Hope For The Future

A/N: Wow, it's been so long since my last update for this story. You can blame school for the lateness of chapters in several of my stories. I plan on finishing this one before starting any of the others, however. This is the last chapter…please enjoy.

Anyways, onto the story!!

Chapter 3: Solution

"Sakura." Said woman's eyes flickered towards her teammate beside her. The usually added '-chan' was not present, but under the circumstances, it might've made sense. However, the tone that Naruto had used was sending her a different message altogether.

"I want you to find Sasuke." Naruto kneeled on the ground, a hand clamped over a bloodied shoulder. Her eyes flashed towards the wound, the medic in her beginning to awaken. He caught her eyes during this time, already knowing what she was thinking, and shook his head in protest.

"Go find him, heal him, you know?" An uncertainness surfaced inside his cerulean orbs—Sakura could hear it in his voice as well. It almost sounded like fear, or maybe, something close to worry.

"What are you going to do?" Sakura whispered softly, her eyes never leaving his. Her logical mind jumped to the assumption of using the Kyuubi's power to kill Orochimaru, which caused her body to stiffen at the thought.

Naruto noticed, but said nothing about it, using the silence to answer her question. "I will hold off Orochimaru while you retrieve Sasuke." Sakura blinked in thoughtfulness, considering his orders and the chance of the Kyuubi to awaken and grow out of control.

"I'll be fine." Naruto murmured hastily as he glanced towards the recovering Orochimaru beginning to move again. The amusement was gone from the Sanin's eyes now, only leaving an annoyed, piercing glare. Naruto simply glared back as he grimaced.

"…But, Naruto—"

"Go, Sakura, dammit!" The growl erupted from his lips, startling Sakura slightly. His eyes narrowed at her stalling. Naruto knew she was purposely doing this just because she wanted to convince him to leave with her to safety. But with the threat not far away, there were no such thing as 'safety'. If it was in his power, Naruto would have Sakura leave to tend to the Uchiha while he…he held off the enemy.

Overcoming the brief shock, Sakura stepped forward towards him to protest. She should tell him that she didn't need protecting because she was stronger now. She should tell him that she could help fight since Sasuke was probably on his way after all. However, those words never left her mouth even after she had told herself enough that she would.

In response to Sakura stepping forward, Naruto grasped her wrist to pull her down with him. Ignoring the blood covering his hand, he pulled her close, into his arms. Sakura's body had tensed in surprise by now, but it was relaxing a bit now to his touch.

"I know you're stronger now, Sakura, but you're our only medic. You need to tend to Sasuke before helping me because we need to stay Team 7, ne?" He smiled softly against her shoulder, squeezing her slightly in comfort. "We can't lose him after all we've gone through."

Sakura's eyes watered for a moment as she nodded against his shoulder. Her hands gripped his jounin vest tightly, not wanting to let go of him like a scared child. Her mouth wouldn't form words that she desperately wanted to speak. The only sound she could make was a shaky, deep breath.

Naruto held her for a short while longer before beginning to loosen his grip. He pulled her back, noticing the glistening tears not yet fallen from her emerald eyes. "Just keep running towards Sasuke, and don't turn back for anything." Not even for me.

Sakura's eyes widened at the unsaid words, but didn't think much of it as her lips were covered by his. Warmth flooded her cheeks as a few tears rolled down the plain of her face. She thought about not responding, but knew her unspoken feelings for him. All those years of chasing after Sasuke were at an end as she softly returned his gesture.

The small pleasure ended quickly as he suddenly rolled back, using his feet to forcibly kick her away from him, towards Sasuke's direction. Still in shock, Sakura recovered quickly as she landed lightly on her feet about halfway between her previous position and the fallen trees where the Uchiha lay. Glancing once for a short moment the now fighting Naruto, she turned and started running towards her other teammate.

Naruto breathed harshly, avoiding Orochimaru's blade with very narrow dodges. He was slightly pleased with himself that he had moved both him and Sakura out of the way just in time. Their previous position now held slowly diminishing flames. He may have gained a few burns, but Sakura's safety was valued much more than a few replaceable pieces of cloth and skin.

Sasuke silently weaved around the broken trunks surrounding him, ignoring several leaves and twigs that were now scattered in his dark hair. Discarding the top of kimono as he climbed over a few trunks, Sasuke reached the very edge of the small woodland. His position was hidden, but he could see everything playing out clearly.

Sakura sprinted towards his direction, her hands already circulating with medical chakra.

Naruto was currently dodging all the attacks from Orochimaru, remaining on the defensive.

He slightly winced at the pain from his abdomen where his brother's imposter had punched him. Sasuke knew he should've kept his guard up, but his sentimental side had chosen the worse time to awaken. His eyelids drooped a little at the thought, but ended up frowning more instead.

Damn it, Itachi.

You couldn't have just killed the bastard for us.

The sound of a scream echoed across the plains awakened Sasuke from his brooding. "Sakura-chan! Move!" As his gaze refocused on Sakura, his eyes widened in surprise.

Orochimaru was speeding across the landscape, only leaving a cloud of dirt and stray pieces of grass trailing behind him. To even the keenest of human eyes, he would appear a blur, but Sasuke could see every single detail of the incredibly swift man. Itachi's long, dark hair blowing behind him as his Sharingan calculated every, little detail that Sakura made.

Narrowing his eyes in built-up anger, Sasuke's body surged forward, attempting to match Orochimaru's speed. Unsheathing his blade in one quick movement, Sasuke forcibly pumped more chakra into his feet to decrease the amount of distance. His Sharingan, now more skillfully trained, remained on the object moving towards Sakura much faster than him.

Sasuke grimaced as Naruto's roars sounded with such ferocity that his sensitive ears vibrated slightly. The ground was now shaking slightly and it distracted him as his eyes focused on Sakura now. The last remaining amount of her chakra was now gathered in one fist as she spun around to—

"No!" Sasuke's growl barely reached his own ears, it wasn't entirely all that loud but it still held enough anger and grief. His head spun as he tried to refocus his dizzied gaze. He wasn't sure who he was feeling loss for now. It could've been Itachi, maybe Sakura, but Sasuke could definitely feel the great aching in his abdomen now.

Naruto found himself at a total loss, unable to keep his hand from shaking upon Sakura's shoulder. His eyes, wide with worry and shock, trailed down towards the blade emerging from Sakura's mid-back. The blood splattered across his green vest and navy pants bled into the fabric, barely grazing his skin. He shivered slightly at the feeling.

"It's…going to be alright, Sakura-chan…" He couldn't lose her. He couldn't lose her! "You're going to be fine…Just—" Tears finally found themselves drowning out his voice, choking off his attempt to comfort her.

He could hear her heavy, labored panting, nothing had changed except now she was convulsing under my touch.

Sakura-chan…No…

The weapon shifted slightly, ripping more of the skin it had previously penetrated. Naruto heard a harsh cough and the sound of liquid falling to the ground. He felt himself pale as the blade began to disappear from her back. The hand that had been on her shoulder left it as chakra flooded his body.

I noticed Sakura lose balance, falling towards Orochimaru's direction. His golden-tinted eyes caught my eye, focusing entirely the woman before him. I could clearly see wicked amusement there, but it soon changed as the gold bled crimson and black.

"No!" I roared as Sakura's body fell limp. Time appeared to freeze at that point as a blur of a different crimson came from my right. My mind didn't quite register it until after I was pushed back by a solid object.

My pupils contracted to small slits as the irises shifted to a dark red color. I could feel the anger and loss beginning to boil to the surface as Orochimaru's sly smirk appeared.

However, just like a light switch turned off in an instant, my frustration all left me as I heard Sakura speak again. I finally looked up to the slightly taller figure before me, and found myself focusing only on him for a short moment. Untamed silver hair caught my eye as well as the lone crimson color in not two eyes, but only one.

"You're safe now, Sakura. Calm down."

Stepping to the side to gain a better perspective, my previously clenched fists loosened in shock. Yet, that shock was quickly overcome by gratefulness and relief.

The sensei who had been gone for three years had finally shown himself. Not as a ghost or a wandering spirit, but as a mortal who wasn't ready to die quite yet.

"Kakashi-sensei…" I murmured quietly in relief, and of course, gratefulness. For the first time since I had last seen him, the older shinobi glanced down at me, meeting my eyes with the familiar mismatched gaze. The same wisdom was there as always just as the same confidence was always in mine. If I wasn't mistaken, I could've probably seen the softness that he had only displayed towards Team 7.

The moment, however, passed as we both glanced down briefly at the pink-haired woman in his protective arms. He lowered himself until he was in a crouch, allowing her to sit on the ground for rest, but it came at no surprise that she would force herself to stand once again. In response to her antics, I placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her down.

Then, a strong tension began to suffocate us all…attracting our undivided attention not too far away.

"I suppose I expected you would appear soon after your sulking." Orochimaru's chuckles softly with the wind wafting around us. He didn't seem to mind that Sasuke's hand gripped his wrist in such a stronghold that it was cutting off circulation and the flow of blood. The man didn't even seem to mind that his only weapon was on the ground, out of reach at the moment. The Sanin appeared to be control, and that's exactly how he wanted the world to see him. Still not defeated, and still not giving up his rightful place as one of the strongest shinobi in existence.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at this conclusion.

A man in control did not panic or think of the worst-case scenario, and clearly, this was what Orochimaru was displaying himself as. He fully understood that if one little mishap might anger or cause him to lose focus at the purpose at hand, than it might destroy this illusion.

"It would be a fitting end for the both of us, wouldn't it?"

Sasuke said nothing, but instead continued to stare down on Orochimaru.

Both completely understood the concept of maintaining control. Now, as they both stood against each other, one showing nothing but cold, mocking amusement while the other appeared unaffected, the strong, vivid image of their knowledge and concentration being pitted against one another came to mind. The Uchiha, a descendant of a powerful clan whose control was so accustomed and brought down through the generations as a strong genetic trait. And the Sanin, who fought relentlessly through failures, who worked his way up into the world to earn such an infamous name with the well-earned control that came with it. It was truly a fight of control—to see who would win, and finally end the last of their goals.

Yes…This would definitely be the last fight, not just for control, but ultimately, the most sought out revenge to finally achieve for Sasuke.

"Or perhaps…"

"Should I say, the three of us?"

A roar erupted from my throat, as Orochimaru's smirk grew a little wider. His crimson eyes glittered with mischief and cruel mockery. He wasn't striving to just break Sasuke's concentration, but to hurt him, not physically, but emotionally, where the Uchiha appeared to be the strongest. Angering my teammate would only break that concentration and focus, breaking the guards that he had set up for this, unleashing more pain than anyone could possibly take.

"Don't you dare…" I growled at the Sanin, my gaze intense on the monster. If Sasuke wasn't seeing Orochimaru as whom he truly was, then he was seeing Itachi. The one who had been a true brother, despite all the smoke and mirrors, was now falling before him. The image becoming corrupted.

Sasuke's hand tightened harshly over Orochimaru's wrist, a loud crack echoing around us. Even though we were in the middle of a large prairie, which was open to the sky itself, the sound seemed to rebound off of some invisible object and unleash the loudest boom upon my ears.

I cringed as I turned my head away from the sight, closing my eyes. Then, just as I was tempted to open them my eyes once more, an unnatural sound—not even resembling a laugh—reached me. In defeat, I merely kept my eyes closed.

Unable to look upon the monster who was torturing Sasuke.

My lips thinned in anger, barely noting that hatred was beginning to fill me whole. The strong, raw grief was there as well, but it was quickly becoming overridden. At this point, weakness needed to be left behind so I could focus at the more challenging task at hand.

"Sasuke…!"

Ignoring Sakura's soft, worried cry, I jumped away just as Orochimaru's neck stretched at an alarmingly fast rate to reach me. Carefully dodging the fangs, I raced farther up north to draw the Sanin away from the three remaining teammates. If I was lucky enough to accomplish that, then I might have a better advantage against my opponent.

Orochimaru's neck retracted back to its normal stature, before following me at a break-neck speed. His newly achieved crimson eyes piercing the back of my head, staring me down, as a predator would do to its prey.

Silently creating hand signs while successfully leading the Sanin closer, I continued farther towards a rather large ridge facing the south. The rocky climb was no more than seven feet or so, but that's all I would need and more.

Abruptly turning, I completed the jutsu just as I increased my speed, running on the slope of the ridge. The sound of crackling and birds chirping pierced the sky as my right hand lighted up in an electric-blue lighting display. The ground seemed to blur beneath me as I barely noted the ridge curving inward towards the land, giving me a brilliant idea.

Orochimaru was trailing behind, following alongside the nature-built structure of land, his calculating eyes watching me with experienced eyes. A disappointed frown graced his lips as he raised an eyebrow.

If this plan were to work, then Orochimaru would have to be kept in the dark. This, for the most part, was working in the meantime. However, my carefully planning trajectory was slightly off as I rounded the curve with precise footing.

Orochimaru's eyes widened as I swept across the remaining distance between us. My right hand, now burning painfully, thrust forward with spine-tingling power. At this moment, I felt my hand encased by heavy liquid, and the smell of blood stung my nostrils.

The Sanin seemed to freeze in place, as if unable to control his movements. The crimson glinting in his eyes shined in an unexpected, familiar way. However, I was too caught-up in my sought out vengeful moment to really notice or even think about it much.

Orochimaru coughed out blood, the crimson substance running down from both sides of his mouth. The Sharingan shattered, or so it appeared to me in a rushing daze, revealing the golden-tined eyes. His famous Sound out-fit was stained with red, stained beyond repair. If I could think clearly, I would've probably smirked at that because of how ridiculous and hated those clothes were.

But…

Those sights quickly left me, as well as my thoughts, when I fell onto my knees. I gasped, unable to breathe as I stared through glazed over eyes at the stumbling man before me. His mouth was moving, but I heard no words, until he fell onto his side, the blood draining out of him into a large, crimson pool beneath him.

"Sasuke!"

Sakura watched with wide-eyes as the Uchiha sunk to the ground, unmoving. Her hands, still shaking with shock, tightened into fists. No…nonono…

Kakashi's hands clasped over her shoulders, trying to calm her, but it was not working. His comfort was too late, for the grief had already struck hard enough to leave her forever broken. A violent shudder racked her body as her senses numbed at the sight.

One moment, Naruto was at her side, a shocked expression upon his face, and then he was off running, already too far for her reach. Sakura's hand, already reached out, slowly faltered to her side.

Just minutes ago, she might've actually believed Team 7 had a future together, but as she watched Naruto kneel next to Sasuke with shaking hands, Sakura knew that future was no more.

"…Sa-suke."

Sasuke's wildly unfocused eyes darted towards the dying man next to him. The form blurred before him just as the glimpse of the brother with golden eyes was set into place. The image gone, barely remembered at all. His mind struggled to comprehend what he had seen, but failed utterly to do so.

The blood gushing out of Itachi now reached him, covering his motionless hand. It felt warm and sticky, the mere smell of it enough to make him almost gag.

"…You're not…dead y-yet." Sasuke's opened his mouth to argue, wanting to remark about the pain surging through his body, or about the electricity and burning jumping through his system. The tone of his voice suggested that he wasn't dying, but Sasuke knew better.

He had overpowered his Chidori, and now paid the consequences for it. How could've he avoided it? The pain running through his system, the grief, the longing for his older brother, the revenge that he never gained and the one he so sought for then was enough to power a spark of emotions, of hate and anger and sadness. The powered chakra and electricity behind it was ever so quietly and quickly destroying his body from the inside. And with Sakura's chakra reserves drained, there was no hope of surviving.

Once again, completely intending to make a cruel retort, Sasuke's once distant eyes came back into focus on the imposter just across the cold ground from him. However, his already opened mouth shut as his eyes widened.

"You are…not…dying." One pair of piercing crimson eyes stared at him though glazed over, and distant. No cruel mockery or amusement was there any longer, only a familiar wisdom that he faintly recognized. "Foolish…" His voice faded away, more blood gushing out the side of his mouth.

"..Brother."

Sasuke stared, his heart pounding once again, it no longer just dully thudding, so dead. "Itachi?"

Itachi wistfully smiled at him, the kind of smile that Sasuke was granted when he was a small child, all those years ago. Several flashbacks filled Sasuke's mind at that moment, drowning out the previous image of Itachi, the one who was recently controlled by Orochimaru.

"But…how?" Sasuke whispered softly, panic setting through him as Itachi's eyes flickered close. Just as he was about to scream his brother's name, however, they opened with a new difference. No longer crimson, but those rarely seen midnight blue eyes. Dark as oblivion, Itachi's eyes were enough to awe anyone, especially Sasuke himself.

"Orochimaru used his forbidden jutsu…to take over your body…and—and killed you." Sasuke's raspy voice was beginning to soften, the sound fading in and out. "There is…no way you could've survived…"

"I was underestimated. What people speak of…is not always…" A violent shudder racked through Itachi's body, cutting off his words. Sasuke reached towards his brother with a shaking hand, his mind conflicting over whether to give up the revenge and his painful past. Just once…one time only. Never again.

For once, Sasuke had the power. Forgiveness that his brother rightfully deserved—after everything they had experienced. It didn't matter about the Clan Massacre, because he had learned the truth so long ago, it seemed, just a week ago, but that was all he ever wanted to hear, even if he would not admit. Just one reason, a logical and true one that explained everything about that tragic event many years back.

The convulsions faded away, and Itachi's eyes once again opened. His gaze rested on Sasuke's, completely oblivious to the hand reached out towards him. The thudding of footsteps nearing vibrated the ground beneath them, but both ignored it.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke…"

Sasuke felt a heavy, unexplainable pressure and anxiety suddenly weigh on him. His mouth was soon moving once again, not wanting to hear anymore of Itachi's words. He was stalling time, trying to avoid the sound he so desperately wanted to never exist, not in this world. Don't say it…Don't you dare fucking say it!

"Itachi, you'll be fine. I don't…I don't underestimate you, not anymore. I couldn't ever have beaten you, and I know that now." Sasuke's babbling was beginning to melt into incoherent nonsense. The one who had never spoken that many words since the Uchiha Clan Massacre was now uncharacteristically speaking as if there was no tomorrow. In truth, there was no tomorrow. Or, that was what Sasuke pictured it to be if Itachi should die.

He was saying things that he never thought would be said. Things that had been kept his heart, in the back of his mind, so long. Sasuke could barely feel himself now; the world was numb to him. The only thing that he could focus on was the man who had made him so strong, without Sasuke even knowing it.

Sasuke's watched in grief, his eyes containing moisture that he had thought left him in this hardened, cold body, as Itachi's mouth opened once more even. Sasuke didn't want to pause in his ramblings; he didn't want to hear those words, those words that would devastate him more, more than even the loss of his family.

"There…won't be a next time."

Naruto slowed to a halt, his knees collapsing just as he neared Sasuke. The unmoving body beside him was forever motionless. He couldn't see Sasuke's sides rise or lower to indicate he was breathing, and his glazed over eyes were staring off into the distance, into a nothingness that Naruto could not see.

"…It's not true." Naruto whispered in denial, his voice soft with grief. His hands, now shaking, crashed into the ground, unable to move. He could feel the oblivion beginning to take over the sun that so righteously shined down on them. The world seemed darker, darker than when Sasuke had first left them.

However, this was much worse…oh, so much worse. This time, it seemed, the Sasuke they had known had left them for good.

"Your time…has not come…yet." Itachi murmured softly through barely moving lips. Sasuke stared as Itachi's bloodied hand slowly reached up, and gently poked him with his index and middle fingers, just as he did when they were younger. The familiar gesture left a crimson mark on Sasuke's forehead, already beginning to slide slowly down from its original placement.

"Your life…is just now…beginning." His breathing was becoming harder, complicating the accuracy of his words. Sasuke knew exactly what his brother was doing. He still wanted to appear to be in control, not to show weakness despite every small secret of the past that had been spilled. There would be no stammer, no stutter, just strong words to help his reputation to remain intact.

Sasuke's eyelids drooped slightly at the thought as his lips twitched slightly.

Same…Itachi.

And for once, that one phrase he had cursed so many times in vain after each defeat from combat or the Clan's unquestioned pride in his older brother, was actually welcomed. It wasn't because of misfortune, but really, just relief.

If it had not been Sasuke, he might've smiled or even cried in this situation, but he was Uchiha Sasuke. The one team member of Team 7 that had been cold and alone all those years, the one younger brother that could never gain the respect he wanted from his father, and of course, the one who had sought for so many years the revenge that he had thought was so rightfully his. No, instead, Sasuke remained in silence, watching Itachi as his dark eyes began to glaze over.

Itachi continued to stare at the younger Uchiha with eyes growing colder and more distant. The strange, unmistakable wisdom that had always been there had not left yet, a surprise he had not expected.

"You look…as if you have…no hope." Sasuke's gaze raised once again to meet the last remaining bloodline link to his past.

"How can I have any? There is no life for me in---" Sasuke winced slightly, something sparking his system painfully. "…In the village. I have lost my purpose."

The darker clouds from the east were slowly floating their direction, the presence of the seemingly harmless clouds ominous. Sasuke could see the rain falling in the distance with the remaining sunlight mixing to make shining droplets from the sky.

As if he could see the reflection of the image in Sasuke's eyes, Itachi murmured in a soft voice, "You…still have a purpose, unlike me." Sasuke wished to believe those words, thinking their would be a lie hidden in Itachi's sayings. However, as he glanced back at his dying brother, Sasuke saw genuine truth.

Itachi's eyes shifted towards the man running towards them, before looking farther beyond him where the severely injured girl and the sensei remained. "Are you…so naïve not to see your…" His voice was growing softer, the words coming out much slower. The awaited words Sasuke listened for, so desperately as he began to realize, never escaped his brother's lips.

Sasuke stared with wide-eyes, unable to believe the sight before him, the sounds that did not reach him any longer. An unexpected convulsion shook his body, something wet running down his cheeks. The unwanted coldness…

His eyes lifted heavenward, expecting rain to be falling, washing away what was left behind of both of them. To his mild surprise, the soul freezing rain and darker, ominous clouds had not come. The winds had shifted, the storm moving towards the south, far away from them.

He didn't want to believe it, but he was crying. The image of his vengeful victory completely shattered in the moment; Sasuke knowing that it was not what he had ever wanted in reality. Grief, shame, and happiness mixed with other unexplainable emotions he had not felt in such a long time. However, anger or hate was not one of them.

Clouded senses finally overwhelmed him, the recent words and images swirling in his mind. A painful tug clawed at him, but he ignored it as his eyes closed. Sasuke knew this wasn't the end…

…but oh, how he wished it was.

I feel so bad about the lateness of this chapter. I am just so glad I had enough inspiration and muse to finally release the emotions into this update. In my mind, the ending here would be what I would want, honestly. There shall be an epilogue!! ^^

This is not the end of my updates, even though it would seem like it. I've been very busy, and also, lazy. I seriously need to kick my butt into making these, but as you can probably tell, this chapter had so much thought behind it. Revising was such a hard thing, and I was trying my best to keep Itachi and Sasuke in character. (We all know how hard that is…)

Anyways, I would appreciate feedback on whether this was a good, short story for a first try. And I would also wish to hear if the writing style (all the description and great detail) have a greater effect on this fanfiction. I'm becoming such a sucker for greatly detailed stories…Weird, huh?

Thank you very much for the reviewers and readers! I highly appreciate them!! :)

Until next update,

SharinganAnbuSakura