Chapter Six

Itachi had decided to start by going left. When he heard the sound of screaming, and other various noises, he'd decided to turn back an go back towards the entrance. He hadn't walked for long. And the stale atmosphere had grown worse to the point where his breaths were bigger and louder. He was almost embarrassed at the sound of them.

But he quickly forgot about his lungs when another cry emerged near the entrance. He found an entrance way he was positvie he'd never seen before, racing in he stopped dead.


Sasuke braced himself, and managed to get one hand up in front of his face. He did his best to brace himself, but knew that at this close range he most liekly did not stand any chance. He was going to die. Right here.

He didn't know rejection Orochimaru's proposition would have resulted in such a disastrous ending. He felt that he was stupid now. And he regretted the fact that he had told Itachi he hated him, because now he knew he didn't. Somewhere inside him, he knew of couse, that he had never... But now, as his death was coming closer, the fact finally registered in his brain.

Orochimaru raised his hand and sent it slamming down towards Sasuke. Suddenly Sasuke heard a voice- someone screaming his name- and saw a figure leap out in front of him, crashing into Orchimaru.

Itachi saw Sasuke try to shield himself. His leg was twisted weirdly and Itachi, though somewhat far away, could see the cuts and bruises that covered his brother's body. Something flared inside him, and Itachi raced forward.

"Sasuke!" He tumbled his weight into Orochimaru, and sent them both knocking sideways. Itachi kept his balance and stayed on his feet, but Orochimaru, apparently very surprised at this new appearance, went clashing to the floor. The chakra that once formed in his hand swiveled out.

Itachi stepped closer and in front of Sasuke, trying to keep a distance or at least a barrier between his brother and Orochimaru. He was surprised at the flare that rose inside himself. Something bitter foamed in his veins. Causing his blood to race, and coaxing his body to fight.

He quickly released Suigadan before Orochimaru had a time to regain himself. Itachi wanted to catch him off guard as much as possible, and aim for weak spots. Although he was very strong, he felt, he mainly wanted to focus on staying unhurt, so that he would be able to get Sasuke and himself out alive if need be in the end.

Crushing, circle water spikes rushed at Orochimaru and slammed against the man. It pushed him back against the floor, and Itachi watched as he held out his hand, activating it to block some of the attack.

He took this moment to activate his sharingan. He watched Orochimaru's movements carefully, almost not blinking at all. All his focused poured on staying between his brother and Orochimaru, and making sure Orochimaru did not gain an advantage over him.

Orochimaru somersaulted backwards and Itachi's eyes widened as Orochimaru released Daitoppa. Dodging, but keeping his eyes fixed on Orochimaru, Itachi hovered over Sasuke to keep most of the attack off his brother. The wind spread over the are and seemed to envelop everything. Rocks went flying faster than bullets.

Itachi worked quickly and sent another blast of Suigadan at Orochimaru, then proceeded to follow through with a quick Bunshin Daibakuha of himself and Sasuke. Picking Sasuke up, Itachi towards the exit and went into the hallway. He set his brother down and motioned for him to be quiet. Then he peered softly around the corner of the arch way. Itachi watched as the two clones he'd made face Orochimaru.

His clone ran up, gathering speed increasingly, then as soon as it slammed against Orochimaru, Itachi did the command, and the clone exploded along with Sasuke's clone. Both explosions quickly ran over Orochimaru. He could hear a great hiss and the then the smoke cleared away. Orochimaru stood their panting, his arms dangling at his side. His clothes were a bit torn and burnt, and Orochimaru looked around. "Where are you...?"

Itachi saw Sasuke shiver, and wanted to get them out of there as quickly as possible. Orochimaru continued talking. "I just wanted to help him train... give him power, Itachi. You know he could be great. You're so busy that you can't possibly train him yourself. Besides, I believe the 3rd Hokage has a special job for you that's just waiting to be completed.

His eyes widened. How did Orochimaru know about that... Don't tell me, Madara... Itachi thought frantically. He snapped out of his momentarily shock, shooting down the thought and his emotions. Itachi looked over at a very fragile looking Sasuke and knew he'd have to do this all in one blow and then get out of there. Doing Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, he sent a clone of himself walking out to Orochimaru. Then, he closed his eyes drawing a deep breath. He knew doing these two things would suck up his chakra very quickly, so he could not fail. For Sasuke, he absolutely not mess up.

He heard his clone talking to Orchimaru, but didn't really care to tune in much. He mind was far off, feeling the swell and sting in his eyes. When he was done, he activated Mangekyo Sharingan and opened his eyes.

The perspective of the area changed. But this was only the beginning. Itachi prepared himself for another big blow and another drop in chakra level. He wondered what they'd do once they got out of there. Sasuke's leg was injured, so he couldn't walk, and Itachi wouldn't be able to defend them as well. He hoped that they did not run into any troubles escaping from the Sound Villiage, let alone here.

Now, he reached really deep, almost as if a hand inside of him were grasping and pulling the chakra out. He gasped in surprsie at the feel of it... Then, concentrating on protecting himself, on getting out alive, and on protection Sasuke, he activated Amaterasu (Shining Heaven), and turned, charging into the room towards Orochimaru. He did not plan on surprise attacks. He watched as his clone disappeared back into, and them, forcefully, he gatherered himself.

His charge took him straight towards Orochimaru, and roaring with rage, he released Amaterasu. Black flames burned into the air, then came down like rain, falling for the ground. They instead, switched directions and came burning madly at Orochimaru. Itachi got a look at Orochimaru's last look of surprise, before the black fire smoothered the man. They raged and burned, and he could hear the low, but sickening sound of sizzling behind the flames. A large light filtered through the air and seemed to grab the room.

Itachi pulled himself up, and felt something strong urging him on. He did not know how, but he suddenly felt stronger. He raced, scooping his brother up, and ran until he felt he was even a little bit safe. Until he was far enough away from Orochimaru, that they would have time to rest. He found himself at another abandoned shack. This one seemed to be more of a recent abandonment. There were no cobwebs and no holes in the walls or ceiling.

The lack of furniture or anything remotely close to a necessary need told him that there was a very low chance of someone being there. And if someone came by, Itachi would just find somewhereto hide with Sasuke, or take Sasuke and run.

When they found a space that seemed good, Itachi layed his brother down, and propped his own self against the wall. He gently lifted his brother head and part of his upper body onto his lap. Feeling Sasuke's forehead, he stroked it, and found the Sasuke had a fever.

His brother's face was flushed, and he stared up at Itachi's face. "Brother.." Sasuke said in a husky voice.

"Shhh," Itachi said. "You need to rest, and I need to get something to fix that leg. It must be fractured and could be broken."

"No...I... you..." Sasuke seemed to be struggling to remember what he was trying to tell Itachi. Finally, he somewhat chuckled to himself and Itachi wondered why. "I don't hate you..." he said, his eyes glazed over due to the fever.

Itachi felt a weird roll in his stomach, and his heart pulsing in his head. He suddenly felt very warm and almost dizzy, and wondered if he, too, were getting a fever. He took a deep breath, "I know," he replied. "I know... But please... rest, Sasuke."

"Wait... I'm not- I'm not finished. You were right... I should have known... no," Sasuke frowned at what he said. "No, I should have listened."

"You're not making any sense," Itachi pointed out, confused.

"I'm probably not, ha... What I mean- Is you were right about be careful... All that stuff. I didn't think, I didn't know I would ever get kidnapped. And I was so weak..." Itachi's eyes widened as tears welled up in the corner of Sasuke's eyes. "I was so scared..." The tears plunged out, taking a dive down the side of Sasuke's face.

"Shhh..." Itachi tried to calm Sasuke down. He stroked his brother's forehead, his eyes closed.

Suddenly a weight lifted. Itachi's eyes opened as Sasuke sat up. "What are you-" Sasuke grabbed Itachi's hand, and then bent forward and kissed Itachi on the lips. Itachi's mind raced... What was Sasuke doing, why was he doing this, was it because of the fever? Many questions filtered through his head, but he suddenly felt the voice of reason getting further away.

Itachi closed his eyes and returned the kiss. He wrapped his hand around his small brother's neck and pulled him closer, gently. They parted lips and then Itachi pulled back to kiss Sasuke on the forehead. He repeated, then on Sasuke's right eye lid, then on Sasuke's left. Finally, Itachi kissed ever so softly on the lips once more, and then opened his eyes.

Sasuke leaned against Itachi's chest, and Itachi gathered his brother closer into his arms. He pressed his lips to Sasuke's hair and listen to the calm, but unsteady breathing of his brother. After a while, Itachi let sleep overtake him, and fell asleep together with Sasuke.

The End