The forest was silent as he made his way through the sparsely spaced trees and lowly hung branches. He walked gingerly, in no hurry to get to his destination. All was calm around him, even his thoughts were calm and it was quite welcomed. He was getting too old; his thirties were right around the corner. No big deal, though. There were still so many years ahead of him that his age was merely a number.

He could often be found inside this forest, wandering about, enjoying the peak of the sunrise in the morning. It was a dewy morning with laden clouds overhead. It was most likely due to rain again, something he had grown to enjoy. The rain seemed to say all the things that he could not. It was calming to watch the rain drops drip from the window as he sipped a cup of tea. It was a new tradition for him, one he hoped to keep for a long time because he enjoyed it so much.

Despite his often wanderings, there was a certain place he always made his way to when he journeyed through the forest. Even though his past was the past and things could not be changed, visiting this place helped to alleviate some of the sorrow he held in his heart. Having gone through so much with the pain of losing his family and striving to fix everything that happened, he still felt like nothing had changed. For so long he lived in agony and for so long he vowed to end this agony by making things right. But, it seemed like nothing had actually gotten fixed.

"After all that happened…I still lost you…"

A scarred hand reached out and touched the slab of granite marking an added grave to the Uchiha cemetery. It was freshly placed by the Hokage herself once everything had come to an end. It was an honor done by the Hokage out of respect and remorse for another fallen Uchiha. He had been with the leaf village for so long it was hard to look the other way when a past comrade fell, whether they betrayed the village or not.

Thunder roared high above; the rain was due soon. With the cascading drops of the rain a laden heart fell as well. Itachi could not count how many times his heart clenched due to the aftermath of his actions. He could not say sorry enough. He could not regret enough. There was nothing he could do now. He wanted it to be over and now that it was, Itachi wondered if it could have ended a different way. Looking back on the fight in the Uchiha hideout, Itachi doubted it could have gone any other way.

~W~

Itachi's heart was racing as he guarded Hinata from the men he used to consider family. How come when Itachi decided to stop fighting it seemed like everyone wanted to attack him? It was like they knew and wanted to torture him. Glaring down his old friends and his younger brother, Itachi saw no other way out of this. He could either run or die and Itachi never ran. And he sure as hell wasn't about to die.

"Hinata, there's no way we're getting out of this without a fight. Remember when I said I would love to fight side by side with you?" He said, turning his head slightly in her direction while maintaining eye contact with the Akatsuki.

"Yes." She replied curtly.

"I lied," he admitted, "I do not want to fight, especially with you in the middle of it. But there's no other way out of this and I will die before I let them take you," she squeezed his hand that was holding her back, "so that's what I'm going to do."

"I'll cover your back. Who are you going to go after first?" Hinata asked, looking at each of the men before them. They were all strong and powerful, two of which freshly prepared for battle. She could probably handle Sasuke, even though she knew as a kid he was constantly training to get stronger. How much stronger he had actually gotten now was lost on her.

Itachi nodded at Deidara and Sasori, "I can handle those two easily. Working with them for so long I know their weaknesses."

"Got it. I'll take care of Sasuke." Hinata said, stepping up to Itachi's side. Fear hugged his stomach like a snake around its prey at the thought of her fighting his brother. He felt like it was his responsibility to take care of Sasuke.

"Hinata," Itachi said, looking at her with grave intensity. She turned to him, her face lightly bruised from when Sasuke hit her. A smile formed on her lips erasing any sign of fear or worry. "Be careful. Please." His voice ended on a plea.

"You, too." She smiled, easing some of his tension but not entirely.

Itachi trusted her. He knew she was strong but was not sure how far Sasuke was willing to go, especially with someone from the same class as him.

Without any sort of warning, Itachi activated his sharingan and sent his two former comrades into the realms of his Tsukiyomi. They were locked in instantly, immobile and mentally helpless. That took care of two out of three, at least for as long as Itachi could hold them. Seeing an opening, Sasuke charged at Itachi. Hinata jumped in front of Sasuke, Byakugan ready, and countered his moves. The fight was between Sasuke and Hinata now.

Creating distance between himself and Hinata, Sasuke snarled like the kyuubi in its cage. An eerie calm came over him rather quickly and he smirked.

"It's rather cute how you think you can protect my brother. If you get in the way I'll kill you, too. Don't think just because we were in the same class that I'll have mercy on you."

Hinata grimaced, forming her stance to guard against any oncoming attacks. "Your fight is with me now."

"This won't be classified as a fight. I fought your cousin Neji once and he was weak. The Hyuga clan is nothing but second rate compared to the Uchiha. They should have been wiped out instead of the Uchiha. Maybe then the world would be in better standing."

Hinata tenses at Sasuke's sickening words but remains on guard. If he was trying to throw her off then he was failing. She was ready.

"Don't worry," Sasuke says, unsheathing his katana,"I'll make your death quick and painless."

Hinata watched as Sasuke came at her at full speed and held up her forearms in an X to block his punches. Sasuke dropped low to the ground and swept his left leg under Hinata's feet, catching her but disappearing as she was going down. Hinata was slower than Sasuke but she was picking up his movements quickly. She caught herself and scanned the area looking for Sasuke. She glanced at Itachi to make sure he was safe, saw that he was and continued her search for Sasuke. Barely a second later she heard the shrieking chidori sounds and immediately backflipped as Sasuke came at her right side, his chidori targeted for her torso. Hinata created three clones and charged at Sasuke from three different angles. He ducked and dodged and countered each and every blow the clones gave out.

Sasuke upper-cutted Hinata but was then bombarded by a clone followed by the next as soon as he countered it. Jumping backwards, Sasuke created a fireball and sent it in the direction of two Hinata's. One fireball followed by another made its way toward the clones and the real Hinata, who jumped and skipped backward until the clones were vanquished. Breathing heavily, Hinata ran up the wall and onto the ceiling, spraying kunai in Sasuke's direction to distract him. He deflected them easily and came at her with his Katana, aiming to finish the battle.

The two came at a standstill, glaring each other down while holding each other off. They knocked each other backward but Hinata quickly regained her footing, using her Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists in order to drain Sasuke's chakra. As she tried to make contact with him, she noticed that Itachi was taking a really long time with the Akatsuki. What was he doing? Hinata didn't realize she had landed a fist on Sasuke's right shoulder until she started falling forward. Regaining her stance Hinata went in for another blow but Sasuke punched her arm away and upper-cutted Hinata, sending her crashing into the ceiling.

Stone and brick fell to the ground, uplifting dust and dirt with the impact of the fall. Hinata, who clung to the roof for several moments before cascading down to the ground, was momentarily dizzy. The world spun out of control as she fell, everything around her rising and spinning all at once, forcing her eyes closed. As she felt the ground coming closer, Hinata tried to regain her senses to catch herself. But she didn't have to. Itachi was there in an instant, coming in out of thin air and holding her close to his body. Hinata opened her eyes just barely and saw Itachi's worried expression gazing down at her.

"Akatsuki…?" She whispered, unable to form a complete sentence just yet.

"Taken care of." Itachi reassured, the corners of his mouth turning upwards.

"Well aren't you just a knight in shining armor." Sasuke mocked.

Itachi placed Hinata against a wall so she was leaning upright. He cupped her cheek in his hand and she looked at him through half-lidded eyes. A weak smile came on her lips, "I'm sorry. Just give me a moment." Itachi shook his head, glad she was conscious.

"Don't worry, darling. You did well. Let me handle this now." He placed a delicate kiss on top of her forehead and left her to face his brother. He sighed heavily, cracking his knuckles.

"Alright, Sasuke. You wanted a fight. Give me everything you've got."

"It's about time."

With that, the two brothers clashed. Kunai against sword, fist against fist, and the brothers went at it for what felt like hours. It was nonstop action between the constant punches, kicks jabs and stabs. Both had their sharingan activated so it was easy to detect the others next move. It was a battle of wits and physical strength and so far, neither was in the lead. Hinata watched with unwavering eyes, holding her breath as if letting it out would affect the battle. Silently she prayed for Itachi to win. She held no attachment to Sasuke and therefore did not care if he died. To her, he was worse than Itachi. If a man repented for his sins and vowed to make a change for the better then he deserved credit and a blessing at the very least. Sasuke, on the other hand, wanted nothing but death and destruction.

Itachi was using half his effort in this fight. He wanted to see how strong Sasuke really was. So far all they used was taijutsu, so Itachi had not seen any of his jutsu's he acquired over the years.

After a long while, the brother's took a break and assessed each other. They were both breathing heavily, sweat clinging to their skin. The blood thirsty look in Sasuke's eyes was still there if not a bit deflated. Itachi remained passive but determined.

"Why won't you die?!" Sasuke shouted in frustration.

Weaving the hand signs in rapid speed, Sasuke used his fireball jutsu. Gritting his teeth, Itachi jumped out of the way and ran up the wall to the ceiling, where Sasuke guided his flames directly at him. Breaking through the ceiling, Itachi countered his fireball jutsu with his own, the two fireballs colliding. Itachi decided that it was time. Within seconds his mangekyu sharingan was activated and black flames were borne. Itachi rarely used his amaterasu, only using it when he needed to. Sasuke was a worthy opponent.

Finding Sasuke through the flames, the amaterasu hunted him down and chased him as he ran. His speed was quick but the flames gained on him. Pain in his eyes started to surface the longer he used this jutsu. Itachi flinched and strained to keep his eyes open. The flames were almost on him. Sasuke ran at full speed, evading the black flames as they snaked toward him menacingly. He was out of breath but if he stopped he was dead.

Itachi could barely keep his eyes open and his chakra was almost gone. Using this any longer would completely drain him of his energy. The flames slowed down and lessened until they completely disappeared. Sasuke slowed down to a stop and looked at Itachi, catching his breath.

Itachi had to shut his eyes, grasping his head with his hand at the price the jutsu cost. He couldn't use that jutsu again, if he used it anymore his eye sight would disintegrate even more.

"Are you alright?" Hinata asked in a concerned tone of voice, coming up to the roof. Itachi could only nod and nudge her to his side so she didn't take a direct impact from Sasuke if he chose to attack.

"Sasuke's chakra is almost depleted, as well as mine. This shouldn't last much longer." Itachi explained, blinking several times to get his eyes adjusted. The toll the mangekyo took on a sharingan user was heavy, if Itachi could avoid the use of his eyes he would. But he was blessed with a powerful gift and to use it would only show ignorance.

"I can help." Hinata stated eagerly but Itachi shook his head.

"I got this. Go back downstairs and wait for me."

With a frown creasing her forehead Hinata followed his orders and retreated to the inside of the building. Itachi was determined to finish this fight here and now.

"Sasuke." Itachi called. His brother appeared on the roof, scratched and cut and out of breath. No matter how hard Sasuke wanted to kill Itachi he could not deny his low chakra levels.

"Your chakra is nearly gone. Let's end this."

"That's what I'm going to do."

Sasuke once more brought out his sword, channeling chakra through it to create a stream of chidori running through it. He ran toward Itachi, who thought it was foolish to come at him head on. But Itachi didn't notice the band of snakes circling his feet and before he could move the snakes had bound themselves around his body, rendering him immobile. Itachi cursed and struggled but they held him with a fierce grip. He watched, breathless, as Sasuke drew closer and closer upon him, sword raised, ready to puncture.

"Fuck."

Itachi had no choice. He activated his mangekyo one last time and the flames of amaterasu came to life. Ten feet from him the flames sprung up and consumed Sasuke, who howled in agony as the massive black flames ate at him. Blood dripped from Itachi's right eye as he strained to hold them open long enough to stop Sasuke. He gritted his teeth against the pain but held on until Sasuke fell to the ground and lay motionless. Shutting his eyes in relief, Itachi felt the grip of the snakes lessen until they disappeared altogether. He fell to his knees with a hard thump and struggled to regain his breath. Squinting, Itachi glanced up toward the body that now lay singed and scathed, no longer full with the thirst for blood. Sasuke's sword no longer held the chidori within it and it lay on the ground inches from his hand. Sasuke laid there; face down on the burnt pavement, lifeless.

~W~

Itachi cried for the hundredth time that week. It seemed as though no matter how many tears he shed over his now dead brother, there was still more left in the tank. Itachi could not help it; he lost every member of his family and he had killed every one of them. He was forced to be a killer he did not want to be, all a plan to gain peace. But there was no peace, there never would be; not with the raging bitterness and hollowness that never left Itachi. Life was different now, both brighter and darker.

He heard a rustling of the grass as footsteps grew louder as she drew nearer. Silently, she sat by his side, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. This was habit, now. Itachi would come here and empty his sorrow into the ground and she would sit with him. Hinata did not mind this, she understood everything. All she wanted was for Itachi to come to terms with his life and hoped things would get better as time went on. She took his hand, grasped it.

"You had no choice, Ita," she whispered through the wind.

"I wish things had turned out differently. But I can't change any of it. I'm sorry for putting you through…all of this." Itachi said, his voice breaking at the end. Hinata hugged him to her as tight as possible as if trying to squeeze the pain out of him. He cried and cried into her shoulder, not feeling the least bit ashamed for doing so. Itachi had dealt with so much bullshit and torture, both mentally and physically, that he just didn't care anymore. It felt good to relieve himself, especially with Hinata here. She was his rock; he felt that without her he would lose his mind.

"All you can do is move forward and accept your past." Hinata whispered into his hair. Itachi wore it down lately but wasn't really sure why.

"I'm so lucky to have you with me, " Itachi admitted, cupping her cheek and gazing into her eyes, "I love you, my angel."

"I love you, too, Ita."

The couple came together in a passionate kiss, wrapping each other in a blanket of adoration. Even though only three months had passed since Sasuke's death, Itachi felt like it was just yesterday when everything came to an end. But he was sure of one thing, though: even though one relationship was burned to pieces, another one had grown because of it. If Itachi hadn't left the Akatsuki that day and Hinata hadn't found him nearly dead in the forest, Itachi was positive they would have never met. It seemed like fate took a chance with the two of them and something great came out of it. Itachi was grateful for having Hinata in his life and hoped that with her love and kindness, that he could restore his clan and make it stronger than it was before. Because he believed with all his heart that the strongest things bloomed out of love.

A/N; HOLY. FUCKING. CRAP.

Guys I'm sorry but this took forever to write. It's literally 9 pages long. I really tried to make it worth your while seeing as it's the end of the story. I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud that I actually strived to finish it and actually finished it. I tried some different writing approaches with the fight, trying not to focus too much on solely romance. The ending was a bit hard because I always like to have the couple married with a kid so I tried to do something different. They do get married and have two kids, though. I'll tell ya that much! I really hope you guys liked it, let me know your thoughts and what, if anything, you would like to see for a new story. I said I have a few going on but your ideas are important too. Thank you all for the continuous support and extremely thoughtful comments, they really kept me going. I love you guys even though I don't know you personally, you're still amazing =)