Disclaimer: I do not own anything that pertains to this show...

Warnings: This chapter is an EXTREMELY EMO chapter, so you are all to be warned. This chapter also contains coarse language, blood/violence, incest, yaoi, slight sexuality, references to death and homicide, OOC, and the canon is only showing slight traces. There are also some errors in this chapter (as there always are). Please enjoy.

Pairings: ItaSasu

Faster and faster, harder and harder, he was moving toward the house that he had left his brother within. He thought that he was going to be alright, but his intuition told him otherwise. He continued to run, looking through the place that he used to call home, the place where the Uchiha clan had prospered. He could still see the dead bodies littered among the streets, he looked toward his house.

"Brother," he whispered as he took a deep breath before he started running toward the building, tears running from his eyes. "Itachi!" he moved faster as the rain started to fall, his heart raced in his chest, his breath starting to catch in his throat. He had to hurry.

A sense of hopelessness filled his soul as he continued running to the door, the shock making him forget where the house was. I have to pull this together, or Itachi's finished… he walked to the door, finally remembering that this was where he lived. He had arrived.

"I-Itachi," he opened the door, walking through the front of the house. His brother was nowhere in sight. He closed his eyes as he continued through the house, following the eerie silence to where he wanted to go. "Itachi, where are you?"

The feeling of that night had come back to him, giving him the feel that there was someone else in the house who had harmed his brother. Taking the handle of the dagger in his hand, he pulled it out, grasping it tightly. He swallowed hard as he tip-toed, continuing through the house. His heart beat fervidly in his chest as he moved into the darkness, feeling the rain hit harder against the walls.

He continued to go through the hallway until he got to the door looking straight at it. That was the room where he had seen the worst sight he had ever seen, his parents' dead bodies strewn across the ground, his brother standing over them, overconfidently proud of himself. In that room was Itachi, probably in the worst amount of pain in he had ever been in throughout all of his life.

Sasuke moved up against the door, resting his ear up against to hear what was inside, it was dead silent. He would have liked some sort of noise, some way to show that the people in that room were still alive. The silence was killing him slowly, his arms frozen at his sides as he took a deep breath. He was paralyzed with the fear that whatever took his brother from him was still in there.

"Move," he told himself quietly. "Move, Sasuke, move…" a tear fell down his cheek, his body shaking as he grasped the handle to the door. "Move!"

Quickly, he threw the door, open almost running through it instantly. "Brother!" he looked down at his feet as he felt moisture around them. As he saw the sight, his body froze, his stomach churning as his vision clouded. It was blood: Itachi's blood. "Itachi?" he looked forward seeing Itachi on the ground face down. "Itachi!"

He finally got control of his body, running toward his brother's side, it was worse that he thought it was. The blood, though not as much as his mind thought there was, formed in a pool running from Itachi's mouth. All of the things that he had said that morning, all that he had said about his body slowly giving out on him, none of that was a lie, it was all painfully true. He was dying right before him.

"Itachi," Sasuke breathed, rolling his brother's body onto his side, watching the rivulets of blood rolling down his cheek from his parted lips. "Itachi?" he wiped the blood away with his finger, his body shaking as he looked down at the sight.

Everything was coming back to him, all that Itachi was, all that he wasn't, it was all rolling back to him like a great wave of remorse. All that he learned from this experience, all which he didn't learn was going away from him as well. He did it, he finally killed him, after all of this time, Itachi was finally lying on the ground dying with every second that passed. For once he was given the opportunity to prove that he didn't need him. He had the opportunity to be free.

"If you want to die," Sasuke breathed, stroking his brother's hair. "Then die, Itachi," he held back the tears. "Just die and get this over with. Die, Itachi. Go ahead and die right now…"

He took a deep breath as he looked around the room, this was the place when he started to hate this man that he was next to, the day when his heart broke. Now it was breaking again, even if Itachi did try to heal the wounds and make as many amends as he could. Itachi could never heal Sasuke's wounds, he was aware of that, he didn't try that hard to, he embraced the fact that his younger brother was suffering just as much if not more than he was. It gave him a sense of security.

He rested on Itachi's shoulder, his body trying to stop the sobs. "I wish you did kill me that night, I wish that you didn't show me mercy. I wish you didn't care about me enough to ensure my existence. If you killed me, you'd still be here," he closed his eyes. He should be jubilant to see his brother die in the same place where his parents died, with the same bloodshed as the whole clan. This was different than he perceived it would be, he expected him to feel a great weight lifted off of his shoulders as Itachi died, but the weight only grew greater, he started to understand that he needed Itachi more than he ever thought that he would.

As he stroked his cheek, he heard Itachi cough lightly, blood rolling from his lips onto Sasuke's flesh. There was still life in his body; there was still time to save him. He dropped the dagger, his body shaking, his vision clouding, his heart accelerating in his chest. It was all up to him, he help his brother's life in his hands.

"Hold on," Sasuke breathed, lifting up Itachi's shirt, noticing the broken skin over the bruise, the blood running along his skin. "Shit," he breathed, holding his hand over the gouge trying to get enough focus to summon enough chakra to save Itachi's life before he lost too much blood. "What the hell are you doing, Itachi?"

Closing his eyes, he felt the chakra run to his hands; this is how Itachi must have felt in the woods when he was putting all of his energy into saving his life. The look of fatigue on his face, his eyes swelling with tears of pain combined with unforgiving sorrow. Itachi risked everything to save him, along the way in this journey he had been taking it to extremes to save his life. He nurtured Sasuke, healed his wounds, he held him when the nights got long; he was always there for him.

I can do this; he opened his eyes, feeling the wound start to close, looking at his brother's pallid complexion. He's not going to last much longer, I have to work faster and harder than ever before. He watched as the wound continued to close, he could still hear Itachi's breathing, although it was faint, dying like an ember. A tear fell down Sasuke's cheek as he came to grips with reality, he was going to lose him, Itachi was going to die right here.

"I can't do this," he whispered, watching as the wound closed, taking his hands away. "Itachi, keep breathing," he kissed him lightly on the lips. "Don't stop, please, don't stop," he kissed him again, continuing to beg. "Please… breathe…"

He watched as more blood ran down his brother's cheek, hearing his breathing start to decrease, it sounded like it was getting difficult for him to keep functioning. Itachi was starting to weaken on him, Sasuke was scared. This could be the end of everything that they had ever dreamed would happen.

"If anything should happen to me, take my ring, destroy the fox, and continue on with the rest of the tailed beasts. I want you to continue my legacy."

Sasuke ran his fingers along his brother's right ring finger, looking at the ring that was situated on it. That ring had caused them so many problems, the reason why Kabuto was after Itachi was because of the ring. That damn ring, that ring meant the world to Itachi, more than his right arm meant. Slowly, he slipped the ring off of his finger, looking at his brother's body, watching him shake slightly.

"Itachi," he breathed, looking down at the blood, running a hand through it and then shifting his eyes to look at his brother's shivering hand. He had to do more; he told himself that he wasn't going to stop his training until Itachi got healed, until the moment when he was able to breath, the moment that bruise would stop harming him. This was his moment to dull the pain.

Reluctantly, he ran his fingers along his brother's blood soaked lips, reaching into his mouth, feeling the pool of blood that was still trapped inside. He cringed at the warm moist feeling as the scarlet liquid started to overflow, running out of his mouth onto the ground, a small whimper leaving Sasuke's lips as he delved deeper into the moist cavern. Where was the problem, was it higher in his throat than he thought it was. Itachi gagged as Sasuke started to push his finger down his throat, the muscles tightening around the digit trying to push it away.

Well that worked, Sasuke thought as he watched the finger drip blood as he pulled it out, more blood running from Itachi's lips with every cough. Did he rupture something? If he did, is it completely burst, or if I try can I still save him? He focused more chakra was into his hand looking at Itachi. I'm not going to stop even if it kills me, Itachi, because you did the same thing for me.

He placed his hand over his brother's left lung right where the bruise was situated. I will never forget that look on your face as I faded away. Nor will I forget the way you were after I came back to you. The tears that you tried to hide are still running down my neck. I will never forget the pain you went through because of me, I will never forget that hurt I caused you, the extremes I made to go through, he closed his eyes another tear running down his face. "I won't forget…"

He felt everything run through this attack, everything starting to move slowly. He knew how it felt to have everything gone. Itachi was the last strand of hope that he had for salvation, the last ounce of sanity that he had held onto through this whole chain of events. He wasn't ready to lose that, not after everything else was gone. Sakura was gone, Kakashi was gone, and Nartuto would soon join them, he was secure with that because Itachi was going to be there to help him through it, but he was gone. He gave it all up for Sasuke, even his own life.

"I wouldn't sacrifice myself for any of those fucking bastards that we called part of our clan…"

He closed his eyes tightly, he had to stop thinking of the tragic past, he had to focus on positive thoughts. He had to convince himself that this was going to work and there was no second guessing himself. He was going to return the favor.

"Brother," Sasuke breathed, moving closer to him. "I don't like it when you get like this. I don't like it when you leave me alone," he wiped a tear from his eye. "When you leave me, it's like your trying to kill me. I love you, brother," Sasuke let out a silent sob, his fingers trembling as he healed Itachi's chest. "I hate how you always leave me alone. It's like I don't matter to you," he let a tear fall down his cheek, his voice shaking. "Why do you do this? Why do you cause so much pain whenever you leave? Why am I so attached to you?"

"Because I mean something to you, I'm precious to you and you would give anything for my life. You share a bond with me because the blood that runs through your veins runs through mine as well."

Sasuke let out a sob; he was feeling himself start to feel smaller, his spirit shrinking back to his childhood. Everything that he had tried to forget, all of the pain that they had in all of their life was resurfacing, resurrecting emotions that he never thought he would feel again, bringing back words that he thought he would never say. The technique that he had lost sleep over was now going to be the savior of their team, the savior of their clan.

"Brother!" he breathed, pushing hander up against Itachi's chest hearing him start to breath again, but the sound of gurgling apparent in his mouth. Sweat rolled down his face as he felt his brother's pulse start to accelerate, his body shaking in pain. He was choking. Sasuke tried harder as he felt the split ribs start to reconnect, he was starting to heal the wounds that he promised himself he would. He took a deep breath, swallowing harshly as he watched more blood run from his brother's body.

It's the excess blood in his lungs, his body's starting to reject it all quickly, he watched as his brother's face paled. Fuck! This isn't good, even though the lung is almost healed he's still bleeding, but what could it be? He stopped the flow of chakra, running his hand along his brother's ribcage feeling the bone completely in tact. It still wasn't enough, even though Itachi was healed, the broken bones and flesh patched back up, he was still bleeding new blood, not the phlegm soaked blood that had been mixing with the fluid in his lungs for weeks. This was higher in his respiratory tract, that's when it hit Sasuke. Itachi was testing Mystical Palms on himself; the effects must have risen to his throat.

"Itachi, you retard," Sasuke sobbed, looking down at his brother's neck feeling the swollen muscles, the sloshing of blood as he pushed. He had caused more damage to himself than anyone ever could have, he had destroyed his throat, Sasuke just hoped as a major scale, not at a cellular level.

He placed his hands up against his brother's neck closing his eyes. "You're worth more than this; you're worth more than a suicidal wreck. You're worth more than death," he took a deep breath. "I won't let death have you; I won't let anyone have you. You're mine," he pushed more chakra through his hands. "Damn it," he heard Itachi cough. "His lung isn't done healing, but if I stop working on his throat he's going to drown," he closed his eyes trying to think of a way to get out of this problem. Shadow clones… the technique that Itachi taught me how to do. But if I do that, it's going to subtract that chakra that I have. Even if it's risky, he's got a better chance if I can heal both sections of the body at the same time. It's a half and half chance, but I believe that the clone will be in Itachi's favor.

He took his hand away starting to make the hand signs that would create a shadow clone. It pained him to know that the chakra that he used for that technique could have been used in Mystical Palms; then again, Itachi was running out of time. Itachi once said that Sasuke was a natural at the art of medical ninjutsu, saying that he was able to make it his own, that he had learned it faster than he thought he would. Sasuke was stronger in this field, where Itachi let his nerves and emotions get in the way of the jutsu, Sasuke was sticking to the task at hand, driven by Itachi's life in the balance. Right now that balance was leaning more toward death rather than life.

The clone touched at Itachi's chest as Sasuke continued to work on his neck, hearing him start to cough again, more blood splashing onto the ground. "Come on," Sasuke breathed, watching the tremors that were running through Itachi's body start to slow down. "You can do this," he closed his obsidian eyes. "You can make it through this, Itachi. You can do this."

He felt tears roll down his cheeks as he heard his brother's breathing become quieter, turning into a small bubbling noise. "Itachi!" he watched as the liquid continued to flow out of his body. "Fuck!" he put more energy into the technique, almost blinded by the power of the chakra. "Fuck!" he continued to sob, taking deep breaths as he tried to fix everything inside of his brother's body, hoping that this time it was going to work. He wasn't going to rest until he was saved.

He's such a bastard. He's selfish, getting his body to this point and not expecting me to care about any of it. What a prick, he looked at the clone who was still working on the chest. If the clone keeps the lung stable so that it won't leak anymore blood, then I can see how much is coming from his throat. Just a little more ought to do it.

Suddenly he felt the breathing start to speed up, as to compensate for something: his heart was beginning to stop beating. The more he worked on healing the wounds, the more likely he would lose circulatory function. There were now complications. He was suffocating, drowning, choking; all respiration was starting to affect his heart. Itachi was going to die at this rate.

He can live a few moments without his heart. Sasuke prayed continuing to work on his throat feeling his brother's lungs work harder, his pulse starting to slow down. Respiratory arrest, Sasuke remembered that from the hospital, there were some sacrifices that were going to have to be made if he was going to make it through this. If Itachi was going to live, he was going to have to make it through this, if he was going to survive, his heart was going to have to stop just for a little while.

Please, let this work! He pushed more chakra into his brother's body, feeling the last few breaths finally clear, a few coughs escaping his lips, expelling all of the fluid that was deep inside of his lungs as well as his throat. Sasuke whimpered as he watched the blood roll down to the ground, this was when it happened, the moment where Itachi's heart was going to stop.

"Itachi," he breathed, stroking his brother's face watching the excess continuing to roll down his cheek, his hands shaking as his pulse started to slow down. "Itachi, please," he closed his eyes, tears running down his cheeks as he held onto his older brother's hand. "Don't, please!"

"As long as you feel that you know that I'm still with you. And you know that I'm never going to leave you like that. How selfish would I be to leave you with all of this without a helping hand? I swear nothing will happen to you, Sasuke."

"You're selfish," he breathed, running his hands to Itachi's decreasing pulse. "You said that you weren't going to die on me, and I'm not going to let you get off of this that easily. You said that you were going to last longer than this. You said that we were a team. You said that you were going to unleash my potential. Now you've become this, a dying ember of the flame you used to me. You make me sick, Itachi Uchiha! You make me sick!"

He placed his head on Itachi's chest as the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. Itachi was leaving him, he could feel it in the way his heart was beating in the way that he was shaking gently up against him struggling for breath. All Sasuke could do was sit and take it, he wasn't like Itachi, he didn't have the strength to go all out on a dying person, not a person that he loved as much as he loved Itachi. He loved Itachi more than he loved anything; he loved him more than he loved to hate him.

"Itachi," he took a deep breath kissing him lightly on the chest as he heard him cough. If he keeps coughing up the extra blood, he might be able to get oxygen to his heart. He could actually live, he could survive this. If he lives, then my outlook on him is going to change. This is worse than a stab to the chest, this is real pain, this was drawn out, something he had been fighting for weeks. He buried himself deeper into the warmth of his brother's body, even with all of the blood that surrounded them; Itachi had retained some warmth, his body temperature only dropping a few degrees.

He was one of the lucky ones; he was one of the ones who would go untainted by this plan, one of the ones who would survive with all of the dignity that they started with. Itachi was always lucky, always getting by and excelling without trying. He got everything that he wanted, even if what he wanted was to cheat Death out of his soul.

Sasuke broke down and sobbed, closing his eyes tightly as he felt Itachi's body move to a steady pace, everything functioning the way that it was supposed to. Thanks to that technique, everything that they wanted had come closer to them, and there was no fear that they were going to die too soon. They were going to live through this. The sobbing still continued as he fisted his brother's shirt tightly, kissing at his chest whimpering with every breath.

"I love you," Sasuke breathed as he watched the blood continue to roll from his brother's lips. "I love you so fucking much…" he wiped the blood from Itachi's lips hearing him wince as he touched him. "You're going to be alright now," he looked over at the book and then at Itachi. "I'm going to continue my study; I'm going to make sure that you won't continue to go through pain. I'm going to continue to heal you no matter how much energy it takes," he moved to kiss him on the forehead hearing him whimper yet again. "You won't die…"

He kissed along Itachi's neck, feeling him shudder, his right hand starting to move from its position to stroke the younger shoulder blade, Sasuke gasping at the feeling. All of the pain that he had been through only lasted a few minutes; it all faded away as he felt the shivering hand up against his back.

"Itachi," Sasuke breathed. It was true, Itachi's heart did stop for a second, but only a second before his body started functioning again. It was a surge, nothing more than moment where he could have been considered dead. Nothing more than his heart skipping a pulse, everything was going to be fine now, once all of the blood was cleared. He had been through a lot, and still he as able to survive his injuries. Next time they weren't going to be so lucky.

Sasuke continued to rest up against his brother on the bloody floor, tears still rolling down his cheeks. He wanted to kill him once upon a time. Once upon a time, Sasuke wanted to put himself through that much pain. Once upon a time, Sasuke wanted to spill that much blood from his brother's body and not shed a single tear. He thanked the heavens that time was gone, and it was never going to come back. Even though he thought he could, his brother was right. He couldn't kill him, his hate wasn't strong enough, his heart was too attached to him to take Itachi's life, and his life was the most precious treasure that Sasuke had, killing Itachi would have taken everything that he had called his life, he would have taken everything that Sasuke was.

Everything's going to be alright now, after I keep draining the lungs, Itachi's going to live; he's going to make it through this. So long as nothing like this happens again, if that becomes the case, then I don't know if I can help him, he kissed lightly at Itachi's chest again, closing his eyes as he heard his heart beat, the bubbling of the blood in his throat almost dying down, with every second. The stress was off even if just an ounce.

"Sasuke…" he heard Itachi breathe harshly, followed by a struggled cough. Sasuke backed away as he watched the blood continue to flow from his mouth. "Is that…?" he coughed again. "Is that you?"

The younger Uchiha took a deep breath, reaching to stroke his face watching his dark eyes start to open. "You're alright," Sasuke moved closer to him, feeling the warmth start to return to his brother's body.

Itachi was frail, weak, he didn't look like how Sasuke was used to seeing him. His body moved as if it was heavy, as if it was complete dead weight, struggled cries passing Itachi's lips, his hands pressed up against the blood soaked wood of the floor. Every movement made pain run through Sasuke's nerves, watching the small trails of blood from his brother's lips.

"Take it easy," Sasuke whispered, extending a hand to Itachi's chest, watching dark eyes follow the fingertips, then rising back up to look Sasuke square in the eyes. "You're going to hurt yourself…"

Itachi swallowed lightly, gagging on the metallic taste of blood. "Sasuke… what happened?"

"You don't know?" Sasuke asked, his voice still shaking with sobs. "You scared the living Hell out of me, that's what happened. Look around, do you see all of this blood? It's all yours…"

Itachi looked around the room, his head shaking lightly. "Did I rupture something?" his voice was still weak, hoarse from coughing, a coarse texture to his words with every syllable. "That seems like a lot of blood…"

Sasuke shook his head. "You didn't rupture anything, when you think about it, it's not that much blood," he closed his eyes a tear running down his face. "But if I had come just a second later…" a sob passed his lips. "I can't do this, Itachi… I…"

He was interrupted in his thoughts, Itachi's lips pressed gently up against his, his shaking hands pulling him closer. Sasuke moaned lightly at the taste do blood in his mouth, his tongue pushing deeper into the moist blood soaked cavern of Itachi's mouth. More tears ran down Sasuke's cheeks as Itachi held onto him, his heart beating faster as he finally heard his brother breathe clearly.

He recovered fast, one minute he's near death, suffocating, the next minute he's making out with me, Sasuke pushed closer to Itachi, his hands running beneath his shirt feeling the ribs that had once been so fragile now rigid, unmovable. He purred at the feeling of Itachi's chest moving almost painlessly with every breath he took. "Itachi," Sasuke breathed, backing away from his brother's lips, looking into his eyes. "I…"

"Shhh," Itachi soothed kissing at his cheek, "I'm alright now, you do have potential in medical ninjutsu, believe it or not. That was a deep internal wound. You've made excellent progress in that particular field of study," he kissed him on the lips lightly. "I'm proud…"

Sasuke took a gulp of air before looking into his brother's eyes, still melting with the radiation of pain that was leaping from his sable eyes. "You should get some rest, Itachi, you should get some sleep. You've been through a lot tonight."

The younger Uchiha stood up shakily, feeling the blood rush hurriedly through his head; he was still tired from all of the chakra that he had used to heal Itachi's wounds. Trying to dull the pain, he looked down at his hands, seeing the blood that had caked them. This was the feeling that he had waited for, the feeling that used to give him a high. Now all it did was stab at his heart, tears of anger rolling down his cheeks. He was the selfish one for thinking he could take all of his away from his heart. His spirit was trying to deprive himself of something that he wanted all along, dulling the power of love with the dark hunger of his ambition.

"Sasuke…" Itachi sighed, running a hand through the younger ninja's hair. "Thank you… I know that was a tough decision for you. I know that you had mixed feelings about letting me live or die. A part of you wanted to sit here and watch."

The younger Uchiha let out a low sob. "But the part of me that I trust wanted me to save you," he kissed Itachi lightly on the cheek, wrapping his arms around his body. "I love you…" he pressed his lips to Itachi's for a few seconds backing away to look into his eyes. "I can't live… if that life that you wanted me to… I can't kill you… I need you, Itachi; you're a part of me. A part that I don't want to lose…" he felt Itachi's fingertips, run across his lower lip, lowering themselves to grasp gently at his chin. "I-Itachi," he panted moving closer to take his brother's lips again, this time aggressively. "Itachi!" he breathed as his lips were freed for a second.

He could feel Itachi's weight lower onto the ground, taking him with the fall. Everything was hazier than before, his brother's heartbeat echoing in his ears with every second that passed. Fingers trembled, grasping fiercely at one another, Sasuke's legs quivering up against Itachi's body, hearing a snicker pass through his lips.

"We should probably go to bed, Sasuke…" Itachi breathed, backing away from Sasuke, the warm haze of his breath being taken away, his body starting to move away from the younger Uchiha. He winced lightly as he grasped his side again.

"Still in pain?" Sasuke asked, watching him close his eyes, a small drop of blood rolling down his lips. "I did enough to stabilize you, but I couldn't completely drain the lungs, but if you keep coughing you'e going to be just fine."

Itachi smirked cockily. "When did you get so intelligent all of a sudden?"

Sasuke smiled back as he heard the thunder roll outside of their house, moving closer to Itachi. "I have to be intelligent if I want to get out of this journey in one piece. There is too much on the line now, we've bet everything on this. If we lose, we're done."

"Relax," the older Uchiha stated, feeling Sasuke's hands extend to his side, starting to heal him again. "You've gotten really good. Look at you, Sasuke; I think we found a specialty for you."

Sasuke remained silent as he continued to repair the wounds that were inside of Itachi's body, trying not to focus on the way that his brother was masking his pain. All he could think about was the comforting hand that was resting on his thigh, the gentle breaths that were passing his brother's lips. Warmth ran through his body, his heart racing as he looked up into Itachi's dark eyes again. It was magnetic, he was drawn to him. He slowly moved forward, feeling his brother's breath on his lips, the hand that was situated on his thigh rising. Itachi was in no condition to do this, neither was Sasuke, but the more that they thought about it, the more that they wanted one another. This was the moment that Sasuke had waited for a while for, the day when he could finally kiss Itachi when he was able to breathe.

Slowly, their lips met again. This kiss was the kiss that sent shivers down his spine, his body shuddering as Itachi's bloody tongue, moans seeping from his throat. His hands gripped at the bottom of his own shirt, Itachi's hands rising underneath the fabric, Sasuke gasping, backing away from the kiss as he felt the trembling fingers.

"Itachi…" Sasuke panted as he licked his lips lightly. "You shouldn't…"

"Don't worry about me," Itachi breathed, kissing Sasuke on the neck hearing the young boy moan. "You're going to go mad if you keep worrying about me. I'm a dangerous person, and there are consequences with that, consequences that you are not obligated to be part of," continuing to kiss at Sasuke's neck; he wrapped his arms around him. "Sasuke, don't think too hard about all of this. I know you're in pain. Your sensei, your best friend, and your teammate have all been hurt by this, as have you and I. This is an endeavor that is not going to leave anyone untouched, and though I take full responsibility for the injuries that have inflicted you, me, Naruto, and Kakashi; I never saw what was going on with Sakura coming."

Sasuke closed his eyes. "Itachi…"

"I'm sorry about Sakura, and I'm sorry about Naruto," he sighed shaking his head. "I want you to know that I'm trying to find ways to save all of your lives, to make this right. I'm trying to find a way so you don't have to see anymore blood shed. I'm trying…"

Sasuke took a deep breath. "Itachi…"

"I'm legitimately trying Sasuke," he looked into his brother's eyes. "I'm trying to find a way to make this so that you don't have to go through that pain that you've been through ever again. Mystical Palms can only do so much, but the injuries that you are feeling now can never be healed, wounds that I will never be able to take back. Forgive me for that."

"This is all very touching…" Sasuke breathed, stroking his brother's face. "But brother, you're talking too much again," he wiped the rolling crimson from his lips, his dark eyes melting Itachi's ice cold barrier. He kissed him again, pushing him to the floor, he ran his fingers through Itachi's hair, feeling his arms wrap around his waist.

Sasuke took a deep breath looking down into his brother's eyes, swallowing hard before he kissed him again, his heart almost stopping as he continued to feel his head spin, warmth rolling deep in this abdomen. Itachi was alive, after all of this time he could finally relax knowing that Itachi was going to survive this, there was no more worrying.

"Sasuke," Itachi breathed, stroking Sasuke's face, smearing the tears with his fingertips. He kissed his nose as he pulled him closer to his body, his breath accelerating, but clearer, the horrifying bubbling of the blood that was in his lungs almost gone. His hands still shuddered, his pulse increasing with every kiss that he laid on his younger brother's body, Sasuke responding to each one.

He's alive, Sasuke breathed as he felt Itachi's body become warmer, blood rushing through his whole body. And I'm going to enjoy every last pulse that he has to offer in this life. He's alive… he reached to touch the bloodied book on the side of them. This was the reason why they were alive, the reason why they had become strong after all of this time. It was the reason that they were allowed to keep this happiness, and Sasuke thanked the book for that.

That damn book was the reason why both of them were breathing as was Sakura, the place where Itachi had first gotten the basis for the technique. Even though Sakura was the reason that they were becoming distant, she was the reason that they were granted other days with each other, the days when the passion was sometimes too much for wither of them to take.

Sasuke rested his head up against his brother's chest his mind vanishing with every pulse of his heart as they tried to catch their breath, Itachi's hand running through Sasuke's hair, his fingernails embedding in his scalp, a small cry of pain rolling from his lips, his body shuddering.

"Sasuke," he breathed, kissing the top of his head. "If only we could stay like this forever, in this room, lying in one another's arms not concerned about what we were getting ourselves into."

"Is that what you really want? You don't want hatred; you don't want me to give up on my dream. Everything that you said, was it all something that you were using as a cover up. All you wanted was for me never to leave you? I think I fully understand why you killed everyone but me, you wanted me to be the one to grow strong enough to kill you, but you wanted me never to leave you," he kissed Itachi's chest lightly. "Never forget you…"

Itachi sighed. "You are intelligent…"

"You never really know what you want do you?" Sasuke asked with a sorrowful sigh, resting deeper into his chest. "But out of all of the requests that you've made, that was probably the most sincere one that you've made," he snuggled closer still, his body shivering with passion as he felt fingers stroked his back gently. "We can live like this, if only just for one night."

In the room that had once been fed the fire to Sasuke's nightmares, he finally found comfort from the storm. He had finally gained the happiness that he had wanted. Itachi was alive.

Author's Note: I know that this chapter was pretty damn emotional and over the top, but I personally thought that it was pretty well-written. You should all be glad that Itachi is safe for the time being, his ribs are now healed thanks to Sasuke. So what did you all think? Good? Bad? Really happy that Itachi is going to be alright. Honesty is always good.

The next big thing to happen is bring Sakura back (or attempting to...)