Chapter 10

She didn't feel out of breath, she had to thank the Kabuto within who aided her in that department. She was faster then she normally was, and she had Orochimaru to thank for it all. But she however didn't thank them she had them to curse, they were the bane of her existence. Not only that but they lived within her, and she loved to hurt them whenever she could. The wounds that Naruto put on her felt somewhat good, if it meant she could hurt them as well. She was willing to go through anything. She punched the ground where Naruto used to be upsetting it within a twenty foot radius.

She felt around for his presence barely dodging a scorching scratch for his claws as he tried to tackle her from behind. It ripped through the fabric, as the smell of burning flesh penetrated the air. But she didn't mind, at this moment she was fighting to die, they only question was, was he up to the challenge? She couldn't just die like that, and nor could she make him stop fighting her. She slashed a clawed hand toward his face while he stealthily dodged and appeared behind her. She hooked a foot in his and yanked slamming him to the ground only to find a substitution.

She looked around to spot. Ryuuren waiting and watching in a nearby tree. He would warn her when Itachi began to waver. She kicked Naruto in the face as he attempted to hit her with a rasengan. He would have to do better to beat her, yes much better. She did a second summoning jutsu, bringing a dragon familiar to the field, it was time to pull the stakes up a notch.

_(VV)_

Itachi watched as Sasuke rushed at him, he had gotten better he was able to completely block out Itachi's Tsukiyomi, he had even progressed by pulling a new technique Itachi had never seen an Uchiha do before and that was pull out a dimension to try and suck him in. Itachi had almost lost a leg to that one. It had made Itachi a bit happy to see that Sasuke was beginning to surpass him. It made him a bit sad that soon this would all end.

He dodges a handful of fast flying shuriken, offsetting a few of his own. He wanted to worry about Sakura but knew she could handle herself. He knew that she would fight until her last breath and still try to get over to him. She had said she would find him once the battle was over and not to die before then. That was fine, he would try his hardest to live in these circumstances. Detachedly Itachi felt a kunai barely graze his jugular vein. Itachi threw toward his brother a giant fire ball an element the Uchiha were known for using.

Itachi watched as Sasuke's alleged 'curse mark' make its way across his pale skin, highlighting his whirling red sharingan eyes. Itachi closed his eyes for a moment the strain on them was beginning to hurt a bit. He opened his eyes to see his brother huffing and breathing heavily, Itachi was beginning to feel tired as well, but he kept his breathing steady and even. Before him stood his brother, the new generation the one to restore the clan to its former glory, and even farther, under Sasukes reign Itachi knew that this problem wouldn't arise again.

Itachi knew that his brother would set that little part of the world right. Itachi had always loved his brother, he had always missed the child who willingly fell asleep beside him, unafraid and unshaken by his seemingly 'malevolent' presence. Itachi remembered so many things about the young man who now stood before him. Running his fingers through that wild hair, that mother had often compared to a chickens. Teaching the child how to set up traps and throw kunai. Yes, in those days. To Itachi Sasuke was the sunlight in his dark existence, the child who would give him a smile, the one person beside mother who didn't flinch at his touch.

Itachi wanted more then anything to erase himself so that his brother couldn't suffer anymore, so that he could live in that small world that Itachi had built for him. Itachi wished that Sasuke would be happy. Itachi watched as Sasuke began to transform. Itachi knew that this was the greatest thing he didn't like about what ITachi had done to his brother. He had pushed him to the point where he would submit himself to a curse mark. If only Itachi had been there to push away Orochimaru, of only that then Sasuke could have been spared the painful separation. Itachi watched as Sasuke spread those claw like wings, and his fangs grow, Itachi had created a monster.

Itachi whirled away from the incoming chidori punch, not expecting the attack to disperse from Sasukes hand landing a direct hit in his back. Itachi felt blood run from the back of his throat to the opening of his mouth as he jumped far away. He threw a knife toward Sasuke knowing that… this was the end of the line. He knew that he couldn't… no he could hold off Sasuke longer, but the fact of the matter was that he no longer wanted to. He closed his eyes, he was tired of this. Itachi turned midair facing the direction that Sakura went and sent up a flag signal. She had told him to send one up when he could no longer stand the wait.

Itachi smirked slightly to himself, it was amazing how well she could predict his every action how it seemed that she could get into his mind without a problem. Itachi turned slightly bracing himself as he felt Sasukes presence catch up. Itachi felt the painful penetration of a katana charged with electricity go straight through him nailing him directly into a tree. He felt a goblet of blood run down his chin as he looked up at his brother. His face began to return to normal. Stiffly Itachi brought up an unarmed hand catching Sasuke by surprise, by touching his face.

Itachi felt his strength leaving him as his Sharingan deactivated making the world all to dim. He smiled. Finally Sasuke was able to break free from his shadow. Finally the world would look at his brother and see the strong man he really was, a shame that the Uchiha elders couldn't see it. Itachi could imagine their shocked faces. "You did good Sasuke." Itachi said, his voice growing rapidly quiet his soul he felt was slipping slowly out of his body. Stubbornly he kept it there, he was trying to stay if only to see Sakura one last time. Itachi brought his other arm up to hug his little brother his last embrace. "You did really good."

For some reason Sasuke began to tremble, and like Itachi had always done in the past, he pet the younger's head. Itachi felt a hand hold him up as the sword was yanked out, he was caught before he hit the ground. Itachi glanced at his brother face stormy like in the past when he was trying to figure something out. Sasuke laid him out to look at the sky the blue sky, so endless. He saw Sasuke a single tear escaped from his eye. Itachi reached up fighting against his body to gently touch his brothers face, it had been so long since they had such a touching moment such as this.

Itachi knew it was cruel of him to do this, he knew that it was cruel of him to suddenly make it look like Sasuke had killed the side of Itachi that Sasuke loved, the side that was his older brother. To Itachi though this was a good ending for him. He felt peace settle over him, it looked like he couldn't wait, he felt his breath get slower he was tired so very tired. He felt the fast approaching Sakura, she was coming and that was peace enough for him. He looked to Sasuke one last time. Gods let him be happy. He thought knowing very damn well that God would never grant a sinner a wish. "Have a good life Sasuke, live long and be…happy." He said his words quiet and barely hearable. Itachi felt himself slip away, into the darkness, and into the other world, to start a brand new journey.

_(VV)_

Sakura was the first one to see the flare go up, the red foreboding flare painted the sky a misplaced color. She paused for a moment to look up at it. She knew that she had been stalling hoping that Itachi would just wait a little longer, but she knew that even if he was patient he wasn't a Saint, neither of them were. She had stopped long enough to allow Naruto punch her and hard. She felt the cracking of several ribs and a couple of ruptured shocked organs, she felt steady blooms of pain make their way across her torso she knew that this was the blow that she had been waiting for the blow that would take away her life, she could already feel the cloudiness fog her brain.

She hacked up globs of blood she knew from her lungs knowing that she was internally bleeding, and fluid was getting in her lungs very fast, she felt her breaths getting labored. But that didn't matter right now, she needed to get to Itachi. "Ryuu…ren" she called breathing labored. In less then a second he was by her side, easily deflecting Naruto's blows with the force of a dragon. He glanced to the red flare he had noticed too, and that's all he needed to know. Gently he picked her up like a princess careful not to damaged her organs further, and like the speed of light they were off. "Sakura!" she heard Naruto shout, she looked back to see the fury filled jinchuuriki.

" I'm sorry." She whispered to the wind, knowing no one in particular would hear. She turned her head forward she could feel his life slipping quickly, and she hadn't the time to spare.