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

Warnings: This chapter contains extreme blood/violence, extreme coarse language, references to sexual situations, suicide, thoughts of homicide, yaoi, incest, dark themes, references to rape, talk of death, charecter death, OOC, and the canon is now no longer with us (well it is, but just barely). This chapter is also longer than the last few, but there are a lot of errors in here, sorry about that. The answers to two questions will be in here: who dies? and what happened between Itachi and Kakashi.

Pairings: ItaSasu, KakaIta, some SasuNaru, references to ShisIta, slight NaruSaku, a trace of ItaKabu

Blood was falling from his chest, the dagger to the side still soaked with the newly drawn fluid. His face was growing pale as his breathing started to slow down dramatically, more blood seeping from his wounds. It was just like that experience with Itachi, identical to the most pain that Sasuke had ever been through. Only this time, it was difficult to work up enough chakra to save him. He couldn't see straight as he tried to get past the fact that Naruto was bleeding out underneath him. The clock was ticking.

"That was my mission," Kabuto hissed as he looked over at Itachi. "It was my mission to bring him to your organization and it was working before you came along."

Itachi looked over at the scene between his brother and the fallen nine-tailed fox. "You don't even believe that lie Kabuto," he closed his eyes as he heard the Sound ninja gasp. "You were never going to bring him to the Akatsuki; you were going to kill him on the way there."

Sasuke pressed his hands up against Naruto's chest. "Come on," he closed his eyes tightly as he realized that he had used too much chakra when fighting against Sakura. He had overdone it for the easy obstacle, letting Naruto down along the way. "Don't do this," he started to cry. "Naruto, please don't do this."

Everything that they had been through was soaring away from Sasuke's memories even though Naruto was still with him. He had been through so much with this team, yet in an instant, everything that he had once held dear was taken away from him, leaving only the deadly silence of loneliness. Once again he was left alone while everyone else was carrying on with their lives.

"Please," Sasuke breathed, closing his eyes tightly. "Please don't do this," his voice was tight as he continued to scream. "Naruto!"

Itachi looked over at him and took a deep breath. "Sasuke," he closed his eyes tightly. "Get a hold of yourself!" the younger Uchiha whimpered as he tried to wipe the tears from his eyes. "Take Naruto away from here," Itachi demanded. "I can take care of this on my own."

"But you're still wounded…" Sasuke breathed.

"What do you take me for? A weakling who can't take a little blood loss?" he shook his head. "I can handle this from here, go away from here and try to save Naruto; I'll catch up to you…"

Sasuke nodded as he picked his best friend up, starting to walk away. Please, don't let me lose either of them. Don't let Itachi die here. Don't take Naruto away from me. He looked back one time to see his brother rising to his feet, taking hold of a kunai; he couldn't have left the fight in better hands.

"You think that you can beat me, Itachi?" Kabuto asked as he looked into the younger ninja's eyes. "I will bring something to Orochimaru even if it's you. He still craves your body and his insatiable hunger will not be fulfilled until you come to him. He wants to taste the wonders of that body of yours."

"You can tell him that he can go to Hell," Itachi breathed as he tightened his grip on his weapon. "Why don't you just leave, Kabuto? You failed your special mission. Why don't you go back to the Sound Village and explain to the Akatsuki why the fox is dead. What will you tell them?"

"I can sum up what happened to the fox in two words," Kabuto answered with a smile. "Itachi Uchiha…"

-----

The sound of water rushing filled their ears as he laid Naruto by the river, starting to unzip his jacket. The wound was deep, blood pouring furiously as he tried to work up enough chakra. Thoughts of the look on Naruto's face as he ran the dagger through his chest came to Sasuke's mind, he was smiling. A tear passed through his eyes as he tried to focus on the task at hand, he would have to save Naruto before he died.

He touched his hand, remembering the night when he almost killed him, the night when he was desperate enough to do anything for Itachi. Now that he saw what it was really like to lose your best friend, he knew he was a fool.

As more blood poured out, the colder Sasuke became, the more he wished that he could just leave this mess wake up in his bed as a child and realize this was all a dream. He didn't know Naruto, he didn't know Sakura, he didn't know Kakashi, his clan was still alive, and Itachi wasn't what he had now become. He wanted that to be the case, but it never would be.

"Naruto," he breathed, closing his eyes. "I don't want to lose you. I don't want you to die like this," he shook his head. "I didn't want this; I didn't want any mistakes corrected. I came all of this way for you, Naruto, all of this way just to save you from the pain that you were destined to go through."

He looked at the river, pain returning to his wrists, he remembered the start of this. The night when Itachi tested him, the night when he was thrust into a world that he didn't want to be part of. He was now in the world that Itachi was always in, the world where he couldn't get attached to anything, because the second that he did, it's going to be gone. That world was the world of pain that everyone was trying to avoid ever since Itachi came back, the path that Itachi told him not to walk. He had stumbled upon that cursed path, but every step that he took, the path back to the start was clearing. There was no turning back, he could only move forward now.

Why did he try? Why did he bother with trying to keep his teammates out of this? It happened anyway. He should have stopped trying long ago, but there was a voice in the back of his head telling him that he had to continue fighting, he had to attempt to save their lives. He should have stopped listening to himself, he didn't know anything. His worst fears had all come to life; everything that he wished would never happen had been happening. He was raped by Itachi, he had given up his dream, he had watched as his sensei's dignity was stripped from him, he watched as his brother slowly died, he had to almost kill Naruto, he watch his teammate run away from the village on her way to one of the most feared villages in the Bingo Book, he had felt a dagger run through his chest and watched his brother break down, he had watched as Naruto became a distant member of his life, barely talking to him, he had to revive his brother when he was an inch away from death, he had to beat Sakura up, and now he had just witnessed his best friend trying to take his own life. This had to be a nightmare. There was no way that this was all true, he had to still be sleeping. This was all a bad dream. He had dozed off at the edge of the Nakano River and was going to awaken to his teammate's smiling faces. Closing his eyes, he hoped that to be true.

But the pain that was running through his body made it not a dream, it was obvious now, this had all really happened. He didn't pass out because of a mixture of ramen and cold air. He had been awake ever since the time where he tried to fight Itachi, everything that happened was too real. He almost died.

"Naruto," he breathed, closing his eyes tightly. "I don't know what to do…" he pressed his hands to his best friend's chest. "I don't want this. I don't want you to do this to yourself," he tightened his grip on his shirt, his other hand trying to find a heartbeat.

Feeling closely to his chest, he could feel the pulsations, he could feel his best friend continue to live. Tears were rolling down his cheeks as he tried to gather enough chakra, moving his hands to rest on his best friend's chest. He was going to save him even if it wound up killing him. As he did so, he felt a weak hand grasp his wrist.

"Stop it," Naruto breathed, coughing lightly. "S-Sasuke… pl-please…" he gasped harshly. "Don't try to f-fix this…" he closed his eyes lightly, blood passing from his lips. "I-I wanted this…"

Sasuke closed his eyes. "I'm not going to watch as you die…"

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke," Naruto laughed as he looked into his friend's eyes, watching as they watered violently. "We never ask for the ones close to us to go through pain. I never asked you to go through all of this, but it made you so happy to be able to do that. I-it…" he swallowed harshly, his body shaking, "m-made you happy to experience life with Itachi, you've become a better ninja."

"None of that matters," Sasuke breathed softly, looking at the loosening hand that was on his wrist. "None of that matters if you die here right now. I don't want to lose you, Naruto. I don't want to see you suffer…"

The dying fox smiled lightly, tightening his grip on his friend's hand. "I'm not going to suffer anymore. You gave me a choice once, you told me," he coughed harshly; his body shivering as more blood ran down his lips. "You told me that I could either die or live in fear, I made my choice… I want to die…"

The Uchiha's heart stopped in his chest as he heard those words. "Why? Is it because you think that you're an abomination? A burden? Because you think that all you do is cause pain?" he shook his head. "Why would you even think that, Naruto? Why would you think for a second that I wanted you dead?"

"It's not always a-about you, S-Sasuke," Naruto panted, small tremors running through his body, the wind starting to take his life with it as every breeze made him weaker, like a leaf rolling through the sky. "I wanted to do this because I can't go on seeing you throw your life away. Th-that man, I-Itachi," he closed his eyes. "He's dedicated to you, he would throw everything away for you, but he wouldn't have to if I was never here… I'm the reason why your brother was dying…"

The wind swept one of Sasuke's tears away, dragging it to the river with a single plop. "I was the one who almost killed him, because I wanted to be strong enough to kill him. I put everything I could into that hit, and still he didn't die. I'm glad that he didn't because now I can't imagine my life without him," he looked down at his best friend, his crimson eyes sparkling sharply as he tried to fight the tears. "I didn't want to lose anyone, especially not you…"

"I made my choice…" Naruto sputtered, more blood passing his lips. "The nine-tails is suppressed by the poison that is running through my veins; it's not going to be able to heal me in time…"

Sasuke closed his eyes, a fire burning within him that he had never wanted to feel, it was the fire of desperation along with a burst of chakra. The wind stopped as his heart halted its rhythm. There was only one thing that was left to do; this was what he had been studying for.

"You might not be able to," he focused chakra into his hands, "but I can. I'm going to save you. I've learned enough medical ninjutsu to make all of this a possibility. No one has to die in this Naruto, not you and not me. We could live through this together if you let me heal you…"

"S-so cruel, as usual, S-Sasuke," Naruto panted, his skin starting to lose color. "When you touch me with those hands of yours, you make me feel like your killing me. If you heal me, you will kill me, so give up and let me die," he smiled lightly as he looked up at Sasuke. "It's going to be alright, you're stronger than most people, I know that you can… but don't. Let me die."

"I can't…"

"You can," Naruto answered as he took hold of one of Sasuke's hands. "You can do great things even without me. You can finally be free to live a life without someone always weighing the team down. You and Sakura can be together…"

Sasuke closed his eyes. "Sakura… Naruto, do you think that Sakura is just going to let you go? She needs you as much as I do if not more. Naruto… don't do this to us, don't do this to yourself."

Naruto took a deep breath. "Sakura," he closed his eyes tightly. "I love her so much…"

"She loves you too," Sasuke breathed. "She might not show it, but it's there. She cares about you. She loves you, Naruto. Don't do this to her…"

The dying boy shook his head. "She doesn't love me… she never has. No matter how hard I tried, she was only going to care about you. She only came closer to me for the last few days because she felt sorry for me. I don't want her pity, nor do I need it. I wanted so much out of life, to become Hokage that was my dream. To be Hokage, if that means that you turn your back on all of your comrades, then I don't want it. If to be alive means that you have to live alone and sad for the rest of your days, then I wish that I could have died sooner than I'm going to."

"We can all have our dreams," Sasuke breathed.

"It was joke to let Team 7 have dreams. Sakura is never going to be with you, I'm never going to be Hokage, and you will never be able to kill Itachi. We all thought that we would put our lives on the line to defend our dreams, but throughout this whole saga, all we did was lose sight of what we wanted. You came out of this a better person, but I don't want to live a monster, yet I don't mind dying one…"

Sasuke took his hands off of his best friend, looking down into his eyes. "Naruto, I didn't want this…"

"I know," Naruto coughed, his voice falling into the darkness. "Nobody wanted this, but this is how it's going to end. We'll meet each other again someday on the other side which you have grown to fear. I won't run away anymore, I won't run from death, I'm going to embrace it. Not like what happened with you…"

"Naruto, I forgive you," Sasuke yelled. "I forgive you!"

"Thank you…" Naruto breathed. "I know you forgave me, but to hear those words come from your lips, put a smile on my face, Sasuke," he coughed again, his voice drifting away. "Don't cry… when you cry it k-kills…" he let out one last sigh, "m-me."

The wind started blowing again as Sasuke closed his eyes, feeling the heartbeat stop almost suddenly, no more breath escaping his lips. All he could see now was death, Naruto no longer existed in this world, he had been taken from him. Tears rolled down Sasuke's face as he opened his eyes to the blood that was on his hand, his breathing starting to become shaky.

"N-Naruto," he breathed, his sobs becoming louder, his blood soaked hands moving to grab his own face, a cold gust of air passing by him. "Naruto!" he closed his eyes tightly as he was taken over by tears. "Naruto!"

-----

A sudden chill went through Kakashi as he stopped abruptly. Something had happened. He thought about all that could have happened while all three of his students were out there in the greatest fight they will ever see. His heart almost stopped as he tried to think which one it was, his eye closing tightly.

"What's wrong?" Asuma asked, stopping immediately after he noticed what was going on. "Kakashi? Are you okay? Do you need to rest?"

The younger jounin stared blankly at his hand as he thought about who it was, his breathing becoming small gasps as he thought about who it was. Everything froze as the wind started to blow again, his vision clouding with surprise.

"Naruto," he breathed, curling his hand into a fist.

He thought about all that was being lost as Naruto was slowly leaving this world, that boy had always had a smile on his face, he always was caring about others first. Why did he have to die? Why did any of those kids have to die? They were merely children, only genin. It wasn't fair that they were stuck in the middle of this. Silently he cursed himself for letting Naruto be taken so easily, sweat forming beneath his forehead protector as he started to lose balance, his body shaking.

"Kurenai, Gai, we'll head out later, I have something to take care of with Kakashi," he moved to the side of the fallen jounin. "Are you going to be alright?" he took his hand loosely, feeling him start to convulse. "Take it easy, don't stress over this, we're going to get all of them back no trouble."

"Naruto," Kakashi breathed, closing his eye tightly. "Something happened to him," he shook his head. "We don't have much time."

"Neither do you if you overdo this," Asuma answered as he held onto Kakashi's shoulders. "I know that you're in pain, but you have to think about yourself as well. Your heart can't take all of this pressure, your brain isn't receiving enough blood, and your heart isn't receiving enough oxygen."

Kakashi coughed as his hands shook. Itachi, what the hell are you doing? Are you even fighting anymore or did you… he closed his eye. Your lungs still haven't healed have they? Itachi, hang in there a little while longer, and try to do the best you can to clean up the scene, I'm on my way.

"I have to go help him out," Kakashi stated as he stood up. "I want you to back me up, if it comes down to it. I want you to get the children out of there. I can handle Kabuto and Itachi."

Asuma wanted to argue, but he knew that he couldn't anymore. Kakashi Hatake's mind had been made up; he was going to risk everything just to save all of his students. A smile went to the older jounin's lips. This is what he would be too weak to do if it were his students; he was going to take on two people at once.

"Let's go," Asuma breathed, helping Kakashi up as they started to make their way to where Itachi and Kabuto were fighting.

-----

Sasuke took a deep breath as he tried to halt his sobbing. Naruto was growing cold beneath him as he sat there dead for longer and longer still. He wished that this didn't have to happen. There was no way in Hell that this was how his life was going to end. Naruto Uzumaki was so full of life; he wouldn't kill all of that with one movement of a dagger. Sasuke kept telling himself that this was happening for a reason, he just couldn't see what it was.

"Naruto," he took a deep breath, closing his eyes tightly. "I don't want to live like this anymore. I don't want to be alone," he started to cry as he thought more to his best friend's last moments. "Naruto, don't do this to yourself, don't die here…"

"Don't cry… when you cry it k-kills… m-me."

Sasuke bit at his lip. "If that's the truth then I'm a fucking murderer. I killed you," he took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down enough to go back to Itachi. "I might as well have driven that dagger through your chest with my own hands, because I killed you anyway when you saw me cry…"

A single drop of blood fell on top of Naruto's body, Sasuke's eyes widening in shock. Everything was starting to get hazy as he felt his head start to pulsate, his heart speeding up, another drop of blood falling on top of his fallen friend. He tried to stop the churning in his stomach, trying to fight the thoughts of where the blood was coming from. It couldn't be.

He reached his hand to touch the liquid that was rolling down his cheeks. Drawing his fingers away, he looked at what was on his fingertips: it was blood. His body shook as he tried to wake up from this nightmare, his head still swirling as his heart was speeding up to a complete halt.

"No," he breathed, his voice shaking, more blood falling from his eyes. "No!"

He grasped his head tightly as he tried to shake off the feeling that he was experiencing. He was dying. Everything was leaving him, his own pulse starting to slow to an almost complete stop. Blood filled his mouth, his hands clutching his stomach. Losing all control, he fell on top of Naruto's body, shivering as all heat started to desert him in his time of need.

"N-Naruto," he closed his eyes. "This hurts…"

"Don't cry… when you cry it k-kills… m-me."

"I didn't kill you," he breathed moving to touch Naruto's cold cheek, his body starting to shake uncontrollably. "I didn't… kill you…"

"Don't cry… when you cry it k-kills… m-me."

"Stop it!" he yelled as blood passed his lips, his face burying into Naruto's chest as everything was getting darker.

He was unlocking power that he no longer wanted. He no longer needed the mangekyou sharingan; he no longer needed to match Itachi's strength. His body started to halt as he took Naruto's hand, closing his bleeding eyes, a smile was on his face as he tried to remain positive, still clandestinely hoping that this was all a nightmare that he was going to awaken from.

"Naruto," he breathed, closing his eyes. "Wait for me…"

Everything in his body was no longer able to move even though he could still see. This was the end for him. Soon the one that they had all known as Sasuke Uchiha would be nothing more than a memory, one who couldn't take the power of his clan's bloodline. This was now the destiny that he had faced. He was supposed to die here. It was all up to Itachi now as his heart beat one last time.

-----

The earth was shaking as he threw another punch at the Sound ninja, this was about to end right here. Even though he was in severe pain, he could still continue to do damage. This was far from over, this was just the beginning of a fight that he had wanted to fight ever since the day they kicked him out of the Akatsuki. Kabuto was the right hand man to that bastard who had caused all of this: Orochimaru.

"Stop running away from me," Itachi panted as he pulled out a sai, hurling it to the tree that Kabuto was hiding behind, the force causing the sturdiness of the tree to fumble. "You think that you can do all of this and not pay the price? You've been long overdue for the end of the line. Enough games… fight me…"

He heard rustling as Kabuto continued to try to run through the trees, a smile came to his lips. No matter how hard the medical ninja tried, he would never run from the Uchiha kekkei genkai. He could feel him breathing, panting as he moved through the trees, he could sense the beat of his pulse.

"What happened to wanting to see me struggle?" Itachi asked with a small smirk, pulling out a kunai. "Change your mind on that one too? I thought you said you'd fight me, to run away like a coward. No matter what, you're empty handed; only this way," he pulled one of the necklace chains, revealing the ring that was on attached, "you get my Akatsuki ring. You could save your life by killing me. Sounds enticing, right?"

"It does," Kabuto answered, running out with a curled fist to punch Itachi. "I'm going to bring them your heart on a platter!"

"Try and get it," Itachi breathed, driving his own fist into Kabuto's chest, pushing him to the ground, smiling as he cried out in pain. "If you can get at it, then I will let you have it, but until then, you don't get this ring," he tucked it away as he curled his hands into fists. "Get up!"

Kabuto took a deep breath as he struggled to get to his feet. If he's going to continue to use taijutsu then this battle is going to go in his favor. The strength, I've never seen someone at his health level that strong. He should be dead using that much chakra after that technique I did.

Itachi pushed Kabuto to the ground as he looked down at him. "Tell the Akatsuki that they messed with the wrong person, that is if you survive this…"

"I won't die," Kabuto breathed, his eyes narrowing as he looked into Itachi's eyes. "Even now as I look into those dangerous eyes of yours, all I see is your weakness, the weakness that no one had noticed before."

Another fist hit him as he fell to the ground. "Kabuto, there is no weakness here; if I was really that weak, do you think that you'd be going through this much pain. You got one good hit in during this. All of the other hits that you've managed to drive into me were back when I was injured. I'm not like that anymore, I've healed."

"You might have healed, but I'm not as weak as I look," Kabuto bragged.

"If I can beat your master, I can beat you," Itachi breathed, running up to him, grasping his neck tightly. "This isn't going to take as long as you want it to. I'm out of your league. You're going to fall here."

"Cocky as ever," Kabuto scoffed. "Going to bring more misfortune to your clan?"

"Not as much misfortune you'll be bringing to Orochimaru when I destroy all of his hopes and dreams," backed up to look down at the ground, the bloody dagger right behind him, some magnetic force drawing him to the murderous blade.

His fingers moved down to clutch the dagger, Shisui's face filling his memories. Everything that had gone on to this moment was all part of Shisui's design. Fingers tightened around the grip as he remembered the words that Shisui had said to him, he called him weak, he called him nothing more than a mistake that had to be corrected, a level that had to be cleared. This was his time to show himself that wasn't the case, he was stronger than he thought he was.

"You're scared of this dagger, whenever I touch it, I see that look in your eyes, I see the fear. You're afraid that someone is going to die by this dagger, you're afraid that someone is going to get hurt from this dagger. You're scared, Itachi, you're always scared of everything. That's why you're always in pain, that's why you're always running away and shutting yourself out. You've given up too soon, you give up to easy, it's pathetic."

Itachi turned around looking at Kabuto, holding onto the dagger tightly. There was something that he would have to do against him; it was use this dagger to destroy everything that he wanted to do. This dagger meant more to him than all of the power in the world. To be able to use it to its full potential would show just how strong he was. It would show that he was stronger than Shisui the Mirage.

Forcing chakra through the dagger, he doubled the size, the chakra actually visible, pulsating. His sharingan eyes were glowing with the light of the power, his hand starting to shake as the chakra became stronger, the flashes becoming brighter. Everything that he had was going into this last technique.

"What the hell?" Kabuto asked trying to look through the bright light, seeing Itachi grasping the dagger. "It couldn't be," his eyes widened with shock as he watched the sparks of chakra rolling through the metal of the weapon. There's no way that he has enough chakra to do this technique, that's Shisui Uchiha's technique. If he actually follows through correctly, I'm dead.

Itachi closed his eyes, sweat starting to roll down his forehead. "Shadow Clone Jutsu," he held onto the dagger tightly, holding it about his head, the three shadow clones by his side, their chakra surging into the original dagger, more sparks flying. He closed his eyes as the three clones started circling around him, increasing the chakra build-up and speed.

Kabuto closed his eyes as he felt the three clones moved in different directions, chakra hitting him at all different times, at different points of contact. He could tell this was Shisui's jutsu as he opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything but swirling chakra as he was hit, the Body Flicker was a pre-requisite for this technique. Still they hit him until no end, his body surging with Itachi's chakra as the original Itachi ran up to his front.

Suddenly, the last piece was administered, the dagger being sliced through the air, knocking him back a few feet into a tree. He couldn't feel his body, everything was getting hazy. The amount of chakra that Itachi put into that was menacing, and it was so strong. Kabuto wasn't sure if some Akatsuki would make it out of that alive.

Itachi dropped to the ground as he held onto the dagger, sweat pouring down his face as he desperately tried to catch his breath. I shouldn't have used that attack, it takes way too much chakra, he looked at Kabuto who was semi-conscious and bleeding on a tree, his body shaking with small tremors of shock. But it's worth the loss just to win the battle.

A surge of pain went through his chest, he had forgotten about the jutsu on his heart. That much chakra being used should have killed him by now, his heart should have stopped in the middle of the battle. Everything was getting blurry as he tried to focus his vision on his opponent.

Just one more time, he closed his eyes tightly, concentrating more chakra into his hand, his body shaking as he was reaching his limit. Just one more time let this work. He placed his hand over his chest starting to heal the electrical impulses that were ruined in Kabuto's attack. He closed his eyes as more chakra surged through his body, his heart starting to calm down to a normal speed.

"H-how?" Kabuto asked as he sputtered up some blood. "How did you…?" he grasped a poisonous kunai, his eyes narrowing in anger. "Damn you!" he flung the kunai in Itachi's direction, watching as the worn out ninja tried to move.

Clang! A kunai knocked the poisonous blade out of the way, causing it to fall to the ground. Itachi looking up into the trees to see who it was. "Sasuke?"

The two figured jumped down from the trees standing in front of Itachi. "Sorry I'm late," one stated. "I got lost…"

"Kakashi?" Itachi asked, looking up at him. "Asuma? What are you guys doing here?"

"We're going to take care of this," Asuma answered as he walked toward Kabuto. "Kabuto Yakushi, you're under arrest. We want answers to our questions, and you're going to give them to us."

Kabuto took a deep breath as Asuma grabbed him. "Itachi," he looked over at the younger ninja, watching Kakashi wipe the sweat off of his forehead. "That was the strongest attack that I have ever seen…"

Itachi smirked weakly. "Thank you…"

"It was an honor," Kabuto breathed, stumbling in Asuma's grip. "It was an honor to be beaten by the real Itachi Uchiha, the strong Itachi Uchiha. It reminded me of how you were in the Akatsuki. You really are a worthy opponent…"

Itachi closed his eyes, looking down at the ground. "No," he looked up at Kabuto with a smile on his face. "That Itachi Uchiha, the one that you knew from the Akatsuki, he's dead, and he's never going to come back," he looked up at Kabuto. "This is the new me, the stronger me."

"The Akatsuki is going to be upset when they see what happened," Kabuto sighed shaking his head. "You beat them; you were so in control of everything. I didn't get to see the struggle that I wanted, but now I know that you wouldn't give me the pleasure. But before I go, I have one more question," Asuma held onto him tighter as he started to stumble. "Why? Why did you go easy on me and Sakura?"

Itachi closed his eyes trying to absorb the question. He could have done more damage; he could have killed Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, Asuma, Kabuto and the Hokage. He didn't. He couldn't. Something told him he couldn't, something deep inside of him that he thought had died a long time ago. He was alive. This whole time he was searching for a way to break away from his cousin, he had found it right where he started off: in Konoha.

"I don't know," Itachi breathed. "I guess it was just how it turned out."

Kakashi looked up at Asuma. "Take Kabuto back to the village and put him in a cell. We need to get as much information as we can out of him," he looked over at Itachi as Asuma nodded, starting to walk away. "What the hell happened out here?"

Itachi scoffed. "I didn't need you to come in here and save me," he broke free from Kakashi's grip, standing up quickly, starting to walk away from him. As he did, he heard the jounin's voice call out to him.

"Where's Sasuke?" Kakashi asked curiously, Itachi stopped immediately. "Where did he run off to?"

Itachi continued to walk away, breathing heavily as his lack of chakra was clouding his vision. Sasuke, he continued to move forward, Kakashi standing up to follow him, laying a supportive arm on his shoulder. He almost crumbled as his vision clouded completely.

"You used too much chakra," Kakashi breathed as he sat Itachi down up against one of the remaining trees. "You need to rest right now," the jounin took a deep breath as he clutched his head, letting out a small groan.

Itachi watched as the jounin shivered. "Still in pain?"

"No one can destroy someone's body with genjutsu like you," the jounin sighed sitting down next to him. "Hey Itachi?"

"What?" Itachi asked, looking over at the jounin.

"Are you feeling alright?" Kakashi asked.

Itachi smirked gently as he closed his eyes. "I've felt better," he shivered lightly letting out a low cough. "I need to go and get Sasuke," he struggled to move. "I need to tell him that it's all over now. There's no more Kabuto, no more pain, nothing but the goal that we've been working for. Kakashi Hatake," he extended his hand out to him with a slight smile, "thank you."

Kakashi smiled beneath the mask as he returned the younger ninja's handshake. "It was no problem at all. I didn't want to see you get pushed around anymore," he tightened his grip. "Itachi, you are not someone to be toyed with. I know that now."

Itachi's smile faded as he took his hand away from the jounin. "I have to go," he stood up quickly; starting to walk away, not even glancing back at Kakashi, the air was thick with frost once again.

Kakashi closed his eye as he sighed. "After all of this time, you still can't get over me can you? You still can't forgive me for what I did to you," he looked over in his direction. "Itachi, so much hatred still clouds your heart, and you still can't fight it."

He stood up walking in the same direction that Itachi had gone in, his vision starting to become cloudy. In that direction were his students, the ones that he had come all of this way for. He wasn't going to leave without Sasuke or Naruto, not until he knew that Naruto was safe. If Sasuke was the one who was hurt, the consequences would be worse. They'd have Itachi to deal with. He muttered a small prayer as he continued on his voyage.

"Please let them be safe…"

-----

Itachi walked through the path in the woods, following the sound of water. He was close. As every foot hit the ground, he felt himself getting closer to his goal: Sasuke. Was he alright? His heart raced as he waited to see what had become of his brother? Did Naruto die on him? There was no time left for being slow, Sasuke needed him now more than ever.

"Sasuke," he panted as he went through the woods, running to the rivers edge, looking around, he didn't see anything. All he could feel accompanying him was a chilling wind that was rolling through his hair, freezing his sweat soaked skin. "Sasuke?" he continued to look at his surroundings.

Where was he? Where could he have possibly gone? He should have been standing right here. He should have been waiting for Itachi to come to him with open arms. He wasn't here. He looked in every direction around him, until there was only one place to look, at his feet. Red eyes looked down at the ground, his heart stopping as he saw the sight. There at his feet were a deceased Naruto lying on his back, with the lifeless bloody body of Itachi's younger brother.

"Sasuke!" he yelled as he fell to his knees, placing a hand on his face. He's so cold. He drew his hand back at he felt the heatless sensation, feeling a moistness on his hand, dripping down his arm. One look at the liquid made Itachi's stomach churn. "Blood?"

He looked at his brother, his heart stopping as he saw everything from a nightmare. From his eyes were trails of crimson blood, the same cursed liquid rolling from his lips and nose as well. This was the mangekyou sharingan. But how? Sasuke didn't kill Naruto, Naruto drove that dagger through his own chest. To achieve the power of the Uchiha clan, one has to take the life of their best friend. Itachi had done that when he killed Shisui, but Sasuke didn't kill Naruto.

"You killed me, Itachi, you're going to unlock that power that we read about… you're going to be an excellent ninja."

"Sasuke?" Itachi asked as he pulled his body closer to his body. "What the hell happened? What the hell did you do?" he closed his eyes as he buried his face into Sasuke's small body. "Sasuke," he started to lose control of his breathing. "Sasuke!" he couldn't sense a heartbeat, if it was there it was very faint.

Itachi knew that not everyone would survive the transition of the regular sharingan to the mangekyou sharingan. Sasuke might not be one of the lucky ones like Itachi was. He was most likely going to die from this. He hadn't reached the point in potential when he would survive this. He was too young and too behind in his development.

"Sasuke," Itachi breathed as he stroked his face. "I love you," he closed his eyes as he held onto him tighter. "I love you," he shook his head as he tried to block out the fact that Sasuke was dead in his arms. "No," a tear rolled down his face as he started to shake. "No!"

Another tear fell from Itachi's eyes as his whole body shook, Sasuke's body remained motionless. After all of this time, all that they had been through, it was all useless, he was going to die anyway. Itachi didn't want it to end like this; this wasn't the way that he planned it. He had to stop this from happening; he had to save the last person that he had left in his life.

"Sasuke," he tried to bring chakra to his hand, but it was no use. After the fight with Kabuto, he barely had enough power to keep up the sharingan. The finishing blow was too strong, there was no way that he could even think about healing his brother, he didn't think that it would come to this.

Their game of cheating death was now over. There was no more tug-of-war, no more when Itachi was in trouble Sasuke would heal him and no more if Sasuke was in trouble Itachi would heal him. That game had died, Itachi couldn't do it anymore. He had tried so hard to ensure that technique's success rate and now when it was needed the most it didn't come true.

"Sasuke," he closed his eyes as he started to sob. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I wasn't here for you," he let out another breathy sob as he held onto the younger Uchiha's hand. "I love you," he moved to kiss him lightly on the lips, his tears washing away the blood that was on Sasuke's face.

Footsteps approached, accelerated from the screaming. "Itachi!" it was Kakashi, trying desperately to catch his breath. He looked at the scene, his eye first falling onto a dead Naruto, then panning to see Itachi holding Sasuke, his face buried in his chest. "Sasuke!"

"Stay back, Kakashi," Itachi whimpered. "You don't want to see this."

Kakashi stepped forward. "Itachi are you… crying?"

Itachi lifted his head off of Sasuke, with a smile. "Coming here to mock me?"

"No," the jounin answered. "I was worried about you…"

"You were worried about Sasuke and Naruto," Itachi breathed, placing Sasuke's body on the ground, standing up. "Don't try to make yourself sound like a glorious being, you never cared about me," he shook his head, his voice shaking. "After all of this time…"

Kakashi took a step forward. "Itachi…"

"Don't touch me!" the younger ninja hissed. "I don't want you to rub it in my face that you were right about all of this again. I don't want you to tell me this is what I get for being fucked up," Kakashi flinched hearing Itachi swear like that. "I know," he took a deep breath. "I know it was a mistake to come back. I know that it was wrong of me to try to make amends with Sasuke, it's just… after what I did to him that night, I couldn't even think about how low I sank. To rape a twelve-year-old, to rape my own brother, to rape the one that I loved was the most disgusting thing I could ever do."

"Itachi," Kakashi breathed.

"I thought that maybe I could make my life worth something. Ever since Shisui died…" he closed his eyes. "Ever since you left me…" he looked back at him. "I had nothing to lean on, nothing left for me to talk to…"

"Itachi," Kakashi breathed, moving closer to the young ninja.

"I thought that this was my chance to break all of the chains that have been weighing me down. I thought that I could erase you and Shisui away from myself if I leaned on Sasuke, but I was wrong…" he closed his eyes tightly. "I just lost him in the end too."

Kakashi placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder, turning him around to pull him into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry for everything," he held on tighter to him. "I thought about you every single day since you came back. Your smile, your laugh, your scent, how soft your skin is," he ran a hand through Itachi's ponytail. "You've grown a lot since back then."

Itachi snickered into Kakashi's shoulder. "I'm not a kid anymore," the tears continued to fall; he closed his eyes as he looked down at Sasuke. "Kakashi," he shook his head. "I failed…"

"No, you didn't," Kakashi breathed as Itachi pushed away from him. "Itachi, you stopped the Akatsuki…"

"I lost Sasuke," Itachi breathed, closing his eyes, shaking his head as he tried to fight the tears. "Even if he is still here," he opened his eyes quickly, looking over at Kakashi, "how could I face him now?" he took a deep breath as if he were thinking. "I want you to do something for me…"

"Yes?" Kakashi asked.

Itachi looked down at Sasuke. "Take care of him. Inside of his body there is a power unlocking, the power of the mangekyou sharingan. He's going to need a lot of help trying to control it. You're a strong ninja, I can trust you with him," he let one last tear fall down his face. "Tell him that I'm sorry about what happened, and don't let anything happen to him," he swallowed hard on his words. "Don't be like me, and don't let him become like me. I don't want him to be a monster with no purpose."

Kakashi watched as Itachi started to walk away. "I never thought you were a monster. I never did," he took a deep breath. "I still love you…" he looked up into Itachi's eyes. "I always have. I never meant to abandon you, but what happened between you and your father; I thought he was going to kill you."

Itachi sighed. "Kakashi, in some corner of my heart, I could never forget you. That was the corner that was angry at you, yet it was the same corner that kept you alive," his eyes watered as he looked over at Itachi, holding his hand out to touch his. "Kakashi Hatake," he kissed the hand gently. "Take care of Sasuke…"

Itachi turned away as he started to walk in the opposite direction from the jounin, into the darkness of the woods. Kakashi picked Sasuke up gently, remembering the day when Itachi had come back. A lot had changed since that day, and none of them were ever going to be the same.

"Itachi," Kakashi whispered, closing his eye. "Thank you for giving us the strength that we all needed," he turned around looking down at Naruto. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I'm sorry for being late…"

He lifted up his other student, looking up at the setting sun; this was the sun setting on their old life, the next sunrise signaling the dawn of a new day.

Author's Note: I know that parts of this chapter were a little depressing, but this is the last real arc of the story, the rest will be the aftermath of the damage that was caused due to the chase after Kabuto, only two more chapters. I know that you all knew that Kakashi and Itachi were lovers, but none of you knew that it was going to be Naruto who died. So what did you think? Good? Bad? Think that Naruto should have lived? Honesty is really good.