Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in this story.

Hello guys. Finally, here is chapter 28. I missed last weekend and nearly missed this one. Sorry about the late update, but I had too many things to do while also finishing to revise some things in this chapter that I felt needed to be fixed. But Its still not too bad compared to some of my longest update times. Haha. Well, as many of you realize, I missed my deadline of being finished by October 2nd. Wasn't a good amount of time to give myself considering even if updating once a week, I wouldn't have finished in time, but it was fun to try. Looks like one more chapter after this one. Depending on how much I squeeze in and if I intend to add any more. You may notice that this chapter it slightly longer than many. It was some stuff I was going to put in Chapter 29 but decided I could give you guys a little extra since I missed last weekend. It also made more since when I thought about it, to fit the material in this chapter. Also, since I fitted this stuff in chapter 28, next chapter should definitely be the last. Wow. I'm going to be so sad to see this story end.


Chapter 28: Collapsus


The waves of chakra receded, sputtering into the atmosphere like the last few burst of steam out of a kettle. Everyone's eyes lay in one place.

"S-Sasuke?" Kakashi stared at the motionless figure. Sasuke's body laid there in the grass; long muscular arms splayed beside him; hair resting against his sweaty forehead and a clenched jaw. He let out a deep groan; his sharp coal eyes opening slowly. He stared into an abyss of sky… and stared…and stared.

Sasuke sat upright suddenly, head snapping up as he looked about frantically, trying to make sense of what was happening. His well-known calm demeanor and void expression was nowhere to be found. "W-What. What am I-I…" He sputtered a response comparable to Hinata Hyuuga's.

'What am I doing here?' He asked internally upon seeing the dense trees and feeling the moist grass beneath his hands

Kakashi looked at him with a warm smile underneath his mask. Tsunade smirked. "I guess we've got the old him back, after all." The Hokage commented.

"Sasuke!" Naruto and Sakura cawed horridly, offending the confused young man's right ear. He looked at them, eyes widening. There was a sort of hysteria growing in him.

'Why is everyone surrounding me!?' He noted Kakashi unusual expression, and Tsunade's satisfied smirk. His teammates looked at him with stupefied faces. He noted the people he didn't recognize; the two males and a red head whom was starting to… alarm him with her awed staring.

His two teammates seemed to attempt to hug him but stopped at the last moment, as if cautiously deciding against it. Sakura blushed and Naruto gave him an evil grin. This red-head girl stared at him with a dazed look, pinching her nose as if to stop some bleeding. The toothy guy next to her began to snicker and the tall orange haired man had no expression.

Sasuke looked down in surprise.

'Why aren't I wearing clothes!?'

Naruto started giggling hysterically as Sakura covered her face in embarrassment.

"I-I'm so glad to see you again Sasuke!" Sakura voiced emotionally, unable however to look at her naked crush. Karin didn't dare take her eyes off of him.

It took no time for Sasuke's reflexes to kick in, and frantically…he tried to cover himself, sputtering obscenities at the crowd of gawkers. "What have you done?!" He screamed angrily, swearing that Naruto was the only one who had the nerve for this. "DOBE! I'll kill you!" He shrieked uncontrollably as he searched for something to cover himself, in the end opting to childishly cover his face and cower into a ball as if that would make him invisible.

He felt something drape across his nude form. Uncovering his face, he could see it was some sort of dark cloth and he pulled it from over his head carefully, making sure that it kept wrapped around his shoulders and effectively covering his remarkable nudity. It was a black cloak, patterned with red embroidered clouds.

When he looked up in astonishment, seeing for the first time in years, his brother hovering there several feet from him, his face was no longer full of anger or flushed embarrassment, but void emotionless shock.

"I-Itachi…?" His brother, surrounded by Susanoo's veil of chakra looked at him, as if analyzing every one of Sasuke's withheld emotions. He had said nothing to his brother after giving him the cloak. There was only a quiet and vague expression of fraternal amusement; the kind of look he gave Sasuke when he was 7 years of age.

An earth rumbling hiss brought everyone out of the moment and a reunion would have to wait. "You Uchiha never cease to amaze me." Orochimaru had been confined to his position, weakened but aware. He did not expect Sasuke to survive, but it only proved how remarkably resilient he was.

An un-slain heads that had lain on the ground eyes flickered back to life, and abruptly struck from below, making it through Itachi's defensive Susanoo. A head held near the top snapped at Susanoo's wrist, compromising the sword struck through Orochi's body as a head below barreled towards Itachi. It was inches away before it burst into black flames; so strong that it instantly fell to the ground burning to the bone.

Itachi held the upper portion of his face and grunted softly as his eyes began to leak streams of blood. All the while, the Uchiha could feel his Susanoo taking damage. The tackled limb had been crushed at the wrist under the grave force of the snake's jaw and now the sword holding Orochi had dispersed into chakra. The remaining four snakes took their opportunity to attack, crushing its body against Susanoo, and every one of the remaining heads grabbing a portion of its body. Itachi's body became rigid as he felt his chakra disappearing in large sums as he continued to keep Susanoo from dispersing.

Sasuke still seemed in a state of shock as he watched his brother before his eyes. His mind was chaotic with confusion and he thought he was having an incredibly ridiculous dream, or trapped in some drunkenly cast genjutsu.

"We've can't just sit here and do nothing!" Naruto reasoned.

"He's right." Agreed Kakashi, even as he helped to lift a seemingly catatonic Sasuke to his feet.

Sasuke couldn't believe what he was hearing; what he was seeing. He looked at Kakashi with bewilderment. "Can you stand?" Kakashi asked him on the side.

"I-…Yeah, but why-Itachi-" Kakashi sensed Sasuke's bewilderment.

"Itachi isn't our enemy for now. Actually, if it wasn't for him, you might not be with us right now." Sasuke gave Kakashi a look that questioned his sanity. "Look. I know things are confusing right now but you need to listen to me and get out of here. Kakashi tried to explain shortly. He thought that Naruto and Sakura would have to suck it up and not join in the battle in order to get Sasuke somewhere safe. He could feel that Sasuke was weak. His legs were shaky, and his chakra levels low and abnormal. In a way, he had been in a battle already.

Some sense seemed to be seeping into Sasuke as dozens of questions littered his mind all at once, ready to spill out of his mouth if he could just figure out what to inquire first. In the end, he somehow realized that it wasn't the time for questions, his shinobi instinct kicking in. It was an ask-questions-later type of situation.

"Sasuke. Do you hear me?!" Kakashi asked.

"Sure...But I won't go." He declared stubbornly, pulling away from Kakashi's grip. The boy located the sleeves to the oversized clothing, fitting himself in them carefully and lastly zipping up to below his collar, as if fitting armor and preparing for war. Kakashi opened his mouth to speak but in the end, all he could do was shake his head and smirk underneath his mask.

"You can hardly tell up from down, and you're still obstinate as hell. I guess you really are back. I missed you."

There was another odd look exchanged as Sasuke rolled up the sleeves. "Che. Whatever. I'm not leaving until I get an explanation." He looked at Itachi as what he assumed was something Orochimaru-related bucked against him in battle. Itachi seemed to be struggling. "Besides, I'm not just…going to leave. You'll probably break your back or something."

Kakashi chuckled, more amiably than usual-"Thanks for caring." -because Kakashi knew it was this Sasuke's way of showing he cared. "-I guess" Kakashi finished.

There was a slightly cocky smirk from Sasuke before the young Uchiha slumped over, barely catching himself. He realized them just how bad off his chakra was and he couldn't understand why. He had tried to activate his sharingan, but his body wouldn't let him.

"Don't…" Kakashi warned. "If you could get your sharingan to activate, you would definitely not even have enough chakra to maintain it afterwards."

Sasuke scowled; his body feeling that Kakashi was most likely absolutely right. He tried to think of an alternative but it seemed hopeless for him. He looked again at his brother, not sure why he would be even trying to help him. And why would Sasuke want to help him in return? He had a strange feeling bubbling in his chest, unsure of whether it was from his fatigue or the sight of Itachi making him emotional…Just then, Sasuke gasp, noticing Itachi as blood began to poor from his mouth. That sight was somewhat…outrageous, as if it was impossible for such a thing to happen to Itachi.

Susanoo gave an aggressive roar and everyone looked with apprehension. One of its restrained arms lashed backwards pulling away from the snake's fangs and then grabbing it by its jaw. The jaw was ripped off, and then what was left intact of the head was pounded into the ground below.

Everyone winced at the brutality of that particular kill. Itachi however remained impassive. There was pain, but even then, there was little emotion behind his tight features.

"Damn you!" Came Orochimaru's labored voice through one of the snake's heads. The other two heads fell to the ground, crumpling in weakness and blood loss from the gaping wounds sustained. The only snake that remained somewhat upright was trembling heavily. The white scales dripped with blood, and stained heavily. Thick pants could be heard from the remaining creature.

"Damn you Itachi Uchiha!" It opened its mouth wide, Orochimaru's body partly slithering out, covered in a layer of mucus and vomited blood. "I refuse to lose! I won't lose to you!" He avowed.

"You've already reached your end." Came the words tiredly from Itachi's mouth. His mangekyo spun slowly, as they peered into what was left of Orochimaru's desecrated form. The sword of Susanoo reappeared, instantly jutting through the last remaining head and Orochimaru with it.

"It's a sealing jutsu?" Karin observed as the monstrosity's entire body seemed to be drawn into sword and contained within the jar that had appeared in another of Susanoo's hands. The snakes fought against the force, trying desperately to break their connection but little by little, it's body was absorbed and contained. It gave out a fearful hiss; Orochimaru could be heard yelling in protest and disdain as the last bits of Orochi was absorbed and then…complete silence except the tired pants of Itachi and the slow rickety creaking of Susanoo, which soon deteriorated, it's form vanishing and leaving Itachi defenseless and vulnerable.

No one could really manage to speak for a moment and it took a while for them to realize; It was over. That quickly. Nothing was left of Orochimaru, not a single snake. There was only the severe damage done to the forest, but any trace of Orochimaru was gone.

Of course there was Kabuto's body…but the crows were taking care of it.

Sakura gave a sigh of relief. Naruto on the other hand frowned slightly, murmering something about Uchiha's being show-offs, though he felt a sense of reprieve. Yamato stepped up beside them in incredulity, not yet able to even register any happiness, or joy, or sense of accomplishment.

The three sound ninja could not believe their eyes. Karin's fell back, hand covering the bottom half of her mouth in astonishment. "He's gone." She whispered just loud enough for Suigetsu and Juugo to hear. Her senses did not lie to her. There was not a trace of Orochimaru left; either dead or sealed for what she hoped was eternity. Her two teammates knew that if she said that Orochimaru was gone, then there was no arguing against it.

Kakashi too, could not believe it was over. This had not just been a battle that lasted over a couple days, or even the weeks Sasuke had been transformed. This was a battle against an enemy that had gone on for years, starting with Orochimaru's defection, and now it was finally ended.

Tsunade felt a variation of emotions, ranging from reprieve, to guilt at not doing it herself, to an almost bitterness at seeing Orochimaru face such an end. He was at one point her teammate after all. They had shared missions together; Dreams; Ambitions. That was a long time ago, but now at the strangest time, some memories had resurfaced. "Fool." She whispered to herself with slight anger, before looking at Itachi. Any trace of his Susanoo had since disapeared and he now leaned fatigued, balancing his weight by placing his hands on his knees.

Kakashi looked over to Sasuke, not knowing what emotions he would find. Sasuke was unreadable. His face held a strange emotion. His lips were slightly parted just enough to see a few of his teeth. His brows were knitted, and his eyes were focused on Itachi.

Kakashi turned toward the older Uchiha to see his fatigue and wondered if he should go to him and help. No one else trusted him enough, he thought. But to Kakashi's surprise, Sasuke took the first steps to approaching his elder brother.

Sasuke walked slowly, not hesitating, but clearly in a state of disbelief. He probably never imagined he would ever be approaching his brother in such a situation, and his brother being in this state, made it even more unrealistic in his mind. He came within a couple yards, scrutinizing his brother carefully, finding it hard to comprehend Itachi's suddenly tattered form. No one dared to interfere, though they could not imagine what Sasuke or Itachi might do to one another; but only watched in a bit of apprehension.

Sasuke eyes lay on Itachi with so much focus; no one doubted that he might have been attempting to activate his sharingan, but instead, he only began to speak.

"I don't think I've ever seen you look so near defeat." Sasuke finally spoke in an almost mocking, though slightly amazed tone, to everyone's surprise. Itachi glanced at his brother over his shoulder and smirked slightly, not surprised that such a thing would be the first to come out of his mouth.

"This is my chance, you know. I think even I could easily strike you down this way. Just a finely aimed stone could defeat you? I could gouge your eyes with a pointy stick. That's how weak you look right now."

"To tell you the truth, you're probably right." Itachi closed his bloody eyes and smiled. The warmth in his voice caught Sasuke off guard and he was swiftly filled with raw anger, as if something had broken.

His eyes shifted sharply, a distinguishable resentment reflecting off their surface. "Don't use that tone!" he nearly screamed, it reminding him too much of the old days. "How dare you! How dare you do the things you've done, and then come back here, claiming you want to 'protect' me! You almost destroyed me!" There was so much raw emotion; not a common thing at all for Sasuke to display. It was more than anger, it was pain. Sasuke was hurt and confused and disoriented, but if there one thing he knew, it was that Itachi of all people shouldn't have been there.

"Sasuke…?" Naruto tried to interject.

"No." Itachi spoke. It would hurt him, but he wanted to hear what Sasuke had pinned up for so many years. In Itachi's eyes, Sasuke deserved it, at the least, to let go of all that built up rage. He deserved at least that much. Itachi stood upright again, with as much strength as he had left.

"What you did, tortured me for years." Sasuke spoke again. "I couldn't understand why. Why you would kill them and leave me alive. I always felt, you should have taken me with them. I felt guilty to be alive. I was angry that you had killed our Mother and Father but left me the only survivor. All that anger and rage, I directed it towards you. I wanted to hate you so badly! And now you're here to protect me? Is that the truth...Or are you really here for Naruto…fucking Akatsuki." He said the last part under his breath, just barely loud enough for no one else but Itachi to hear. Itachi gathered that his brother must have been tired of getting the organization off the blond's tails. Maybe he had grown a little protective of the Jinchurikii over the years, especially knowing Itachi was within the organization.

Sasuke had to hear the answer from Itachi's mouth. He could never believe that Itachi would be there to protect him, no matter how many people told him otherwise. The other Uchiha neglected to speak for a moment, breathing deeply as if trying to catch his breath.

"Would you…really believe me if I said 'Yes'?" Itachi asked calmly, briefly wondering if Sasuke would attack him a moment later. Sasuke was speechless, his eyes glistening with inner turmoil.

"Liar." Sasuke said in a low voice, now containing more sadness than anger. "You pretended to care for all those years, and then you proved to me... that I meant nothing to you."

"I know you hate me, and I understand why-"

"Really! Was it hard to grasp!?"

He looked Sasuke straight in his eyes, thinking his brother would turn away in alarm, disgust, or anger, but he didn't. It was clear to Itachi that Sasuke no longer feared him by the way Sasuke held himself towards him. At the same time, he was confident, but it had nothing to do with proving himself to him. If anything, Sasuke was proving something to himself. It was then that Itachi realized that Sasuke had moved on in a way. Itachi hadn't been at the center of his life anymore. Sasuke had let him go…He wondered how much had he faded in Sasuke's mind before now, where his presence proved to resurface some feelings, but even now, he was more collected than Itachi would have guessed.

Itachi gave an almost sad expression, his body starting to shutter in pain. It was an expression that no one had ever seen, and it surprised even Sasuke. It was another of those moments in which Sasuke could hardly comprehend what was happening. Itachi coughed a few times.

"I caused you that pain, thinking that I had made the right decision, Sasuke. Now I know for certain, that it was a mistake. I'm sorry." Itachi admitted. Sasuke opened his mouth to deny something so outrageous, but somehow, he couldn't. Itachi's apologizing was so foreign to him.

Sasuke found himself fixated on just that thought alone, pondering how and why this was happening. How and why Itachi was there in front of him, apologizing for the massacre, as if he had only made a simple mistake, and yet the apology somehow meant something, for it evoked more than anger alone. It was unreal, and Sasuke found himself wanting to rip his hair out in pure frustration as Itachi eyed him with an actual emotion. "I'm sorry Otouto." Sasuke's entire form seemed to tremble at this.

And maybe he would have actually attacked Itachi…or started weeping in confusion, if not for Itachi's sudden coughing fit. The elder Uchiha, must to everyone's surprise, started to cough out large amounts of blood… and soon after collapse at Sasuke's bare feet. Sasuke could only stare at his brother's body, feeling his own body's urge to collapse under this weight…

End


~Amaterasu333

Nothing much to say other than I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that I hope you look forward to the conclusion. Please review and thanks for reading.

Note:

Collapsus

Latin

Etymology: From com- "Together" + labi "to fall, slip"

Literal meaning: To fall together/ To fall at once/ To slip altogether.

Derived words: Collapse: To fall inward, or cave. For the inside to fall or cave.