Itachi got over his surprise and met Orochimaru's horrid grin. The snake-like eyes sent cold shivers down his spine, but he refused to show him that he was nervous.
"Uchiha Itachi? This is a pleasant surprise." Orochimaru's words sliced the silence like a knife. The brothers never moved a muscle. "What percisely are you doing here? I would think you had no interest in this little one...considering he came to me for the simple reason that he wanted you dead."
Itachi glared at him. "Certain events have changed me quite a bit, Orochimaru. I'll be taking Sasuke back to where he belongs now."
"Oh feel free to do so, Itachi. However, he doesn't seem too pleased with the idea."
Itachi turned to look at his brother. Sasuke's anger had returned to fill his eyes. His pulse was racing with the idea of his revenge being nigh. He stepped toward Itachi.
"Yes, I want him dead." The words fell like iron to Itachi's ears.
"Even after Kari...gave her life...you won't change your mind...will you..." Itachi was choking down a sob. It couldn't be. Her final wish had to be fulfilled. He would not survive...there was simply no way he could continue living without doing so.
"That's right, Sasuke-kun...allow your hatred to drive you to that which you have sworn to do." Orcohimaru goaded.
Itachi lowered his head. It was over. Everything was lost. He no longer had his sister, his brother hated him and would not be reasoned with. Tears filled his eyes again and now he sobbed uncontrollably.
"Kill me, Sasuke. Kill me and get it over with and then Orochimaru can have you as his vessel, just as he wanted. Then you'll both be happy. As for me, if I can't do what Kari wanted done, then I'll let myself be killed and join my beautiful sister."
Sasuke hesitated for a moment. Kill him! something inside of him urged. But that voice that had always pushed him forward in his vengeful pursuit...it was no longer as strong, as demanding, or as appealing as it had been. He knew very well what Kari wanted. The fact that she had died for that purpose, the fact that the one person he had had left to love in the world was gone because of his recklessness, stripped him of all the satisfaction, real or imagined, he thought he would receive from Itachi's death.
Itachi raised his head and looked towards Sasuke. "What are you waiting for, Sasuke? If you want me dead so badly, then why aren't you acting?"
He murdered our family, he tore my life apart, he's the reason Kari is dead. What are you waiting for? Sasuke's hands were shaking. He didn't know why it was suddenly so hard. The moment had come and found him paralyzed and frightened like a small child! He was an Uchiha for the love of all things sacred! What was wrong with him?
It was very simple. Itachi was changed. Kari had healed his wounds and it was the most stunning blow she could have dealt Sasuke. Itachi was simply not the same man he was before. Sasuke hated the other one, the one Kari had killed. There was no one else for him to hate.
Sasuke had never been good at hating. Kari had always taught him how to love.
Dying for him had been her final act of doing so.
Orochimaru was slightly annoyed. "Sasuke-kun...he's standing right there. Are you going to kill him or not?"
Sasuke stood as if in a trance. I can't kill him. Kari didn't want me to kill him. Kari died for him. There must be something about him that she saw worth saving. She was always a good judge of character.
The boy looked at his older brother who looked much perplexed. "I...don't want to kill you anymore. I forgive you...I can't hate you now, Itachi. I-"
He felt a hand pulling him back by the shoulder. Orochimaru was behind him, his eyes filled with rage.
"So, when the moment comes for you to show your power you shirk out of it, you miserable good for nothing Uchiha!" The man raised his hand as if to strike Sasuke, but was arrested by Itachi who had shook out of his shock and came at the right moment to free his little brother.
"Don't touch him!" he hissed through gritted teeth. "Don't you dare come near him again!"
Orochimaru laughed. "You're not powerful anymore. You've allowed that Uchiha wench to strip you of all your strength. You expect me to fear you?" Laughing, Orochimaru slammed Itachi into the wall and looked him square in the eye.
"You are going to die tonight. And when you are dead, your little brother will become my vessel and I will show his broken soul how to truly use his power. Not to waste it on forgiveness and mercy and other crap!" He quickly threw Itachi towards the opposite wall.
He never crashed into it.
Turning, Orochmiaru gasped in astonishment. A girl of about seventeen with ebony hair and eyes had caught the flying Itachi and, setting him down, stood in front of him protectively. She was transparent and ghost-like, and she never spoke a word. Itachi stared at her. "K-Kari...how did you...?" The girl turned and smiled sadly at him. She then walked over to the frozen Sasuke and knelt down to look him in the eye. They gazed into each other's eyes for several moments. Suddenly her eyes flashed and the boy appeared to be fainting. The ghost caught him in her arms and carried him to Itachi. She then turned once again to face the flabergasted Orochimaru.
The man quickly shook of his surprise and laughed confidently. "It appears you have a waif guarding you two Uchihas." He laughed again.
The girl frowned and formed a seal he had never seen before. It was the seal of the swan. A pair of familiar wings seemed to sprout from her back and filled in the entire room. The light grew so bright that Itachi shielded his eyes and turned to face the wall, holding Sasuke as close to him as possible. The light grew brighter and began to gain heat and a circular momentum. Then he heard Orochimaru's cries. They were pained cries. The kind he had never before uttered.
"Even Orochimaru feared her..." Sasuke had said. It was true. The only shinobi, aside from Sarutobi, that the man had ever been mortally afraid of was Kari. She was a great Auralen and she proved her worth even in death.
Orochimaru felt his eyes burn away and his sight was quickly vanquished. He screamed more, but the ghost paid no heed and continued the assault. He felt his skin cooking underneath his clothing and slowly the light and heat ate away at his entire body until his very soul was laid bare. The girl ran forward, embraced it in her arms, sealed it into her hand and disappeared as the light began to fade. Finally, the light disappeared entirely.
The room was once again quiet and empty.
Itachi opened his eyes and looked around. No sign of Orochimaru or Kari. Sasuke still remained unconcious in his arms. Looking into his brother's face, he felt a tear slip down his cheek and watched it fall on Sasuke's eyelid.
She had come. Even in death, she had been there to save him and Sasuke. Kari had always been there for her brothers. He realized, painfully, that if not for his actions, Kari would still be alive and enjoying life with both of them.
Now all they had was each other.
Picking Sasuke up, Itachi walked slowly out of the room. It was time to take the prodigal home again to an uncertain fate, for both of them, in the village of their birth.