Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me, I don't earn any money with this story, and the right of the owners are of course not touched in any way.
Note: This is the last chapter of the story. I might write another story, but this one is definitely finished.
It was not so difficult to move around them when it was just the two of us and when we focused on moving and nothing else. The boys had found themselves a soft grassy spot below some pines near the edge of the wood. They had covered themselves with a blanket, but it was obvious what they were doing.
Itachi and Kisame had found them.
„Well, it's a pity about your little brother", Kisame said. „But it seems that you won't be able to capture the Jinchuuriki without killing him, close as they are."
„We should avoid that, if possible", Itachi answered. „Our leaders still have plans for him."
I relaxed. Itachi trying to defeat Sasuke without killing him might make the decisive difference.
„You will be my back up", Itachi continued. „I have ways to make him break without killing him."
„Don't overdo – you know it is dangerous."
„I will have to use it. He is my brother after all."
They moved towards the boys.
„Are you sure that there is no trap?" Kisame asked.
„They have all moved", Itachi answered. „I wonder why."
„They finally got on their nerves I guess", Kisame suggested.
„Nobody's near them."
They scanned the area around the boys, yet they did not look behind.
„Now!" I told Suigetsu when the distance was only fifty metres.
He stepped forward. „Don't touch our little lovebirds" he said and lowered his broadsword.
Kisame and Itachi turned around.
„Ah, Houzuki Suigetsu of the Mist", Kisame said. „I wondered where you were. So you want to fight me."
The plan was that I would stay hidden, ready to back Suigetsu up in case he got into difficulties while fighting Kisame. The plan was that in the meantime Itachi would attack the boys.
They still did not seem to have noticed. When all this was over I would have to lecture them about never dropping their guard completely.
Suigetsu and Kisame stared at each other, holding their swords low so that they would be able to block any blow. Both were waiting for the other to attack.
„Ah, Kakashi, there you are", Itachi said. „I have wondered all the time. So this is the trap. But you made a mistake – if I attack your precious little boys now, you won't be able to help them."
He looked at me leisurely, taking all the time he needed to make up his mind. I hoped that he would follow our plan.
„But I might decide to finish off you first, and then deal with my little brother and the Jinchuuriki."
I panicked. This was the worst case. He activated the Sharingan – I activated mine. Next to him Kisame raised his sword to strike the first blow.
Casting genjutsus and manipulating other dimensions: Now it paid off that I had spent that much time training with Sasuke. Genjutsu after genjutsu I dissolved, only to find myself in another illusion. I fought off giant birds by creating giant dogs and followed Itachi to one strange, otherworldly place after the other. I fought him off well, I was even gaining a slight advantage – then he attacked with the Mangekyou Sharingan.
I was unable to fight it off, even though I had it myself, but was overwhelmed by the worst memories of my life: My father's suicide, Obito's self-sacrifice, Sasuke's departure from Konoha. Again and again my decisions had been wrong, again and again I had not been able to reach out to the persons I should have been close to, had shied away from loving them, had withdrawn and rather stuck to the illusionary safety of the well-organized world of rules and regulations, that would help me to survive and give my life some direction, but that would never give me happiness and love. I had chosen glorious isolation over the risk of being turned down or rejected by someone I loved, I had found some substitute in the safe world of my books, instead of going out and making friends and finding love myself - again and again I had chosen safety over love, again and again the persons whom I should have loved had turned away from me and left.
Sasuke, I tried to tell myself. He had not left forever. He was with us again.
But it had not been my own doing. It had been Naruto's. He had been the one whose constant and unshakable love had made Sasuke return. I had failed again. I was useless, worthless, I did not deserve to be loved, never ever, I would always have to stick to my books. I was not even able to protect my present companion, Suigetsu, who was bleeding from many wounds now. I could not help him, I could just die to show him my loyalty, it was all I could do.
From a world far far away I heard Suigetsu's voice: „The real trap was of course that our little lovebirds are young eagles indeed."
They had finally arrived.
When I woke up, Naruto was kneeling behind me and Sasuke was sitting at my side. Seeing that I was awake, Naruto lifted me gently and Sasuke gave me to drink.
„Do you have enough chakra to summon your ninja-dogs?" Sasuke asked. „We need to call Juugo and the girls – your wounds are well beyond my or Naruto's basic medical knowledge."
„What about Suigetsu?"
„Same for him."
„And yourself? And Naruto?"
„We are fine."
„So what happened?"
„First the dogs."
I summoned Pakkun. He was never far away, and it took little chakra to summon him. He went to fetch Juugo and the girls.
„Really, Kakashi", Sasuke began when the dog had gone. „What were you thinking, letting yourself be attacked by Itachi. You knew that you were no match for him. You should have left it to me to fight him, as we had agreed. You are really lucky, you know, if Naruto and myself had not been with you in time, you would be dead now."
„Suigestu has talked me into following you and backing you up."
„Suigetsu has talked you into it. Now this is the poorest excuse I have ever heard."
I felt guilty.
„I did not want him to attack me. I just wanted to act as a backup for you, or for Suigetsu."
„Not wanting him to attack – that's ridiculous. You should have stayed out of danger, leaving him to us. It would have been easier for us to defeat him without your interference. But, well, you are alive, and Suigetsu as well, that's what really counts."
„So you defeated him..."
„I would not be sitting here if I had not."
„And Kisame?"
„He is defeated as well, but not dead, just as Itachi. The girls will have to have a look at them."
„I thought you wanted to kill your brother."
„I did so. I don't care any more. He may be put to trial in Konoha."
„How did the fight go?"
„In the end it was disappointingly easy. Naruto was with me, as we had planned, and the Mangekyou Sharingan backfired on Itachi when he tried to use it on me. I saw his worst memories – how he was seduced to become evil by some Uchiha Madara who at that time was working in the ANBU under some disguise – the torture and the manipulations he used were among the worst I have ever seen – then how he killed the family, how he spoke to me afterwards, the lonely years as a member of Akatsuki – the worst one however was when he killed Shisui. It was worse than killing the clan, because then he still had a heart. It was as you said, he tore it out by killing Shisui even though he saw him looking up at him, unbelieving, scared, pleading to be spared. Knowing how he had been threatened and tortured by Madara I almost pitied him, but then I remembered that I had been even younger when I decided not to kill Naruto – this was when he broke down."
„And Kisame?"
„Naruto used his Kagebunshin no Jutsu. Some Kagebunshin took his sword from him, so that the real Naruto could defeat him with his Rasengan."
He looked at Suigetsu who was bleeding from many wounds but had now woken up as well.
„Little lovebirds, eh? What did you take us for? Supermen, able to make love all the time! We did spend some time on preparing for the fight and thought of some moves of ourselves."
Juugo and the girls arrived. They looked after our wounds, and I gladly allowed myself to slide into uncounsciousness.
Suigetsu and I remained ill for quite some time, and Sasuke was again in charge of his team. They accepted him now more readily than before, no longer submitting to his superior strength, but trusting his circumspection and his judgement.
Feeling responsible for the team, he and Naruto did not separate themselves from us any more, not even during the night, as they might have to protect us. They tried to be silent, and we put up with them.
I was a bit worried about Naruto. While Sasuke and he had been rivals, he had never tired to push himself to his limits, getting stronger and stronger. Now that they were lovers he seemed to be content that Sasuke had grown much more powerful.
My worries were unfounded. Love had changed him as well, and just as Sasuke it had not weakened but strengthened him. He had become more thoughtful and less impulsive, and when we were well on our way, he began to train with Sasuke in the evenings: Learnings techniques that required concentration and strategy rather than brute force.
Besides, he knew that his true strength was not in fighting.
Three days after their victory and after their taking responsibility for the team he had worked the miracle that the combined medical knowledge of Karin and Sakura had not been able to achieve: Juugo was free from his homicidal impulses.
By the time we had arrived at the gates of Konoha, he had worked the second, even greater miracle:
Itachi asked his younger brother to forgive him.
Sasuke was taken in surprise. He swallowed before he answered:
„I have no right to forgive you for what you did to our parents and to all the other members of our clan. You will have to face trial for that. But I will try to forgive you for what you did to myself."
He paused, braced himself to embrace Itachi – well, he touched his shoulders and drew him to himself, but stopped when their heads were at a distance of some twenty centimetres.
„Try to be a better man than you were a boy! Naruto and I are now setting out to take down that Uchiha Madara and make him pay for what he did to you."
THE END