A little oneshot that crept into my mind and asked to be written.

Disclaimer: I am not J.K Rowling or Kishimoto, so I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto. All I own is this little scenario.

He was drifting. Perhaps he was asleep? Or trapped in the dimension between sleep and reality? With this thought, he became aware that he was thinking. This led him to the realisation that he was real.

The discovery caused him to plummet downwards.

By jerking his body, he discovered he had one. He landed, lightly on his feet, and looked around. Misty tendrils wrapped around his body, swathing him in fog. Where was he?

"Hello?" He called out. His voice was loud and it echoed around the unknown space.

Unconcerned by his apparent lack of company, he turned his attention back to himself. White robes were draped over his body and he was bare foot. His skin was luminous, dazzling. He seemed to be radiating light.

Looking back up, he tried to peer through the dense swirling mist that filled the area he was standing in. He was almost certain he could see a shadowy silhouette standing before him.

"Hello?" he called again. "Who's there?"

The silhouette moved, inclining its head to one side as if trying to analyse his voice.

"Who are you?" he called, louder this time. He was not afraid of the fog or of the shadow. He knew neither phenomenon's were something to fear.

The silhouette stepped forward, parting the fog, and thus, the silhouette became a man. He too was wearing a white robe and his skin shone brightly. His black hair was held back in a low ponytail, at the base of his neck. Only his eyes, which gleamed red, broke the through monochrome of his appearance.

"Hello," he said. "I am Itachi Uchicha."

Itachi Uchiha. What a strange name. I wonder who I am. And suddenly, he remembered.

"I am Severus Snape."

Itachi considered the man stood before him. His hair was long and dark and his eyes were black, but they were filled with warmth. They reminded him of the black eyes that belonged to his little brother. Black pupils, filled with awe, chasing away the despair associated with the crushing darkness that had taken him away from his brother.

"What brings you here?" Severus asked, rousing Itachi from his reverie.

"I'm not really sure." Itachi began. "I suppose we've died?" The last thing he could remember was a cough, the taste of blood, and a long rattling breath that took the last of his energies. He could still see Sasuke's pale face sliding away as his eyelids closed, too tired and heavy to fight against the waiting darkness.

"Dead?" Severus repeated. He had not considered this as a possibility. Then, suddenly, his memories came rushing back. A sharp pain and beautiful green eyes were the last things he remembered. "I suppose you're right," he continued.

The two men locked eyes briefly, and then looked away. What had caused them to be brought together in death?

Itachi cleared his throat. "I guess in order to move on, we'll need to repent our sins." He laughed, and glanced back at Severus grinning.

Severus returned a small smile, the corners of his mouth turning up but then releasing immediately. Perhaps this was the time for him to talk about his greatest regret, one he had never been able to discuss before.

He raised his head. "I do have something that I would like to get off my chest." He raised an eyebrow at Itachi as if to seek permission to continue. When he recieved no objection, he began to speak.

"When I was still a young man, I lost the love of my life. She was murdered by the man I called Master, despite giving me his word that she would come to no harm. I was broken, destroyed, so I sought out the man that my Master feared the most, and asked for his help and protection. Grudgingly, he accepted me, and I became a double agent."

Severus paused here, distracted by a gasp. Raising his eyebrows, he indicated that Itachi should explain why he reacted to his announcement of being a double agent.

Nodding, Itachi hastily explained "I too was a double agent. One of my village elders assigned me to spy on my own clan and eventually, to wipe them out. But I was never their agent, nor was I my clan's claimant. I had my own motives. I had to comply in order to protect my younger brother, he was the most important person I had in my life." Itachi stopped here, drawing breath. Perhaps he and Severus had more in common than just their hair colour.

Itachi's monologue struck a chord with Severus. Itachi had carried out the repulsive deed of massacring his own family out of love for one person. He suddenly knew why they had been brought together.

"Your brother," he called over to Itachi, "you loved him?"

"More than anyone else," he replied.

"His life was worth more to you than your own?" Severus asked.

"A million times more than my own" Itachi answered.

"Do you think that love was enough to excuse the wrongs? Or were all the wrongs in your life committed selfishly?" Snape asked, his heart wrenching in his chest. This was the question he had asked himself ever since he had sworn to protect Lily Evan's son. He did not know if he had given his protection out of love for Lily or out his own selfishness to be close to something that had been part of her. He had not protected Harry Potter out of kindness, but for the love of the girl he lost all those years ago. And he did not know if this was enough.

Itachi watched the emotions ripple across Severus's face as he asked him that last question. He smiled, as he already knew his answer.

"Yes" he said. "Yes, I acted selfishly. I committed horrendous crimes and had my own agenda to attend to. However, I loved. I loved another human being with all my heart and pledged my life to protect them. I could have shown this love in other ways, but in order for that to have been possible I would have had to be living someone else's life." He smiled at Severus. "What you need to ask yourself is whether or not the love you experienced was real. If it was, and if it influenced how you lived your life, then it was enough."

Snape heard these words, and relief flooded his body. He felt light. His love for Lily Evans had been true, and he had lived out his life acting on this love.

And that was all that mattered.

Itachi watched as Severus smiled. The fog that had been swirling around them was beginning to lift, and the room became flooded with light.

The two men became lost in the glow, and they let themselves be filled by it.

They floated away, content that the life they were leaving behind had been enough.

The love they had left behind had been enough.

The End

Authors Note;

Hope you enjoyed this! Let me know if you have any alternative views on the Itachi and Snape thing. This is just one particular view I look at it from. Or add it to your favourites if you liked it at all.

Muchos Loves

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