So guys, here we are. Shockingly, I woke this morning to find myself with eight reviews on chapter seven, and it encouraged me to write this final chapter (and the epilogue, but that comes later, even though it isn't much) today.

I wrote sections off and on for about nine or so hours.

Final play count for Anna Molly by Incubus (the namesake and inspiration for this fic) in iTunes alone was 847. This does not include the times I put it on repeat and played it on my iPod. I'm kind of disappointed. I was hoping it would reach 1,000!

If you haven't listened to the song/heard it before, I suggest you do so, even if it's just watching the music video on YouTube.

A few notes ahead of time:
1. This chapter is made of flashback. It is not necessary to read this chapter, per se, but it has a lot of important information (and a few semi-sex scenes, I might add), and is actually pretty relevant should you actually care what's going on with Sasuke's past and his amnesia and why Itachi was gone. It's good, so please do read it.
2. The Japanese Sasuke uses is just a remnant of when he used to speak Japanese all the time back when the family lived in Japan. It's not there to be weeaboo, and even he grows out of it.
3. There are quite a few jumps in this chapter, however, as previously stated, it's kind of a history, so it IS linear, and I hope it isn't confusing.
4. THERE IS AN IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE BOTTOM. PLEASE READ THROUGH THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE BOTTOM. (Especially if your name is demona013 or Light is Gay!)

That said, ENJOY THE QUICK POSTING. These things happen when people feed me praise. I get incredibly giddy and then feel encouraged. It's good, really. I wouldn't stop writing if I didn't get reviews, it just wouldn't happen as fast.

Sasuke couldn't help but crack a smile, one of those brilliant, innocent smiles only a child could manage. His brother was giving him a piggy-back ride, after all, and there wasn't much better in the world than his brother paying attention to him.

"Hey, can we stop by the store on the way home and get some fresh tomatoes?" he asked, clinging his little arms tight around Itachi's shoulders and nuzzling into the older boy's warm back, the smile refusing to go away.

Itachi turned his head, pace unchanging, and let the slightest hint of a smile grace his own lips; Sasuke's enthusiasm was almost infectious, after all. "Alright, but only if you promise to get a bath when you're done eating," he answered, causing the smile to widen even further and the grip on his shoulders to tighten even more.

"I love you, Itachi-nii!"

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"Why do people kiss?" he'd asked, full of a healthy curiosity and want to learn at the age of ten. "I asked Okaa-san, and she got this funny look on her face for a second before she told me it was because they love each other, but my friend at school told me that people kiss because it feels good."

Itachi looked up from the book he'd been studying, an indiscernible look on his face that made Sasuke a bit uncomfortable, though stubbornly he stood his ground.

"Why do you want to know, Sasuke?" the older brother had asked, putting down his pencil and scooting his chair back from the table a bit.

"Because!" he said, frowning. "If it's because they love each other, why don't we kiss?" Only ten, he was confused at the way Itachi's eyes darkened the slightest bit at the question, and he shifted on the balls of his feet, too nervous all of a sudden to stay still for too long.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Itachi had responded finally, much to his disappointment. Being so ignorant, he didn't realize the level of control his brother had over himself in that moment as he stood from his chair and walked out of the room.

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Itachi had been walking him home from school that day, which he inwardly enjoyed even though he always acted like he was a big boy and he didn't need to be escorted everywhere. The rain had hit suddenly, drenching them in the downpour as they ran for shelter.

"Father's going to be angry," Itachi said to him, looking mildly affronted at his dripping hair and yet slightly uncomfortable at the same time. Sasuke didn't quite fully understand why his brother moved away each time their elbows so much as brushed, but he wondered at it.

The rain just wasn't letting up, and he was cold. He knew Itachi might be upset with him for doing it, but he grabbed the older boy by the jacket and tugged him closer, pressing himself against his brother's front to try and keep them both warm. As he suspected, Itachi stiffened, and he looked up, about to apologize, when the look in his brother's eyes reminded him of the conversation they'd had several times over the past two and a half years.

"Itachi," he said, quietly, watching as a drip of water fell down one of the strands of dark hair plastered to the older boy's face, his eyes following it as it pooled at the corner of his brother's lips. After a short moment, he watched as Itachi's tongue slipped out just enough to catch the droplet, his eyes riveted to the spot as if in a trance.

"Kiss me," he said, all but demanded, and he stumbled a little when Itachi pushed against him, causing his shoulders to press a little uncomfortably against the brick wall behind him. He was going to protest being pushed away and not told again, but as he opened his mouth to, Itachi moved in.

His breath caught in his throat as the same tongue that had gathered the drop of water from the corner of his brother's lips slid out to lick away a drop that fell down his own cheek. "You don't know what you're asking me to do, Sasuke," Itachi murmured quietly, and he felt frustration boil up inside him. He wasn't stupid, he knew that kissing was supposed to be something boys and girls did together when they liked each other. His friends weren't exactly innocent either, after all.

"Yes, I do," he answered, conviction in his twelve and a half year old eyes as he stared his brother down. "I want you to kiss me."

And then lips pressed against his, damp flesh sliding against damp flesh before Itachi's hands found his shoulders and seemed to use his grip as leverage to push himself back and away. It had felt... good, but he was still irritated, because he knew his brother had held back.

"Do it again," he breathed, leaning forward and clutching Itachi's uniform jacket. He almost sighed out when the older boy complied, tugging him closer and pressing their lips even more firmly together, so hard that it almost hurt. He did suck in a breath when Itachi's tongue pressed against his lips, allowing the older boy entrance to his mouth which was taken immediately. Now this felt even better, and a noise that was foreign to him bubbled up in the back of his throat and spilled into his brother's mouth as his tongue was coaxed into play.

Somehow, the noise caused Itachi to back off, and he wondered if he'd done something wrong by making it, but soon he was being tugged along by the arm, through the rain again towards home. When then got there, there was his mother to fuss over him and his father to give them both scornful glances, and within minutes, Itachi had disappeared for the rest of the night.

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"I don't want anyone else to touch me like you do," he breathed, head tilted back as Itachi's mouth trailed down his throat, teasing. His brother's name fell jerkily from his lips as teeth closed lightly over his shoulder, and his boxer-clad hips jerked forward against Itach's bare stomach.

"Please," he moaned, as lithe fingers traced down his chest and a skillful tongue slid over the sensitive bite mark on his shoulder, causing a shudder to rip down the length of his body. His hips rolled against the palm that was suddenly right there over him, and he sucked in a shuddering breath.

Oh god, what you do to me, nobody else ever could.

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A chill down his spine, back arching almost painfully as Itachi found that spot inside him and teased it mercilessly, drawing a low and breathy moan from his lips to the tune of his brother's name. He cracked his eyes open, wanting to see Itachi over him as that firm, knowing hand stroked him closer and closer, the name falling again from his lips. So close, he was so close and-

A shrill, shocked scream pierced the air, recognizable as his mother's, and he felt Itachi pull back away from him at the sound of hurried and heavy footsteps before their father joined their mother in the bedroom doorway.

He wanted to cling to his brother, but as he watched the older boy pull on his pants to the tune of their father's livid, disgusted yelling (What is the MEANING of this!), he could only reach over to grab the sheet and save what dignity he had left by covering his quickly fading arousal.

His heart felt like it was caught in a vicegrip, stomach falling out completely and at the same time churning sick with dread. He clutched the sheets white-knuckled as his brother spoke.

"Mother. Father," he addressed them each in turn, seeming far too calm for having just been caught having sex with his own little brother, even though Sasuke could tell his voice was strained.

He watched the negative emotions transform his father's face into something horrifying, something awful, settling finally into pure rage.

"Get out," he said, voice dangerously tight, even as his mother, who had finally gotten over her immediate shock, rushed to his side, pulling him into her overprotective (smothering) embrace like he was some child.

"Oh, Sasuke..." she breathed out, smoothing his hair as the tears gathered in her eyes and she buried her face in his hair, but all he was paying attention to was Itachi's back as his brother left the room, graceful as ever, unwavering, strong, and through the numb shock he felt with a sickening certainty that he would never see the man again.

As his father followed Itachi out, blocking out his brother's image and closing the door behind him, his mother broke down and cried, and for some reason, he felt the sting of bitter tears in his own eyes.

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Sasuke could hear them arguing, voices escalating as they continued on downstairs in the kitchen, and with each passing comment from his father, his chest tightened further, the tears threatening to come back again unbidden and unrelenting.

"He's still our son, Fugaku!" he heard his mother say, her usually calm voice almost reaching hysterics, and he heard something slam, presumably his father's hands on the table.

"He's no son of mine, Mikoto, I'm stripping him of our name! That child is sick, he'll have nothing to do with this family!" came his father's angry baritone, and he leaned against the wall for support, grief overtaking him until he just wanted to just scream it all out. He couldn't lose Itachi, he couldn't...

"Fugaku you can't!"

"I can, and I will, Mikoto! Sasuke is too young to know better, but that whelp of a boy is most certainly not!"

"Fugaku, please-"

"I won't hear it! He's leaving tomorrow, I won't let him spend another day under this roof!"

Tomorrow... Sasuke curled in on himself, simply willing the pain to go away.

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Mikoto couldn't be made to leave the house as Itachi was escorted down the front steps to the waiting car, but Fugaku had to hold Sasuke back from following him.

"I hate you! I hate you!" he screamed, jerking in his father's grasp as he watched them close the car door behind Itachi. "Why! WHY!" he cried, tears flowing freely down his cheeks as every fiber of his being screamed that this was it, he was going to die without his brother, his heart was simply going to give out.

They were sending him to an institution overseas, and he was never going to see him again.

As the car drove out of sight, he finally stopped struggling, simply falling to his knees as he listened to the frantic pounding of his heart breaking and his mother's sobs from the doorway.

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It was nearing his fourteenth birthday when his parents finally realized that maybe, just maybe they'd made a mistake. Something needed to be done, because their youngest son was barely living at all.

Sasuke went to school and did his homework mechanically, barely ate and slept when he wasn't forced to do anything else. He was getting thinner, paler, the teachers were starting to ask questions that couldn't be answered.

"We need to do something," his mother said, worried sick because she'd already lost one of her sons, how could she bear to lose the other one?

"I'll find a therapist," his father agreed, because even he was starting to worry. What would it look like for his first son to go missing, and his second son to kill himself?

Yes, something had to be done.

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"Now, Sasuke, this is an experimental treatment, but I assure you it's perfectly safe," the doctor said, and he nodded absently, eyes unfocused and glancing off to the side.

"There are a few failsafes. Since this is a private session, I am under contract not to tell your parents about anything you don't wish for them to know." And again, he nodded.

"We've decided that this is the best option for you to be able to pick up your life again, but I want to make absolutely sure you want to do this before we begin."

"I..." he choked, remembering again and grinding the heels of his palms against his eyes in an attempt to stop the tears. "Do it."

"Now, remember, these memories aren't going to be erased, they're just going to be locked away. You've expressed to me in a previous session that in the event that you find Itachi again, you want to remember him. Have you thought about the key phrases I told you about?"

He nodded, yet again, pulling his hands down and resting back in the chair. "Things nobody else will say to me, so that I don't remember unless it's him."

"Correct. Tell me them now, and we can begin the hypnosis."

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One day, Sasuke woke to find himself in a new room, with most of his old things in boxes as he slept on an air mattress on the floor. He blinked tired, obsidian eyes and found he couldn't remember what the hell had happened the past... well he couldn't remember a lot. He frowned, standing and stretching his stiff limbs as he wandered to the doorway, trying to figure out what was going on. This had to be some weird kind of dream, it felt surreal enough, but pinching himself didn't help, just made him more irritable.

He reached a set of stairs and descended it, finding the kitchen by the noise and the smell and a little exploration. He entered to see his mother bustling over the stove, and when she turned to him, she smiled just as brightly as ever.

"Your father's already gone to work, dear," she said, scooping some pancakes onto a plate and setting them on the table. "We'll finish getting settled today and tomorrow. School starts next week, so we'll have to get you your supplies once we're done unpacking and-"

"What... what day is it?" he asked, and for a moment, a look of worry, relief, and something else flashed across her face.

"Saturday, Sasuke, dear, you're still having trouble remembering, aren't you?" She ushered him to sit, moving the plate of steaming pancakes in front of him and putting the syrup (which he didn't touch) next to the plate as always.

"What happened? Why can't I remember?"

"There was a big fire, Sasuke, our old house burned to the ground. You were traumatized! You only just started talking again recently and the doctor said you'll make a full recovery in no time. We've got appointments set up with him, but he's back in our old hometown, so we'll have to fly out every other weekend. Eat your breakfast, dear, and we can talk while we unpack, alright?"

He remembered something about a move, vaguely, and nodded absently, picking at his food while he mulled it over. Trauma, was it? He supposed it made sense. He was only fourteen, and he didn't know a whole lot about how traumatic experiences could affect someone, but he thought it sounded reasonable enough.

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Despite everything his mother and father had told him, he sure didn't feel traumatized. He felt perfectly fine, and he told them so, which always seemed to make his mother smile a bit wearily for a reason he couldn't figure out.

There were so many questions floating around in his head, but even after just a week of settling in to the new flat, he was already starting to forget about them. School was starting up after all, and he rode the subway with his mother to the first day of high school, despite his insistence that he could ride it just fine on his own.

He listened but didn't listen to her fuss over freshman things and to watch out for bullies, especially upperclassmen, and then she left him, thankfully, at the stop. He walked the rest of the way there with his head down, hands shoved in his pockets, shooting anyone that stopped and stared a derisive look that sent them scurrying along. He picked up his schedule and made it to his first class just fine, taking a seat somewhere near the back not for the sake of slacking off, but for the sake of being mostly alone.

He didn't pay much attention as the bell rang and the teacher started going over introductions (he thought he was done with those in middle school, christ), until he heard the door slam open. He looked up along with the rest of the class to see a hunched over orange atrocity with a messy mop of blond on top breathing heavily in the doorway. He watched the boy straighten up, eyes squinted ridiculously and his mouth stretched into a kind of grin that Sasuke just didn't understand.

"Sorry I'm late, I missed the bus!" he announced, and while everyone else tried desperately not to look at him as he made his way toward the back of the room where there were still some desks free, Sasuke didn't bother to take his eyes off the boy.

The next thing he noticed, brilliant sapphire orbs were pinning him in his place, anger swimming in their depths as the tanned boy leaned a little too close for comfort.

"What the hell are you staring at anyway, pretty boy?" the monstrosity asked, and Sasuke scoffed, features masked in indifference.

"An eyesore," he answered flatly, raising his hand as his name was called for role and raising an eyebrow slightly as the boy settled into the desk next to him, raising his own hand as his name was called directly after Sasuke's.

Naruto Uzumaki, huh? he thought. What an idiot.

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"Hi, Mrs. Uchiha!" Naruto waved, a charming grin plastered on his face that she couldn't help but smile at. Sasuke had made such nice friends since moving here.

The blond stepped inside, taking his shoes off in the front hall out of courtesy and making his way toward Sasuke's room upstairs, giving a brief knock before nudging the door open and dropping his backpack on the floor inside the room.

"My mother adores you," came the annoyed remark from across the room where Sasuke sat typing away on his laptop.

"What can I say, I'm easy to like," the blond answered cheekily, flopping down on the bed next to Sasuke and staring up at the ceiling. "So I figure we could just hang out and play video games for a bit and then study for finals, right? Your TV is awesome, man!"

"Yeah, whatever," Sasuke answered, shutting off the laptop and setting it to the side. They'd somehow become fast friends, he recalled, and even though they'd only known each other since school started, it felt like it had been a lot longer. He stretched a bit and made to get up, only to feel Naruto's hand encircle his wrist, keeping him in place. "What?" he said after a few moments, staring pointedly at the blond.

"I uh... have you ever liked someone?" Naruto asked, and it caught Sasuke a little off guard. "Like, like like, you know," he clarified, making a random gesture with his hands, and the Uchiha raised an eyebrow.

"Not really," he admitted, because this was Naruto, and he could admit that to him. He shrugged, making to stand again, but that hand was still on his wrist and he was starting to get a little uncomfortable.

"I um... I know we've only known each other since school started and all, but you know Sasuke, I think I like you." Sasuke noticed that Naruto was staring pointedly at his hand, but when the boy realized it he found his eyes locked onto his friend's.

"Are you asking me out?" he asked, bluntly, raising an eyebrow and trying to dissolve the tension that seemed to be building up in the room.

"Er... well, if you want?" Naruto answered, recognizing the tension and also trying to shatter it with a dazzling grin, covering up his unease easily. "How about this, we'll play any game on that shelf," he pointed to the shelf housing most of Sasuke's video games, "and if I beat you, you have to kiss me." He looked for all the world as if he thought it was the best idea ever.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was skeptical, but a challenge was a challenge, and what harm could one kiss do? The worst that could happen would be him not liking it.

"Fine," he said, standing finally now that Naruto's grip had released his wrist and making his way over to the shelf. "But if you win, and I don't like it, you have to agree that we'll still just be friends. Nothing changed."

He looked back at Naruto in order to catch his response, and the blond nodded, completely serious. "I can live with that," he said, and Sasuke was going to hold him to it.

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The pilot was calling mayday frantically over the radio. The controls were unresponsive and a fire had broken out in the cabin. The left engine was completely obliterated, the wing torn off from the force of the explosion. The ground was coming up fast and Mikoto looked at her husband, tears in her eyes as she held his hand tightly. They were in a spin, and there was no way or time to get out safely before they crashed. Tomorrow was going to be Sasuke's sixteenth birthday. They were originally going to be away on business through the rest of the week, but they had pulled strings to get home in time as a surprise.

"Do you regret what we did to them, Fugaku?" It was the first thing that came to her mind, something she'd regretted herself for the past two and a half years. Her husband was silent, but in the flickering cabin lights, she could see the regret plastered clearly on his face.

"All we can do is hope that if they ever meet again and Sasuke finds out the truth, that they can find it in their hearts to forgive us," she said to him, and he squeezed her hand as the trees scraped against the fuselage in a sickening orchestra of screeching before everything was suddenly, violently over.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR MAKING IT THIS FAR! I'll note that the prologue is just some short thing to finish it off on a lighter note than this chapter ends on, and this IS the last chapter. I'd say if you review any chapter at all, make it this one or the epilogue. And please, I don't even care if it's short, though long reviews really make my day.

Also! Super special author's note GO! One person guessed it right on, and another guessed something close, so as excited as I am about that, I'm going to take one request each for the following people:

demona013 and Light is Gay

Thank you for proving that the idea wasn't TOO obscure! Requests can be sent via PM, and I'm pretty lenient about what I allow in requests, so just drop a line whenever you want and if we need to we can hash out the details there. But pretty much anything goes so just let me know!

ALSO ALL THE REST OF YOU ARE STILL AWESOME TOO, I LOVE YOU GUYS. You've really helped me to finish this story, honestly.