Disclaimer: I don't own anything that pertains to this anime/manga

Warnings: This chapter contains blood/violence, coarse language, references to rape and other sexual situations, use of tobacco, yaoi, incest, OOC, and the canon is also pretty well gone even if you see hints of it. There are also a lot of errors. This chapter is also going bring more light onto the question asknig if Itachi is going to die, even though it won't quite answer it.

Pairings: ItaSasu, AsuKure, references to ShisIta, slight KakaIta, some GaiKaka

Shikamaru walked up to the door of Kurenai Yuuhi's apartment, the place where his sensei was being kept. It had been some time since he talked to him, not seeing him at all since the accident. Slowly, he moved his hand to touch the hard wood of the door. He took it away; there was no way that he was going to bother him now, not after all of the pain that he had been trying to hide. He was in pain; he didn't want to show that to Kurenai or Asuma. He promised that he was going to stay strong.

This was more than a reunion; it was like he was visiting a ghost of the past, a ghost that he thought that he would never have to see. He knew that he wanted this day to come, the pain of knowing that Asuma was leaving. He should be thankful; Asuma was still going to be a ninja, unlike Kakashi who would be lucky to have a regular heartbeat ever again.

As he turned to walk away the door opened. "Shikamaru?" a voice asked: it was Kurenai. "There you are, I was wondering when you were going to show up."

He turned to look at her. "Kurenai how is he?"

"He's fine," Kurenai answered, looking at him with a smile. "The wound isn't bothering him anymore and it missed all vital spots. The Hokage is thankful to have him back in one piece, even though he's going to have to take a break from any real missions."

Shikamaru sighed. "But he will be able to eventually…"

"Yes," she answered, looking at the ground. "No doubt you've heard about what happened to Kakashi. Unfortunate, he was such a great ninja, he was going places that no one had ever gone before. He was the one that Itachi needed to take out the most, Asuma was an example… Kakashi was used as a threat."

The genin sighed as he looked up at the jounin. "But Asuma-sensei's alright…"

Kurenai nodded. "You can come in if you want, Shikamaru. Asuma would be glad to see you…"

Shikamaru looked down at the ground as he walked forward looking into Kurenai's crimson eyes. "It must be rough on you, having to take care of him, feuding with Gai; it must hurt to have everything that you knew changed so suddenly."

She took a deep breath. "I'm getting used to it, but it will take some time to adjust to. The sun never being out doesn't help the pain that I feel, or the pain that you feel. Konoha is not the place to be right now. When it's not Itachi Uchiha; it's a young genin going missing…"

Shikamaru walked in. "You heard about Sakura," he closed his eyes. "We we're going to go after her. We got denied; the Hokage thought it would be in the best interest of the village if we just let her go. It wasn't Itachi; I don't see why he's bothered by the fact that we're going after her. Itachi shows no interest in taking Sakura, his only interest was Sasuke. He's made that his point on more than one occasion."

Kurenai closed the door behind her. "He's in the bedroom," she smiled lightly. "Just don't try to get him too worked up. He's still in pain and he shows it well. His ribs are still a little bruised."

The genin nodded. "I'm not going to hurt him; I just came to see him because it's been a while since I've been around him," he looked up at Kurenai. "Is it hard juggling a genin team and taking care of Asuma?"

"Like I told you, he doesn't have to be closely watched, he didn't have any mental trauma after the accident. Besides, my team understands what's going on, and I think they all needed a break from training until the scare was over. We've got bigger problems than Itachi Uchiha now; we've got a person who's preying on young ninja. You should be careful too…"

He nodded. "I'll keep that in mind," he walked toward the doorway that was holding Asuma inside of the room.

There was something about seeing him again that made him shiver, what was to be in the room? Was Asuma going to be alright? He got stabbed in the stomach with a katana, the likeliness that he was going to be one hundred percent was slim. Yet his sensei was stronger than the average person, he wasn't going to sit down and take this. He was going to be back in the game soon enough.

As he was about to open the door he heard a voice call out. "Open up the damn door, Shikamaru. I already know you're out there…"

He sounds back to normal; he opened the door looking at the sight that was on the bed, it was better than he thought it was. There was no excessive blood loss; he wasn't having any trouble breathing. Kurenai seemed to be taking care of him.

"Shikamaru," Asuma breathed, the sheets rustling beneath him as he faced his student. "After all of this time, I don't even get a greeting?"

The genin closed his eyes tightly as he ran to his side, wrapping his arms around him. "Asuma," he hugged him harder than he had before. "I thought that you were going to die… I didn't… you… I wasn't ready to lose you."

"It was only a flesh wound," the jounin answered, placing his hand up against his student's back. "I can see that you've missed me."

Shikamaru nodded. "So much has happened since you left. Sakura's gone missing; no one knows where she went. The Hokage won't let us do anything about it fearing that we're going to wind up like you. What Itachi did to you was uncalled for. Why would he take you out like that?"

Asuma took a deep breath. "Shikamaru," he shook his head, holding onto his closer. "I know that it hurts you to think about what happened to me, but I want to tell you something that will change your outlook forever."

Hearing those words made Shikamaru back away in shock, he feared what his sensei was going to tell him. "What? What happened, Asuma? Are you hurt worse than we thought you were?"

The jounin shook his head. "Shikamaru, that day I wasn't thinking straight, the second that I left the Hokage's office, I started to think. Gai's plan, although slightly intelligent, was not the right way to go. If we didn't bother him, he would hurt us. That's what I was trying to prove."

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he shook his head. "No, you didn't…"

Asuma nodded. "I wanted him to stab me, I wanted to provoke him to prove that he isn't after us, but he will destroy anyone who's in his way. That's why I engaged in battle with him, that's why I didn't hurt him too badly. I was proving a point, a point that no one would have listened to if I didn't do it."

The genin shook his head. "Why would you provoke a man like that, a man that can take out any ninja that he wants? He could have killed you, and still you felt the need to try to face him? Sensei, I don't understand, why?"

"There are times where you need to get your name back, and you will do anything to make it seem as though you saved people for the good of the village. I know that it was careless. I should have never faced a man like that, but I believe that there was something inside Itachi telling him to stop right as the blade hit me," Asuma looked toward the window, trying to look away from his shaking student. "I don't think his intention was to kill me, his intention was to prove me right, to give me the pleasure of my request. My request was in his favor. Itachi's only cares about what could be in his favor."

Shikamaru closed his eyes tighter. "That was all part of your plan? You wanted to hurt yourself to save the village?"

"It worked," the jounin answered.

"Worked? Asuma, you could have risked your job and your life trying to do something so stupid. You weren't even sure if you were going to get out of that alive," he shook his head as he looked out the window, his body shaking as he heard the words. "All of this time when we all thought that he attacked you, we never thought that you actually goaded him on. You were the reason why he destroyed you, because you hurt him greater than you knew you should," Shikamaru retched lightly as he closed his eyes, clasping his hand over his mouth. "You… you did all of that to save the village? Asuma… why?"

Asuma sighed. "It's not like I killed someone…"

"You made us all worry about you. You made Ino and Chouji hate Itachi Uchiha more than they've ever hated anything. You made me look at Sasuke with different eyes; you made me think that if we handed Sasuke over, all of our troubles would be gone. You did all of that to get that man not able to be touched," Shikamaru shook his head, his hand still over his mouth. "No…"

"Like it or not, that's what ninja do," he looked over at the genin who was near tears. "That's the line of duty that we are destined to be part of. We serve the Hokage; our lives are dedicated to protecting him, even if they are lost. I saved the Hokage from future damage; I stopped the situations like what happened with Kakashi from happening again."

Shikamaru stood up, walking toward the door looking back at his sensei. "Asuma, after all that you told me, you never told me this is what a ninja does. I always thought that it was just troublesome or a pain in the ass, I never thought that it had this deep of a meaning. I didn't think that ninja would have to go through such extremes."

Asuma looked over at Shikamaru sighing lightly. "There are sometimes when a person must be sacrificed to ensure the survival of the rest. One person has to drown so that the rest can go to safety; one person has to be the one who has to give everything for the cause. That was me," he took a deep breath. "There were flaws, I didn't know if I was going to make it out alive, and on the other hand…" he sighed. "I wished… I wished that I could have saved Kakashi with this plan."

The genin bowed his head. "Your fuel was Kakashi…"

"If there was a way that I could give Kakashi my body so he could continue to prosper, I would do it again and again. I would gladly sacrifice everything for that man. I didn't have anyone on my side during that time, so I felt as though maybe if Itachi did feel malicious it wouldn't be so bad; it would be like doing a favor."

Shikamaru looked back at him. "Loneliness? That's your reason for stupidity?"

"When people have no one, they tend to feel as though they can only help themselves. That's why you see people like Sasuke Uchiha always running away from people, he doesn't feel as though he needs them because everything that was once close to him, is now gone," Asuma looked toward the door. "Now I found a person who I can count on, I found Kurenai, and she's been by my side through this whole endeavor, she's not going to turn her back on me."

Shikamaru looked at the ground and then at the window. That's why Sasuke's like that? Because he's lonely. That's why he's running away from Naruto. Because he doesn't want him to turn his back. Yet now I feel as though they need each other more than they ever have before…

-----

Sasuke ran down the street closing his eyes tightly. Everything was starting to go wrong these days. All that he had grown accustomed to, the life that he thought that he wanted to lead was all gone in a single moment. The goal that he once had, the dream that he had always had of killing his brother was gone. Every second that went by, as he watched Itachi die, it made his heart wrench painfully. The blood that ran from his brother's lips never seemed to end; it always seemed to stick to him wherever he went. He closed his eyes; he couldn't think about what his brother was doing, he couldn't be concerned with Itachi. He said he could handle it.

Still, he couldn't help but worry about him. The bleeding was getting worse, as did Itachi's breathing patterns. There were times during Sasuke's training where he thought it was going to be the end of his brother; he saw the blood that constantly trailed down his chin, the lost look in his eyes with every breath that he took. He had killed him in a way that he never wanted to; he wanted to make it as quick as possible so there was no time to second guess his motives. After the weeks of being with Itachi, there was time to do just that, and he had started to give into the guilt.

Continuing to move down the streets, he took a deep breath, he was finally back on the streets of Konoha, a place where he had not tread through the public in a while, not since the night when Sakura went missing. He had grown nostalgic of the usual walks down the roads where he would meet up with his teammates. Naruto and Sakura were always there to talk to him, always there to break him out of the anger that he had thrust himself into. He felt as though if they ever left he would never stop the anger.

Now Sakura and Naruto were gone, yet the anger was starting to dissolve as well. If he could get Itachi to say that he was better than him, he would know that he had lived a worthy life, then he would be worthy of killing such a man as Itachi Uchiha. He knew he was getting close to surpassing him; he had learned Mystical Palms faster and with more efficiency than Itachi, surprising him. That was the first time when Itachi ever seemed proud of him.

What did he really want from all of this? Did he want his brother's power so he could prove to him that you don't have to go to such horrible lengths to obtain it all? Or did he seek it so that he could kill him? The way that Itachi's lips curled into a smile whenever Sasuke talked about killing him, the way that his hands always pulled the blades closer to his flesh, a look of peace on his face as they started to pierce. He wanted to die, that's why he left one alive. The one that he thought had the most potential.

He shook his head. He couldn't think about what was going on in his brother's head. He couldn't even get a straight answer of anything that he said. He never explained anything was going on fully, as if he was still trying to hide something from Sasuke, like he was trying to protect him. The answers he couldn't get from Itachi, he could always get from Kakashi, he knew that he was always welcome back to him. Kakashi was never going to hate him for leaving his team; Itachi had promised that he would give him back in the end.

Finally, he stood right outside of the building where Kakashi was being held in the prison where he was to stay for the rest of his days. The feud that he and Itachi had was never going to end, caused by reasons that Sasuke would never know. No matter who taught him, he would never be able to get all of the answers that he wanted. He was never going to get any of the answers that he wanted. It made it hard to trust people.

Walking through the hallways inside of the building, he thought back to what was going on at the house that he had left at home; Itachi was home alone, probably with that dagger. He desperately clung to his side feeing the handle of the weapon that his brother had given him: Shisui's dagger.

I still have it; he let out a relieved sigh, knowing that his brother's attraction to the dagger was like a moth to the flame, Shisui's name alone was a taboo around him. Shisui was the reason why he was trying his hardest to get power; he was the one who drove him to insanity, the one who he feuded with when he was younger. Shisui was Itachi's Naruto; he was the wall that he had to break through to get what he wanted.

I have to stop thinking about that monster, he closed his eyes tightly. After what he did to Itachi, all of the years while Itachi trusted him, under the surface he was trying to kill him.

He clutched his stomach, feeling it churn as he thought about the years when that was occurring. Sasuke thought that Shisui and Itachi loved each other. It was all a lie, like everything else was. Itachi only gave the darkness in his heart more to feed off of as he thought of all of the negatives that people had done to him, shutting everyone else out. Everything burnt in front of him.

As he came to reality, he realized that he was right outside of the doorway that he had traveled so far to get to. Kakashi was behind that door in greater pain than his brother was in; more blood than Itachi had ever coughed up was probably bothering the jounin, all because of Tsukuyomi. All because Itachi was so gung-ho about winning.

Pressing his hand to the door, he closed his eyes thinking about all that had happened. Kakashi had no reason to tell him any of the answers to his questions. Sasuke never showed him a sign of respect, never showed that he really cared for any of his teachings. He just wanted physical power, something that Kakashi had refused to give him. He wasn't like Naruto and Sakura, he was different from them, he walked a different path than them, he wasn't like them, he was the one who betrayed him first, the blows even worse than what Sakura had done.

I have to put all of this aside, he took a deep breath as knocked on the door, he was here for a reason. He was here to get the information on Orochimaru that Itachi didn't want to share. It was understandable though, Itachi was actually confronted by that man who had dreams of having him as a container. Not to mention he had Orochimaru's medical ninja literally trying to kill him. Itachi had his own problems. It was time for Sasuke to do his part of the plan.

The door opened, Gai standing in the doorway. "Sasuke? What are you doing…?"

"Where's Kakashi?" Sasuke asked, looking into the jounin's eyes, his own cold as ice. "I need to talk to him, Gai. This is important."

Gai sighed. "Sasuke, after what I heard about you, you quit his team…"

"I took a temporary leave," the genin answered quickly. "Kakashi is always going to be my sensei now matter what emotional turmoil that I'm going through. I need him, Gai; I need to talk to him about something."

As they looked into each other's eyes, there was some skepticism in the older ninja's, his fists clenching tightly, obviously fighting the urge to lash out at the young boy. "Sasuke, after what happened between Kakashi and Itachi, I don't think you know what he's been through. He's lost everything, Sasuke; he's never going to be a ninja again because he was trying to save you…"

"This isn't my fault," Sasuke answered flatly, interrupting Gai before he could say anything else. "Let me in. I have to talk to Kakashi."

"I can't let you do that," Gai answered, starting to close the door, footsteps coming behind the jounin causing him to turn, his dark eyes widening in shock at the sight. "Kakashi? You shouldn't be out of bed, not in your condition."

Kakashi sighed as he looked at Sasuke through the closing door. "Gai, the boy said that he wanted to see me. Why are you trying to shut him out? You know that he's been through his share of pain or did you forget about the Nakano River?" he opened the door. "Come on in, Sasuke, you can talk to me."

Gai looked back at them. "Kakashi, what if…"

"Damn, Gai, the Hokage only told you to watch over me. He didn't tell you to run my life," he watched as Sasuke walked by him, the young boy walking to sit on the couch while the two jounin ignored his presence.

Sasuke closed his eyes trying to block out all of the tension in the room, it was reminiscent of all of the fights that his father and Itachi had back when he was younger. He prayed that this wouldn't wind up the same way. The violence that they had toward one another, the way that his father used to lose his temper from time to time, drawing blood from his precious son as his mother screamed in the corner. He remembered the tears that he cried for his brother as he watched him run off to his room to stop the bleeding. He cursed himself for not seeing the massacre coming.

As he came back to reality, he noticed that Kakashi and Gai were just staring at one another, neither of them backing down. Gai was about to utter the first syllable of his counterattack when Kakashi beat him to it, almost predicting what he was going to say.

"How do you think I feel about all of this, Gai? My student was raped. How would you feel if it was Lee?" Kakashi looked back at his student who was on the sofa. "I know that I feel as though I could have tried harder, and in that hospital room, I was ready to die for him…"

"Did he lift a finger to help you?" Gai asked, pointing at Sasuke, making it clear that he was aware of the young boy's presence. "He decided that he was going to sit back and watch you struggle."

"How would you face a man who killed everything that you loved? And then raped you until you felt like you weren't worthy of life, how would you feel about facing him?" Kakashi glanced back at Sasuke who now had his face buried in his hands.

Sasuke looked over at them through the opening between his left little and ring fingers. "I'm sorry, you guys can continue…"

Kakashi sighed as he started to hobble over to his student watching his eyes start to well up in tears. "How have you been, Sasuke? Last time I saw you, you had a fever and were threatening to leave my team forever…"

Sasuke sighed as he remembered back to that morning, when he saw the blood rolling down his brother's chin. He was here to learn more about Orochimaru in case his brother gave into his ailments and…

No, he closed his eyes. That's not an option, not anymore. Maybe if he wasn't so important to me, maybe if he didn't constantly hurt himself to try to save me. That's his life; his life is me and my growth, even if that means his undoing. Doesn't he know? Sasuke shook lightly, feeling Kakashi's hand rest on his shoulder. A gasp left his body as he glanced at his sensei.

"I know what's going on with your brother," Kakashi whispered lightly in Sasuke's ear. "I'm sorry…"

The genin closed his eyes hearing those words coming from Kakashi. He couldn't talk about this with Gai around. It was a deeper relationship than Gai thought it was. Itachi wasn't just the man who killed everything that Sasuke loved, he was the only person left that he did feel those emotions toward. If anyone found out he could only imagine what they would call him. They would refer to him the same way those ANBU guards did to Itachi.

"Gai," Kakashi looked over at Gai. "Will you leave me and Sasuke for a second; I have a few questions for him…"

The other jounin shakily nodded, complying as he walked through the door to leave them. Sasuke could feel the questions coming; he could already sense Kakashi asking him about his brother. There was something that went on between the two of them, a reason why Kakashi cared so much. Yet Sasuke knew he would never get the answer he desired, neither of the two were going to reveal any information that linked their relationship with one another.

"Sasuke," Kakashi started as he looked over at his student. "How has your life been going? What have you and Itachi been up to since the last time I saw you?"

The genin sighed. "Training, that's all Itachi ever wants to do…"

"Training?" Kakashi asked. "What kind of training?"

"Water techniques, medical ninjutsu…" Sasuke's eyes wandered to his side as he looked at the dagger that was holstered onto his belt. "He gave me a dagger to practice weapon techniques with too."

The jounin bowed his head. "What else have you done?"

Sasuke knew what he was talking about, his eyes closing loosely. "Kakashi… you already knew that we…" he took a deep breath. "We haven't stopped yet, and it was my decision to continue what we're doing."

"Sasuke…" Kakashi shook his head. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Do you trust everything that he says? I had a talk with him; he feels as though you two are coming apart, he feels as though you're…"

The genin closed his eyes. "I know that he worries about me. That's why I came here; I have a question for you. Kakashi," he took a deep breath, "Who is Orochimaru? What can you tell me about him?"

Kakashi sighed. "He's one of the three legendary sannin, ninja who were taught by the Third Hokage himself. They include Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru, all of them had a falling out and they haven't been seen in years. But Orochimaru… he's the most perverted of them all…"

Sasuke swallowed hard. "Perverted?"

"He developed a series of seals called cursed seals, which he applies to anyone who he feels could be of use to him. Once the seal is applied it takes over the body, feeding off of the wearer's chakra until they lose control, their personality distorting," Kakashi shook his head. "He wanted to put one of those damned seals on your brother, but he never got the chance as far as I know."

Sasuke held onto his stomach as he thought about it, his own brother losing his body to some pervert who wanted eternal life. It was sickening that there was a ninja who would go to those lengths to get what he wanted. He could feel his body start to shake as he realized that those were hands that Sakura was going into.

"Kakashi," Sasuke breathed, trying to hide the fact that he was starting to get sicker as the moments went by. "Is there anyway that we can stop this man?"

"You're staying with it, Itachi is the only one that I know who we have on hand who can beat him," the jounin shuddered lightly. "When your brother gets provoked, not even the Devil himself will be able to stop his wrath. When he has a purpose to kill, he gives into it. Orochimaru has desires to take your body, he has desires to get a hold of your kekkei genkai, so not only will he increase his lifespan, but he will also be able to learn every jutsu…"

Sasuke shook his head. "This man is from Konoha?"

"Sadly yes, he longed to be the Hokage, but he wasn't mentally stable enough," Kakashi shook his head. "He ran tests on countless ninja; most of the candidates not even surviving what he was intending to do. He was then let go and he started the Sound Village."

Closing his eyes Sasuke took a deep breath. "So if I want him to not take my body, I have to train to the point where I'm stronger than him?"

Kakashi sighed as he closed his eyes, looking away from his student. "Sasuke, you have the potential to be a great ninja, that's what your brother is trying to do. He's trying to save you from Orocihmaru before something really bad happens. He cares for you, Sasuke…"

"I know he does," Sasuke breathed. "That's not something that can be hidden easily. You don't wake up with a person by your side without knowing how they really feel about you; you don't kiss their lips and miss the tenderness that they are trying to maintain. He was never one to joke when he let his emotions slip out, if he feels that way toward me, then I know it's not a lie."

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask a chuckle passing his lips. "You're starting to understand that revenge isn't the way to go aren't you?"

"You told me that it doesn't help anything, and I do listen to you, Kakashi. You say some pretty important and intelligent things sometimes. You do the training that no one else, especially not Itachi, would ever do," he took a deep breath. "You gave me emotional support as a father figure; Itachi gives me support deeper than that. He's dedicated to me, and I'm dedicated to him. We help each other achieve goals that we never thought were possible."

Kakashi took a deep breath. "I heard about Sakura…"

"Then you know she's with him, she's gone to Orochimaru. I swear Kakashi; I will save her from that man with every last breath in my body. I will save her from the dark fate that she has chosen, because that could have been me," Sasuke took a deep breath. "Itachi saved me from that life, he save me from being a pawn to that monster."

The jounin shook his head as he looked away from Sasuke. "All of this time when I told you to count on your teammates. Did you even listen? I can see some of it in you, you were driven to Itachi by your heart. I always feared that you would give into that emotion. But Sakura…" he shook his head in disgust not wanting to think about what they were doing to her. "Did she go off with Orochimaru himself?"

"No," Sasuke answered. "His medical ninja, Kabuto Yakushi. She has started the journey to the Sound Village with him. A little over a week ago Itachi and I went into the woods to try to retrieve Sakura while Itachi took Kabuto out as an example to Orochimaru. Something went wrong and next thing I know Sakura is running toward Itachi with a dagger…"

"But Itachi was in one piece when I saw him a week ago…" Kakashi argued.

Sasuke lifted his shirt to show the scar that was on his chest, watching Kakashi's body freeze for a spilt second, his arm wanting to reach out and touch it to see if it was real. The genin closed his eyes remembering the cries that he heard the sorrowful words that spilled with every drop of blood from Itachi's lips. He remembered the look in his eyes as he looked at Sasuke's blood on his hands. That would never be repeated. He never thought that he would see the man who killed their whole clan without a second thought try that hard to save a life.

"Sasuke," Kakashi breathed. "You…?"

"I took the hit for Itachi," he answered. "I was going through the pros and cons in my head and it all added up to me saving him. He wasn't supposed to die there, and my purpose would never happen if he died by someone else's hand. If he did die by someone else, there would be no point in living anymore. I live for him… I am nothing without him."

The jounin pushed Sasuke's shirt down. "How did you survive? That was a direct blow to your heart."

"It missed by a little, if it had hit directly, I would have died almost instantly," Sasuke felt his hands shake as he remembered the cries of despair rolling from his brother's lips, the silent tears that were still moistening the back of his neck. "Itachi saved me, for only God knows how long, he was using his remaining chakra almost to the point where he couldn't see straight to heal my wound. Waking up and seeing that pain, physical and emotional, it made me understand that he never wanted anything to happen like that again."

Kakashi sighed. "Your brother has lost his mind…"

"I know he has, to care that much for one person, to sacrifice himself to save me, it was the most touching this that he'd ever done for me. It showed me that he was the only one who cared about my well being, that through this all he was the only one who tried to save me," Sasuke gulped lightly, trying to fight the whimpers that were threatening him. "He's always saving me, and yet I never give anything back to him, but he doesn't want anything, he never wanted anything."

"He wants you," Kakashi answered. "He wants you to hate him so that you can finally kill him. He wants to die by your hand, that's why he tortures you, that's why he continuously tries to hurt you, but I don't think he can do it anymore. He loves you, Sasuke; you should take it as a compliment. I never thought that Itachi Uchiha was going to be able to love anything, but you… you're the one who has broken that chain."

Sasuke closed his eyes as he remembered how Itachi was always by his side since he took his offer to become his student. Even in the darkest hours of his days, Itachi was right there next to him not thinking about the goal, but thinking about Sasuke alone. There were so many times that he could leave, but he only considered it when Sasuke told him to. This was a bond that he had never seen his brother make, not even with Shisui. He cringed at the thought of that man, may he be damned to Hell if he ever caused someone as much pain as Shisui Uchiha caused Itachi.

"I hope you learned a lesson from your time with Itachi," Kakashi sighed.

"I did, I learned that I have to continue working on medical ninjutsu," Sasuke took a deep breath. "I already have it pretty perfected after I copied it from Itachi. I have to work harder if I want Itachi to last through this whole goal, he's drowning slowly, and I'm not going to let death take him away from me. Not until I'm ready to give him up."

"So you're working hard," the jounin asked.

"I'm working my ass off for him," Sasuke answered. "There's nothing that I wouldn't do for him. Everything I do, everything that I am, it's all for him, and no matter how I try to break away from that, there is no way that I can now. We're so close."

Kakashi placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder looking down into his students eyes. There was finally a reason for the genin's existence besides hatred, his personality changed with a single phrase from Itachi's lips. He was able to put all of the pain on hold to help someone out that he cared about. This wasn't the Sasuke that he knew. This was a new Sasuke. A better Sasuke.

-----

Shikamaru looked at Asuma and Kurenai from the doorway. All of this time, Asuma went through such lengths to guard the ones who were important to him. He let Itachi go at the hospital to protect Kurenai whose genjutsu attacks would have been useless up against him. He felt that the village shouldn't provoke Itachi and threw himself right in front of all of the attacks that could have come to the village, not allowing the Hokage to throw a full scale attack onto the young ninja.

All of this time, Ino had hated Itachi, when it was Asuma's wishes to be wounded mortally. All of the hate that the team had toward the remaining Uchiha would be dissipated as soon as they all got the news about what really happened.

The door opened as Kurenai walked out. "Try to understand Shikamaru; Asuma was only looking out for the village. I don't want you to hate him for what's going on…"

"I can't hate him," Shikamaru breathed. "How can I hate him when I'm just glad that he got out alive? If he had died during that effort I would have hated him for leaving me alone, but how can I hate anyone, I don't know who to blame."

The jounin looked down at her feet. "It's hard to decide who to blame. No twelve-year-old should have to go through what's going on right now. None of you have been untouched by this, especially not your team, Sakura, or Sasuke."

Shikamaru shook his head. "I'm not in the same category of pain as Sasuke," he looked over at her. "The pain that boy has gone through I wouldn't even be able to stomach," he looked toward the window at the darkening sky. "Once upon a time, all I wanted to do was watch the clouds, I just wanted to get out of this world, but now I realize that there is no escape. Even if I were a cloud, I'd still sob everyday during this time, I would still shed tears for all that we've lost."

"It will take time for Konoha to get better," Kurenai soothed. "But we can do it."

"But we won't forget," Shikamaru answered. "At least Sasuke will never forget."

"He feels touched and worthless, one a paper is ripped to shreds it can never be whole again, but with a little effort it can become something new, maybe even more perfect than before."

"But you never know," Shikamaru grinned. "He could come out of this better than he was when he came in; after all, he's strong."

He walked toward the door thinking about Sasuke. Did Ino ever find him in this mess? Sasuke was the last link that they needed for their plan, not only could he question Kakashi for information, but he could also give information on his brother. Itachi was a subject that Team 10 was forever going to be curious about. He was the reason why all of this was happening, but the final act that involved Sakura had nothing to do with him. The answers weren't coming efficiently.

Then we'll have to keep on looking, Shikamaru quickly lit a cigarette, inhaling the fumes lightly. We just need to get Sasuke…

-----

I thought she'd never leave, Itachi flipped through the medical ninjutsu book looking around the room. Ino was finally gone so he could continue his work so he could stabilize himself. He could feel his body starting to run out of time, his lungs burning with every breath that he took. He wasn't sure if he was going to make it through.

Trying to dull the pain, he looked around the room seeing the walls that confined the area where he killed his parents. He remembered the churning feeling in his stomach as he took their lives, their blood falling to the ground, spilling relentlessly. All he could feel at that moment was the satisfaction that his father was finally dead. After all of the years that he had to put up with the pain, he had ended it.

The blood that ran from his lips seemed unending as he flipped through the book with tremulous hands. He wasn't ready to give up yet, not until he showed that he was stronger than Shisui was, not dying by drowning in his own blood because he was too weak to stop the bleeding.

"Damn it," he coughed harshly, small trickles of blood splashing from his lips, his right hand tightly clutching his side feeling the skin heat up rapidly, his lungs igniting with a blazing fire. "Shit!" he felt his hands shake even harder than they had before. He couldn't control the tremors, nor could he feel the muscles that were powering the trembling.

Feeling the pain roll through his body, he fell onto his hands and knees, heaving, trying to catch his breath, the bubbling noise of his blood in his throat in his ear. Everything around him was getting hazy, as he could feel the blood rising in his throat starting to run from his nose.

"Fuck!" he breathed, his fingernails scratching against the ground, his weight falling. The hard surface of the floor pushing up against his bruised chest, a loud scream exuding from his weakening lungs, everything was leaving him. He could hear Shisui's laughing as he fell further into the darkness."

"You're weak, Itachi, can't even stay strong after I gave my life for you…?"

Itachi opened his eyes slightly looking around the room trying to concentrate enough chakra in his hand to sustain life, but the results were far from favorable. As he concentrated enough, his eyes shut tightly, a glut of blood falling from his lips onto the floor, his body weakening with every moment. Glancing at the blood he was reminded of that night when he killed the people he had once called parents, remembering the blood that stained the room, the look on Sasuke's face as he opened the door sticking to his memories.

"S-Sasuke," he muttered, more blood falling from his lips, his chest becoming numb as he felt his chest become numb. He moved his shaking hand to touch his chest, he was bleeding externally as well, the wounds that Kabuto had left on him starting to destroy him, the poison's effects making him numb for over a week. Kabuto's poison was made from a stroke of genius that Itachi would never understand.

Did it rupture? Did my lung break open? He took a deep breath only feeling slight burning sensations, not a ripping pain. The attacks that Kabuto had done to him were worse than he ever thought that they would be. The poison that was injected into his leg messed with his already broken ribs causing more blood.

The broken skin was from the fall to the ground, he should have tried to shield himself. With one last look around the room, Itachi wondered if he was going to make it out of this alive. It didn't look too good for him; he was going to be lost to the cycle of life and death.

"Sasuke…" he breathed, the bleeding finally stopping, only the remnants mixed with saliva rolling down his cheek, his breathing starting to slow with his heartbeat. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry that it had to end this way…" a small smile graced his lips as he finally closed his eyes. "Y-you killed me… you did it…"

He felt his vision leave him, pain filling his body, everything growing numb. He had done it, everything was over now. They had finally done what they wanted to; they had killed the clan together. Sasuke was going to have to continue on his own, Itachi wasn't going to be there to help him anymore. It was all up to him.

"Sasuke…" he breathed one last time, his hand falling limp touching the open book lightly, blood trailing onto the page. For once in his life, Itachi was the one in physical pain, a pain that he thought he would never have to feel, his life leaving him gently. This was the end for him, but the beginning for Sasuke.

-----

A chill ran down Sasuke's spine as he looked toward the window. "Damn it," he shook his head trying to pull himself together.

Kakashi looked at his student with concern. "What is it, Sasuke? What just happened?"

Sasuke closed his eyes feeling the shivers running down his spine faster. Something's wrong, he grasped the handle of his dagger as he looked toward the door. The answer was so clear now, he knew what was wrong. Itachi! He stood up and ran toward the door. "I'll talk to you later, Kakashi…"

"Sasuke?" the jounin asked, watching the boy run away.

The genin continued to walk down the hallways, making the same twists and turns that he had made earlier that day. Only this was urgent. Something had happened to Itachi that Sasuke didn't know about. He hadn't felt like something was wrong like this since… the day the clan died.

Itachi… he clutched the dagger tighter as the first drop of rain fell from the sky. He wasn't going to make it in time if he was in that much trouble. He had to move faster than he had ever moved in his life. Every second meant that Itachi was slipping away, he now knew the feeling that Naruto and Sakura felt when they were gathering the jounin, but this was different: Itachi was vital to him; he was the only one who mattered now.

"I've had it with this, I'm going to perfect my medical techniques. I've spent enough time sitting on my ass while I watch you die. I'm the one who did that to you…"

He was the one who did that to him. His was his attack that had caused him this much agony. It was his burden to bear that told him that he would have to save him from this dark fate; it was his responsibility to fix it because Itachi was too weak to. It was either that or he would have to sit and watch him die.

Then again, why was he so gung-ho about it being his ribs? It could have been Kabuto and Sakura knowing his weakness and taking him out almost instantaneously. Either way, he had to hurry if he was going to save his life. Otherwise he was going to lose his brother forever. Death was permanent. He gripped the dagger tightly out of disgust and rage.

"I'm coming, Itachi…"

Author's Note: I know that this chapter was kind of sad at the end, but it's going ot answer one of the many questions. I know that it was mean to leave you like that but you get to see whether Itachi lives or dies in he next chapter. So what did you think? Good? Bad? Want to know what happens to Itachi? Honesty is always good.

The next chapter is going to be REALLY EMO (much like the whole story... I'm aware that it's a soap opera) so I want to apologize in advance.