Title: Only You
Chapter Title: The Things I Did For You
Author: nikki3
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.
Warning: AU. Shounen-ai. Yaoi. Itachi x Sasuke.
Author's notes: Well, I didn't think that this would work so well with my muses. At least, some of you guys like it. I don't have an internet connection at home at the moment so I'm uploading new chapters during one of breaks in school. Hopefully, I'll have a internet connection by the end of the week. Hmm... What else...? Oh yeah, someone mentioned that even though they are distantly related, their relationship is still incestuous. Well, I did think about that but basically, it's like this. When you guys are what third or fourth degree cousins, it's not really considered incest anymore. Itachi and Sasuke are really distantly related in this fic but they both do carry the Uchiha name. It's possible.
-Chapter One: The Things I Did For You-
For the next four years, Itachi spent it all getting stronger and keeping an ear out for trouble... going Konoha's way of course. But the information he got simply wasn't enough. After three years of exile, he was recruited into an organization called Akatsuki, whose sparse members were recruited from all over and most of them were S-ranked criminals. Itachi didn't care much about the organization's idealogy -- to acquire power to bring about the new world order. Hence the organization name, Akatsuki, meaning "The Dawn."
No. Uchiha Itachi wasn't interested in something as trivial as world domination. He was more interested by their information network and its accuracy. All sorts of information filtered in quickly and with no delays. All of them were acquired frrom first-hand information, a testament to just how deep this organization's claws have sunk in. It would only be a matter of time before all their hard work came to fruition. It didn't matter to the young Uchiha as long as Sasuke remained safe and uninvolved. That was all that mattered.
It was also when he was recruited that he met a vile, perverted snake by the name of Orochimaru. It was the first time that he had met the legendary nin and he hated the bastard instantly. Talk about hate at first sight. The man's interest in him did not go unnoticed and Itachi was not one to beat around the bush. He gave the snake senin a flat out refusal to cooperate especially when he found out that the man wanted to destroy Konoha and therefore, put Sasuke in danger. The look on Orochimaru's face was priceless. It was not long after that, the snake deflected and oh joy, Itachi had been sent to kill him. He had mortally wounded the man yet the slippery snake had gotten away. The prodigy knew that it would not be the last time he'd see him.
A few months later, he had heard that Sasuke had graduated from the academy and at the top of his class too. His lovely, red avenger had passed the screening for genins and was doing harmless missions, which consisted of walking dogs, finding lost pets, doing laundry, grocery shopping, babysitting and a lot more harmless chores. Although it was strange that there had been a report of Sasuke's team being given a C-ranked mission that turned out to be B-ranked. That did not sit well with him. It prompted him to move towards the Wave Country to confirm the bit of news himself. And when he did arrive, he found that it was indeed true.
Zabuza was no easy opponent and mroe so his companion who had a bloodline limit like the Uchihas. It could prove quite fatal if the older Uchiha didn't interfere. The prodigy wasted no time and contacted this Haku person personally. What he found was unexpected, a boy no older than he was who had the sweetest personality one could ever encouner. Had he been anyone else, he would not have suspected this boy to be a highly trained killer.
After a rather short conversation, Itachi was relieved to hear the boy's plan and intentions. He also realized that he like Haku, not in the way he liked Sasuke but he liked him nonetheless. The younger boy would've made a good friend, a reliable comrade and a trustworthy ally. But it was just too bad that he would not live beyond a week.
He should have left. The genius knew. But the urge to see Sasuke had been overwhelming and so he went. He had found his love "climbing" trees with a loud-mouthed blond. The nine-tailed fox most likely. Sasuke had grown. He was even more beautiful than Itachi remembered him to be. Every movement, every expression, the prodigy committed it all to memory. he did not know when he'd be able to see the younger Uchiha again. He briefly wondered if Sasuke ever thought of him but quickly squashed the nagging thought. Of course not. The Uchiha heir would never...
The incident at the Wave Country came and went without a hitch. Everything went as Haku planned up to his death. But it was unfortunate that the man the young assassin wanted to protect, died not long after.
The organization, almost complete with its preparations, had decided at this moment to give him a partner, a shark-like S-ranked criminal from the Village of the Hidden Mist named Hoshigaki Kisame. Not exactly talkative, Itachi allowed the man to fill in the long silences with idle chatter. But he made sure to keep an eye on the shark as the man had a rather violent and destructive nature. Both of them had been sent information gathering (not really an exciting prospect but important nonetheless) at least for the meantime to confirm certain reports. It did not take long for him to get wind of a disturbing bit of news -- Orochimaru, that damned snake bastard, had given his beloved Sasuke a blasted cursed seal. He was furious but was unable to go back. Should he do so, Akatsuki would most definitely question him, not that he particularly cared what they thought but they were still of great use to him and besides that, another good reason would be damn obvious the moment he stepped into the village.
As luck would've had it, top management decidd to change their original order. This new one would take him back to Konoha, back to Sasuke at least for a short while. It saved him the trouble of thinking up a reason to see his beloved avenger, to see the damage that blasted snake did to the younger Uchiha. Someone was going to pay dearly for hurting Sasuke and that someone better start running because there was simply no telling what Itachi could do to the bastard when he finally caught him.
Fate was on his side as Kisame had decided to indulge on a little killing spree, making him lag behind. Itachi had gone on ahead telling his partner to meet him at their intended destination. That was good. He wouldn't have the problem of having his actions questioned. The raven-haired genius arrived just as the war between Konoha and the Sand-Sound alliance erupted. It was not difficult to acquire a full ANBU attire. There were pretty much many to choose from especially since the area was quite littered with it, in all shapes and sizes too. He didn't think those people would've minded. How could they, when they were already dead?
Disguised as an ANBU on his way in, he caught a glimpse of Sasuke going out with several shadows trailing behind him. Most likely Orochimaru's Sound nins. They never got closer to what they had intended as they slowly choked on their own blood. He made sure of it.
There were times that he had almost lunged out to save his beloved Uchiha heir. (Such instances were when that red-haired Sand nin half-turned into a monster and when his transformation was complete.) It was in those instances that he was wracked with indecision. Would Sasuke want him to rescue the younger Uchiha? Or would he want that loud-mouthed blond to save him?
In the past, he had contemplated the scenario of Sasuke falling in love with someone else. And he had told himself that he would let it be for as long as the younger boy was happy. But now he realized, it was a lie.
It was perhaps in a fit of jealousy that he would've allowed his blood-thirsty companion to cut the Yondaime's legacy's legs off, had Sasuke not come and made his presence known. There was no mistake that hate and killing intent were deeply rooted into his aura. It was exactly the sort of intent he wanted Sasuke to have for him.
But as he stopped the younger Uchiha's attack, he realized that -- it wasn't enough. Sasuke had to become stronger. His current strength wasn't enough. Apart from that, Itachi simply couldn't die just yet. He need to find a way to remove the cursed seal marring that perfect skin.
His attention was diverted when he felt the nine-tailed fox's chakra, a situation which was quickly dealt with by Kisame's sword, Samehada. He heard Sasuke's curse beside him. believeing it was because of worry for the blond, Itachi felt rather jealous and hurt. The words that came out of his mouth... he had not really meant them. He would always have time for Sasuke. But it was already too late to take them back. Sasuke shouldn't really have worried. IF this mission would be a success, the prodigy himself would kill the damn fox. Think of it as a small mercy of sorts. Akatsuki could do much worse.
It wasn't long, after the frog sennin's intervention, before the raven-haired genius had the younger Uchiha pinned to the wall and for the first time had a good look at the struggling boy's cursed seal.
Nasty little thing, that cursed seal. Had he known this would happen, he would've made sure that snake was dead. But it was too late. He got careless. Another thing to atone for. Now that he got a good look at it, it remeinded him of the swirls in his eyes. Did the seal conform to match the victim or was the symbol merely generic? Interesting.
Going back to Sasuke, seeing as how easy the younger boy was beaten, Itachi couldn't help but wonder, "Why are you so weak? ............ Not enough... hatefulness..." What he meant was, "Why? Don't you hate me enough to kill me?"
-----
For as long as he could remember, Sasuke wasn't the vilent type of person. He didn't fight unless provoked but nothing really petty to fight for, unlike now. As much as possible he had avoided fights like a plague yet he trained everyday to beat his big brother.
How he idolized the older uchiha... It was strange that his memories of his brother started only when he was nearly three. He didn't even have at least a vague impression of an older sibling. Where was his big brother before then? He had always wanted to ask but never got around to it. Something else always came up.
In time, it didn't matter anymore. What mattered was that Itachi was there with him. Just the mere thought of his brother made him giddy with happiness, his heart fluttering, his pulse racing... Not at all brotherly now that he thought about it.
There were so many times when he just wanted to drown in his brother's eyes and kiss him. Yes, innocent as he was back then, he had wanted to kiss him, Uchiha Itachi. Back when he was seven, he already knew it was all wrong. Yet it did not stop him from wanting Itachi to kiss him. He had been rather disappointed when his mother walked in on them.
He hardly ever saw his brother after that and even more so when that old hag came over. He had never seen his father so livid before. It was frightening. No one even liked his brother to begin with and now they hated him even more. The old one must've said something bad. Something was wrong. Had they somehow found out about that kiss?
He had directly asked his brother for one during one of the rare times they would see each other. Sasuke had crept into Itachi's room late that night and sked for his first kiss. The genius had stared at him so incredulously at that time that the younger uchiha nearly fled. Well, he would've had Itachi not grabbed his arm, leaned over and complied. The kiss was enticingly sweet, gentle and thrilling yet... forbidden, like two lovers having a tryst in a dark alleyway where anyone could see them. Sasuke wanted more but stopped when he saw the pained look on his brother's face. The prodigy had let him go with a quiet good night but he had not slept well that night, thinking and wondering about what was troubling his brother.
When he turned eight, he had gone out for training and returned home later than he expected. The moon was red, so red that it was frightening, giving him a sense of foreboding. Looking back down from moon gazing, he was horrified by the sight of his fellow clan members... dead, murdered by the one person he loved the most.
It was after that incident that he followed his brother's instruction to live, to become stronger, to be an avenger. He had done nothing but train since then, foregoing the simple pleasures that children his age enjoyed. His life may have still revolved around Itachi yet it was differently this time around or so he tried to tell himself.
He could not find it within himself to completely hate his older sibling. At some level, he still loved him. It made him feel very guilty but he couldn't help himself.
His life would've been completely and utterly empty had he not gotten to know Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. They filled up part of the empty void within his heart that itachi left behind when he massacred the clan. There were a few ups and downs but they got through mission after mission together. Everything was fine. He would've been able to put revenge behind him and enjoy life at least for a little while. But it was not to be as Orochimaru came into the picture. The damn snake bastard gave him a blasted cursed seal and reminded him of his limits and more importantly, his duty, his obligation -- to avenge his clan.
Then Itachi came back, tearing his heart in two once more. His brother was even more strikingly beautiful then he remembered him to be. While girls dreamed of their hero to take them away to their dream home with neighbors who loved and adored them, Sasuke dreamt of his fallen angel to whisk him off to where no one would ever find them. But the prodigy did not come back for him. The older Uchiha came for Naruto. The thought had filled Sasuke's heart with jealousy even when the younger Uchiha had promised himself that he would no longer care about Itachi... but he still did. He had lied to himself in the hopes of protecting himself yet it only made the pain more severe, more hurtful, more unbearable.
Then his brother left, leaving his heart in pieces once more. Upon the arrival of the new Hokage, unable to face the guilt of his heart betraying his clan and unable to accept this weakness, he had lashed out on those dear to him. He had rejected Sakura's kindness, challenged Naruto to a fight, nearly killing the blond or himself whichever came first and had stooped so low as to threaten Kakashi. He was being childish, a spoiled little boy throwing a temper tantrum when he didn't get what he wanted. He knew it and so the guilt and shame over his treatment of his friends ate at him. But it only lasted for as long as before the Sound's Four showed up, beating him and reminding him once more of what he had to accomplish, no matter how painful it was for him.
So he left the village in the hopes of leaving himself, more importantly, his heart behind. He had fought with Naruto once again, ignoring the pleas of his heart to stop. The seal had gone beyond his control, urging him to shed more blood. Confused as he was, he might have wanted the blond to kill him and be finally free of his burdens, an easy way out so to speak.
When it was all over, the fight, he had laid unmoving on the ground with Naruto limping over to take him back. He had felt ashamed of himself for letting Orochimaru manipulate him so. The blond had not gotten closer than an arm's length when some other Sound nins came. The seal still burned, immobilizing him completely. He could do nothing but watch as Naruto fought the shinobis with everything he had left.
It was like a miracle that help came, though not the sort of help one would've expected but it was a relief nonetheless. Sasuke didn't know why but a sense of security and safety washed over him as their savior quickly dealt with the Sound nins like they were mere bugs to be swatted and crushed. In the end, he could only hoarsely whisper a "Why?" before his eyes closed. As he drifted off, he vaguely heard something that made him smile.
"I came here for you, Sasuke."
-----
-TBC-
Author's notes: Well, I spent four and a half hours writing all of that. That would be two days at Starbucks, killing my lungs and chugging down coffee which constituted as lunch. I'm practically killing brain cells just so I can write a chapter with little or no dialogue if I could. More dialogue would come in either the next chapter or the next, next one. This new fic was brought to life from reading too many ItaSasu fics (which really isn't bad since ItaSasu rocks) and a complete lack of sleep. Gods, I need sleep. I can't even understand myself anymore.
Anyway, I hope you guys liked it. Please review!
Started: June 11, 2004
Ended: June 14, 2004
Chapter Title: The Things I Did For You
Author: nikki3
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.
Warning: AU. Shounen-ai. Yaoi. Itachi x Sasuke.
Author's notes: Well, I didn't think that this would work so well with my muses. At least, some of you guys like it. I don't have an internet connection at home at the moment so I'm uploading new chapters during one of breaks in school. Hopefully, I'll have a internet connection by the end of the week. Hmm... What else...? Oh yeah, someone mentioned that even though they are distantly related, their relationship is still incestuous. Well, I did think about that but basically, it's like this. When you guys are what third or fourth degree cousins, it's not really considered incest anymore. Itachi and Sasuke are really distantly related in this fic but they both do carry the Uchiha name. It's possible.
-Chapter One: The Things I Did For You-
For the next four years, Itachi spent it all getting stronger and keeping an ear out for trouble... going Konoha's way of course. But the information he got simply wasn't enough. After three years of exile, he was recruited into an organization called Akatsuki, whose sparse members were recruited from all over and most of them were S-ranked criminals. Itachi didn't care much about the organization's idealogy -- to acquire power to bring about the new world order. Hence the organization name, Akatsuki, meaning "The Dawn."
No. Uchiha Itachi wasn't interested in something as trivial as world domination. He was more interested by their information network and its accuracy. All sorts of information filtered in quickly and with no delays. All of them were acquired frrom first-hand information, a testament to just how deep this organization's claws have sunk in. It would only be a matter of time before all their hard work came to fruition. It didn't matter to the young Uchiha as long as Sasuke remained safe and uninvolved. That was all that mattered.
It was also when he was recruited that he met a vile, perverted snake by the name of Orochimaru. It was the first time that he had met the legendary nin and he hated the bastard instantly. Talk about hate at first sight. The man's interest in him did not go unnoticed and Itachi was not one to beat around the bush. He gave the snake senin a flat out refusal to cooperate especially when he found out that the man wanted to destroy Konoha and therefore, put Sasuke in danger. The look on Orochimaru's face was priceless. It was not long after that, the snake deflected and oh joy, Itachi had been sent to kill him. He had mortally wounded the man yet the slippery snake had gotten away. The prodigy knew that it would not be the last time he'd see him.
A few months later, he had heard that Sasuke had graduated from the academy and at the top of his class too. His lovely, red avenger had passed the screening for genins and was doing harmless missions, which consisted of walking dogs, finding lost pets, doing laundry, grocery shopping, babysitting and a lot more harmless chores. Although it was strange that there had been a report of Sasuke's team being given a C-ranked mission that turned out to be B-ranked. That did not sit well with him. It prompted him to move towards the Wave Country to confirm the bit of news himself. And when he did arrive, he found that it was indeed true.
Zabuza was no easy opponent and mroe so his companion who had a bloodline limit like the Uchihas. It could prove quite fatal if the older Uchiha didn't interfere. The prodigy wasted no time and contacted this Haku person personally. What he found was unexpected, a boy no older than he was who had the sweetest personality one could ever encouner. Had he been anyone else, he would not have suspected this boy to be a highly trained killer.
After a rather short conversation, Itachi was relieved to hear the boy's plan and intentions. He also realized that he like Haku, not in the way he liked Sasuke but he liked him nonetheless. The younger boy would've made a good friend, a reliable comrade and a trustworthy ally. But it was just too bad that he would not live beyond a week.
He should have left. The genius knew. But the urge to see Sasuke had been overwhelming and so he went. He had found his love "climbing" trees with a loud-mouthed blond. The nine-tailed fox most likely. Sasuke had grown. He was even more beautiful than Itachi remembered him to be. Every movement, every expression, the prodigy committed it all to memory. he did not know when he'd be able to see the younger Uchiha again. He briefly wondered if Sasuke ever thought of him but quickly squashed the nagging thought. Of course not. The Uchiha heir would never...
The incident at the Wave Country came and went without a hitch. Everything went as Haku planned up to his death. But it was unfortunate that the man the young assassin wanted to protect, died not long after.
The organization, almost complete with its preparations, had decided at this moment to give him a partner, a shark-like S-ranked criminal from the Village of the Hidden Mist named Hoshigaki Kisame. Not exactly talkative, Itachi allowed the man to fill in the long silences with idle chatter. But he made sure to keep an eye on the shark as the man had a rather violent and destructive nature. Both of them had been sent information gathering (not really an exciting prospect but important nonetheless) at least for the meantime to confirm certain reports. It did not take long for him to get wind of a disturbing bit of news -- Orochimaru, that damned snake bastard, had given his beloved Sasuke a blasted cursed seal. He was furious but was unable to go back. Should he do so, Akatsuki would most definitely question him, not that he particularly cared what they thought but they were still of great use to him and besides that, another good reason would be damn obvious the moment he stepped into the village.
As luck would've had it, top management decidd to change their original order. This new one would take him back to Konoha, back to Sasuke at least for a short while. It saved him the trouble of thinking up a reason to see his beloved avenger, to see the damage that blasted snake did to the younger Uchiha. Someone was going to pay dearly for hurting Sasuke and that someone better start running because there was simply no telling what Itachi could do to the bastard when he finally caught him.
Fate was on his side as Kisame had decided to indulge on a little killing spree, making him lag behind. Itachi had gone on ahead telling his partner to meet him at their intended destination. That was good. He wouldn't have the problem of having his actions questioned. The raven-haired genius arrived just as the war between Konoha and the Sand-Sound alliance erupted. It was not difficult to acquire a full ANBU attire. There were pretty much many to choose from especially since the area was quite littered with it, in all shapes and sizes too. He didn't think those people would've minded. How could they, when they were already dead?
Disguised as an ANBU on his way in, he caught a glimpse of Sasuke going out with several shadows trailing behind him. Most likely Orochimaru's Sound nins. They never got closer to what they had intended as they slowly choked on their own blood. He made sure of it.
There were times that he had almost lunged out to save his beloved Uchiha heir. (Such instances were when that red-haired Sand nin half-turned into a monster and when his transformation was complete.) It was in those instances that he was wracked with indecision. Would Sasuke want him to rescue the younger Uchiha? Or would he want that loud-mouthed blond to save him?
In the past, he had contemplated the scenario of Sasuke falling in love with someone else. And he had told himself that he would let it be for as long as the younger boy was happy. But now he realized, it was a lie.
It was perhaps in a fit of jealousy that he would've allowed his blood-thirsty companion to cut the Yondaime's legacy's legs off, had Sasuke not come and made his presence known. There was no mistake that hate and killing intent were deeply rooted into his aura. It was exactly the sort of intent he wanted Sasuke to have for him.
But as he stopped the younger Uchiha's attack, he realized that -- it wasn't enough. Sasuke had to become stronger. His current strength wasn't enough. Apart from that, Itachi simply couldn't die just yet. He need to find a way to remove the cursed seal marring that perfect skin.
His attention was diverted when he felt the nine-tailed fox's chakra, a situation which was quickly dealt with by Kisame's sword, Samehada. He heard Sasuke's curse beside him. believeing it was because of worry for the blond, Itachi felt rather jealous and hurt. The words that came out of his mouth... he had not really meant them. He would always have time for Sasuke. But it was already too late to take them back. Sasuke shouldn't really have worried. IF this mission would be a success, the prodigy himself would kill the damn fox. Think of it as a small mercy of sorts. Akatsuki could do much worse.
It wasn't long, after the frog sennin's intervention, before the raven-haired genius had the younger Uchiha pinned to the wall and for the first time had a good look at the struggling boy's cursed seal.
Nasty little thing, that cursed seal. Had he known this would happen, he would've made sure that snake was dead. But it was too late. He got careless. Another thing to atone for. Now that he got a good look at it, it remeinded him of the swirls in his eyes. Did the seal conform to match the victim or was the symbol merely generic? Interesting.
Going back to Sasuke, seeing as how easy the younger boy was beaten, Itachi couldn't help but wonder, "Why are you so weak? ............ Not enough... hatefulness..." What he meant was, "Why? Don't you hate me enough to kill me?"
-----
For as long as he could remember, Sasuke wasn't the vilent type of person. He didn't fight unless provoked but nothing really petty to fight for, unlike now. As much as possible he had avoided fights like a plague yet he trained everyday to beat his big brother.
How he idolized the older uchiha... It was strange that his memories of his brother started only when he was nearly three. He didn't even have at least a vague impression of an older sibling. Where was his big brother before then? He had always wanted to ask but never got around to it. Something else always came up.
In time, it didn't matter anymore. What mattered was that Itachi was there with him. Just the mere thought of his brother made him giddy with happiness, his heart fluttering, his pulse racing... Not at all brotherly now that he thought about it.
There were so many times when he just wanted to drown in his brother's eyes and kiss him. Yes, innocent as he was back then, he had wanted to kiss him, Uchiha Itachi. Back when he was seven, he already knew it was all wrong. Yet it did not stop him from wanting Itachi to kiss him. He had been rather disappointed when his mother walked in on them.
He hardly ever saw his brother after that and even more so when that old hag came over. He had never seen his father so livid before. It was frightening. No one even liked his brother to begin with and now they hated him even more. The old one must've said something bad. Something was wrong. Had they somehow found out about that kiss?
He had directly asked his brother for one during one of the rare times they would see each other. Sasuke had crept into Itachi's room late that night and sked for his first kiss. The genius had stared at him so incredulously at that time that the younger uchiha nearly fled. Well, he would've had Itachi not grabbed his arm, leaned over and complied. The kiss was enticingly sweet, gentle and thrilling yet... forbidden, like two lovers having a tryst in a dark alleyway where anyone could see them. Sasuke wanted more but stopped when he saw the pained look on his brother's face. The prodigy had let him go with a quiet good night but he had not slept well that night, thinking and wondering about what was troubling his brother.
When he turned eight, he had gone out for training and returned home later than he expected. The moon was red, so red that it was frightening, giving him a sense of foreboding. Looking back down from moon gazing, he was horrified by the sight of his fellow clan members... dead, murdered by the one person he loved the most.
It was after that incident that he followed his brother's instruction to live, to become stronger, to be an avenger. He had done nothing but train since then, foregoing the simple pleasures that children his age enjoyed. His life may have still revolved around Itachi yet it was differently this time around or so he tried to tell himself.
He could not find it within himself to completely hate his older sibling. At some level, he still loved him. It made him feel very guilty but he couldn't help himself.
His life would've been completely and utterly empty had he not gotten to know Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. They filled up part of the empty void within his heart that itachi left behind when he massacred the clan. There were a few ups and downs but they got through mission after mission together. Everything was fine. He would've been able to put revenge behind him and enjoy life at least for a little while. But it was not to be as Orochimaru came into the picture. The damn snake bastard gave him a blasted cursed seal and reminded him of his limits and more importantly, his duty, his obligation -- to avenge his clan.
Then Itachi came back, tearing his heart in two once more. His brother was even more strikingly beautiful then he remembered him to be. While girls dreamed of their hero to take them away to their dream home with neighbors who loved and adored them, Sasuke dreamt of his fallen angel to whisk him off to where no one would ever find them. But the prodigy did not come back for him. The older Uchiha came for Naruto. The thought had filled Sasuke's heart with jealousy even when the younger Uchiha had promised himself that he would no longer care about Itachi... but he still did. He had lied to himself in the hopes of protecting himself yet it only made the pain more severe, more hurtful, more unbearable.
Then his brother left, leaving his heart in pieces once more. Upon the arrival of the new Hokage, unable to face the guilt of his heart betraying his clan and unable to accept this weakness, he had lashed out on those dear to him. He had rejected Sakura's kindness, challenged Naruto to a fight, nearly killing the blond or himself whichever came first and had stooped so low as to threaten Kakashi. He was being childish, a spoiled little boy throwing a temper tantrum when he didn't get what he wanted. He knew it and so the guilt and shame over his treatment of his friends ate at him. But it only lasted for as long as before the Sound's Four showed up, beating him and reminding him once more of what he had to accomplish, no matter how painful it was for him.
So he left the village in the hopes of leaving himself, more importantly, his heart behind. He had fought with Naruto once again, ignoring the pleas of his heart to stop. The seal had gone beyond his control, urging him to shed more blood. Confused as he was, he might have wanted the blond to kill him and be finally free of his burdens, an easy way out so to speak.
When it was all over, the fight, he had laid unmoving on the ground with Naruto limping over to take him back. He had felt ashamed of himself for letting Orochimaru manipulate him so. The blond had not gotten closer than an arm's length when some other Sound nins came. The seal still burned, immobilizing him completely. He could do nothing but watch as Naruto fought the shinobis with everything he had left.
It was like a miracle that help came, though not the sort of help one would've expected but it was a relief nonetheless. Sasuke didn't know why but a sense of security and safety washed over him as their savior quickly dealt with the Sound nins like they were mere bugs to be swatted and crushed. In the end, he could only hoarsely whisper a "Why?" before his eyes closed. As he drifted off, he vaguely heard something that made him smile.
"I came here for you, Sasuke."
-----
-TBC-
Author's notes: Well, I spent four and a half hours writing all of that. That would be two days at Starbucks, killing my lungs and chugging down coffee which constituted as lunch. I'm practically killing brain cells just so I can write a chapter with little or no dialogue if I could. More dialogue would come in either the next chapter or the next, next one. This new fic was brought to life from reading too many ItaSasu fics (which really isn't bad since ItaSasu rocks) and a complete lack of sleep. Gods, I need sleep. I can't even understand myself anymore.
Anyway, I hope you guys liked it. Please review!
Started: June 11, 2004
Ended: June 14, 2004