him home though, it would probably be fine. In a way, it was comforting to know that there was someone still waiting for him faithfully. Back in Konoha, team seven had been somewhat of a second family to him.

But thinking about it now, Itachi probably had no one... Even in his younger days, the older Uchiha couldn't confide in him, deeming his little sibling too young to carry his burden. Konoha pressurised him, the clan pressurised him… Itachi shouldered all his responsibilities calmly and with steadfastness. His brother then left to take on everything on his own. He was the true epitome of a ninja.

Could he have done the same if he was faced with the same scenario? Sasuke didn't think he would be strong enough to do so. He was not like his brother.

He was never able to be like his brother.

When he still admired him, Itachi was always a few steps ahead from him. After that, Sasuke had loathed following in his brother's footsteps.

It made him turn out a strange way. While he couldn't become the person Itachi truly was, he became the cold-blooded version he always imagine his brother to be. Itachi wasn't the one who died that day; he did. It was a sick, twisted irony that he had thought of before, but put out of his mind until now.

Sasuke wanted to turn back time. If he could, he would rewrite their entire story and untangle the both of them from their messy fates. But it was a dream that would never happen, unless there was some way he could bargain with death.

It was no use having regrets anymore. There were things he had to do.

Naruto and Sakura were waiting for him. And then he had to deal with the heads of Konoha who had cursed his brother with such a life… If Naruto wished to be Hokage, Sasuke would help him climb all the way to the top. It was time for the old leaves of Konoha to fall and the new to take their place.

Itachi may be dead, but Sasuke would live for him.

After all, he still had a heart.

-

AN: And this ends another short one-shot. Interpreting Sasuke's thoughts is downright fun.