Rise Above

An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind – Mahatma Gandhi

Summary: Compassion is the only way to let go of the past. There is another way to go in every situation.
Even Sasuke can take the high road when it matters the most. Platonic ItaSasu, canonverse. Completely rewritten.
It takes place when Sasuke goes to kill Itachi in Naruto Shippuden.

This pain that I feel
I will overcome
I know somewhere deep down inside
It's the pain that makes us strong

Dark eyes opened slowly, waking from a light slumber. The sound of a crow's croawking far away, the rustle of clothing against stone was making him tense. He collected his hair in his hand, tying it up in a ponytail. Approaching steps was heard, surrounded by a chakra that he knew all too well.

Itachi moved to his feet, his Sharingan alert. It was finally time. All the years he had waited would be over in a few hours. He closed his eyes. The relief was overwhelming. When he opened them again, the boy he had sacrificed everything for was standing before him. He had grown so much – he was not an innocent kid anymore.

He was so beautiful.

Itachi couldn't help but feel happy, deep inside. He knew that the darkness inside his brother was always there, but today he would get his revenge and finally be free. Finally Sasuke would be happy. Finally he could move on with his life.

All it took was one last sacrifice.

He put on his façade again; a face cold as stone and merciless eyes. But the act felt exhausted, overused. His sight was almost gone; his brother was blurry.

"Sasuke", he said coldly. "You finally stand before me. Are you strong enough to defeat me?"

He had expected his hot-tempered little brother to lash out at him – but nothing. Red eyes met black. Sasuke didn't move.
They were alone in the dark cave, facing each other.

Itachi remained stern. His Sharingan was constantly checking the surroundings, analyzing the scene in front of him. Sasuke's unusual calmness was shocking. Their gazes meet again; locking each other in a stare that none of them could break free from.

"I'm not going to follow along with your plan. I won't waste my life hating you. It won't change anything." Sasuke's voice was hard and untouchable, as he had grown up to be.

"Very well then." Itachi moved forward in a flash, and as Sasuke raised a kunai in self-defense, Itachi pressed his neck against it. "Kill me and end your suffering. I am the one who gave you all the hatred. I am the one who hurt you."

"It won't give me my childhood back," the younger retorted. "It won't bring Kaa-san and Otou-san back. Killing you won't change anything."

Itachi's eyes were wide in shock and slight fear. His plan, all his moves and sacrifices… had Sasuke chose his own path? Still, he didn't move for several moments. He eventually backed off, standing a few feet away from his brother. His sight was failing him but he could see Sasuke's face – it was not angry.

"I was the one who took them away. Why don't you avenge them?" he said quietly, completely taken aback.

"As I said, they are gone. Killing my only remaining family member won't do anything to change that fact."

Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly. "I made you hate me."

"I don't."

The elder didn't know what to think. After all that he had put his Otouto through, he was supposed to despise him! He was supposed to be caught up in his revenge.

"Why?" He couldn't help but ask, but he felt his façade falter for every moment.

Sasuke still didn't activate his Sharingan. He put his kunai aside. "No. It won't turn out as you want. Much have happened since the day you left me. I am not the same person that you tried to break."

The elder felt his knees give in beneath him. He sank down on the cold stone, feeling a violent coughing attack force its way through his dry throat. He wiped the dried blood away with the back of his hand.

"This is your chance. I am weak and vulnerable. Go on, make peace with yourself," he mumbled when he was able to breathe again.

Sasuke walked over to him and the elder closed his eyes in relief. But when he opened them again, his little brother was just standing in front of him. "What good would it do to kill you when you are already dying? You forced the revenge upon me. But that's not who I am. There's another way, and I found it. My friends helped me through." He looked his older brother straight in the eyes.

Itachi couldn't help but smile. "Naruto did prove to be a good friend, didn't he?"

"He made me realize what I have to do – and it's not what you want me to. I've learned that there are more important things than revenge and bad blood. What am I to do when I've fulfilled my revenge? I'm going to choose a different path."

"And what is that?"

"The road of forgiveness. It's difficult, but I can do it. I know that my wrong-doers will face their own demise. There is no use in staining my own life with hate and bitterness."

Itachi felt his heart swell. "I am proud of you, Sasuke. You learned to listen to your friends and yourself. I have, in many ways, been a bad role model for you."

"That's the one thing you taught me in life," the younger replied. He reached out his hand. "You cannot hurt me anymore, Nii-san."

A moment of silence passed between them, before the elder accepted the outreached hand. Sasuke helped him get on his feet again. They were suddenly much closer to each other.

Itachi looked at his Otouto, still not able to realize how he could have grown this much. He moved closer, and when Sasuke did not try to fend him off, he embraced him tightly.

They stood like that for several minutes. Sasuke felt closeness for what felt like the first time in his life – he had shut down his heart to anyone. But Itachi had been caught in there. He had never thought that the one person he had despised with his entire soul, could offer him such a warm and healing embrace.

"You coming to kill me would have been the end for both of us. I was wrong to think that you would feel better after exacting your revenge. I am truly proud of you, Otouto. You've become the person I always wished you would be."

Sasuke raised his arms to return the embrace. "All this time, I have loved you. No amount of rage could make me stop loving you. No matter how angry and hurt I was, no matter what I always loved you. I couldn't stop seeing your face in front of me. And as I always knew somewhere, you loved me too."

By an old instinct, Itachi let his lips touch his brother's forehead. Even though his brother was much taller and grown up, his skin was still silky smooth. "Sasuke, saying anything else than that I love you endlessly, would be a blatant lie. Nothing can change that."

A ray of sunlight found its way down from a crack in the cave's ceiling. After a long while, they released each other. For the first time in many years, Sasuke smiled. "Let's get out of here."

Taking his brother's hand in his, he slowly led them out into the bright sunlight.

He turned his face upwards, closing his eyes. His confession was quiet, but the elder could hear him just fine. "Naruto kept saying that I would be happier with you still in my life. Somehow I believed him."

The brightness was making him blind, but it had been so long since he last felt the warmth on his skin. A grateful smile graced his lips.

"He was right, indeed."

Sasuke leaned against his brother. The love he felt was so much stronger now than he could possibly remember from his childhood. The hatred that had consumed him for so long would eventually release its iron grip on his heart and feelings, allowing him to love freely.

Itachi reached out to feel his brother's soft black hair beneath his fingertips – he had always loved playing with it since the moment Sasuke was born.

"I love you," he mumbled. "So much that you cannot even imagine. I've never been able to stop thinking about you. Everything I did was for you."

Sasuke leaned closer, resting his head against his shoulder. He was finally complete.

I could scream, I could shout
Take the easy way out
I'll forgive you somehow
I will rise above

I know I'll get by to be free
I can't keep it inside
I may fall sometimes
But I will survive

Not gonna let you bring me down

I'll take the high road

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