Yo...

Time for a new chapter, and wow in just 2 months this story will now have more than 100,000 words.

Enjoy the chapter...

Chapter 21

Tears of the Sun

His eyes opened abruptly and all he could see were blurs of bright flashes, he felt the soft bed beneath him and the voices of several people as they moved across the room at a rapid pace. Slowly he could hear the cries, yells, screams of more and more people.

The silent sound of blood dripping reached his ears, he hazily looked around and as his vision started to clear he saw he was currently lying in an entire barrack full of wounded soldiers.

His men...

Suddenly the memory of an attack happening came flooding back in his mind, which made his eyes widen in shock. Reacting on his instincts, he sat up abruptly which made one of the medics nearby yell in surprise.

The young girl suddenly found herself facing the full blown glare of his sharingan, as he quickly got up from his bed and pushed away the assistants out of his way.

"Where are my officers? Report..."

His stern demand made her flinch, and she immediately averted her eyes from his piercing gaze. He gritted his teeth in anger when she didn't give him an answer, he quickly looked around the room and was horrified by the condition his soldiers were in. There was so much blood, flesh everywhere.

His helpless eyes madly searched for the faces of his...friends.

He was supposed to be emotionless and yet right now all he could think about was them. Quickly pushing the mute girl of the way, ignoring all the protests of the medics nearby he charged towards the area where he just now felt Sakura's presence.

A part of him was relieved when he crossed a corridor on his right, and saw his friends standing outside the emergency room.

All of them were shocked to the core when they saw a heavily bandaged Itachi appear in front of them, his desperate eyes showed relief for a second until he noticed their wounded state.

And how few of them were in front of him...

When he moved forward to go into the emergency room, a crying Ino came running and enwrapped him in a tight hug. Her forehead was heavily bandaged, and there were some burns visible on her arms and legs.

Behind her he could see the dejected faces of Lee, Neji and Tenten who had minor wounds on their bodies.

Suppressing the lump in his throat, he regained whatever little courage he could muster.

"Where are the others?" asked Itachi numbly,

On hearing his question, the crying blonde girl in his arms erupted into more tears and started sobbing heavily. His fists clenched tightly as he felt his heart getting heavy, when he moved Ino out of his arms Neji came forward and stood in the way.

"Don't go in there..." said Neji sympathetically,

He didn't flinch when he received Itachi's glare...

"Get out of my way, Hyuga. This is an order..." said Itachi harshly,

A battle of wills was fought between them as the sharingan eyes fought against their Byakugan counterparts. Each trying to establish dominance over the other, until Neji closed his eyes in defeat and stepped out of the way.

With the Hyuga out of the way now, Itachi steeled his nervous heart and opened the door with trembling hands.

As he stepped inside, all he could see were several beds filled with the bodies of his injured classmates. All of them were hooked to emergency machines with a few medics keeping watch over them.

Kiba's arms were busted, and his entire chest was wrapped in bandages. His sharingan showed him that Shino had suffered internal damage and was currently knocked out cold. Shikamaru had lost one of his eyes and there were kunai wounds on his torso.

Hinata had suffered 2nd degree burns, and so had Sai.

"They're (cough) alive...dobe"

He nearly collapsed on hearing that voice, turning around he saw Sakura sitting in a far off corner with tears falling down her eyes. Beside her on the bed was Sasuke, or what was left of him.

The walk to that bed was the slowest one he had ever taken in his life, each step was taking away a huge chunk of his courage. Ripping off that protective mask which he had formed since the past 4 years, this was not supposed to happen.

He took a deep calming breath when he saw the condition of his best friend, one look with his sharingan eyes was enough to show him that this was it.

"End of the line, huh..." said Sasuke calmly, as heavy sobs escaped from Sakura.

The Uchiha raised one of his hands which Itachi grasped tightly, he had to commend the bastard for his stoic aura. His face was as cold as stone, but he could see what he wanted to in those eyes.

Meanwhile, Itachi was simply staring at the thin body of his best friend. He had lost so much weight, his muscles had lost most of their mass, bones were soaked of every ounce of energy. There was barely any chakra left in Sasuke's system which had directly affected his vital organs.

And his sharingan could clearly see the boy's heartbeat was decreasing slowly and slowly...

"You fool..."

Sasuke chuckled a bit when he heard the first words which his best friend had to say, and he had expected such a response from him as right now Itachi was staring at the blank left eye of Sasuke. The eyeball had turned completely white showing the boy had become blind in that eye, and there was only one technique which could do this to its user.

"I had to use it, dobe (cough) There was no other way..." said Sasuke calmly, as the blonde boy glared at him.

"There was a reason that jutsu was forbidden in our clan..." barked Itachi angrily, which only made his friend smile.

"Maybe I was sick and tired of following the rules..." jabbed Sasuke suggestively, which made Sakura chuckle as she saw a tick mark forming on Itachi's forehead.

"Sasuke-kun, you barely had some chakra left in your body when you performed that jutsu. Did you even know performing that technique would take away every ounce of chakra left in your body?" asked Sakura sadly,

"I know..."

The sharp sound of glass shattering could be heard as Itachi smashed the glass placed on Sasuke's table, his eyes burning with anger and sorrow.

"You should have waited for me, there is always another way..." roared Itachi furiously,

"Not this time, this was something which I had to do. Besides, you and Shikamaru got your asses kicked before the shit even began. I had to handle your shit..." said Sasuke bemusedly, and smirked when he saw Itachi's eyes becoming moist.

Turning towards Sakura, he roughly grabbed her by the shoulder and looked in her eyes. And for the first time in their entire lives she saw something in his eyes, which she had never seen or expected to see in their lives.

Fear

"Heal him..." requested Itachi desperately, and he nearly fell on his knees when she shook her head with tears falling from her eyes.

"(sobs) His vital organs and body have used all his chakra, he has also suffered many injuries. I've tried but his body is simply too far damaged, it just won't accept any external source of chakra as its internal structure is finished. I'm sorry..." replied Sakura painfully,

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE!"

He roughly grabbed her hands which were already supplying a steady amount of chakra to keep his best friend alive, and was about to force her to pump more chakra into his dying friend. When...

Another hand was placed on his...

He looked towards the source only to find Sasuke shaking his head in negative, which shattered his heart to pieces.

"I knew there was no coming back when I used Izanagi to save them from Deidara's attack, save her chakra for our injured officers. After I used my jutsu, they fought valiantly and were able to make Deidara retreat. You need her powers to save them, there is nothing you can do dobe" explained Sasuke patiently,

By now he could see tears swelling up in Itachi's eyes, as he tried to say something but his choked voice simply remained silent.

Swallowing a deep lump, he glared at his dying friend.

"As your commanding officer, I-"

"It's alright, dobe. Besides, I've missed my parents..." said Sasuke jokingly, as Itachi gripped his hand tightly.

"Sasuke, we have faced all the odds together. Don't give up now..." requested Itachi in a tearful voice, as Sasuke placed his other hand on Itachi's shoulder.

"Listen to me, dobe. You will have to fight (cough) (cough)...with twice as much strength in the morning" said Sasuke seriously, as Sakura stroked his cheek gently.

"All of us will fight shoulder to shoulder together, Sasuke" said the chief medic seriously, but he shook his head.

"No, Sakura. You and dobe are the highest ranking officers left, you will have to carry on for the rest of us..." advised Saskue seriously,

Still in denial Itachi grasped the bed sheets so badly that his hands teared them apart, his half hearted glare on his friend was now transformed into anger as he placed his primary finger towards him in accusation.

"You are not supposed to go like this, this was supposed to be my fate. You were a jerk, but still cared about others. How could you be like this when your father died just like my brother?" asked Itachi angrily, but Sasuke merely smiled.

"Maybe this is your wake up call. It's never too late, dobe. As for your question about me being like this and why I used Izanagi knowing I would die...I have only one answer- I understand now why the elephant helped the child in the forest" said Sasuke cryptically, with a serene smile on his face.

Sakura watched as Itachi's eyes widened in shock, he took a few steps back before his legs lost all strength and he collapsed on his knees. Tears freely fell from his eyes as memories of that night came flooding back in his mind...

(Flashback: 4 Years Ago)

Itachi and Mikoto had just finished placing flowers on the graves of their Namikaze clansmen who died during the Kyuubi attack. It had barely been 2 days since they lost an important member of their family, while another one was still missing.

They were still waiting for Minato to return so that he could perform the last ritual rites of his elder son, Naruto. But time was running out fast.

They were just about to exit the cemetery where every shinobi of Konoha (except Blacklight) who had died in the attack were recently buried, until her eyes landed on a boy who was lonely standing in front of a grave.

Being the sister of the clan heir and daughter of the clan head, it didn't take her more than a second to recognize the boy. After all, he was the son of a family friend and the man who had played a great role in teaching Itachi.

She changed direction and instead of walking towards the gate, was now walking towards the lonely boy with Itachi following behind solemnly.

"Sasuke..."

Her soft voice disturbed the boy as he quickly wiped away the tears from his cheeks, as Mikoto came forward and placed her last flower on Fugaku Uchiha's grave. She felt extremely sorry for the boy, his mother had died of illness just months ago.

And now his father...

Being the Hokage's wife, she knew how to deal with situations like this. More than that, Sasuke could be considered a part of her family.

"Your father was a brave man. His sacrifice saved a lot of lives..." consoled Mikoto, as Itachi frowned on those words as he remembered his dead brother who shared the same fate.

Not only did his brother die due to caring about his comrades, but his first teacher died the same way. In the same battle...

There was only so much a young heart could take, and these deaths had made him learn that emotions and caring about comrades were the foolish things in the world. A ninja must have no emotions and care only about following the rules; and completing his mission.

"He was an idiot, he should have retreated..." said Sasuke bitterly, gaining an invisible nod from Itachi who shared the same feelings.

"And leave his comrades behind? Your father was the leader of the patrol squad. The sacrifice he and his men made helped the communication tower to set up defenses, and warn the village about the imminent attack.." explained Mikoto patiently, and merely smiled when he glared at her.

"He was not strong enough to face that bastard (Obito) and his soldiers, then why did he do such a thing?" shouted Sasuke angrily, as Mikoto placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Her dark eyes were now fixated on Fugaku's grave, she had already cried her fair share of tears for Naruto. Instead of being broken due to his death, she was proud of him. Despite everything that happened with him, the lack of faith in humanity, lack of belief in the ninja world, and his inner demons and his pain- her son rose above all that.

Just like Fugaku and many others who died for Konoha, he believed in giving all of them a second chance to build a better future. They gave their lives for something much great and far more important.

And she didn't blame Sasuke and Itachi for not understanding it, they were merely 13 year old boy's who had just entered the life of a shinobi.

"A long time ago, there lived an ancient tribe in the forests. The people lived peacefully with nature and the wild animals, until one day a fire broke out in the forest and the people died. But one boy survived and was left all alone in the forest..." narrated Mikoto calmly,

Sasuke and Itachi both looked at each other, not understanding what the older female Uchiha was trying to say. But decided to remain silent, having nothing better to say or a valid excuse to stop her.

She smiled on their gesture of silence, while bringing Itachi forward and placed her other hand on his shoulder. While one was also resting on Sasuke's shoulder...

"Now all alone, the boy wandered through the forests trying to find something to eat. Many animals had lost their lives in the fire too, and one day the boy met an elephant which helped him pick some fruits from the tall trees of the forests. Can any of you tell me why the elephant did it?" asked Mikoto kindly,

"I-" said Itachi hesitantly, but could not find any logical answer to her question.

"I don't know either..." said Sasuke flatly, as Mikoto ruffled their hair making them groan.

But she merely laughed...

"Maybe one day you'll know why the elephant helped the boy..." said Mikoto encouragingly, gaining hesitant nods from the boys.

"Sasuke, you should come stay with us from now. Both you and Itachi could use some company right now, you should not be alone right now..." suggested Mikoto kindly, as the boy gave her an apologetic look.

"Mikoto-sama, I don't think that's-" excused Sasuke, until she flicked his forehead affectionately.

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. I'm not trying to pity you here, I'm simply being selfish as all of us need each other right now" said Mikoto gently,

For a few moments Sasuke and Itachi looked at each other, until the latter shrugged and Sasuke gave a hesitant nod to his new guardian.

"Welcome to the Namikaze family, Sasuke..."

(Flashback End)

Itachi saw the same smile arriving on Sasuke's face, the smile which he had seen on his mother's face when she told them that mysterious story 4 years ago. And how someday they'll have an answer to her question.

"The elephant needed a friend..."

Those words were the final blow as they shattered his false mask, and in front of Sakura was standing a broken boy. His eyes were dead as he saw the breathing of his friend slowing...

He tightly grasped Sasuke's hand as the boy's breathing started getting quite fast...

"You'll...need...the...people...for...the...republic. (cough) Just...like...the elephant...we...need...friends(coughs). Thank...Mikoto-san...for...me...tell...her...I...really...liked...her...story-Uff"

A series of coughs erupted from his throat, before his chest stopped moving. A horrified look came in Itachi's eyes as he tightly grasped his friend's hand, but the one on his shoulder lost its grip and fell flat on the bed.

"Don't do this, not again..." thought Itachi desperately, while tears slipped from his eyes.

Time seemed to have slowed down for him, when Sakura stopped supplying her chakra to his friend's chest, and tearfully went forward to close the now deceased Sasuke's open eyes. Instantly, he swapped her hand away and literally pushed her out of the way.

Moving forward he quickly sat beside him, and grabbed his friend by his burnt collars.

"You promised to kick (sobs) Madara's ass together with me. Don't do this..." said Itachi tearfully, and waited for any kind of response from the smartass boy on the bed.

He waited for something like "Dobe, you're annoying" or "Get away from me"; but nothing came.

The only thing left was the blank stare of Sasuke's eyes which were observing the dull lights of the medical emergency room, the last remnants of blood that had been coughed from his mouth were slowly dripping down the skin of his neck

"Sasuke!''

Sakura saw the desperation evident in his eyes as he shook Sasuke violently, it was clear to her that he was still in denial that his best friend was gone and was never coming back.

"SASUKE!"

(Few Hours Later)

As he came out of the medical station, his eyes saw the devastation that had befallen upon their entire camp. Everywhere he could see dead bodies of his solders, some were burnt, some were hit by multiple kunai, shuriken, some were shredded to ribbons. There were body parts of his men as well as those of the enemy...

His lifeless gaze saw several tents of his army burnt to crisp, many were still burning. Several soldiers were in such bad condition that the medics were forced to operate on them in the open area where the cold atmosphere of the mountain was posing another difficulty.

Itachi's hands were still stained with the blood of his best friend, everything was so numb. Everywhere chaos was rampant, as the survivors tried to salvage what was left of their camp and help those that were still trapped within debris, and those that could be saved.

The tent storing majority of their rations and medical supplies was destroyed in the attack, which only proved one point to him.

RAF was lost.

They didn't even have enough healthy soldiers who could help put the dead ones into coffins, the few which they had were tired but were still keeping a sharp vigilance over their perimeter. Hoping to Kami, that no second attack came as this time they wouldn't be able to fend them off.

While it was true that RAF had eliminated the a large chunk of the air and ground forces of the enemy, it had paid a far more greater price for this victory.

If he could even call this a victory...

His commanding officer(Shikamaru) was gravely wounded, his second in command and best friend was killed in action. Most of his elite officers who were the backbone of the RAF were currently undergoing emergency treatment and were directly out of commission.

Stripped of weapons, food, and medical supplies. Not to mention their lack of tents had already destroyed his force's capacity to hold even the 1st peak which they had captured.

But none of these thoughts were important to him right now, his mind and heart was still afresh with the memory of Sasuke dying in front of him. The only person after Naruto, who knew who he really was from inside was gone in the blink of an eye.

Every soldier and officer that had died tonight, every person that been wounded and scarred for life...

All of that was on him, their deaths were his responsibility. He was supposed to be a captain, the leader who marched them to victory and shielded them from enemies.

But the burning camp in front of him and the bodies of his friends and comrades was showing an entire different story.

He simply glanced to his right as Konohamaru Sarutobi came beside him, the 15 year old boy was alright for the most part except for the few burns on his skin. The Third Hokage's grandson looked at his leader, who was dressed in the clothes of a patient. A bandage could be seen on Itachi's forehead, and some around his torso but for the most part he was fine.

Someone had done a far admirable job as a medic.

"Itachi-Nii-chan, more than half of our force is wiped out. 45% of the camp has been burnt completely, we are still counting the injured. Our supplies are shot to shit, communications are trying to get into contact with HQ. At this rate, our force will have to retreat from this peak by morning. We have already lost 15 junior officers, and several senior ones are currently in the emergency room getting treatment. What are your orders?" asked Konohamaru worriedly,

At first he thought that his ears were ringing, but after a few moments he saw that he was not wrong as Itachi started laughing madly.

But there was something in that laugh that terrified Konohamaru, he unconsciously took a few steps back when Itachi looked at him eagerly.

"Konohamaru..." said Itachi very calmly, completely in contrast to his maniacal laugh a few seconds ago.

"Yes, Nii-san?"

A hopeful smile came on the younger Namikaze's face as he looked at the boy who considered him as his idol and rival.

"Do you think I can speak to Sasuke?" asked Itachi hopefully, which made Konohamaru cringe.

"Right, he just got out of surgery. Maybe he does not know..." thought Konohamaru worriedly, although he was quite scared of breaking this news to his leader and hero. Almost everyone close to Itachi knew, how important Sasuke was to him as a friend.

Some even called him as the boy's elder brother, the Uchiha had acted as one ever since Naruto died 4 years ago. There were even some wild rumors that Sasuke was the only one who had kept Itachi sane all this time.

"He...ummm..." said Konohamaru hesitantly, finding it extremely hard to say those words on seeing the hope in Itachi's eyes.

"I can't get into touch with him. Can you find that duckface for me?" asked Itachi eagerly, as Konohamaru gulped nervously.

"Umm...Nii-san, he didn't make it. Lieutenant Sasuke Uchiha sacrificed himself to save others from Deidara's C2 attack..." said Konohamaru slowly, as Itachi sighed.

"That's not what I'm asking, Kono. Let me speak with him..." said Itachi again, but this time the desperation was evident in his voice and eyes.

Which only made Konohamaru arrive at a very scary conclusion...

"He already knows..." thought Konohamaru in shock, but decided to try again to make his leader understand.

"Sasuke died, Nii-san!" replied Konohamaru sympathetically, and was roughly grabbed by the collar.

He was terrified when Itachi's murderous Mangekyo glared daggers at him, clearly showing no answer was acceptable to the boy right now. That the ever stoic grandson of Tobirama had completely lost it. He had heard scary tales about the wrath of the Namikaze brothers, if Naruto was devious with his revenge.

Then Itachi was downright evil...

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" yelled Itachi murderously, making Konohamaru shiver in fear.

The killing intent in the area rose to an extreme level, the pressure radiating from Itachi's body was so high that Konohamaru couldn't even breathe. For a chunin level ninja like him, facing the full blown wrath of an Anbu level ninja like Itachi at such close proximity was downright suicide.

He was saved from a gruesome death when a scared female soldier came beside them, although she was shivering badly she went forward and relayed the message which she came to give.

"Captain...we have captured a few enemy ninja. The prisoners are currently being held in Sector C. What are your orders?" asked the girl nervously,

She nearly wet herself when Itachi looked at her with that manical grin on his face, he simply let go of Konohamaru making the boy fell flat on the ground. An evil smile crept up on the captain's face, one which could give Orochimaru a run for his money.

"Hehe...hahah...HAHAHAHAHA!''

Chuckling madly Itachi simply ran towards the area where the girl had said the prisoners were. A cold shiver ran down Konohamaru's spine as he remembered that laugh...

"He's lost it...'' said the female kunoichi in fear,

Konohamaru shakily got up from the ground, and without waiting for another moment dashed towards the only person who could put an end to this madness, before Itachi destroyed everything in his rage.

(30 Minutes Later)

Neji glanced nervously, his pale eyes observed the remaining officers of RAF (Ino, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Sakura) who had cordoned off the entire Sector C. When they had seen Itachi run out of the emergency room, they had assumed he needed some time alone to deal with his best friend's death.

But 20 minutes later, when Konohamaru came in with a horrified expression on his face then one look on the boy's face was enough to show...

That hell had been unleashed...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"No, no...please don't!"

SLASH

"MY EYE!"

The females shivered when they saw screams coming out of the dungeon type of makeshift tent, where the captured enemy prisoners were being held. Those unlucky bastards who survived the battle, and were being chewed out by Itachi personally.

They had done well in ordering the common soldiers to get away from this area, but it didn't stop the rumors from flying like "The Captain has lost it", "Itachi has gone berserk"

And knowing their leader had gone mad, was the last thing the terrified RAF soldiers needed to hear right now.

As such they were hear to do damage control, to try to stop their comrade from doing more damage than he had already done.

He hesitantly glanced towards the pink haired medic who was standing near the doorsteps, from behind whom those screams were coming.

"I don't like this, Sakura. All of us should go together..." said Neji seriously, making Sakura flinch.

"I...know. But he'll kill you too if you get in his way, you don't want to face him when he's gone this mad. He has a far worse temper than his brother..." warned Sakura hesitantly,

"But still, we can't just let you go in there alone. I can help you in stopping him..." offered Ino, but her best friend shook her head.

"I'm scared too, Ino. Perhaps I'm the only one he'll even bother to listen before attacking, if that happens then I know how to knock him down unconscious.." explained Sakura patiently, and showed the medicine laced senbon that were deadly enough to knock out a giant elephant.

"Are you sure this many are needed, Sakura-san?" asked Lee curiously, making her give him a nod.

"Yes, Lee if something goes wrong then I want you to be the first one in. If Itachi does not stop, Then break every bone in his body. This is an order..." commanded Sakura strictly, as she knew that out of the officers present...

The Taijutsu specialist was the only one (Besides Sasuke) who had the speed, strength and stamina to even go toe-to-toe with Itachi. And even then, an insane Itachi was a totally different scenario.

Taking a deep breath and giving one last fake smile to her friends, she stepped inside the tent.

A cold chill was felt across her entire body when her eyes showed something which she had never expected to see in her entire life, a shocked gasp escaped from her lips as she took a few steps back in fear.

Everywhere there was blood- on the ground, on the walls, limbs were scattered everywhere. Few enemy soldier's bodies were hanging off the walls as their blood stained the floor, a few were withering on the ground.

Some had lost their mind and were screaming madly, while a few were trying to dig a hole through the ground in order to find a way to escape. With their bare hands...

"What is this?" asked Sakura in a terrified voice,

An evil chuckle could be heard in the room, and as she looked towards her right in those dark corners a pair of evil Mangekyo eyes were staring at her...

"Is that you, Sakura?"

Author's Notes: End of chapter.

Reviews are much appreciated.

Until next time,

Blackwolf501