I Will Not Bow

By: Jade Ridout

It was dark, damp, cold. The air was still, the heat of the battle that had concluded still remained, lingering in this thick, unmoving air. Not a sound was to be made, except for the soft crackling in the distance of the blackened flames that were unleashed in the great battle that was fought on this very spot. If you were to take a bird's eye view of this area, one area would stand out from the rest. A large rock slab was in an upright position, lodged into the ground. In front of this rock slab, upon closer inspection, would lay a body of a raven haired ninja, one that was feared and hated by those who knew his name. Yes, he. This male ninja was named Uchiha, Itachi. He was once a strong fighter of the Leaf Village, before corrupted orders brought his betrayal to his entire clan forth. There was only two Uchiha that Itachi had not betrayed, and those Uchiha were Uchiha, Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother, and Uchiha, Madara, the founder of the Uchiha clan. Now, it seemed as though none of this mattered. Sasuke had lived his entire life hating and plotting revenge towards Itachi, believing Itachi's lie for slaughtering the clan, which was the want of testing his abilities. And it did not mean much now. From that bird's eye view, it was quite obvious Itachi Uchiha was dead. Onlookers earlier pronounced the remarkable ninja deceased as well, much to the pleasure of Sasuke Uchiha at the time.

However, a feeling not expected had overcome the younger Uchiha, as he regained his energy. As he sat up in bed, as Madara explained why Itachi had done what he had done, as he explained why. Sasuke felt remorse, and he felt like having completed his first goal in life, left an empty feeling. It wasn't a good empty feeling, oh no, it was quite brutal. Sasuke did not enjoy this feeling--why on earth would he feel remorse for the death of Itachi, of all people?

Because he cared for you. He really was an older brother who was just following orders, Sasuke's conscience echoed, sending his mind reeling. Itachi was dead now, there was no bringing him back. There was no need to bring him back, either. It would fill that empty feeling in Sasuke's stomach once more, but it would also require him to repeat his goal all over again. That goal, the goal to kill his older brother, it was too difficult and meaningful to be repeated.

After much battle inside his head, during Madara's speech, Sasuke decided that he needed to ease his worry of Itachi's return. He did not want his older brother to come back alive, and even though that was inevitable, Sasuke still found himself worrying. Going out to see Itachi's body would not be bad either, he might allow himself to rejoice in the slaughter of his older brother.

Sasuke Uchiha made his way outside the Akatsuki caves. They were plain, dirt-covered, and echoed easily. There were many off-tunnels where one could get lost, but Sasuke knew the way back to the open air. He remembered it from when he woke up from his faint several times while being brought to the interior of the hideout when he was injured. Of course, the young Uchiha still walked slowly and stumbled a bit due to these injuries, but at least he could manage walking. Fighting again too soon would strain himself, so Sasuke prayed to the gods that Itachi was indeed deceased.

As the darkness of the outdoors washed over Sasuke, he knew that Itachi's body was nearby. Sasuke stopped in his tracks, looking around for a corpse that resembled his older, now dead, brother. Spotting a corpse, Sasuke trudged towards it, assuming it was Itachi due to the raven hair that matched Sasuke's own, as well as the fact that Itachi would be the only corpse around this area. Approaching the body, Sasuke paused when he was standing close enough to cast his moonlight shadow on his brother's body. Sasuke dropped to his knees, and bowed his head lightly. He lifted a hand, touching the body's chest and letting his pale finger tips trace up to Itachi's neck. A small amount of pressure allowed Sasuke to check one's pulse.

With fluid motion, Sasuke pushed himself backwards, surprised by the slightest movement. The faint beating of Itachi's heart was evident, easily found and detected in the silence Sasuke stood now. Of course, he was not alone now, because his brother was still alive, but dying.

Now, the question of whether to finish him off quickly or let him die alone was raised in his mind. At first, the alone death would have felt fitting for Itachi. Now, Sasuke wondered.

"Sasuke…"

A faint whisper travelled through the unmoving air, and Sasuke unlatched himself from his thoughts to try and focus on Itachi, the one who had uttered the whisper.

It honestly was impossible to focus on Itachi solely. The fact still remained that Itachi Uchiha was still alive, even though half dead.