Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with this anime/manga, and I never will.
Warnings: This chapter contains a scene of violence/blood, crude language, references to rape, talk of sexual situations, incest, yaoi, thoughts of homicide, OOC, and the canon is also not going to be a huge factor. I also know that the chapter is REALLY long, I'm sorry about that and that means there are even more mistakes in here. Before you start, yes, I know that some of Itachi's development in medical ninjutsu is over the top.
Pairings: ItaSasu, some KakaIta, some SasuNaru, a hint of GaiKaka
The first drop of rain fell as he looked out the window. The days were winding down to the moment where they would face off, the Sound Village and the ex-Akatsuki. Itachi felt uneasy as he sat up in bed glancing at the dark clouds that were blocking out the sun. Something was happening; something important was going to go on today, he could feel in the wind. It wasn't a positive breeze, it was a breeze that took all of the hope that he had and made it freeze throughout his blood.
"Kabuto," he breathed as he closed his eyes, clenching his fists at the sound of that name. His heart raced faster as he thought about what that bastard was doing out there, it made him feel a sense of urgency. Had he really been going to soft on Kabuto? Should he have attacked him more than he did?
Slowly he caught his breath a smile rolling across his face. "You're going to lose if you go to Naruto now… Sasuke will destroy you before you advance that far," he clenched his fist tighter. "One hit and your bones will not only be broken, but they will be shattered to dust," he laughed lightly. "This is going to be fun, Kabuto."
The rain hit the window rhythmically as he moved out of the bed grasping one of his sais from the nightstand. He knew what he had to do if he wanted to win this; everything was going to ride on his shoulders. It was up to him to make all of this right again. There was only so much that Sasuke could do, but now that he was healed, Itachi's powers were unlimited. There was nothing that could match him.
"Sasuke," he sighed as he grasped the sai tighter. "Don't die throughout this," he looked out the window. "You're the only reason why that pink haired bitch is still alive. Don't you worry, she'll get what's coming to her," he threw the sai at the wall with great accuracy and precision, the blade embedded in the hard material. "She doesn't know who she's messing with."
He glanced at the door, a smile gracing his lips as he thought about the progress that they had made. Any attack that Kabuto made would easily be countered and used against him. There wasn't a prayer for him anymore. Sasuke wouldn't let him get Naruto; he was trained to destroy the Sound ninja upon seeing him. He had made Sasuke into what he saw in his own design, saving him from the curse that Orochimaru was going to force on him. Itachi had made him too strong.
"Orochimaru," Itachi hissed as he moved toward the sai that stabbed into the wall. "Be prepared, because I'm coming for you next. And this time I'm not going to show you any mercy," he grabbed the sai from the wall. "You will die…"
He grabbed the sai quickly pulling it out of the wall, his eyes shifting back to the rain that was falling onto the window. "It begins again… only this time; the ending of this story will come…"
-----
A shiver ran through Sasuke's body as he shot up in bed, something wasn't right, he could feel it deep inside of his body. The chills that were running through his body weren't like anything that he had felt in a while, not since Itachi's near death experience. Did something happen to him? As his heart raced he moved his hand to his side to grasp at the dagger to see if it was still there.
"Thank God," Sasuke sighed as he felt the handle in his hand. There was no telling what Itachi would have done if he was left alone with it.
That cursed dagger. That cursed cousin of his, that monster that had made Itachi turn out like this. He hated him ever sine he was child, he always wished that he would get away from his brother and now he had found the reason why he wanted it so badly. Shisui had a bad air around him, it made Sasuke feel uncomfortable to be near him.
Everything that they had been trying to do for the past weeks was going to work for Itachi's sake. He wasn't sure how much more his brother could take before he broke down. Next to him, only a few inches away from him, he had to protect it with his life. Naruto was the only person that kept Sasuke in this with Itachi; he was the only reason why he had been able to make all of this pain disappear.
If Kabuto even thought about attacking him now, Sasuke would kill him before he even thought about doing anything. Sasuke had learned countless jutsu from his older brother, his strength augmented to five times his regular ability, his control of chakra almost flawless. There was nothing that Kabuto could do that would ruin the fact that he was more advanced than Sakura. One of them would fall right where they stood; Sasuke was going to make it out of this alive.
After everything that I learned, I guess this is the time to see whether Itachi wasted his time or not, he placed a hand on Naruto's forehead, taking a deep breath as the rain fell down the glass of the window to the ground.
It was the perfect day to attack, it was raining, most of the people in the village would be inside. It was the ideal day for a person of Kabuto's level to be stalking his prey. Besides, Itachi and Sasuke were separated from one another making them weaker than usual. Kabuto would take advantage of this moment; he would go after the weaker one rather than messing with Itachi. That would be suicide; Itachi wouldn't spare him after what happened in the woods.
Then again, Itachi was far away from where they were situated, it would be easy for Kabuto to get what he wants. He wasn't sure if he would be able to hold him off alone, he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to hold him off for that long. There was no telling how strong that he was, there was no telling what kind of power Kabuto had in store.
Sasuke gripped onto the dagger tighter as he thought of the rain of senbon from the woods. Was that what Kabuto's technique was? Did he mostly use senbon as a way to confuse and then paralyze the enemy? Though Sasuke feared this time, the poison in the senbon would be deadly. Kabuto seemed not to want to kill them in the woods, but if he hadn't brought Sakura with him, it would be a different story.
I don't have time to second guess my abilities; he started to get out of bed, hearing his best friend let out a low breath as he did so. I have to protect you with my life or Itachi will really kill me this time. Everything rides on whether you're taken or not Naruto. If he takes you right now, I might have to go after him on my own.
He shook his head. He shouldn't think that it was the end just because it was raining. It had rained for countless days after Kabuto had arrived and nothing had happened yet. Maybe today was going to be no different. Still, his hand shook as he touched the handle of his dagger. The feeling that was running through his body made him tense. There was something wrong outside.
"Sasuke?" a voice asked, Naruto was starting to stir. "What's going on?"
Sasuke looked over at his best friend. "Nothing," he smiled lightly as he struggled to let go of the dagger.
Naruto didn't need to worry about what was going on, he didn't have to worry about the situation, he didn't have to worry about what Kabuto was going to do. The last thing that Sasuke wanted was for Naruto to grow concerned for him. This mission was dangerous one. An opponent like Kabuto would make for an A-Rank mission, perhaps even S-Rank since the chance of Itachi attacking was high as well. Sasuke had no clue what he had gotten himself into.
"Sleep well?" Naruto asked, as he moved closer to Sasuke.
Sasuke took a deep breath. "I don't sleep that well…"
"Do you sleep well when you're around him?" Naruto asked looking up into Sasuke's eyes.
The look in those blue irises proved to him that Naruto had known what they had been up to at night. He could probably still smell Itachi's scent; it was too strong to pass up. He could tell by the way that Sasuke walked that he had unbelievable power within. Naruto was jealous of that power.
"No," Sasuke breathed as he closed his eyes. "He makes me worry, I don't know what he's going to do next… it's annoying and heart wrenching at the same time. I can't take it sometimes, I feel as though I'm losing him. It's like he's purposely making me worry, like this is a game to him," he opened his eyes, narrowing them with seriousness. "In the woods I showed him this wasn't a game to me… this is real."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked curiously.
"While we were in the woods chasing after Sakura, she ran toward Itachi with a blade ready to kill him," he closed his eyes, clutching the dagger again. "I didn't know what was going through my mind at that moment, all I could think of was how I needed him," a tear fell down his cheek. "I ran right into the blow, piercing my chest."
"She's the reason you almost died?" Naruto asked wide eyed, he didn't want to believe it. He didn't want anything that Sasuke said to be true; it all had to be a lie, there was no way that she could have done that much damage. Sakura wasn't the kind of person who would kill a person no matter how much she hated them.
His hands moved to the bottom of his shirt, pulling it up to expose the mark that was on his chest. The pain returned as he watched blue eyes widen with absolute shock, tears forming within them. The looked into each other's eyes, Naruto's body shaking, his fingers moving to touch the scar that covered his chest.
"Shit," Naruto breathed as he felt the scar, closing his eyes, moving closer to the beating heart deep within. "Sasuke… how did you…? Why did you let that happen to you? Damn it!" he rested up against Sasuke's chest, starting to cry. "Damn it, Sasuke!" he wrapped his arm around him. "Damn it!"
Tears fell down Sasuke's chest as he felt his best friend shake up against him. The pain that he was feeling must have been unbearable, knowing that his friends had been going through so much as he sat waiting for them to come back to him. He had been sitting within his apartment not knowing that the two of them were at war with each other. Now he had just found out the cold hard truth.
"Sasuke…" he sobbed as he felt his best friend's arms wrap around him. "Is this what Itachi wanted with you all along? For you to be hurt because of him, for you to regret that you ever went off with him? To bruise and scar you?"
"No," Sasuke breathed. "Itachi wanted me to stay out of this battle; he didn't want me to jump in front of the dagger for him…" he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, this must be hard for you, to find out that I'm in love with my brother, this must be difficult for you to swallow…"
Naruto backed away shaking his head, his breathing starting to clam down just a little as the last tears fell. "No, it doesn't surprise me. I knew how you felt about him, I always knew. That's why every time that he hurts you; it scars you deeper than you ever wanted it to, because you love him and you thought that he loved you. Even now… as you try to tell yourself that you don't want to love him anymore, I know that you will never stop loving him. He will never stop loving you either, Sasuke… I guarantee it…"
Sasuke's hands shook as he placed them onto his thighs looking down at them. "So you knew too, everyone knew… I hid it that horribly," he shook his head. "I guess I'm the only one who didn't catch on to my horrible attempts to cover it up. That's why I drew closer to you and Sakura, because I thought that there would be someone out there who could love me and not hurt me in the process. But everyone I know… just leaves me in the end…"
Naruto took a deep breath. "You'll get Sakura back, I know you will. You've never been the one to give up that easily…"
"You don't know me, do you? Naruto, I couldn't even kill Itachi…" Sasuke closed his eyes.
"Because you love him," Naruto countered. "You would die with him if he ever died. There would be no point to you living, not only because your goal would be fulfilled, but you would have killed the only person in the world that you would take that vital of a hit for from one of your teammates. Sasuke, you let Sakura almost kill you to save Itachi…"
Sasuke closed his eyes as he remembered the tears running down the back of his neck as Itachi held onto him. Never again… you'll never cry for me again, Itachi. I'm not worth your tears, I'm not the reason why you should suffer, he could feel a tear run down his cheek as he took a deep breath. "I love him… and I will die before anyone else gets hurt during this. It's my fault this all started, I'm not going to let anyone else get suffer because of me."
Naruto nodded shakily. "I trust you to do the right thing…"
"And your decision?" Sasuke asked. "Do you wish to live or die?"
"I don't know," Naruto breathed. "I never thought that I would have to decide what to do with my life in a single night. I never thought that I would get a choice to live or die. I never thought that you would come in here and ask me that question…"
"You don't have to answer now," Sasuke breathed. "I just want you to know that I will destroy anyone who tries to harm you. I will kill them all."
Naruto nodded as Sasuke stood up. "Itachi's probably wondering where you are."
"He's made me worried about him countless times," Sasuke answered, looking down at Naruto. "I think that he'll live if I'm a few minutes late."
He started to walk toward the door, his heart beating hurriedly. Something was wrong; he could feel it in the wind. The way that his body became suddenly cold made him feel as though the second the door opened something bad was going to happen. He swallowed around the lump in his throat as he moved his had to touch the door.
"Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he followed him. "Is something wrong?"
The Uchiha touched the door sensing a familiar presence right outside, footsteps coming closer to him. His heart stopped dead in his chest as he remembered who that was. He remembered this fear in his heart when he was alone training. The hands were still trailing across his body as he saw the disgust light up in his brother's eyes. It was Kabuto. He was here to get the fox.
"Get down!" Sasuke breathed, moving in front of Naruto as the door swung open, a breeze of senbon following soon after. Sasuke could feel two of them embed in his back, another embedding itself in the back of his knee. The surge of pain ran throughout his nerves, his body starting to shake.
"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as they fell to the ground, Sasuke on top of his starting to pant from the pain. "What the hell is going on?" he looked up into the doorway to see an unfamiliar man standing with a smile on his face.
"Well look what we have here," Kabuto hissed as he walked closer to the two boys who were on the floor, his vision specifically focused onto the shaking Uchiha. "If it isn't Itachi's disciple Sasuke, his foolish little apprentice, I didn't think that he would let you take care of something on your own. You don't seem that bright…" he laughed as he walked closer. "I don't see what he sees in you, you're nothing but common, there are a thousand ninja like you out there in the world. As for Itachi, he's not the kind of person you see everyday."
Sasuke struggled to move away from Naruto. Are these needles poisoned? Is he trying to kill me?
"Don't worry, Itachi's little brother," Kabuto stated condescendingly. "I didn't poison those needles. Why would I waste a technique like that on a mere genin?" he chuckled again as he moved closer to grasp Sasuke's hair to pull him off of Naruto. "Tell me, Sasuke, how come you chose to come here alone? Did that older brother of yours abandon you?"
The young Uchiha gasped as he felt his hair being pulled tighter as he was suspended off of the ground. "No, he knows that I can hold my own," he moved his convulsing hand to his side to grasp the dagger. "He knows that I can kick your ass on my own!"
He drew the dagger quickly, everything moving in a surreal slow motion as he moved to cut at the hairs that Kabuto was holding onto, falling to the ground face first. Pain filled his body as his nose starting to sting filling with liquid, blood rolling onto Naruto's floor. He could hear the blond's screams as Kabuto looked at the hair in his hand in shock. Sasuke tried to catch his breath moving to pull the senbon out of his leg and back, groaning as he made the motion.
The Sound ninja's attention was still focused on the black hair that was in his hand. It wasn't a lot of hair, but it was hair none-the less. The fact that Sasuke was mentally and physically strong enough to get out of that hold was amazing. He watched the three senbon hit the ground, being met with the burning scarlet color of the sharingan.
"You think that you can come here and take away what Itachi has worked so hard for?" Sasuke asked, moving to his feet, the dagger still in his hand. "You're wrong; as long as I live I will continue his legacy and carry out his wishes. I will kill you if I have to…"
"Sasuke…" Naruto breathed, watching the two of them look at each other.
"Naruto," Sasuke started to explain, his breath still heavy. "This is Kabuto Yakushi, the man who's trying to take Sakura to the Sound Village. This is the bastard who wants to kill you. This is the man that I was warning you about. Orochimaru's right hand man…"
The blond genin looked over at Kabuto. "You bastard!" he struggled to his feet.
"Stay down," Sasuke demanded as he pointed the dagger at the intruder. "I will take care of him," he placed the dagger back in the sheath at his side. "I will do this as quickly as possible…"
Kabuto raised an eyebrow. "How will you beat me without a weapon?" his fingers tauntingly pointed at the young boy's empty hands. "I have a whole pouch full of senbon and all you have is your own two hands. This fight won't last long…"
"You're right…" Sasuke moved forward, his hand extended to Kabuto, his body walking slowly to him his hnad touching his chest lightly.
Naruto must have blinked or been hallucinating, the next thing that he saw was Sasuke's hand pushing gently toward Kabuto, the older ninja soaring out the door as if he was hit. Sasuke didn't have that kind of strength as far as Naruto was concerned. How did that happen?
"Mostly taijutsu and medical ninjutsu, Itachi says that I have potential in those two aspects. He always thought me to be the taijutsu type."
Naruto breathed heavily as he sat up looking at Sasuke who was looking at the door with a smile on his face. The thrill that was going through his body was obvious as he took a few steps forward, sending chills down Naruto's spine.
"It won't," Sasuke ran out the door, his hand curled into a fist.
Naruto gulped. "Damn," he closed his eyes. I should stop screwing around with Sasuke, he's going to kill me. With that kind of strength, he could take me down no problem. Itachi's been teaching him more than just the kekkei genkai. The power that is coursing through his veins, it's inhuman…
Sasuke raced down the stairs to see Kabuto face down in the mud, coughing violently. "That's the same technique thatI wounded Itachi with, my strength since then has only augmented along with my hate for you. There is nothing in this world that will save you."
Kabuto coughed lightly, a small amount of blood rolling down his lips as he took a deep breath, checking to see if his ribs were broken. All he could imagine were the droplets of blood that ran down Itachi's lips in their meetings with one another. The pain in his eyes as the cursed liquid fell to the ground haunted the Sound ninja. Was that going to happen to him now? Was Sasuke really that strong? He felt his heart race as he watched the boy come closer. Was this the power that Orochimaru wanted? The power of a second Itachi?
"You bastard!" Kabuto huffed as he looked up into the genin's eyes. "You're going to die here, even I know that. Accept it," he started to struggle to his feet. "I'm going to bring that fox to the Sound Village; I don't care if I have to cut through you to do so. The second I get you Uchiha brats out of the way, the sooner we obtain our goal."
Sasuke walked right in front of Kabuto, pressing his foot up against his hand watching his raise an eyebrow in a challenge. "You're going to have to work harder if you want to get through me, Yakushi."
"I-is that a challenge, you little troll?" Kabuto hissed as he reached into the pouch that was behind him pulling out a single senbon. "Do you feel lucky? I packed fifty needles, and twenty of them are poisoned. Out of five, the ratio of this one being poisoned is 2 to 5, that's a forty percent chance that this one will kill you…"
Sasuke huffed. "You don't have it in you to kill me. Itachi will destroy you…" he applied chakra into his foot increasing the pressure, feeling the bones of Kabuto's hand start to give. "Do you think he'll just sit back and take the fact that you killed his brother? You saw what happened in the woods…"
"Itachi's dying!" Kabuto grinned. "I saw the blood…"
Sasuke shook his head. "No he's not," he grinned evilly, a snide chuckle passing his lips. "I healed his wounds right before he was going to die. He's alive, Kabuto, and he's stronger than ever."
Kabuto whimpered as the pressure on his hand increased. "You son of a bitch…"
"You think this is bad?" Sasuke snorted condescendingly. "You should see how Itachi's strength is now. It's twice as strong as mine if not more, and it's growing everyday," Sasuke let out a chuckle as he felt the bone that made up Kabuto's right index finger snap. "That sounded like it hurt…"
Sasuke lost all confidence as he felt something pierce into his leg that was on top of Kabuto's hand, his leg starting to burn at the feeling. His heart started to race, his vision clouding with shock as he eyes moved to see what was happening. A senbon had been lodged into his leg, he didn't know if it was poison or not.
"Damn it," he muttered almost unintelligibly.
Everything was getting blurry as he looked down into his enemy's eyes, he was laughing at him as he watched his body start to react. Was it poison? Was Kabuto really trying to kill him? As everything seemed to be lost he heard a voice call out from behind him, crying out his name.
"Sasuke!" the voice called out, it was Naruto running down to his best friend's side. "Sasuke, are you alright?"
"Stay back, Naruto!" Sasuke winced. "This guy… this is Kabuto Yakushi…" he swallowed hard. "He's the one who wants to kill you!"
The blond looked down at the ground in disbelief. This was the person that Sasuke had been talking about. This was the man who had taken Sakura away, the man who had started a rivalry with Itachi Uchiha. This was the one who worked for Orochimaru, this was Kabuto Yakushi.
Kabuto laughed as he drove the senbon deeper. "Naruto, I mean you no harm. The Uchiha brothers want to kill you, wipe you and that cursed spirit off of the face of the planet. Do you think you can trust Itachi Uchiha? He raped your best friend…"
"Don't listen to him!" Sasuke interrupted. "Don't use that night as a factor to decide who you go with. What happened that night wasn't what you thought it was…"
"You were the one who cried rape…" Kabuto rebutted, watching the Uchiha's legs buckle. "Now are you telling me that you enjoyed that night? To think that you almost got your brother killed because you lied to the village."
There was a silence as the needle was withdrawn, Sasuke falling to the ground quickly, coughing gently as he grasped his tightening chest. Was that needle really poisoned, and if it was, was he going to die? His eyes watered as he took deep breaths feeling his body start to tense. The drugs worked quickly, he could already feel them.
"As you can probably feel," Kabuto snickered maliciously as he stood up to his full height. "That needle was a poisoned one. You'll start to feel a little weak on your feet, but you won't die. No, you might live Sasuke Uchiha, for that wasn't supposed to kill its victim: the nine-tailed fox. I will have Naruto no matter what I have to do."
"You'll never get him," Sasuke breathed, clutching at his chest. "Itachi will kill you and Sakura before you make it out of this village. You'll pay for this, Kabuto; you'll pay for what you're doing to me…"
"Will I?" Kabuto snickered as he grabbed Sasuke's collar, pulling him closer. "I should have killed you so many times, but I decided to keep you alive. When you do die, Itachi will be there while I rip your heart out of your chest. And I can finally see him want to die, I can finally see the weak person that he really is."
The wind blew fiercer as Sasuke closed his eyes, water flowing down his cheeks. The one time where they needed to be together was the time when Sasuke was all alone. Itachi was a necessary component to their two man cell; he was the strength while Sasuke was the conscience that stopped Itachi from destroying Kabuto and Sakura too much. Without Itachi, this mission was pointless. There were going to fall. They were going to lose Naruto.
Something told him that wasn't an option. As he looked back at his best friend, he saw the look in his blue eyes. Naruto wasn't going to hand himself over so easily. He knew how hard his friend had been working to save him; he knew the pain that he was going through. Naruto made a promise that he was going to help Sasuke. This was his chance.
"Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he fell to his knees. "What do I do?"
"R-run…" Sasuke panted. "Run away from here while you still have the chance. This man wants to kill you. I won't let him do that. I won't watch my comrades die. You're still my comrade, Naruto, you're still my friend. I will stay here and handle this."
Naruto closed his eyes as his fingers dug deeper into the dirt beneath them. "Sasuke… I won't leave you. I'm not going to run from you again. I'm not going to watch you die…"
Kabuto snickered. "How touching. Two friends that have spent eons away from each other are finally together again. Too bad this is the last time that you two will ever come together," he grasped another senbon. "This is the last time that fox will be in Konoha. I'm going to take him away."
Everything froze in place as he threw the senbon at Naruto, blue eyes welling up with fear. He couldn't move from his spot. Sasuke's heart wrenched as he watched the senbon going straight for Naruto. All he could think about was the Land of Waves. He could still see those needles within the ice mirrors. He could still feel them pierce into his skin as he slowly started to die. This was his only chance to save him. This was his chance to ensure that their purpose was going to work. Without thinking he moved himself in the way of the needle, taking it in his back.
"Sasuke!" Naruto cried out as they both fell to the ground, Sasuke on top of him. "Are you alright?"
The Uchiha let out a low breath as he remembered the tears rolling down his neck, thinking of the pain that Itachi had gone through. Never again… I will never see you in that much pain again… even if I have to kill to insure that. I don't ever want to see tears fall from your eyes, not for me…
There was a long silence as Naruto gently stroked Sasuke's face listening to him breathe heavily. Tears rolled down both of their cheeks as they held onto one another, Sasuke's coughing filling Naruto's ears. The poison was running hurriedly through his body. The rain fell as Sasuke struggled to roll off of his best friend's body feeling to heavy to even move.
"N-Naruto…" Sasuke sighed as he closed his eyes tightly, trying to clear the blurring vision that was behind his eyes. "I'm sorry that I couldn't stop this sooner. I'm sorry that you had to go through all of this. I didn't…" he took a deep breath. "I didn't want this for you… I didn't want you to be taken from me. I didn't want to lose you this easily. I didn't want you to die because of me… or Itachi. I wanted you to live…"
Naruto shook his head. "You don't have to watch me die, because I won't die here…" he kissed Sasuke lightly on the lips as he rose to his feet. "Kabuto is going to pay for all that he's done to our team. He split us apart."
"Some of that credit goes to Itachi as well. He's the one who made Sasuke into the wreck you see today. You're weak, Sasuke, just like your brother. I hope he's happy now," the medical ninja pulled out another senbon, aiming at Naruto. "You're coming with me, Naruto. The Uchiha brothers are going to die."
As Kabuto stepped closer to Naruto, Sasuke's heart raced. This wasn't real. He wasn't going to lose his best friend like this. Everything that he had, everything that Konoha had given him, it was all gone. He could see the tears rolling down Itachi's cheeks, the sobs passing his lips as he looked at this had become. He had lost. Sasuke could see his reaction so clearly. He could see Shisui's dagger running through his chest, the smile on his face as he fell to the ground bleeding.
"It's all over…"
"No…" Sasuke breathed, closing his eyes trying to block out the blood that was rolling down his brother's lips. This wasn't how it was going to end. Itachi wasn't going to die because Sasuke let Kabuto Yakushi get the best of him.
"It's all over…"
"No," Sasuke swallowed hard, moving his stiff arm in front of his body. "Stop it!" he struggled to find his voice as he felt a tear fall from his own eye. "Stop it!"
His voice had a power that he didn't think was possible. He could feel his throat start to hurt as he tried to move, trying to save his best friend. He couldn't move, he couldn't even feel his body as he reached out. He was a disgrace to everyone who knew him. Once again he couldn't do what he was told. He was weak.
"Stop it! Please!" Sasuke begged. "Kabuto!"
Naruto looked down at Sasuke closing his eyes. "Sasuke… it's going to be alright."
Sasuke sobbed louder as he looked at the senbon in Kabuto's hand watching the traces of poison dripping off of the piece of metal. That was the same poison that was making sasuke's body stiff, the same poison that had frozen Itachi in his steps in the woods. He was going to use it on Naruto. It was over.
"Now die!" Kabuto called out as he threw the senbon at Naruto feeling a strange breeze through the air.
There was something wrong, something that he had never felt before. It was a strange chakra, stronger than he had ever felt, even stronger that Itachi's. The nine-tailed fox was starting to break free.
"Shit!" he called out as the senbon was thrown back at him, just barely missing his neck. Is this the power the Akatsuki wants? Is this the power of the nine-tailed fox? Who would have thought that such a young boy would have such power?
Sasuke swallowed hard as he saw the orange chakra starting to fill up the space, his body shaking as he drew his hand closer to him. "N-Naruto…" he shook his head as they closed his eyes. This was the power that was inside of his rival, the reason why he was always going to be better. This was the reason why Itachi was pursuing him.
Growls passed through Naruto's lips as he started to let go of all control that he had against the fox, Sasuke's eyes watering harder than they ever had before. His hands clenched, the earth cracking beneath his fingertips. Kabuto was going to be able to beat the fox no problem. Itachi was going to lose this.
"It's all over…"
"No," Sasuke shook his head, his eyes burning as the tears rolled down his cheeks. "Naruto… can you hear me?" his body shook as he looked through the rain, his black hair starting to fall in front of his eyes. "Naruto!" he struggled to his feet, choking as he felt his chest tighten. "Naruto!"
The medical ninja smiled as he watched the power seep from the young boy. "Naruto Uzumaki, what power you hold," he chuckled as he moved closer to it. "Calm down now, calm down and come with me. I'll take you to Sakura…"
"Don't listen to him!" Sasuke cried out. "He's going to kill you. Run away! Run while you still have the chance!"
Kabuto shot a deadly glare at Sasuke as to tell him that he was the next to die. He moved away from the fox, moving toward the Uchiha on the ground. As the growls continued to soar through the air, Sasuke and Kabuto looked into each other's eyes. Kabuto was going to kill him as he pulled out a kunai, watching the genin shiver from the cold rain.
"That's enough out of you," Kabuto hissed as he raised the kunai over Sasuke's head. "Itachi should have killed me when he had the chance. He would have been able to save you. Pity…"
Sasuke let out a whimper as he felt Kabuto move his hands to drive the kunai through his skull. Everything was changing; the place that he had once called home was burning with the fire of hatred right before his eyes. Everything that mattered to him getting destroyed in the process. Kabuto and Itachi were trying to change the world for him, both of them representing evils that Sasuke didn't want. He had no choice. He had to choose the lesser of the two evils.
"Itachi…" Sasuke breathed as he continued to cry. "I'm sorry… I failed you…" he dug his fingers deeper into the ground as he saw his own death coming. "I love you…"
Right before the end came for him, he looked up, drawn to the sound of Kabuto gagging. His eyes moved to see the man that had been threatening him on the ground gasping for air, desperately trying to pry Naruto off. The boy on top of Kabuto wasn't Naruto, Sasuke couldn't see any trace of his best friend in those ravenous eyes. All he could see was the beast that was within, the beast that damn organization wanted. Naruto would never kill someone like this, not after what Sasuke did to him.
"If you touch Sasuke," he growled, tightening his grip around Kabuto's neck, saliva running down the Sound ninja's chin, "I'll break your fucking neck!"
Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. "Naruto…"
All he could hear was gagging as he looked into Naruto's eyes. They weren't the blue ones that he had grown accustomed to. These eyes were red, filled with the craving of blood, filled with hatred for Kabuto. Naruto wasn't like that; he wasn't the type of person who would kill so easily. Then as he tried to move his body, it hit him. Naruto was doing to this because Sasuke was hurt in the process. He still cared for him after he'd abandoned him for so long.
Sasuke moved toward his best friend, picking up the dagger that he had dropped, crawling crookedly toward him, taking deep breaths, trying not to lose sight of the task that was at hand. Itachi was still waiting for him; he would be pissed if Sasuke never came home.
"It's all over…"
He closed his eyes tightly as he touched Naruto's shoulder. No, Itachi, this is far from over. We can still win this. It doesn't have to end in death. He held on tightly to his best friend. "Naruto… please, don't kill him. I know you're angry, but it doesn't have to end like this. To save Sakura we have to keep Kabuto alive."
The rain fell harder as Sasuke moved to be next to his best friend, trying to suppress the coughs that were coming from his lips, his chest tightening painfully from the poison that was going through his veins. Even if the eyes didn't look like Naruto wasn't in there, Sasuke could still see him deep within. As their hands touched he could still feel his presence loosen his grip on Kabuto's neck.
"S-Sasuke?" Naruto asked looking over at him, the chakra starting to fade.
They looked into each other's eyes as Sasuke fell to the ground, flat on his stomach, his eyes still looking up into blue ones. Everything for a few seconds seemed like it was going to go his way. This was far from over. Itachi was going to be able to live one more day knowing that his plan worked out. The fox was still in his hands. However, the poison that was rolling through Sasuke's body was real; he could feel it with every heartbeat. Kabuto had made his poisons stronger. He wasn't even sure if this one didn't kill.
"Itachi," he closed his eyes tightly. "I… did it…"
Naruto placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Sasuke?" he shook him lightly as the Uchiha's vision began to cloud. "Sasuke!"
His voice was fading as he fell away from everything. His back ached. He could even feel himself breathe anymore. All that he had done to save Naruto had ended the same way as in the Land of Waves, only this was real. He was going to die.
"I-Ita… chi…" Sasuke felt his whole body go numb from the poison. Itachi was right, it was over…
-----
Itachi felt a chill run through his body as he looked through the book, a cough passing his lips. Trace amount of blood ran through his lips. That was the last of it; he smiled lightly as he continued to turn the pages seeing the blood that had stained the paper. How did he survive that transition? How did he survive such a great drop in blood count? It was a miracle that he was still alive.
Another chill ran through his body, this time almost knocking him to the ground as he shuddered. What the hell was going on out there? Did something happen. Thinking about it, Sasuke had been gone a while. But nothing could have gone wrong.
"Sasuke," he looked out the window, trying to get back on topic after the chills stopped. There was something going on out there, something that could change the outlook on his plan.
Itachi always felt uneasy sending Sasuke into the storm alone, especially now that Kabuto was out there. Sasuke had gotten involved more than he wanted him to. He didn't want to watch as his brother was killed because he was too stupid to pull him out of a mission. He wasn't supposed to get hurt; he promised himself that no one on the opposing side was going to lay a hand on him. He was wrong again.
"Sasuke…" Itachi looked out the window, shaking his head lightly. "This has gone on far enough. I will take care of this once and for all. I'm going to make to stronger; no matter how long it takes. You'll never fall at that man's feet. I won't give him the pleasure."
-----
Sasuke opened his eyes to see himself still on the ground, the rain still falling from the sky. It was cold as he tried to move his stiff body from the ground, failing to do so. The poison that was coursing through his veins was taking effect, the agony of his joints burned through him like an inferno as he finally found the strength to try to stand.
Then it hit him: Naruto. Kabuto was here to take him away? Did he succeed while Sasuke was unconscious? No, he couldn't have allowed that to happen. All he could see were two possible reactions of his brother. Reaction one: Itachi would kill himself leaving Sasuke alone. Or reaction two: he would finally kill Sasuke for insubordination. He didn't know which one it was; he didn't even know what kind of person his brother was anymore. He had been under a lot of stress, only thinking about the mission. There was no time for rest for him. Every time Sasuke was sleeping, Itachi was working to make this mission work with the least bloodshed on their side.
Did I lose? Sasuke asked as he opened his eyes to look around in the darkness. A sense of loss went through his body as he thought of ways to break the news to Itachi. Itachi had risked his life to get the fox; he gave everything up to make them pay for what they did to him. Was it really all a waste? Did either of them really fulfill their purpose? Did either of them really put their all into this mission?
"Naruto," he breathed, groaning as he felt everything tighten, his muscles frozen in place. "Naruto?" he moved closer to the street. There had to be some way that he could tell that Naruto was going to be alright. The way that it was ending before he passed out seemed like it was in his favor, Kabuto was nearly dead.
He fell to his knees at the end of the road, his dark eyes looking down at the ground. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he thought about all he had lost. The second that Kabuto appeared, everything that was near and dear to him was gone. He was the one who could have pieced it all together, but he couldn't even do that. People would always be able to kick him around.
"Sasuke?" a voice called out from the distance. "Is that you?"
He looked up to se a familiar face, his body shaking violently. "K-Kurenai?" he shook his head as he fell to the ground, crying out in pain. "Damn it!"
The jounin fell to her knees to pick him off of the ground. "Sasuke, hold on, I'll bring you to the Gai's place, Kakashi will find a way to help you," she felt how stiff his muscles were. He's been poisoned, no doubt about it.
"Kurenai," he breathed, clutching his side. "Where's Naruto?"
"He's with Iruka," she stated softly, holding onto him tighter, starting to walk faster toward the building where Kakashi and Gai were.
Sasuke closed his eyes tightly as he felt himself being moved. Everything had worked out; he was able to save Naruto for a little while longer. He was able to halt Kabuto before he won. There was time to save Naruto and Sakura from this; he just had to work harder. He moved closer to Kurenai as he shivered, his muscles aching as he tried to move.
"What happened, Sasuke?" she asked as she continued to move down the streets. "What went on there?"
"I…" Sasuke couldn't even start to explain.
Would any one in Konoha care about yet alone understand his motives with Itachi? Would they understand that the village was in danger if they didn't do this? No, they wouldn't, they had their idea of Itachi. It was never going to change no matter what Sasuke said in his favor. They were all going to make references to that damn night when Itachi raped him. They were fools.
"It's okay," she stated. "Don't strain yourself."
Sasuke closed his eyes as he thought about what he'd been doing for so long. If they only knew that he was the one who was helping Itachi throughout this whole act. If only they knew that they were the reason why Sakura was gone. They would never understand. They would only separate them from each other.
As he was carried further, Sasuke could only think about Itachi, these were the times where he was the most concerned for him. Why were they doing that to each other? Neither of them thought before they did anything. Itachi came home with wounds all of the time, the day when he fought Asuma Sarutobi still running through Sasuke's mind. He had never seen that much of his brother's blood before that moment. The next time he saw him bleed severely was the only thing that he would see when he closed his eyes. The thought of his hands covered with that blood as he heard Itachi choke caused his heart to stop. Why were they always getting hurt? Why now when the most important thing was for them to stick together?
Doors swung open as he heard footsteps speed up. "Kakashi! Gai! I found him!"
He couldn't see anything as he opened his eyes, nothing but blurs. He could only recognize the voices that were in his ears. His body was completely numb as he was moved to be laid down on something, someone taking him from Kurenai's grip.
"What the hell happened?"
Kakashi… Sasuke opened his eyes trying to see his sensei's face, but to no avail. All he could do was look into the darkness and imagine what Itachi was doing right now. Sasuke had been gone since last night, Itachi probably was thinking the worst.
"He's been poisoned, just as Naruto said," Kurenai continued. "We're going to need a medical ninja…"
"Where are we going to find one of those at such short notice?" Gai asked. "Fully trained medical ninja are hard to come by…"
There was a silence as Sasuke gagged lightly; still trying to open his eyes to see what was going on around him. Was Naruto here? Was he watching all of this? Was he watching as his best friend tried to move but couldn't do a thing about it?
"They don't need to be fully trained, Gai," Kurenai continued. "They just need to know how to neutralize poison."
"I know someone…" Kakashi stated lightly. "I know you won't like it but he's our only hope in this case," he took a deep breath. "We need to consult Itachi Uchiha…"
"Itachi?" Gai spat. "No way in Hell!"
Sasuke tried to open his eyes as he only managed to mutter one phrase. "I'm alright, you d-don't need to g-get him," he swallowed hard, his throat burning as he did so. "He'll be angry at me…"
"He has a right to know that you're alive…" Kakashi continued as he touched Sasuke's right hand, stroking the glove. "He can neutralize the poison Gai. We don't know how strong it is. It was supposed to be able to paralyze the nine-tail fox. Who knows what it should do to Sasuke if it's inside of him for too long…?"
"But if you bring him here, what makes you think that he won't kill any of us?" Gai asked. "He's hurt us before, he could do it again."
"He'll cooperate for Sasuke's well being. We saved his brother from the rain, the least that he could do is leave us be. And then we could obtain information about what's going on with Sakura…"
Sasuke's body froze at the mention of her name. "S-Sakura?" he turned his head to the side as he felt Kurenai move to untie his forehead protector. The three jounin were crowded around him trying to help as best as they could. Sasuke was grateful.
"Kurenai, call Asuma and tell him to get Itachi. Gai go get some ice. We're going to have to see what kind of poison that this Kabuto Yakushi uses in his attacks. If it is deadly…" he sighed. "Which I pray it's not, Itachi might not be able to neutralize it. He's not a specialist, but he's the only one that we're going to get at such short notice."
Sasuke opened his eyes to see his sensei's face through blurred vision as the other two jounin walked their separate ways. "Kakashi… don't bring him here… he'll…"
"Sasuke, he'll be even angrier if we don't tell him what happened to you. If you're going to bring Sakura back you're going to have to work together with your brother to do so. Itachi is going to have to know about this. You've been hurt."
"No," Sasuke tried to argue. "If h-he finds out about this… S-Sakura's in more danger than she was before. He'll kill her," he held on tightly to his sensei's hand as he heard Kurenai call Asuma. "He's going to kill Sakura… he'll kill her…" he exhaled sharply. "He'll kill… S-Sakura…"
Sasuke closed his eyes; it was too late to fight this.
-----
Where are you? Itachi walked out of the house as the rain fell harder to the ground. His heart was wrenching with every passing second, Sasuke hadn't come home since last night. There must have been something wrong, the chills that were running through his body, the pain in his chest it all meant something.
Itachi looked up into the rain as he heard footsteps come up to him. He knew someone would come to him eventually; there was no way that he would ever be able to be free from people filtering in and out of his life. This was different though, this wasn't Kabuto. As he turned around to see who it was, he almost fainted in shock.
"Asuma? What are you doing here?" he took a step back as the jounin moved closer to him. "You're not allowed to touch me…"
The jounin moved closer to him as he sighed. "Listen Itachi, I have something that you have to do. Come with me, I'll take you to Kakashi," he watched as the young ninja shook his head with disgust. "We need you…"
Itachi looked off into the distance. "So they finally sent you to take me away? Figures, the old man doesn't even know what a contract is," he turned to the jounin to see a distant look in his eyes.
This wasn't the usual look in a pursuer's eyes; he was here not to take him away, but to take him someplace where he was actually needed. Then it hit him, throughout this whole night everything was a sign to show that there was something wrong. He knew it now, there was something wrong with Sasuke.
"What happened to him?" Itachi asked as he looked into Asuma's eyes. "Where is he now?"
"He's with Kakashi," Asuma stated softly. "As for what happened… he was poisoned by Kabuto when he was looking for the nine-tails. We don't know whether it will kill him or just paralyze him. He seems to be in stable condition right now. We have a question…"
"Yeah?" Itachi asked taking a deep breath. "What is it?"
"Do you…?" Asuma took a deep breath. "Do you know how to neutralize poisons?"
Itachi closed his eyes. "Somewhat, I've been researching medical ninjutsu, but I don't know if it will work. It's too risky. If I screw up, the outcome could be worse than it is right now."
"You're his only hope," Asuma begged as he looked straight at the Uchiha. "Itachi, please, there's nothing left for us to do. We've given Naruto to Iruka to keep him in better hands, but he insisted that we save Sasuke."
Itachi took a deep breath as he clenched his hand into a fist. "Then take me there."
There was a small silence as Asuma smiled, looking straight at the Uchiha. There might be hope for solving this problem after all. All they needed was for Itachi to come to help them.
-----
"I still don't like the fact that he's coming," Gai huffed as he looked out the window. "Isn't there any other person that you know who could do the job for us? You know how I feel about that bastard… after what he did to you…"
Kakashi placed the pack of ice on Sasuke's chest hearing the body moan in pain. "We're not sure how deadly this poison is. Kabuto wouldn't have used it on him that much if it wasn't toxic," he wiped the sweat off of Sasuke's forehead. "It's rolling through his system as we speak."
As Gai was about to open his mouth to speak the door opened, Asuma walking through the door with a smile on his face. "We got him," he moved out of the way clearing a path for the next person to walk through: Itachi Uchiha.
"Sasuke!" he ran immediately to the couch, falling to his knees next to his brother. "What the hell happened?" he looked into his eyes, watching them become a glassy grey. "Are you alright?"
Sasuke shook lightly. "Itachi… I'm sorry…"
"Don't be an idiot, Sasuke. Don't apologize to me," Itachi bit his lip as he touched his brother's forehead, hearing him release a shuttering moan. "I'm glad that you came out of this alive… I was worried about you…"
Kakashi looked over at Itachi. "What do you need in order to extract the poison?"
"I need to first off see where the problem area is. Where was he hit?" Itachi looked down at Sasuke. "Can you tell me where you were hit? What parts of your body did Kabuto manage to get a poisonous senbon pieced through?"
Sasuke swallowed hard. "My back and leg…"
Itachi looked back at Asuma and Gai. "I want you to move him into the bedroom. I can do better practice when I'm in there. Kurenai, get me a few bowls of water. Kakashi, I want you to sit and relax, the last thing that we want is for you to hurt yourself."
"I will watch what you do to that boy," Kakashi hissed. "I still care about him after all. You're going to save him, Itachi. I know you will…" he placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder, his other hand stroking his face, moving his hair from his rain moist face. "I have faith in you…"
Itachi backed away from him, his eyes filled with heartbreak. "I have work to do…" he walked away from Kakashi as he moved toward the door. "You can come with me if you really want to."
Kakashi closed his eye. "Why do we hate each other, Itachi? Sometimes when I look at you I forget," he took a step toward him. "I forget everything that we've done in our past when I look at you right now. You're not the same person, you've changed so much. It's like deep inside of you, you're still alive. You didn't die that night."
Itachi looked back at him before walking into the room, answering his question quickly. "You broke my heart, plain and simple…"
Kakashi watched as he walked into the other room, Kurenai following him with a bowl of water, handing it to Gai, quickly moving back to get another one. This was the moment that was hurting Kakashi the most, this was the moment where he was going to watch as one of his students went through the greatest amounts of pain he had ever been in. He walked forward hearing Sasuke beg.
"Itachi, please, you don't have to do this…" the young boy was shaking, tears rolling down his cheeks as Kurenai passed Kakashi placing the bowl on the night stand next to the bed.
Gai was the first jounin to speak up. "What exactly are you going to do to him?"
"A very delicate procedure, one that I've never tried before, I've only read about it, but it seems simple enough," Itachi looked down at Sasuke nervously, noticing the anger in his eyes. "Don't give me that look…"
"So I'm a test?" Sasuke asked, rolling his eyes. "Great, this is going to be a lot more painful than I thought," he closed his eyes.
Itachi looked at Gai and then Asuma as he moved toward the bowl of water. "I want you all to hold him down for me. This is going to hurt and if he moves it could cause some complications,"
"It hurts?" Asuma asked. "What kind of technique is this?"
Itachi pulled out a kunai and looked down at his brother. "Let's see what kind of poison this is," closing his eyes tightly, he pushed the kunai into Sasuke's thigh expecting the boy to cry out in pain. He heard nothing; all he heard were gasps from the jounin as he did so. Sasuke looked up at him with confused eyes as he watched the blood trickle from his leg.
"You crazy son of a bitch! What was that for?" Gai asked, looking at Itachi with hatred in his glance.
"It showed me that it was definitely one of Kabuto's poisons," Itachi shook his head. "It's gotten to Sasuke's whole body, if too much of it gets to his heart it could paralyze the muscle," he looked at Asuma and then at Gai. "You two are going to have to hold him down. Kurenai, I want you to save some of the poison when I extract it. Kakashi, you can just sit here and watch…"
Asuma took Sasuke's left shoulder and Gai took the right as the genin looked into his brother's eyes, watching him move toward the bowl. His pulse was accelerating as he tried to move to reach out to him. He knew that if he did manage to reach him, he wouldn't be able to feel how soft his flesh was, he wouldn't be able to feel those hands hold his. He was being robbed of that sensation.
"Itachi…" Sasuke breathed as he moved to hand to touch his arm, he couldn't feel anything, nothing but the pain of heartbreak as he knew that his brother was far away from him, too far out of his reach. "I can't feel anything…" he swallowed hard as he watched his brother's hand dip into the water. "What are you…?"
Everyone was shocked as Itachi removed his hand from the bowl all of the water in an orb that surrounded his hand. This was one of the many techniques that Itachi was reading about while he was sitting in bed recovering from his wound to his lungs. Sasuke knew that there was something different about him as he started to write down more notes.
"Okay," Itachi breathed as he moved the orb to Sasuke's chest, pushing his chakra through his brother's body. "Try not to move Sasuke…"
"You think I can move?" Sasuke asked as he watched the bubble go through his chest, Itachi muttering something to himself as sweat formed at his temples. Sasuke watched as he saw the determination in his brother's eyes, he was worried that he was going to hurt one of them in this process.
I can do this, Itachi gulped as he felt something rest on his shoulder, it was Kakashi's hand. He focused on the orb, extracting the poison from the cells of his heart, drawing them into the orb. He watched as Sasuke's body shook lightly, his heart rate racing as Itachi drew the toxin. The last step was now at hand, pull it out.
"Got it," Itachi breathed as he pulled the orb out of Sasuke's body with his left hand, watching everyone in the room's eyes widen with shock, there was no way that he could have done so well on his first try.
"Th-that's the poison?" Sasuke asked shakily as he watched his brother walk back over to the bowl. "Am I going to be alright then? Am I starting to get feeling back yet?"
"In time," Itachi breathed as he moved to the bowl, drawing some of the poison into a smaller bowl, his left hand moving to obtain another orb as Kakashi wiped the sweat form his forehead. "Keep holding him down…" he took hold of another bowl of water moving toward Sasuke's chest again. "I don't want your heart to stop on me."
Sasuke swallowed hard as he watched his brother's eyes close lightly. "Brother…"
"I'm going to kill Kabuto the second that I see him again," Itachi calmed down instantly as he repeated the action, Gai and Asuma still holding Sasuke in place as the older Uchiha did his work, extracting the poison.
Sasuke could feel his brother start to break right in front of him, he was worried. Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, he didn't get any sleep last night, the thoughts of Shisui had plagued him without mercy. He wasn't going to be able to take this anymore, Itachi was going to be filled with murderous intent the next time they met Sakura and Kabuto. They weren't going to survive.
Watching the poison come out in the orb made Sasuke realize that this was a lot more serious than he thought, the jounin had to call someone of Itachi's level to save him. That alone showed that this was extreme.
"Itachi?" Kakashi asked as Itachi moved to the second bowl, getting lost in the swirling dark liquid. "What poison is this? Is Sasuke in anymore danger?"
He looked over at the man who was standing next to him. "I think that I've eliminated this down to a single poison. Judging by the way that he was in pain it is a stronger strain of his regular poison. This was to capture the nine-tailed fox, this wasn't meant for him, he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
The jounin released Sasuke as Gai and Asuma looked at the other Uchiha. "Is this Kabuto character going to bring Sakura to Orochimaru?"
Itachi nodded. "He's running out of time in his current body, he needs a new one, and Kabuto's going to hand deliver her to him," he started to mix the poison with some vials that he took out of his pouch. "Orochimaru will use anyone that Kabuto could get; perhaps getting Sasuke out of the picture would help him boost his chances of not going after the sharingan."
Gai sat on the bed, looking down at Sasuke. "So what do we do now?"
"Prepare Konoha for any onslaught that he has waiting. I will take care of Sasuke's training," Itachi looked back at the taijutsu master. "It's the only way to save the village…"
"You think I'm going to trust you with Sasuke, after you raped him?" Gai asked raising his voice. "What do you take us for? Fools? We're not going to let you torture us anymore, you aren't needed."
Sasuke looked at Gai. "Stay out of this; you don't know what I want…" he tried to sit up, watching Itachi's eyes move to him. "You all don't understand what I need anymore do you. Itachi fucks up a few times and you all of a sudden want to kill him. He's the reason why all of you are even still alive. Kabuto would have destroyed you all by now. He stopped him."
"Sasuke…" Itachi breathed as he closed his eyes. "Don't speak; you're going to hurt yourself."
Gai looked at Itachi and then at Sasuke, finally realizing the truth. "You guys are having sex, aren't you?"
Itachi almost dropped the bowl of liquid as he heard Gai say those words. He was never going to get used to that observation. It's about time that everyone knew what was going on between him and Sasuke. It was odd thinking about the whole village talking about it. Then again, they did make it obvious.
"Holy shit!" Gai gasped as he looked over at Kakashi. "Did you know about this…?"
"I knew since the day that Sasuke brought Itachi up that there was something going on between them," the copy ninja looked over at Itachi who was still mixing the antidote. "I didn't doubt it for a second."
Everything was silent as Itachi sighed, looking back at Sasuke who was lying on the bed. "I'm going to work him harder than I ever have before; this is a big step for the both of us. This is everything that we worked for. It all comes down to what we can do. Support from Konoha would be ideal, we need as much back-up to get Sakura back into the village as we can get."
Sasuke looked down at his leg watching it bleed, feeling the searing burn returning to his body. His body was starting to regain its ability to feel just by having a couple ounces of the poison removed from his body. There was still hope for him after all; he was going to save Naruto, even if it killed him.
"Itachi," Sasuke panted with a smile. "My leg hurts…"
The older brother looked at what was going on with his younger brother. His eyes moved right to the blood that was staining the sheets. His hands moving to heal the wound, the glow of chakra filling the room, everything was starting to go his way; the medical techniques weren't backfiring yet.
"How long have you been working on that?" Kurenai asked as the wound closed.
"A little over a month," Itachi breathed as he applied the finishing touches to healing the wound. "Why do you ask?"
"You're amazing at it," Kurenai continued. "You're practically an expert, and all you did was read a book."
"I'm a quick study," Itachi breathed as he backed away from Sasuke, moving to grasp the bowl that was behind him. "Drink this, it should help get rid of some of the poison that's in his body."
Sasuke hesitantly took the bowl as he placed it up against his lips pouring the liquid into his mouth. It tasted like charcoal, made him want to retch. He couldn't swallow it no matter how hard he tried. He closed his eyes tightly gulping down a little, his body shaking as he did so. It lacquered his throat, hardening quickly, he swallowed more trying his hardest not to vomit, feeling his brother's hand on his knee. He coughed as he lowered the bowl looking into his eyes, shaking gently.
"Are you alright?" Itachi asked as he closed the vial, placing it in his pouch again. "Do you feel better?"
"I feel like I'm going to puke," Sasuke sputtered, the liquid rolling down his chin, he swallowed again trying to force the solidifying antidote down his throat. "It tastes like shit!"
Itachi chuckled as he started to re-dress his brother. "We're going to go home now Sasuke. Say thank you to all of the jounin who brought you here."
"Thanks," Sasuke breathed gently as Itachi tied the young boy's forehead protector around his head. Itachi was a different person than he remembered. It was amazing what a few days sick in bed could do to him.
As they started to move to the door, Itachi's arm draped around Sasuke's shoulders, the older Uchiha looked back at them with a small smirk no his face. "Any information that you ever get from me is not from a reliable source, I want you all to remember that I'm completely biased against the Sound Village."
"We know that," Kakashi stated calmly. "So are we…"
Itachi nodded as he walked toward the door holding Sasuke tightly. As they walked through the door, it closed quickly. The second their ears filled with the slam, their lips touched each others in a passionate kiss, Sasuke's body being picked up off of the ground, his hands pressed up against his brother's shoulder blades.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again," Itachi breathed, moving to bite at Sasuke's neck hearing him cry out. "I wouldn't know what to do if he killed you…"
Sasuke swallowed hard around the solid that was caked in his throat. "I guess this means we have to work harder, no more time for leisure activities. You're going to have to work me harder than you've ever worked me before."
Itachi kissed him one last time before he placed him on ground with a smile on his face. "I guess that we will have to work harder, and we'll give them all hell. Together we're going to make all of this work out."
Together they walked toward the door, Sasuke moving closer to Itachi as they walked out into the world, the sun rising slowly over the horizon. For once in their time together they knew that they would be able to win this. All they had to do was work.
Author's Note: This was a really long chapter, and again I know that after only a few days of reading about medical ninjutsu Itachi shouldn't be this good, but it helps the story move along a little more. The next chapter will start the final arc for sure and will include what I believe to be the last lemon of the story. Only eight more chapters to go until the end (it's a lot more than you think...) So what did you think? Good? Bad? Think that Kabuto should have gotten Naruto? Honesty is always good.
Can't wait to start the last arc, I've been loosking forward to it the whole story...