Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with this anime/manga
Warnings: This chapter contains some blood/violence, crude language, thoughts of incest, references to rape, yaoi, references to sexual sitautions, references to homicide, thoughts of suicide, OOC, and the canon barely makes an appearance. This chapter is also pretty short compared to the rest and there are a lot of errors in here. Naruto is also back into the story.
Pairings: ItaSasu, some SasuNaru, slight NaruSaku, references to SasuSaku
He grasped the handle of the dagger tighter, there were options now, Itachi had finally come up with a way that Naruto could survive all of this, he had finally found a way that he wasn't going to break Sasuke more. For once he had remained stable on something, a trait that Itachi Uchiha never seemed to posses in his life. He was changing for the better every second that Sasuke was next to him. He worked harder, he let his emotions loose, he actually thought of someone before himself. These past few months helped Sasuke realize that this time was much needed for the both of them. The fateful night by the river was exactly what he needed.
Thank you for that, Itachi. Thanks to you I can finally set my heart free and let go of all of the hatred that I once had for those in the way of my dream. I just wished that we could have been like this earlier in our lives, not under these circumstances, he stopped for a second to catch his breath, his lungs burning as he inhaled.
Itachi was going to work him harder these days if he believed that Sasuke would make his way to Orochimaru. Sasuke allowed himself to get stuck in the middle of something greater than he ever thought he would get involved in. The wounds that they would suffer were to be great, emotional and physical. There was only so much that Mystical Palms was going to heal, the rest was going to be stuck with him. There was no turning back now, Itachi gave him a million chances to get out of this, but every single time Sasuke would chase after the danger and walk into the flames with Itachi. Even though he knew it scared the hell out of his brother, Sasuke was prepared to run into Hell and back for him. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for the plan.
Except one thing, he couldn't kill Naruto, he would never kill Naruto. He had tried that night, the sight of those blue eyes were forever imprinted in his memories. Every time that he thought of it, his body froze, he couldn't bear the pain. The memory of Naruto's dying body; along with Itachi's blood smeared all over his hands made his heart skip a beat, his whole being shaking with every passing moment. He wasn't sure if he could take anymore violence through this mission, he wasn't sure that he would be able to see Itachi get hurt by Kabuto or Sakura. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to progress with the thought of Itachi's blood still glazing him.
Flashes of horror with crimson splashes were running through his mind, remembering the chakra that was surging through his hands as he brought Itachi back from the brink of death. He should have been trying right now; he should have been working on the techniques that Itachi had been teaching him. Water techniques were easier now, medical ninjutsu also coming to him naturally. There were several things that he would need more work with, he wished that he could have desperately learned that clone technique as well as deal with the strength augmentation. Every time that he saw Itachi land a hit with chakra into his fist, he saw the damage from that night.
Itachi was perfect; there were no flaws to his ninja techniques. Everything that he had shown Sasuke was done with ease, it was so impressive, it was almost erotic. He wasn't too proud to tell himself that he felt somewhat aroused every time that he saw his brother use that new found strength for his taijutsu techniques. How could he not feel that way? Only a crazy person would be able to contain themselves as he punched into the ground, his hair falling gently to his face, sticking to the flesh with sweat, the breathless panting seeping from his lungs. It was almost coital.
I did a grand job distracting myself, Sasuke smiled as he ran up the stairs to Naruto's apartment. He had been trying to avoid this conversation for a while. This was the time when he would tell his best friend what he was up to with Itachi. Was he going to take it like Team 10, was he just going to say that he knew that it was going on and brush it off like it was nothing? Or was he going to be like Sakura and hate him for going after the man who caused their village so much pain? Either way, it was going to upset him desperately, he was going to have to see a side of Sasuke that he would never want to see again. He was going to know where the marks on his neck had come from.
"Naruto," he whispered as he reached toward the door to knock on it. "Tell him that there is a way for him to live. He can stay in Konoha while I go out and exterminate the Akatsuki. It will be a life full of fear, but it will be a life none-the-less. It could be better than death."
He took a deep breath moving his hand closer. No doubt that Iruka was in there trying to comfort him after he heard that Sakura had run away. Did he hear the news of where Sakura was? Did he know that she was on her way to the Sound Village with the accomplice of one of the most powerful ninja that Konoha has ever known?
He knocked on the door, his heart stopping in his chest as he did so. The options that Itachi had come up with were bleak, not giving Naruto much of a choice, nor did it make Sasuke feel any better. Either way he was going to lose something that was precious to him. He would either lose Naruto to death or he would lose Itachi when he went on that suicide mission seeking out the Akatsuki one by one. The thought of the blood seeping from his brother's lips made his stomach churn violently. He wasn't going to be able to live either way that this worked out.
His hand pressed up against the door as he thought about all of his training with Itachi. He never taught him how to deal with emotions; Itachi was trying to avoid the subject now that his own emotions weren't intact. Neither of them expected that it was going to get this difficult. Itachi never thought that Kabuto was going to come looking for him bringing only more misfortune, bringing memories of Shisui with him, tormenting him to the edge of insanity.
Damn Shisui, this was his fault, it was his fault that Itachi was trying to save Naruto. Itachi hoped that Sasuke would make amends to their relationship before it got to the point where they wouldn't be able to reason with one another. Sasuke wasn't going to turn out the way Itachi did, he was going to be stronger than that, Sasuke was different.
He stepped back as he looked at the door, the wind rolling against his face, blowing his hair away from the flesh. This was the worst that he had felt in a long time, split between two worlds. Once he chose which world he belonged to, the door to the other world would be forever closed. There would be no turning back. He fell to his knees closing his eyes, cursing lightly.
"Damn it," he breathed, hitting the ground lightly, leaving a dent where his fist had made the collision. Naruto shouldn't answer the door anyway, seeing Sasuke after so long would only cause more pain. Itachi was out of his mind for making him do this.
"What was that? Is there someone there?" a voice called out, it was Naruto responding to the sound of Sasuke's chakra strengthened fist no doubt. Hearing the footsteps coming closer, Sasuke rose to his feet; there was something about this that made his heart race again, feel like it was light enough to bust out of his chest. Closing his onyx eyes, he pressed his foot up against the dent in the ground; Naruto would get pissed if he knew what Sasuke had done.
The door opened as Sasuke looked into the eyes of his best friend, hearing the blond's breath catch in his throat upon looking straight at him. The few moments that they stared at one another, Sasuke could sense that Naruto was in some sort of shock of seeing him here thinking that he was abandoned by everyone who he thought had once cared. If Sasuke was in his position, he would be shocked to see someone who was like a ghost right outside of his door.
"S-Sasuke?" Naruto asked, looking out the door, his blue eyes starting to fade as he became dizzy, the shock starting to take control of his body, driving him to the edge of his madness.
"Hey," Sasuke greeted with a nervous smile, trying his hardest not to expose the mark that he had left on the ground. "It's been a while hasn't it?"
Before Sasuke could say anything else, Naruto fell forward, fainting from the shock of seeing his best friend again. He really is surprised to see me, Sasuke thought as he caught him in his arms, trying his hardest not to drop him to the ground. "It's nice to see you too, Naruto," he smiled as he tried to forget the reason why Itachi had sent him there. It was no longer as important as he thought it was. The options would come in good time.
Slowly he moved Naruto back into the apartment, closing the door behind him. He sighed as he continued to pull his best friend to the bedroom to lay him down. Even after all of this time trying to be serious, Naruto Uzumaki was always going to be a complete moron. Still Sasuke feared that he was going to lose him forever to the madness of what was going on, but he was always going to be right here waiting for him. It made Sasuke feel relieved.
Looking around, he remembered that night when Naruto had invited him inside of these walls to stay the night with him. That night was always going to be bathed in crimson, the pain still in his eyes as he tried desperately to bring his best friend back to life. Back when he didn't have a choice, back then he was reckless, back before Itachi realized what his actions could do. He remembered a younger more naïve him, one who would do anything just to make the thought of Itachi go away, he was a fool to think that it was that easy. He was a fool to think that he wanted his brother to leave him that early in the game. Now that he had tasted the fruit in the forbidden garden he knew that its nectar was addictive, he would give anything to keep that sweetness. He was going to save Sakura and Naruto, this didn't involve them.
He finally made it to the piece of furniture that he had been looking for: the bed. Placing Naruto's limp body on the bed, he looked down at his knuckles seeing the bruises that were taking root from him hitting the ground. Things had changed since the last time. He was stronger than he ever had been before. He was keeping his promise.
Everything that he had ever done, all that he had ever attempted, he realized that he was wrong, he only lies to himself. Every word that he said, when he was around Itachi did none of that matter? Did the loyalty that he had for his team just disappear when he was wrapped in his arms? Was it all just because he wanted the pleasure that Itachi gave him, or was it more than that? Was it the fact that he felt as though years of pain could be lifted when Itachi spoke with him. Or was it the fact that he saw something in Itachi's eyes that he had never seen before: true pain?
Sasuke had never known pain other than the pain that he saw in his own reflection as he looked in the mirror, nothing else really affected him. His world was flipped upside down now. The sorrow in Naruto's eyes, the bitterness in Sakura's, the failure in Ino's, the heartbreak in Shikamaru's, the confusion in Chouji's, the disdain in Gai's, the shame in Asuma's, the loss in Kurenai's, the darkness in Kakashi's, that all showed him what real pain was, pain that he had caused. Yet the pain that killed him the most was watching the tears well up in his brother's once scorn flooded eyes, the way that he would turn away every time that he looked at Sasuke, that pain was the worst pain that he had ever seen. The pain of absolute defeat, unlike the rest of them, Itachi was about to give up not wanting to stand up ever again. It was Hell deep within ebony eyes, an inferno that Sasuke had nightmares about.
Watching Naruto lying unconscious on the bed only tormented him deeper. Was this ever going to end? Was this going to have the happy ending that he had always longed for? Were they ever going to be a team again, ever going to walk side by side with smiles on their faces, laughing about how naïve they were to be doing this? Sasuke laughed cold and sorrowfully, that day was nothing more than a fantasy and a lie. It was never going to come true.
I was a fool; he closed his eyes as he remembered the blood running from his eyes, the screams that were passing through his lips as he begged the bleeding to stop. I was a fool to do that. Itachi once told me that all I had to say was stop and he would, all I had to say was no and he'd leave me be. Why didn't I say no? Why did I pull him back when he was about to leave?
He felt a tear form in his left eye, his vision starting to cloud. I wanted to hate him that day when he came to the house; I wanted him out of my life, I wanted to kill him. He shook his head as he took a deep breath. Instead I pulled him into my bed and I let him fuck me again, and I fell deeper in love with him than I was before. He loved me more than I could ever love him; he would have had the guts to say no.
Sasuke would never be as forgiving as Itachi. If Itachi refused to do anything for him; he used to throw a tantrum. Itachi didn't do anything like that when Sasuke said that he couldn't do something. Maybe Sakura was right in a few ways; maybe his brother was a better person than he was. Everything that he did, he did it for Sasuke. He had put his life in serious danger for him; he had spilled blood for him, blood that Sasuke would never be able to forget that would forever be etched into his mind.
"I'm sorry, Naruto," Sasuke breathed, looking down at his best friend. "I don't want you to die through all of this. I know I said this before, but now I'm one hundred percent sure that I won't let you die during this even if I have to kill the Akatsuki myself. I'm not going to keep playing with your life like you don't matter. This isn't a game, nor is this the same as it was before; this could be a life or death situation for all of us. If my guesses are right, one person on Team 7 is going to die: Sakura, you, or myself."
He took a deep breath as he grasped the handle of his dagger again, remembering everything that Itachi had said about Shisui. He said that he was the one who should have died; he was the one who should have gone through all of that pain. Itachi had become a new person ever since Shisui died a colder person. Shisui wasn't the saint that everyone thought he was, Sasuke knew even when he was young Shisui was a monster who used Itachi to obtain power. That night Itachi had come out the victor, becoming what he was now, becoming this empty pained person on the verge of a breakdown. Did Sasuke want that for himself?
"I don't want you to walk that path, it only will break you."
Sasuke remembered those words on that day, remembering the atmosphere as he said those words. He meant it, and he would kill anyone who drove Sasuke to do that. That's why he went on that suicide mission to the Hokage, he didn't necessarily care if he came out of it alive. He was sickened by himself at that point.
"And out of the three of us who die," Sasuke closed his eyes as he thought of Itachi's tears in the woods as he held his body closely after countless minutes of trying to save him. "I honestly hope," he closed his eyes tighter, the tear that had built up in his left eye falling to the sheets. "I truly hope…"
"Itachi, you're bleeding, you're bleeding."
"I hope that it's me…" he took a deep breath trying to muffle his crying. "I caused you all of this pain, you and Sakura both, it's only fitting that it's me who falls for it. I'm the one who made you two become what you are now. I'm the one who killed you guys. I'm a disgrace to the team."
As he shuddered he felt a hand move to touch his, his dark eyes widening in shock. Moving his vision down to see what was right in front of him, he saw Naruto's eyes open slowly, his fingers moving to touch lightly at Sasuke's. All of the darkness that was clouding over his heart was starting to see the sunrise that his best friend could bring. He was starting to feel like he was worth something more than a bastard who was giving his friends pain. For that one moment, everything stopped.
"You're not a failure, Sasuke," Naruto breathed, looking up at him. "And you're sure as hell not a disgrace to the team."
Sasuke was silent; all that Itachi had told him to say was being robbed from him as he looked into his eyes. He couldn't do what he did before; he couldn't look past Naruto and just see the fox. This time there was nothing on the line, he wasn't under the impression that he was going to lose Itachi faster than he intended to. Itachi was fine now; there was only Sakura and Naruto to worry about. He had to save both of them if he was ever going to be able to live with himself.
"N-Naruto?" Sasuke asked, looking down at his best friend. "You're awake…"
"Of course I'm awake, you just scared me is all," the blond answered quietly. "I heard a noise out there; I thought that it was someone else. I didn't really expect to see you again; I would have thought that you would have abandoned me just like Sakura."
Sasuke closed his eyes, another tear falling. "Sakura…" he remembered the time in the woods, the last time that he had ever seen the kunoichi.
He recalled the forehead protector that she was wearing, she was loyal to Sound now along with that demon Orochimaru. He had failed her most of all, lying to her, using her, allowing Itachi to use her, she had put up with so much. It was only a matter of time before she broke. Sasuke just never expected that she would fall this hard.
"Naruto," Sasuke breathed. "About Sakura…"
The blond looked at the other genin, his cerulean eyes narrowing at the words. "What about Sakura? What's happened to her? If she's been hurt and you didn't do anything about it…" quickly he grasped Sasuke's collar, pulling his closer forcefully, "I'll kill you!"
Sasuke looked into Naruto's eyes, swallowing hard. He wasn't joking about this. Even after all of this time trying to tell Sakura that he didn't care about her, Naruto was still hopelessly in love with her. He must have known by now what was going on. Shikamaru must have told him that Sakura was on a one way trip to the Sound Village where she was going to be experimented on. There was no way that he couldn't know about it, not with that much contempt in his glance. He knew what Itachi was going to do to Sakura the next time that they met.
"Naruto," Sasuke answered. "Don't you know what happened to her?"
"She was kidnapped," Naruto answered. "She was kidnapped that night when she followed you home. She was kidnapped the night when we were all together, the night when she went home right after you. She was on her way home, but she never made it because that bastard…"
Sasuke closed his eyes another tear falling to the ground, it pained his heart to say the words that he was about to, he didn't know how to break this news to his best friend. He hoped he would never have to. "Naruto… Sakura wasn't kidnapped."
"What are you talking about?" he took a deep breath before letting out a growl, his grip tightening on Sasuke's collar. "What the hell is going on Sasuke? What has that bastard done to Sakura?"
Struggling to move from the punishing grip, Sasuke managed to utter a simple answer. "She wasn't kidnapped," he swallowed hard; it wasn't as simple as he thought it was. "She went to the Sound Village of her own free will. She wasn't forced, she had met with a person from there previously and on that night she went with him on their way to the Sound Village," Sasuke shook his head. "I thought someone told you…"
Before Saskue knew it, he could feel the burn of Naruto's palm brushing across his cheek, slapping him. The look in his blue eyes resembled blue fire, burning greatly, too deeply for Sasuke to even look at him. There were a lot of punishments that Sasuke deserved, this was one of them. In the woods, he could have dragged her back to Konoha before she got too deep into this. It only ended in his cousin's dagger almost piercing his heart. He knew he deserved that.
"You fucking dick!" Naruto breathed as he watched more tears roll down Sasuke's cheek. "You knew… you knew!" he got out of bed, dropping Sasuke to the ground. "You knew that she was going through this pain, and you ignored it. You always ignore her, Sasuke!" he couldn't even look back at Sasuke as he heard the Uchiha rise off of the ground. "You knew…"
Sasuke closed his eyes as he shook his head. "I didn't know, not until I saw the message written in blood. Naruto, this situation is becoming very dangerous. What started out just as Itachi has now become a raid by the Sound Village. They're here to kill Itachi before he can achieve his goal: you."
There was another silence as Naruto took in the words, hearing what Sasuke had to say. All of this time while he was trying to see what Itachi was here for, he knew the answer now. This whole time, Itachi wasn't here for Sasuke; he was here for the fox.
"Wh-what?" Naruto asked, his voice shaking as he tried to focus on his best friend who was wiping the tears from his eyes. "Itachi's after me? The reason why Sakura went to the Sound Village was because of me?" he shook his head. "I don't believe you. No, it's not because of that!"
Sasuke shook his head. "Sakura's leaving wasn't because of you, it was because of me. Naruto… there's a lot going on and we haven't been able to talk about it much, but me and Itachi…"
Everything that he tried to say wasn't coming out; he had made this more difficult than it had to be. All that Itachi had said to him, the options that he was struggling to open up, Sasuke wasn't sure if he wanted to give those to his best friend, Naruto deserved more than that. He deserved to live a life that he wanted regardless of what everyone else wanted, a life free of fear and pain.
"Itachi and I went after her…" Sasuke struggled as he feared what his friend was going to say to the fact that he had been with Itachi.
The only stories that Naruto was aware of were the dark ones, the times after the rape. He didn't know, he didn't know that he was with him now. He didn't know of all the training that Sasuke had gone through. They were like strangers seeing each other for the first time after an eternity.
"You what?" Naruto's voice was shaking as much as his body as he tried to focus on what Sasuke was trying to say. "Wh-what did you do… with Itachi? What did you do to Sakura? What did that bastard…"
"Now wait a second, Naruto," Sasuke countered upon hearing that word used toward Itachi. "That bastard that you speak of is the one who tried to save Sakura from being a Sound Village test subject. That bastard is the reason why I got out of those damn woods alive. I almost died there, Naruto. It was almost all over for me, but Itachi saved me in the knick of time."
Naruto's body didn't stop shaking as his eyes started to water, tears falling down his cheeks. "What happened in the woods with Sakura? What happened to you Sasuke?" his voice became quiet. "D-did she h-hurt you?"
He wasn't here to talk about that day when he looked at the blood on his brother's hand. He wasn't supposed to think of all of the blood they had both shed throughout the whole struggle with Sound. Every time that he thought of that, he knew what happened; he knew that he wasn't able to take the thought. Blood was starting to get to him; it was starting to make him feel nauseous, especially after that night with Itachi. At this moment as he thought of that very moment, he prayed to the heavens that would never happen again.
"She's helping the Sound Village," Sasuke answered sorrowfully. "And they want to kill you, Naruto, every last one of those bastards in that village wants to hand you over to the Akatsuki and they're going to extract the spirit to use to obtain the ultimate power that their looking for," he took a deep breath. "She's going to bring you to them alongside that son of a bitch Kabuto Yakushi who she's working with. She wants to kill you."
Naruto shook his head as he tried to block out what his beat friend was trying to say to him. "I don't want to believe you. I don't respond to the messenger of that Goddamn Itachi Uchiha. Aren't you trying to kill me too? Isn't that why you wanted to spend more time with me? Because you wanted to kill me, Sasuke? If that's true, then why are you here tonight? Are you going to try to kill me again?"
"No," Sasuke stated quickly as he moved to sit back on the bed. "Throughout this whole quest, ever since the night when I almost killed you, I have been trying to figure out a way to save you. Itachi came up with two options for you."
Naruto swallowed hard, he wasn't going to like either of them. His heart raced in his chest as he watched onyx eyes close lightly, a tear rolling down Sasuke's cheek. "What are they? What conclusions did he draw?"
Sasuke's heart stopped in his chest as he looked straight into his best friend's cerulean eyes. "In order for your soul not to be used to destroy Konoha, you have two options," his voice was shaking violently. "One: you can let us kill you, or two: you can continue to live," he regained strength in his words. "You can continue a life without caring about the Akatsuki. Itachi will take care of them; he will destroy every one of them before they even think about hurting you. Naruto, you couldn't be in better hands with this. We found a way for you to live…"
"You call that a life?" Naruto shook his head, his tears flowing uncontrollably as he watched his best friend stand completely still. "You call me locking myself up in an apartment fearing every morning that I wake up that today might be the day when I die is a life? I'm living in that Hell right now and I would give anything to get out of it. I would give every drop of blood in my body to go back to the old days, the days before you were with Itachi and Sakura went off to the Sound Village, the days when we were Team 7, the days when we were going to amount to something."
The silence was starting to make him uneasy; it was starting to make his heart stop in his chest. The look in Naruto's eyes, it wasn't Shisui. No in the scenes in his nightmares, the look in Naruto's eyes was Itachi's. Just one glance into those eyes was enough to make Sasuke's stomach bubble. Even with the choices that he'd given to him, nothing was going to work. Naruto was always going to be in pain, there was nothing that Sasuke could do to ease that.
"We can still amount to something," Sasuke answered getting a hold on his emotions, turning away from Naruto. "If we make all of this right again, we can be Team 7, we can be great. We can be better than we were before now that we've made these mistakes. We can learn what it truly means to be a ninja."
Naruto scoffed, sitting on the bed resting his back up against Sasuke's. "You're calling all that you went through a mistake? Sasuke out of the three of us, you made the least mistakes. You're with Itachi, he's teaching you something; he's becoming a new person himself. The Itachi that all of the books are on would have killed you by now," he took a deep breath. "Besides, if anyone can reach Sakura, it's you. You're the one who can make all of this right again."
He was the only one who could save Sakura. As Naruto said those words, all Sasuke could feel was the sting of the dagger going through his chest. The pain as his heart slowly stopped beating was accented by the memory of Itachi's cries as he fell to the ground. How could he save Sakura when he couldn't save her in the woods? As he got stronger, she would get stronger too. He didn't know how far she had advanced. He and Itachi had a problem that was rising as he sat here with Naruto. Did they know how to contain it?
"I should have killed her in the woods," Sasuke breathed, leaning forward so that his elbows rested up against his knees, his hand covering his face. "It would have saved me from so much hurt."
Naruto took a deep breath. "You should have killed me…"
Black eyes snapped open as Sasuke struggled to find his voice. "No… I shouldn't have killed you. How would that have made this problem any better? Sakura would still leave Konoha, but she wouldn't be coming back for something. You're the reason why she's staying here; you're the reason why she hasn't moved on to Sound yet. It's because you're alive that she doesn't want to hurt you. Naruto she cares about you, more than anyone cares about me. If I was the one they were after…"
"The village would be in the same uproar," Naruto sighed. "But there would be less peace. You're making this all work out so beautifully. I want to thank you for that. Thank you for the chance at a life."
"Don't thank me," Sasuke sighed. "Thank Itachi; he's the one who's been trying to make this fight work in my favor. He's the one risking everything just to make me happy, even if he has to die to do it."
Sasuke thought about everything that was going on between him and Itachi? Who was giving up more in the long run? Was it the opposite of what he thought? Was Itachi really losing more through this? He had almost died numerous ties to ensure the safety of the village, a village that he hated more than anything. He had put up with everything that Sasuke had thrown at him. He put up with his bitching, he put up with his tears, he put up with everything that his brother had to offer, never once wanting to leave of his own free will. He needed Sasuke more than Sasuke needed him. It wasn't fair for Sasuke to hurt him like this.
"He really cares…" Naruto sighed as he closed his eyes. "It's amazing to see someone who cares that much about a person. He must really love you…"
Sasuke gasped as he heard Naruto say those words. Has he known what I've bee up to with Itachi all along? Did he know back then that we had been sleeping together, that he loved me more than he loved his own life? A smile rolled across his face as he let out a single chuckle, Naruto did know after all. He was always finding facts out before everyone else knew what was going on. He pieced it all together quicker than Sasuke thought he would. Naruto really did pay attention.
"Naruto…" Sasuke breathed as he closed his eyes. "You do have choice; I'm not going to force you to do anything. Itachi will do everything in his power to make sure that the Sound Village and the Akatsuki fail in their goal to obtain you," he grasped his dagger at his side. "And I'll help him protect you, I will kill to make sure that nobody opposes Itachi's dream… that's my new goal."
"I take it you've been training," Naruto stated his voice still quiet from all of the crying. "You seem to be more powerful, I can tell just by looking at you that you've been undergoing some pretty heavy training. What have you learned?"
Sasuke closed his eyes; Naruto was trying to calm himself down before he thought about making a decision of what to do with his life. Then again, Sasuke could still feel the tears streaming down his face, maybe this conversation would help dull the pain that he was going through.
"Mostly taijutsu and medical ninjutsu," Sasuke breathed, wiping his tears on Kakashi's glove on his right hand. "Itachi says that I have potential in those two aspects. He always thought me to be the taijutsu type," he leaned back, pressing his back closer to Naruto's. "It's been a while since we were able to talk like this, able to be in the same room with one another. Only this time we aren't as carefree as we were back then."
Naruto sniffled. "Times change," he moved his weight to fall onto the bed, burying his face into his pillow taking deep breath before turning to the side to look up at Sasuke. "We're different than we were before… and we can't go back to the beginning."
Letting out a deep breath, Sasuke fell next to Naruto. "But don't you think that if we work hard enough we could find a way to make this a new beginning to a new story, a better story of Team 7 than we have ever seen," he turned to look into blue eyes. "Naruto, think about it, you and I have only gotten closer throughout this and Sakura has come to enjoy you more. Even if she hates me… we can still be a team…"
"It doesn't work that way, Sasuke…" Naruto sighed as he turned away from his best friend, the sheets rustling beneath him. "Sakura isn't going to come back to us, like you said she's already on her way to the Sound Village, it's going to take a miracle to bring her back to us."
Sasuke wrapped an arm around Naruto pulling him closer. "I think that miracles can occur, I mean I'm alive aren't I? Isn't that a miracle? That amount of faith that you had in the hospital room, use that as I go on my journey to bring Sakura back to us. Guide me with that faith…"
Naruto closed his eyes, his body trembling. "Sasuke…"
"There's no reason for you to worry about me. We're all going to be alright, we're going to live through this. Itachi isn't going to let me die," the Uchiha took a deep breath. "Don't tell me you're giving up already, I thought that you never gave up, Naruto."
"I do when it's hopeless," he took a deep breath. "No matter what path I take I'm going to die, no matter which of your options captures my heart I'm always going to be murdered. Sasuke, I can't live like that, I can't live the way that you want me to. I can't wait for the Akatsuki to die…"
Sasuke held onto his friend tighter, kissing the nape of his neck. "Then Itachi and I are going to have to work harder…"
For once Naruto was silent, letting out a low coo as he moved closer to Sasuke's heat, driving his own warmth through the Uchiha hearing him take a deep breath. Was there no hope for Team 7? After all of this time was it just going to wind up with more blood and tear like everything that Itachi and Sasuke tried to do? He had to keep this in control, this was something greater, this was the life of his best friend. This was the one that he had made countless promises with, the one who he had shared the most memorable moments on Team 7 with. He couldn't just lose that; he couldn't allow this to be taken from him. He would not only fail Naruto, but he would fail himself.
He grasped onto Naruto tighter closing his eyes. I'm not going to lose you, I promise you that. I would rather die than have Itachi watch as a second him is formed. I would rather die than see those tears in his eyes again. I would rather die than to see you cold and dead. I wouldn't be able to live with myself.
They held onto each other closer still, Naruto's hands gently gripping Sasuke's. "I don't want you to go outside in the cold… I can't lose you… you're all that I have left of my team…"
Sasuke closed his eyes as he heard those words. "I won't let myself get hurt… I promised you that I wouldn't die no matter what, Naruto. I'll be damned if I go back on my word now."
Itachi was a man of his word, Sasuke was going to inherit that trait, it was the most honorable quality that Itachi had about him. He closed his eyes tighter still as he thought about everything that was going on; Naruto was going to have to give too much. Was it worth it? Was Sakura's life worth this plan working? There were some points where he knew he was going too far, but it was too late to go back now. He was already in too deep.
"Tell him that there is a way for him to live. He can stay in Konoha while I go out and exterminate the Akatsuki. It will be a life full of fear, but it will be a life none-the-less. It could be better than death, I'll take out Kabuto as soon as I can and put that girl that's with him in her place. He has an option; it is his life after all."
Sasuke held onto Naruto's body tighter, his heart racing in his chest. This was the final stretch, the final level that he had to clear before it was over. This was the ultimate showdown between him and Sakura. Only one of them was going to get out of this alive. He prayed that Itachi wasn't going to get hurt. Maybe there was still hope.
Itachi's given me so may chances and I've been so ungreatful, but now I will show him they I can be valuable.
He closed his eyes as he moved closer to Naruto. This was the beginning of his race through Hell. He hoped that he wasn't going to get burned. He had a choice just like Naruto did, it was his life. Itachi knew what Sasuke's limits were and he was going to push them. They were in this together, they were connected. If one of them died they both would die together.
Thank you Itachi, thank you for this chance…
Author's Note: I know that this chapter was almost ItaSasu free, but the next chapter is going to change that, it's going to be another long one. This chapter was to more so shed light upon what Sasuke and Naruto's friendship has become like. There are also nine chapters left of this story (it's really winding down!) So what did you think? Good? Bad? Bring on the action? Honesty is always good.
The next chapter is going to start the battle for the fox.