Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me, I don't earn any money with this story, the rights of the owners are not touched in any way.

It seemed that Sasuke had sensed the change in our situation, because he wanted to train harder than ever, taking fewer and shorter breaks than before. It only meant that his state of health deteriorated even faster.

Sakura told me to be stricter with him and to insist that he took the breaks he needed and recovered fully before we gave it another try.

But Sasuke would make me attack him again as soon as he could stand up, and I did not know how to refuse him, remembering the time when he had left us to go to Orochimaru because with us his progress seemed too slow to him.

At the moment, he did not make any progress at all. Sakura was of course right, we should have taken some time to look for some some trick or technique that would have helped him, but just as Sasuke I had completely lost my ability to think clearly at that time.

Naruto would now remain with us whenever we trained, so that he could comfort his friend immediately after each breakdown. One day Sasuke did not even care to stand up, but while he was still in Naruto's arms, having barely regained his consciousness, he asked me to try again. Naruto's eyes pleaded that I should say no, yet again I did not know how to refuse.

I entered Sasuke's mind as usual, found the well-known corridors and hallways. He was there to meet me, much younger than he really was – it had been a steady process from the moment we had begun to train, and now he looked seven and his attacks were as weak and pointless as when he had attacked Itachi after the murder of his parents.

I pushed him aside and went into the corridors to look for the memory I wanted to try today, he followed me. It was not only about the memories in the chests and cupboards any more, I realized. Having someone enter his mind had become one of his bad memories in itself, and it made him panic.

So which one would I use? I thought. Not one of the worst, though he always complained about this, saying that Itachi would not spare him either.

I chose one of the countless memories of Itachi telling him „Not now, I'm busy, forgive me, Sasuke, another time" that made him feel useless and unwanted even though he had family. I saw him shrink, as if he wanted to disappear. It would end as it had ended so many times, with him being desperate and depressed, and Naruto having to cheer him up.

I sensed Naruto's presence, he had not yet taken a visible form, but this was clearly the feel of his chakra.

„It's a lie", I heard his voice. „They've told me the same. Don't believe it. You are not useless."

Sasuke heard it as well: He smiled, straightened up, looked a bit older.

I looked for another memory. His father forgetting about the entrance ceremony at the Academy.

„You are unimportant, you are useless, you do not matter..."

„It's not true, you do matter to me, and I need you", the answer was.

Sasuke relaxed again. He did not fight, but neither did he break down. He was summoning his strength and thinking about what to do now, which was actually the best thing he could do.

I thought which memory I would try next. Not the worst yet – maybe one of the events that announced the massacre would do. Or something that had happened afterwards – the fight against Itachi when he had been twelve. I chose the fight in the Valley of the End, terrible not because he had been helpless, but because he had been out of his mind and had done something that he had regretted ever since.

It was a mistake. Naruto took form at his side.

„I am still here."

Sasuke looked fifteen years old again.

I wanted to break off now – we had done enough for today – we had in fact achieved more than during the last weeks.

I met his eyes: he was challenging me to go on. It was no more the desperate look that said: Go on, even though I cannot bear it, because I know that I must – now he was sure of his strength and told me to try it.

He did not even attempt to hinder me when I found the place where the worst memory of all was put away. So far, I had used it only once, and it had made him break down and cry and whine like an infant within no time, and both of our medical ninja and Naruto together had spent the entire evening trying to revive him.

I hesitated, but then I opened the chest. He stepped backwards, stumbled, raised his arms as if he wanted to protect himself against falling stones and breaking walls – Naruto caught him before he fell. He regained his balance and looked at me.

„I was weak then", he said to me as if I were Itachi. „But I am not any more. This time I will protect the ones I love." He relaxed and went on. „You see, I have again found

people whom I can love. Have you?"

The illusion broke, he was sitting on the ground, leaning against Naruto. He turned off his Sharingan, I hid mine under my forhead protector and we both knew what had happened. Even Naruto seemed to know, and I wondered whether he had really been with us in Sasuke's mind. But even if he had not he could see that this time he did not have to comfort Sasuke.

„It's no use", Sasuke said. „I have to learn to fight the Mangekyou Sharingan on my own, without help."

„You don't", I replied. „He will be with you when you fight Itachi."

„It's not possible. It's too dangerous."

„Now this would make sense if you were your brother's primary target. But as he is after Naruto, and not after you, Naruto is safest when he is as near to you as possible. Keep him with you, then you will be able to defeat Itachi."

Only after I had said them I realized the true meaning of my words.

„Besides, you should be a bit more generous. It's hard enough for him to accept that he is helpless against Itachi and that you will have to do all the fighting. Let him at least support you."

„Sasuke", Naruto said. „We will beat him together."

Slowly it dawned on Sasuke as well that the time for training was over now. He swallowed – he had longed for this fight since the murder of his parents, and he had been preparing for it for several years – yet now that the only thing that remained to do was to set out and face out Itachi, for the first time he was afraid.

All three of us stood up.

„I have said that I would entrust Naruto to you when I felt that he was safe with you", I begun. „I do it now. You will be able to defeat Itachi – just keep in mind that when push came to shove you did not kill Naruto and that he is now with you at your side. Don't be afraid – you will manage. Actually it seems that he is afraid of us."

I saw the questioning look in his eyes, and Naruto understood before I did:

„Oh, Sasuke, sorry, we forgot to tell you, or rather chose not to tell you: We have found Itachi. We have been playing cat and mouse with him for some time now."