The Darkness in me

Chapter 7

The next morning, Itachi woke to find Sasuke covered in sweat struggling to breathe, jumping to his feet, Itachi kneeled down beside Sasuke, two fingers on his wrist, checking his pulse. It was thready, and weak. It scared Itachi, it was at this point if they didn't hurry they wouldn't be reaching Suna with Sasuke still alive.

"What's going on?" Itachi ordered, fear in his voice. "He wasn't this bad last night?" he watched the medics work over Sasuke silently, wondering if his brother's trouble's would end here.

"It looks like an infection." The head medic murmured "I told you it wouldn't be a good idea to keep one in his condition out here."

"I didn't think infection would set in that fast." Itachi muttered his eyes narrowed on the medic as he worked over his brother. Something wasn't right, Itachi just couldn't put his fingers on it. He wondered what he should do from here, he had the feeling that he shouldn't trust the medics, at least the head medic, if he wanted his brother to live, but what if Sasuke needed medical treatment before they reached Suna? Itachi didn't have that kind of experience to help Sasuke if he needed it.

"Itachi, I think there is something more going on with the head medic." The silver haired Anbu said from behind him. "I need to talk to you." Itachi nodded and the two nin stepped a few feet away, Itachi refusing to turn his back towards his brother or the medic.

"I think it's highly possible that the medic done something to make Sasuke sick." The Anbu pointed out "Sasuke should not have gotten sick so quickly."

"I had the same feeling" Itachi said "but I don't know what to do about it, we have to continue with the medics or Sasuke will die."

"We can take all medics except for the head medic." The Anbu suggested "I highly suspect that your father paid him to cause harm to Sasuke." Itachi's eyes narrowed at that thought, he should have known his father would have found out what he was planning to do with Sasuke. Itachi scowled would his father never cease to open his eyes and see that he was the reason for Sasuke being like this, therefore he was also the reason that Itachi had left the village to begin with. He would gladly become a rogue nin if it meant protecting his little brother.

"I'm starting to wonder if my father isn't completely evil." Itachi muttered "Sasuke is innocent in all of this, his only crime, if you can even call it that, was to hurt so much that he didn't know how to deal with it the right way." Itachi shook head and clinched his hands into fists. He was growing tired of his father's attempts on Sasuke's life. If Fugaku Uchiha didn't watch his steps more closely Itachi would be there in the shadows waiting to claim his life. Something like that shouldn't be taken lightly, and honestly, it had been on Itachi's mind more and more lately, it was one of the reasons he wanted to leave the village so that he didn't murder his father.

"He is who he is." The Anbu told Itachi "He probably grew up with a father just like him and was able to deal with the pressure unlike Sasuke."

"Sasuke isn't weak" Itachi said "I think he's pretty damn strong for having survived as long as he did."

"I agree, your brother has the opportunity to become a very strong shinobi, the only thing standing between that and him, is himself. It's up to him to see if that is the road that he wants to walk down, after everything that has already happened." Itachi nodded he would help Sasuke traverse that road no matter how rocky it got.

"We should take Sasuke and leave now, if you want to make it to Suna tonight." The Anbu said.

"So it is possible to travel that distance in a day?" Itachi asked.

"It won't be easy, and we will be exhausted by the time it's over, but yes it is possible," The Anbu answered.

"Be prepared for a hard day's traveling then." Itachi announced as he approached his little brother.

"Don't worry, little brother, I'm going to get you well again if it's the last thing I do." That being said, Itachi placed two fingers on Sasuke's forehead and poked him gently. "I have all faith that you can beat whatever infection is running through your system right now. And if I find out that it is something other than an infection, something like poison, I will the person responsible for doing that to you." he heard the head medic suck in a deep breath behind him, and that told Itachi all that he wanted or needed to know.

"Tell me you have the antidote." Itachi said turning to face the medic as the Anbu approached him from behind. The medic shook his head.

"You're father told me to leave it behind in case I was caught. Sasuke would still die, even if you did find out about the poison." Itachi shook his head, the frustration with his father growing worse.

"Is anyone else a part of this assassination attempt?" Itachi asked, feeling more angry than he had ever been. Would Sasuke never get his chance to prove that he wasn't just a dead last member of the Uchiha clan? He didn't think the other medics would come out and admit to being a part of the plan, which meant Itachi had no idea who he could trust. He needed some one to care for Sasuke, but if they were just going to keep trying to kill Sasuke, Itachi wouldn't let them near his brother.

As Itachi suspected if the other medics were a part of the scheme they didn't come forward. Turning to the Anbu, Itachi shoved the head medic towards him.

"I will let you deal with him, and then get caught up to us when you are finished." Itachi said turning back to his little brother, and gently pulling the unconscious, fevered kid onto his back.

"It's not safe for you to be doing that." One of the medics said and Itachi turned to him and replied.

"It's not safe to let one of you guys carry him either. I would rather my brother reach Suna alive. This is the only way that I can make sure that that happens."

"Sasuke Uchiha is not worth it" The former head medic shouted "He is a pathetic Uchiha who does not deserve to bear the name. He deserves to die for bringing the clan so much dishonor." Itachi closed his eyes, struggling with not killing the medic right then and there. How he wanted to kill him, Sasuke was just a kid, of course, he wasn't a perfect Uchiha. No one should have ever expected him to be perfect, that was a huge part of the problem. He hoped that he was able to show Sasuke that he didn't have to be anyone other than who he was. He didn't have to be perfect, it was perfectly okay for him to make mistakes along the journey of becoming who he was meant to be.

"He is worth more than ten thousand of you." Itachi snarled, fighting to keep from killing the guy right then and there. "Sasuke isn't perfect by any means, but there is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with him not being able to live up to Father's expectations of him. Sasuke is his own person and he knows that it's pointless for Father to try to make him into someone that he knows that he can't be."

"You can't see it now, because you care too much for your brother, but once he is gone you will see that he isn't worth all the trouble that you are putting yourself through. Someone who attempts to take their own life deserves the hell they will go to when they die."

"You deserve the hell I am about to put you through if you don't shut up!" Itachi yelled, turning away because his brother needed him to get on the road, instead of arguing with the medic. His brother's life depended on how fast he could get him to Suna.

"I trust that you will take care of him, Kakashi" Itachi said letting, the Anbu know that he had known who he was all along. Kakashi nodded.

"I will meet up with you in Suna." Kakashi said turning back to the medic, who was shaking in his boots because he had heard of Kakashi's reputation.

"You know that we can't leave him alive." Itachi said "we can't let Father know exactly where we are."

"Chances are he already knows. I don't see this guy not letting him know of your plans." Kakashi said. Itachi scowled. It sounded like he was going to fight for his brother's life wherever he went, unless he killed his father. He didn't want to do that but if Fugaku didn't cease in the attack's on Sasuke's life he would. He would do whatever he had to in order to protect Sasuke.

"I'll see you in the village." Itachi told the Anbu before turning and starting down the path that would take him to the Sand village. He hoped that current Kazekage wouldn't mind the drama that was sure to follow Itachi and Sasuke to his village. Of course, Sasuke would do whatever he had in order to avoid it, but Itachi had the feeling that the biggest battle had yet to start.

As he ran, Itachi could feel Sasuke's sweat dropping onto the back of Itachi's neck, that only meant that Sasuke's fever was getting worse. Itachi was certain the travel wasn't good for him but what else could Itachi do but get Sasuke to the village that could save his life?

"I'm sorry little brother that things ended up being this way for you. I would have spared you this if I could have." Itachi said as he felt Sasuke's harsh panting against his back. Itachi feared that Sasuke's breathing would stop so he pushed himself harder. Knowing that it was a race against time to save his brother. Itachi pushed himself harder, his heart racing even as he could feel Sasuke's weak heartbeat against his back. Time wasn't something that they had plenty of, Sasuke was running out, and Itachi was afraid, afraid that he wouldn't be able to reach the Sand Village in time.

How had things gotten this bad, this quickly? Itachi had no idea, one minute he was busy with missions, and trying to encourage his brother to ignore their father's cruel words, and the next minute he was in a desperate fight for Sasuke's life. Itachi wasn't willing to let him go, he would go through hell for Sasuke. From the looks of things, he was going to have to do just that.

As he ran, his mind raced with memories of Sasuke when he was younger. The kid had always wanted to be wherever Itachi was, and had hated being separated from him, when Sasuke was upset, Itachi had been the only one that could calm him down, and help him work through whatever problem he was having. Itachi couldn't help but wonder when that had changed. When had Sasuke first felt that he couldn't come to Itachi, couldn't trust him with whatever thought was going through his head? It saddened Itachi to think that somewhere along the road, somewhere Itachi had spent enough time brushing him off that Sasuke felt that whatever was going on, Itachi wouldn't think it important enough to help him with it. He wished he could explain to Sasuke that no matter how busy Itachi had been Sasuke could have still come to him. Now it felt like with each breath that Sasuke took, it was one less chance for Itachi to apologize for letting his brother down. Itachi hadn't seen just how badly Sasuke had been hurting, hadn't even sensed that Sasuke was willing to hurt himself just to ease his pain. From here on out though, if Sasuke survived, Itachi would help him, he would go through hell with his brother if he could.

Sighing, Itachi's thoughts drifted from Sasuke to their Father. Fugaku was a stubborn man, he wouldn't stop hunting Sasuke just because Itachi had taken him and left the village. No, the man would likely try to find them wherever they were, no matter where they were. That bothered Itachi, if he was going to be constantly running from his father, Sasuke wouldn't ever have time to be able to recover and to train. Itachi wished that he knew a place where they could just disappear to a place where his father wouldn't even know where to look. was there anywhere they could go that Sasuke would be safe? At least until he recovered? Eventually there wouldn't be anywhere that Itachi could run with Sasuke, they would eventually have to face their father, or Itachi could kill those that followed Fugaku's orders to have Sasuke killed, that would probably be at least half the clan, and if Itachi done that he would never be able to return to Konoha again, Sasuke might have been able to but Itachi wouldn't. Sasuke would then have to face the remainder of the Clan alone, and Itachi was certain that since Fugaku claimed that Sasuke was more or less no longer a part of the family or the clan, she probably wouldn't even allow Sasuke within distance of the family complex. Itachi hated that thought, he could stand to think of his 12 year old brother living on the streets, because his family was too prideful.

"I won't let you end up on the streets, Sasuke" Itachi murmured as he continued to run, not caring that he was pushing himself and the medics too hard. He had to come up with a plan to keep Sasuke safe first and foremost, his father wouldn't get another chance to try to kill him. Not if it meant that Itachi had to sacrifice himself in the process, Itachi would willingly die to protect his little brother.
The made it to the Sand Village with no more problems, once there Itachi took Sasuke straight to the Sand Hospital, where he was once again admitted and hooked to machines to help him live. Itachi informed the doctors that Sasuke had been poisoned and they got to work at once to remove it. For the first time since leaving his own village, Itachi was glad that he had left. Sand didn't have any issues with treating a kid from another village that had tried to kill himself. Itachi hadn't known what he would do if they hadn't treated Sasuke. The kid was so bad off, Itachi still wasn't sure whether he would pull through or not.

As Itachi sat in the waiting room, his head in his hands thinking over every decision that he had made since Sasuke had attempted to kill himself. Where they the right choices? Would any of his choices lead to Sasuke's death, those were just a few that plagued Itachi's mind. He needed to know that nothing he done would cause Sasuke to die. Itachi only wanted to protect Sasuke but the boy's condition had only worsened under Itachi's care.

"What's a village of the leaf brat doing in the Sand Hospital?" Itachi heard a sneering voice ask and Itachi looked up to see a red head with dark circles around his eyes standing in front of him. A teen girl and boy were standing right behind him.

"My little brother is being treated here for injuries received while living in the leaf village." Itachi replied knowing that he was speaking with the current Kazekage's son.

"Then why is not being treated at the leaf hospital?" Gaara asked.

"Because of my father's orders the doctors wouldn't treat him. And the fact that my father kept attempting to murder Sasuke." Itachi answered, his eyes returning to the floor in front of him.

"I assume there is a reason for your father attempting to murder your brother?" Gaara continued to prod at him.

"He attempted to kill himself, and he has been cutting himself." Itachi said "Father thinks that Sasuke has brought dishonor to our clan. He thinks that since Sasuke tried to kill himself he deserves to die."

"Your father sounds like more of a monster than mine." Gaara commented, he was honestly curious about why the Uchiha was here.

"Right now, I agree" Itachi muttered "supposedly he only wanted what was best for Sasuke, but Sasuke's death would only be best for the clan. It would be best for him so that he doesn't have to take responsibility for it being his actions that led to this situation to begin with." Itachi sighed, eventually the blame game would have to stop, and someone would have to step up and take responsibility. Itachi would take responsibility for keeping Sasuke alive and training him the way he should his father should have. Itachi would encourage Sasuke whereas his father had bullied him. What it really make a difference though? Sasuke had been battling depression for who knows how long before attempting to kill himself. Could Itachi really help him? Iruka had said that you couldn't stop a person that was determined to die. Itachi supposed that was true, he just hoped that once Sasuke pulled through this mess, he wouldn't be so determined to die anymore.

Itachi pushed himself to his feet and began pacing across the floor. He needed to know something about his brother's condition. At this point even knowing bad news would quell Itachi's need to know. He wanted Sasuke to live, but Sasuke needed to want to live himself.

"You look like you could use some rest" Gaara pointed out after a moment of silence. While that was probably true Itachi had no intention of leaving Sasuke in an unknown hospital surrounded by unknown people. The third Hokage might have trusted the Kazekage but that didn't mean that Itachi did or would, until at least they could help Sasuke without bringing him to anymore harm.

"I'm more than a little exhausted" Itachi admitted "It was a race against time to get Sasuke here, so that the doctors could even have a slim chance of helping him. Even if Sasuke eventually dies, I refuse to allow it to be at the hands of our Father."

"Yes, but it shouldn't come from the one who claims to love you." Itachi replied.

"Get some rest so that you can think more clearly on the situation with your brother." Gaara said before turning and heading towards the exit. Itachi shook his head wondering why the Kazekage's son had even showed up where he was at. It could have been curiosity but Itachi doubted that, he had heard rumors that the current Kazekage had made his youngest son into the Sand Jinchuuriki. That sounded like something his own father would have done to Sasuke if Fugaku had been in the same position as Gaara's father.

Itachi couldn't help but wonder what had made the Kazekage decide to make his own son the Jinchuuriki. Was it a quest for more power than he already had? That question made Itachi wonder if it had been such a good idea to bring Sasuke here. If it wasn't where else could he go? Itachi growled under his breath, he was growing more frustrated by the minute with his current situation. He could blame Sasuke but Itachi wouldn't do that, Sasuke needed someone to support him regardless of the mistakes that he made.

What seemed like hours later, a Sand doctor approached Itachi who happened to be the only person in the waiting room. Itachi looked up at the sound of his footsteps.

"How is he?" Itachi asked, almost not wanting to hear the answer for fear of hearing that his brother hadn't made it.

"He is critical." The doctor replied "you got him here just in time, I'm afraid 30 more minutes and we wouldn't have been able to stop the poison. We have him on a respirator helping him breath. Your brother is severely undernourished, but we have him on feeding tubes helping him with that problem."

"What about his throat?" Itachi asked "Is there anyway that the damage can be fixed?"

"At the moment no" The doctor replied "but we have a team that is working on developing technology to help the speechless to speak again."

"How long have you been working on it?" Itachi asked. He liked the sound of it, but he doubted it would be completed anytime soon.

"We have been working on it for about three years now" the doctor told him "but we believe it is nearing completion." Itachi shook his head. How was that going to help his brother now? Sasuke would still have to learn sign language or something so that he could communicate. That wasn't going to be easy, but it would be worth it. Itachi would be beside Sasuke learning so he could help Sasuke.

"Is there anything else about Sasuke's current condition that I need to worry about?" Itachi asked. "His wounds didn't get infected from the trip through the forest?"

"Luckily for him, no infection." The doctor replied " but if he been out there any longer, the infection would have become a certainty and not just a risk."

"I had no choice in the matter." Itachi said "It was either risk the forest or allow Sasuke to be murdered by his own family." Itachi was starting to get a little tired of having to explain himself. Not everyone needed to know why he had left the village and it would probably go better for him and Sasuke if he didn't tell everyone.

"I'm sure you done what you thought was best, but perhaps your own village would be better for treating your brother?" The doctor suggested and Itachi sighed and rolled his eyes. If the doctor had known the whole story, he wouldn't have even made that last comment.

"When can I see Sasuke?" Itachi asked, not wanting to be away from his brother any longer than he had already been separated.

"You can be with him now" The doctor said "given your current circumstances, there will be no visiting hours, you can stay with your brother as long as you need to."

"I appreciate it." Itachi said as he stood and followed the doctor back down the hall to where his little brother was resting.

Upon entering the room, Itachi made his way to his little brother's side. He hated that he had been apart from him for so long.

"I'm back little brother." Itachi murmured as he pulled up the seat next to Sasuke's bed. Sitting down, Itachi lay his head next to Sasuke's head. Even though Sasuke's chest was rising because of mechanical help, Itachi took comfort that his little brother was still there with him, still fighting for his life.

"I promise things will get a little easier hear on out. You won't have to keep struggling so much." Itachi murmured before closing his eyes. Itachi drifted off to sleep, his thoughts only of how he could help his little brother get through this situation.

The next morning Itachi woke sensing someone staring at him, scowling, Itachi reached for a kunai and sat up slowly only to discover that it was Sasuke who had been looking at him.

"Your awake" Itachi said softly, he honestly hadn't expected Sasuke to be awake for a few more days yet.

Sasuke brought his hand up and touched the tube that was currently going down his throat. He pulled at the tube, but not hard enough to pull it out.

"That's helping you breath right now." Itachi said as he gently pushed Sasuke's hand away from the tube. Sasuke frowned and allowed his hand to fall back against the mattress.

"It looks like you are going to pull through" Itachi said "it looked pretty bad for a little while. How are you feeling?" Itachi asked and Sasuke shrugged before looking down at the mattress to avoid his brother's eyes. He had never felt more ashamed in his life, he couldn't even attempt suicide right.

"I know what you are thinking right now" Itachi said quietly "you don't have to kill yourself because of the pain you feel. I am here to help you, listen to you when you need to talk." tears filled Sasuke's eyes. All he had ever wanted was for his family to listen to him, but instead Itachi had always been too busy and their Father had only wanted him to be just like Itachi.

Growing tired after a few short minutes with his brother, Sasuke closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep. Itachi hated the shame that had filled Sasuke's eyes. Itachi didn't care what Sasuke had thought he'd done wrong, he had nothing to be ashamed of.

"You don't ever have to feel ashamed for feeling the way you do. Shame on anyone thinks that you should." Itachi murmured as he watched his little brother drift off to sleep.