Summary: You're not supposed to fall in love with your captor, especially if he is a high-ranking member of the yakuza. Things just never seem to follow that law, however. Completely AU. Mainly Sasuke/Sakura. Rated for violence and language.
Pairings: Sasuke/Sakura, more will be revealed as the story progresses
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, at all. All the characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei. The only thing in this story that is mine will be the OCs and the plot itself.
Conspiracy of the Heart and Soul
Chapter Seventeen – The Epilogue to the War
Sasuke stared at his brother. What better reason could he have to actually kill the last one standing of his own bloodline? He did not care for such trivialities but what his brother had said piqued his curiosity. He seemed to know something he didn't, but that was always the case. At the moment, it seemed as if Sasuke should know about what the older Uchiha was talking about. Itachi didn't seem to want to say anything, as if he was giving his younger brother time to figure out the reason he was talking about. Sasuke's brow furrowed. What drove him to do this was reasonable enough, but not to his brother's eyes. Sasuke's eyes widened in realization as a sudden thought struck him. "Our family, does it have anything to do with our family?" rasped out Sasuke.
"Go!" shouted Sasuke's father as he pushed his younger son out of the way, trying to get a couple of guns for himself as well. "Go to your brother and find out who started this. I will be responsible for your mother's life, as well as mine," ordered the older Uchiha. Sasuke nodded, dazed. Why had this begun now when he and his father were starting to understand each other? It had been a few days since his father had given him the black box filled with jewelry. "Sasuke, go!" urged his father as he readied the gun in his hand. Blindly, Sasuke ran out of the room and towards the staircase downstairs, his heart pounding. He had to find his brother; he had to tell him, despite their differences as siblings.
Gunshots were heard everywhere as the younger of the Uchiha siblings ran, avoiding the storm of bullets. Adrenalin coursed through his body as he pushed on. Knowing his brother, he'd be in his room. It was painted black, why, he did not know. All he knew was that he had to get to his brother. The lives of many were at stake, including the lives of their parents. Finally, he got to his brother's room. Holding the knob and slamming his fist against the frame, he called out to his brother, anxious. Moments later, Itachi opened the door, making his younger brother let go of the doorknob instantly. The older Uchiha had a sleepy look on his face.
"Damn you! You were just fucking asleep!" hissed Sasuke as he thrust the guns he had gotten for his older brother in Itachi's open hands. "There's a mutiny and Otou-san told us to try and find out who is behind all this," explained Sasuke as he waited for his brother to get ready. Itachi merely yawned as he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes. Sasuke grunted as he tapped his foot impatiently against the chrome flooring. Moments later, Itachi was ready, toying with the gun in his hand. "Where to?" asked Sasuke dully, frowning at his brother slightly. Itachi raised his hand and pointed upwards.
"I have a feeling the one in charge of all this is upstairs," said Itachi simply. Wordlessly, he brushed past his younger brother and half-sprinted towards the staircase. Sasuke's eyes bore into Itachi's back for a few seconds before he followed his older brother. The siblings were silent as they sprinted upstairs, a grim look on Sasuke's face. Why would there be a mutiny? Weren't his parents good leaders of Sharingan? Everyone respected them, after all. It was an internal thing as hardly anyone was able to hack into their security system. Shikamaru had said so himself. There were many encryptions and firewalls to the system that it would take weeks to figure them all out. And even if the encryptions and firewalls were broken down, the yakuza would have known about the hacking done to the system. Soon enough, they reached the upper floor. "Well, what do we have here," said Itachi with an amused tone as he eyed a figure with a gun.
"You won't get to him," hissed the figure as he readied his right arm, the gun facing Sasuke. Raising his left arm, the eyes of Sasuke furrowed. So he could deal with two guns at the same time, the younger Uchiha didn't care and neither did Itachi. Wordlessly, Itachi took a step sideward and began to walk out of it. A silent agreement between the two siblings took place. Sasuke would deal with this joker while his brother stepped forward and moved on, to find out who was behind all this. "Where do you think you're headed!" said the figure, angered that he was just ignored by the elder Uchiha. Itachi made no response as he continued walking.
"I'm not your opponent, my younger brother is," explained Itachi idly as he pocketed his hands. Meanwhile, Sasuke sent a lightning fast blow to the jaw of the figure, slamming hard into the wall in the process. "Sasuke, go and find me afterwards. I'll likely be where are parents are," announced Itachi before falling silent. Turning around into a corridor, a phantom smile appeared on his face. It seemed that the plan was proceeding wonderfully. No one would suspect that it was he behind all this. His greed for power, money and authority had taken the best of him, nurtured by his very own father. Reaching a door, Itachi pulled out a gun and opened the doorknob.
"Itachi!" rasped out his father, bloodied and the carmine liquid still flowing generously. Standing above him was a man with a rather large sword, a demonic grin hiding beneath the bandages that wrapped around his face. It was Momochi Zabuza, a man Itachi trusted and one of the very few. Those the older of the Uchiha siblings trusted were unknown in the yakuza, even to his family. Raising his gun, Itachi pointed it towards Zabuza who wasn't at all worried. "Itachi, pull the trigger!" rasped out his father once more. His mother didn't speak, too paralyzed to move. Expecting him to shoot at Zabuza, Itachi did otherwise. He shot his father. The man's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. It was his son that was behind all this. The treason, the mutiny, it was all staged so his son could kill him.
"You made me into what I am, hungry for power, money and authority," explained Itachi as he watched his father fall down to the floor, lying down in the pool of his own vermillion blood. His father was dying and he had absolutely no remorse. Facing his mother, Itachi raised his gun as well. "And you, woman, you never made the motion to stop me from becoming who I am today. Pay the price," he said as he shot her. His mother's eyes widened as she clutched her chest. Both figures of his parents had fallen to the ground, both dead as Itachi put back his gun in its holster. "Zabuza, leave. Sasuke will be coming soon," mumbled Itachi. The other man nodded as he took his leave, minutes before the younger Uchiha arrived. What greeted Sasuke was his brother staring at the corpses of their parents, his hands hanging at his sides. Sasuke's mind was reeling. His parents were dead.
Sasuke felt his sanity snap at what his brother had just said. He never expected it but it happened to be true. He didn't fully grasp the reason behind it but he knew it was wrong, just so damned wrong. It felt like an eternity after his brother had finally spoken the last words. He could not think straight, he could not see clearly. Everything before him was blurred. He could not believe his brother was like this. Of course, he knew he was the Devil personified but he never expected this kind of mutiny, this kind of behavior. In his eyes, his brother had become even lower than the lowest and Itachi deserved death he was going to deliver even more. "Bastard!" shouted Sasuke as he charged at his brother, his hand balled into a fist as he punched his face. "Bastard!"
"And I thought you knew," said Itachi, trails of crimson falling from a cut on his lip. Standing up, Itachi shot an even look at Sasuke. Balling his fist, no more words were said as the two brothers started their fight. If it was a sparring match, their moves could be considered graceful. There had never been such a display of equal offense and defense in a fight. Sasuke's fist met Itachi's jaw as Itachi's fist met Sasuke's stomach. Both recoiled in pain as they stood, glaring at each other. Sasuke's sanity was gone and the only thing he could think about now was to kill his brother for slaying their parents with his own hands. The older Uchiha had no remorse. His conscience didn't bother him at all. In fact, the older Uchiha was at peace.
Shikamaru's Laboratory
"I have to go to him!" said Sakura urgently as she rose from her seat. As she tried to make her way to the door, she felt a hand grip her arm, stopping her from moving any further. Sakura slumped to the floor as she bent down, her tears staining the jeans she was wearing. Her heart tore at what she had just heard. Itachi was cold and heartless with absolutely no remorse. Her heart was crying out in pain as she realized all the hell Sasuke had gone through before now. All she wanted to do was go to him and be of help to him, even if she would die in the process. "I have to go to him," Sakura whispered as her tears began to subside for the meantime.
"You can't just go you know, Sakura," said Shikamaru sternly as he looked down at her. Even he pitied Sasuke. He never knew Itachi was the one who had staged everything that happened three years ago. "So that's why the security system couldn't detect anything in the room where Oji-san and Oba-san were," he murmured to himself as he stretched out a hand to help Sakura up. He had loved Sasuke's parents as if they were his own. They accepted him, unlike his blood-related parents. They despised him for showing inclinations to hacking and other computer related things. "At least, you can't just go alone," he added as an afterthought, "It's dangerous, you know? And Sasuke will have my head if anything happens to you."
"Shikamaru-san, I can go with her," suggested Kotoe as she removed the smock she wore to keep the oil from staining her clothes. The hacking prodigy nodded slowly as he pointed to a few extra cartridges for the gun and a spare pistol that obviously wasn't going to be used. "I can protect myself and Sakura-san, I can assure you that much," said Kotoe as she tied her burnt sienna hair into a ponytail, the red-brown tresses swinging freely against the white cloth of her shirt. Grabbing the gun, she loaded a cartridge and stashed three in the pockets stitched onto her khaki pants, besides the traditional pockets most pants seemed to have. "And I can understand why she wants to go. I mean, I'm worried about Kenta," said Kotoe with a sad smile, "He is my stupid, slightly older brother, after all."
"Take care, you two," said Shikamaru as he watched Kotoe walk over to Sakura's side, motioning for her to follow. The two women nodded slowly as they both offered Shikamaru a smile of reassurance. "Go ahead, before I change my mind and make sure you both stay here," said Shikamaru half-jokingly. Kotoe nodded as she grabbed Sakura's wrist, leading her out of the laboratory and where the rest of the core group would be. "This is so troublesome," mumbled Shikamaru as he put back his microphone on. Sasuke and Itachi were busy exchanging punches and kicks, neither one of them resorting to use the gun they had with them, "But I hope, especially for Sakura, they make it in time." Gluing his eyes to the plasma screen, Shikamaru watched for anything underhanded Itachi might do.
"Kotoe-san, thank you," murmured Sakura as she ran alongside of the burnt sienna haired girl who was just a few of years older than herself. Kotoe shot the pink haired girl a slight smile as they continued running towards their destination. "Kotoe-san, what did you finish in college?" asked Sakura, trying to ease the growing tension between them. The older female made no response as she took a right, the pink haired girl following soon after. Sakura frowned slightly. Maybe, Kotoe didn't finish college yet? Sakura hoped she didn't offend the older female by asking that. Moments later, Kotoe opened her mouth to reply.
"Computer Engineering, I finished Computer Engineering," said Kotoe with a slight tone of embarrassment, "And I learned all my programming skills with Shikamaru-san. I was in this yakuza just right after high school. I'm thankful that they let me finish my course. I'm twenty-four now so I've been out of college for a good two years. And yes, I am the same age as Itachi-san. Even so, Shikamaru-san is much smarter than me in computers." Sakura nodded with a slight smile. It was good to know she had a future in Uchiha Industries. She'd talk to Sasuke about it when everything had settled down. But, right now, what was more important was getting to him while he was still safe and sound. "Sakura-san, we're near already."
Running through a flight of steps, the two female's hearts throbbed painfully against their chests. They were anxious about their loved ones, that they were still safe and sound. They were anxious about their friends that they were alright. They needed reassurances that everything would turn out just fine, that everything would go according to plan. They wanted to make sure that after all this was over and done with, they would be liberated. Almost four hours had elapsed since the time the mission started. It was nearing midnight. By the time the light started to shine through the windows, the light of the sun, they all wanted to be free people, no longer being held down by the bonds of captivity of belonging to a yakuza. The second they alighted from the steps, their hearts stopped. Bodies greeted them. Blood covered anything that would make them recognizable. There was still one alive who was against them and it was Zabuza.
"Die!" shouted Zabuza as he dashed forth, pushing himself to reach them with all his strength and kill at least Sakura. Ayumi, bloodied and battered, dashed forth, her sword, Thanatos, positioned for a stabbing technique. He was a few inches away when he had fallen, all life escaping from his body. Right through his chest was Ayumi's sword, an emotionless mask on her face. The metal of the Japanese sword pierced right through Zabuza's heart, an instantaneous death delivered for the man who had helped Itachi complete his mission three years ago. Carmine liquid started to pool out of the man's body as Ayumi stepped on his frame, gingerly pulling out the sword she had stabbed right through his very being. Seconds later, her eyes blanked out as she had begun to fall. She had used all her strength and she was tired. All she wanted to do was lie down in satisfaction, that she did all she could to help Sasuke.
"Sakura! What are you doing here?" asked Neji urgently, the only one among the core group who was conscious and able to move though clearly still in pain. Tenten was asleep; trying to recover all the energy she had lost fighting Sakon. Kenta was awake but he was tired, staring at the ceiling, unable to do anything. The pink haired girl ignored Neji as she looked down at Ayumi, feeling for her pulse. It was beating regularly, signifying that she was alive. Wounds covered her body but the blood covering the cuts were starting to harden, forming scabs. Ayumi, however, had one serious wound. A long gash was on the side of her stomach, bleeding profusely. Removing her sweater, Sakura tore the sleeve off with slight difficulty, needing to sever it with Ayumi's sword.
"Please try to stop the blood from flowing. Use my sweater if you must," instructed Sakura to Neji as he nodded slowly. Kneeling down beside her, Neji held the cloth in place to lessen the blood flow. "When the blood flow is starting to lessen, lift up Ayumi's shirt, cover the wound with a strip of my sweater then wrap this bandage around her body until you're sure the cloth won't move anymore," said Sakura as she stood up, putting down a roll of bandage on the floor beside Neji. Turning around, the pink haired girl began navigating her way to the door that would lead her to the area where the Uchiha siblings were fighting.
"Sakura, where are you going?" asked Neji, unable to move because of his duty.
"To see Sasuke-kun," replied the pink haired girl simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Itachi's Private Practice Area
"This is who the fuck you are Sasuke, a little boy who thinks he can win against a man," hissed Itachi as he pointed a gun at Sasuke's temple. Itachi had managed to pin him down but it was a difficult task. The older Uchiha was sporting a few purpling bruises of his own and an extremely painful body. "And this is how it ends, as was expected. The older brother beats the younger brother, his entire family dead by his own hands. Regardless, the older brother gets to become filthy rich in the future," said Itachi, his voice like poison. Sasuke struggled but couldn't go against his brother's hold. The door swung wide open, pink evident against the brightness of the light. "Well, well, look whom we have here," said Itachi with a demonic smile on his face, "It's your little toy, Sasuke. Let me kill her first before I kill you." Summoning all her strength, Sakura slammed her body against Itachi's, causing the older man to fall down. Sasuke stood up, shaking, as he caught Sakura's body. She had fallen back from the impact, her body still weak in comparison to either Uchiha. "Bitch!" hissed Itachi as he held his stomach.
In what seemed like forever, both brothers drew out their gun and aimed it at each other. Neither one of them moved as they waited for the other to shoot. At least, if the other shot, they had enough time to evade then shoot their own. Sakura was at the side, trying her best to remain composed in all this. In a fraction of a second, this would all be over. Who was stronger? Who deserved to live? Who had done his best in the final duel? The answers to all three questions were going to be answered in a fraction of a second. The next moment, both brothers pressed the trigger. A bullet was shot out of one, fragmented laser out of the other.
White met black as the laser burned through the metal. Itachi's eyes widened as the bullet crumbled into dust. The laser met his body as Sasuke began shooting a few times more, to make sure his brother would die this time. One last shot would be enough. Moving his hand slightly to the left, Sasuke aimed at his brother's heart. Another shot of white laser erupted from the gun as it burned through Itachi's close and into his skin. The older Uchiha screamed in agony as he fell down. Absolutely no remorse was written on Sasuke's face. This was the final death he would deliver and the deed was done.
"Sasuke, you have won," murmured Itachi as he raised his hand, trying to reach his brother but to no avail. His vision started to blur as he felt his life slipping away from his body. "Truly, you were the better, more talented s…" Itachi never got to finish his sentence. He had died before he was able to utter the last word. Despite all that he had done, the Uchiha had a look of peace on his face, as if the only thing he was looking for in this world was death itself. He was a death merchant, one who killed to earn more glory. He too was a death seeker, seeking death for himself. Turning around, Sasuke limped towards Sakura. The pink haired girl ran towards him, her lips crushing against his as they both fell to the floor.
"It's over, Sasuke-kun! It's over! You're free now!" said Sakura with a happy smile; tears of sheer joy spilling down her face.
"Aa." And with that, he bent his head slightly and kissed her half open mouth once more. He had his own life to live now and no one could ever take that away from him ever again. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with the woman in front of him, through thick and thin. He was in the embrace of the one who safeguarded his soul and being and for once, he was happy, truly happy after delivering a death so earned by the one who destroyed his life and so yearned by the ones who hated the one he had killed, his older brother.
Tsuzuku…
And so here comes the end of the war. Hope you were all satisfied with it.
Ah it had been evil to write and I had my ideas for it but the words just wouldn't come!
I dedicate this chapter to cherri-chan for being the reason why I pushed myself to finish the chapter.
Here is the last and final chapter preview for Conspiracy of the Heart and Soul.
Next Chapter: Chapter Eighteen – The Aftermath to the War
Chapter Preview: It was a bright and sunny day compared to the events of the night before. Today, Sakura was going to introduce him to Tenno Renge, her best friend who in turn would introduce him to her father, the dean of the College of Business Administration. He feverishly hoped that he would get accepted. He no longer wanted to be separated from the one he loved. Neji, Tenten, Ayumi, Kotoe, Kenta, Shikamaru and even Ino were hoping for the best for the two of them. They were all going their separate ways now but would occassionaly keep in touch. It was for the best that Sharingan would never be discussed in public. Sasuke felt Sakura tug his hand. "Sasuke-kun, let's go! I'm sure both Renge-chan and Soushi-ji-san are excited to meet you," said Sakura, a smile on her face. Sasuke nodded as he let her lead the way to a new life with her.
