Itachi felt Sasuke approaching. His chakra signature was strong and was accompanied by three others – one of whose he recognized to be Sakura's. He got to his feet and brushed the dirt from his cloak. This was it.

He had been waiting almost eight years for this moment and it was finally here. He wished that Sasuke had come alone. He wished that he wouldn't have to waste his energy on Suigetsu and Juugo first. And he wished that Sakura wouldn't be here to witness his death.

But none of that could be helped, and within a matter of hours none of it would matter.

He stood in the center of the clearing, his Sharingan activated.

Within minutes he heard their soft footsteps in the trees and a second later, Sasuke's trio had landed meters away from him. Sasuke looked haggard, his eyes surrounded by purple shadows and the lines on his face deeper than Itachi remember. His face was hardened, his mouth pressed into a thin line, his eyes narrowed.

"Sasuke," Itachi said. The name felt foreign on his tongue, like it wasn't his right to speak it.

"Itachi," Sasuke growled.

"Sasuke, wait!" Sakura yelled. Itachi noticed her then – she was slung across Suigetsu's back. Had she not come here willingly?

Itachi let his eyes stay on her as she struggled to free herself from Suigetsu's grip. She landed a punch square between his shoulder blades and Itachi nearly winced at the crack the echoed through the trees.

Suigetsu dropped her.

"What the fuck," he cursed, "You're supposed to be our medic – not hurt us."

"I never agreed to be your medic," Sakura snapped, but as soon as the words left her mouth she turned her focus to Sasuke who was several feet in front of her with his back turned to her.

"Sasuke, please," she begged, "Just wait."

Sasuke had not taken his eyes off of Itachi. "Suigetsu," Sasuke said, his tone cold and commanding, "Keep her under control."

Sakura clenched her fists at her side and for the first time looked at Itachi. Itachi was surprised when she met his gaze. She had seemed so afraid to look into his Sharingan before, yet now she was staring at him, hardly blinking.

Suigetsu collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain. Itachi mentally thanked Sakura for taking out one enemy for him.

"Sasuke-" Sakura started, but she was cut off by Sasuke's firm grasp on her jaw. His palm covered her mouth and Itachi saw his fingers squeeze tightly around her face.

"Sakura," Sasuke said, "I brought you here for one purpose. If you can't do that then I'm going to have to kill you."

Itachi felt sick and blinked rapidly against the confusion he felt. Could this be his little brother? Was Sasuke capable of killing his own teammate, someone who loved him so dearly?

He took a step forward, intending to intervene on Sakura's behalf. He hadn't planned on getting involved with their affairs, but he couldn't stand by idly while Sasuke killed her.

But she was one step ahead of him and dug her heel sharply into the ground beneath her, kicking up the earth and forcing Sasuke to jump back away from her. Seeming to realize that her reasoning tactic was not going to work, Sakura launched herself directly toward Itachi.

Itachi watched in confusion, unsure of what she planned to do. She didn't look like she was going to attack him.

"I'm not going to let you do this," she said when she was close enough that only he could hear her. She grabbed his wrist and yanked hard with her chakra-enhanced strength and dragged him along behind as she darted back into the woods.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Sasuke yelled from behind them.

Itachi was at a loss. In his right mind he knew that he should stay and fight Sasuke. This was the moment he'd been looking forward to for far too long.

And yet with Sakura's cool fingers around his wrist and the promise that going with her meant staying with the living for just a little while longer, he was hard pressed to free himself from her grasp and stay.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Itachi demanded. He kept up his pace behind her. Sasuke was in pursuit, but it looked like Juugo had stayed with Suigetsu.

"I'm not going to let him kill you," Sakura said, "I'm not going to let you die."

Itachi, frustrated by their slow pace and the way Sasuke was quickly gaining on them, scooped Sakura up like he'd done so many times with Sachi and surged forward, quickening his pace.

Well, now he definitely had to postpone his battle with Sasuke until he could get some better answers from Sakura.

She clung to his chest, his fingernails digging into the exposed skin near his collarbone. She was probably annoyed that he had picked her up, judging by the look on her face, but she didn't complain.

"Can you lose him?" Sakura asked.

Itachi didn't answer, but when he landed on the next branch he turned on his heel and fled in the opposite direction. The distance between them and Sasuke was growing, but with Itachi heading right back toward him again, they would pass each other in a matter of seconds.

He saw his brother approaching, a more livid expression on his face than he had ever seen their before. Using a one-handed sign, Itachi cast a genjutsu. Immediately, Sasuke paused in his movements and froze, rooted to the ground.

"He'll break out of that easily enough," Itachi said, "But now we can lose him."

He set her back down on her feet and grabbed her wrist this time. Together, they flew back to the trees, trying to gain as much distance as possible.

Several minutes later, they had found a small alcove created by a thick bunch of trees. Itachi cast another genjustu around them to prevent anyone from seeing them and turned to face Sakura with his arms crossed.

"Well, what's this all about?" he asked. All at once, he was amused, concerned, and a little bit frightened.

She was staring into his eyes again and he was fully aware that he had not yet deactivated his Sharingan.

"You're looking in my eyes," he pointed out.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore."

"I take it this means we're back to being temporary allies."

"You were never my enemy, were you, Itachi?"

He furrowed his brow and swallowed. In Toyeiki she seemed quite determined to learn the truth about him. Had she been successful?

"How much do you know?" he asked.

"I know about your final mission as a Konoha-nin," she replied, "I know you aren't the monster you led us all to believe you were."

He couldn't believe that she had found out such a well-hidden secret. Either he had underestimated her, or the secret wasn't as well kept as he thought.

"I'm still a monster, Sakura," he said and he wished his voice didn't sound so weak, "I committed a terrible crime."

"You are as much a victim of it as the people you killed," she whispered, "You were trying to protect us – the village I mean. And Sasuke. If anyone here is a monster, it's the elder who gave the order."

Itachi's breath felt shallow and pain curled up in his throat. It was such a relief to know that someone else finally knew the truth, so why did it hurt so much? He sucked in a ragged breath and released it shakily.

Sakura pressed her hands to his chest, alight with chakra before they contacted his body. "Are you alright?" she asked.

No, he wasn't. It was too late to ever be alright again.

"Sakura," he murmured. Her chakra was flowing through him now, reaching every bit of pain and tension in his body and soothing it. He wished he could have had her around long ago. He couldn't fathom a better sensation than her cooling chakra.

"You're planning to let him kill you, aren't you?" she asked.

He nodded, because she had already figured it out and there was no use in lying to her – not after all she had done for him, was doing for him now.

"I think you should tell him the truth," she stated. He nearly rolled his eyes. Of course she would think that.

"I can't do that," he said.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sakura demanded, removed his hands from his chest. He almost reached out and grabbed her wrists to place them back there, but he refrained. "Why do you torture Sasuke like this? Don't you love him?"

"It's complicated," he said. He didn't feel the need to explain himself to her.

"It's not complicated," she insisted, "You're just an idiot. And I can't really blame you for that because you were only thirteen when you left. But honestly, what the hell were you thinking? Why on earth would you set Sasuke down this path? He's consumed by rage and the need for revenge. He's nothing like the little brother you used to know. You killed that part of him – not when you killed your clan, but when you urged him to 'foster his hatred.' What a ridiculous thing to tell a child."

Itachi listened to her rant, his eyes widening with every word. He knew she was right. He had known these things without her telling him. He made mistakes. He wasn't perfect.

He had wanted to shield Sasuke from the corruption of the village leaders. He wanted to preserve his love for the village and keep him safe. In doing so he had inadvertently pushed him in the complete opposite direction and now the best thing he could do for him was to let him get his revenge.

"Killing me will help him find peace," Itachi countered.

"What if he learns the truth?" Sakura demanded, "Do you think he'll be at peace still, knowing that he killed the brother he adored so much, the brother that loved him?"

"He won't find out the truth," Itachi said, sending her a warning glare. He could not prevent her from telling him after he was dead, but he could make sure that she knew he didn't want that.

"You know," Sakura said, cocking out her hip, "I don't know much about clan politics, but I think you're giving Sasuke too little credit. He might have been able to help you. You wouldn't have had to do it all alone."

That gave him pause. He had never considered telling Sasuke the truth about the clan's premeditated coup. He was far too young to be swept up in such things. Yet, Itachi had been only four when he experienced war for the first time. Maybe Sakura was right. Maybe he had not given Sasuke enough credit.

"He would never believe me," Itachi said.

"I'll back you up," she said, "I have proof."

Proof?

"Besides," Sakura continued before he could ask, "The Sasuke who loves you is still in there. That Sasuke would never believe you capable of the things you did. He'd believe you because it makes perfect sense."

Itachi inhaled and held his breath in, thinking hard. Everything Sakura said was true. And if he could get Sasuke back on his side (or rather, if he could be back on Sasuke's side), then they could take out Akatsuki and Madara together. Sasuke was strong – he'd seen how powerful his little brother had become. They could be a team, like he'd always wanted.

"You're right," Itachi said.

"Obviously."

Itachi laughed. Running into Sakura in Toyeiki had been the last thing he wanted. Now he was so glad he'd found her.

"I didn't believe you'd find out the truth," Itachi admitted, "I was certain you were going to either betray me or forget about me completely."

"It's your own fault that didn't happen," Sakura told him, "Your behavior really struck a chord with me. I couldn't stop thinking about you once I got back to Konoha."

"I thought about you, too," he said.

Her brow furrowed and she cocked her head to the side. Itachi had a feeling that he should have kept that information to himself.

But before she could say anything else a branch snapped in the distance. Itachi realized how close they were standing and took a step back away from her.

"Sasuke's coming," Itachi said, "You should get out of here. Go back and heal Suigetsu's back."

She opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it. He couldn't stop staring at her and how out of place she seemed in the darkness of the woods. She was bright and pink and beautiful and it was with a reluctant hope that he realized that she had come here to save him from death.

"Please don't die, okay?" she said.

He reached out to grab her hand, to confirm for her that he wouldn't die – if only so he could see her again, but he caught himself and let his arm fall back down to his side.

He wanted to blame these new feelings on the fact that she knew the truth – and was the only person who did. But he wasn't foolish enough to lie to himself. He had thought of her far too often after leaving Toyeiki.

He watched her turn to leave the alcove.

"Itachi," she said, turning to face him one more time. He met her eyes. "Thank you for what you did for the village. I can't imagine how difficult that was for you, and to have everyone hate you for it… You really deserved better."

A second later she was gone. Itachi was grateful to be alone again so that no one could see how his face screwed up into a pained grimace. No one had ever thanked him for what he had done before. He wasn't sure that he agreed with her – that he deserved better, but hearing the words come from her felt almost as good as her chakra in his chest.

Shaking the emotion from his face, Itachi released the genjutu that had been hiding them and steeled himself for Sasuke's appearance. He could think about Sakura later, but right now he had something more important to deal with.

"Itachi."

Itachi looked up to find Sasuke standing on a branch above him. He hopped down and landed in front of Itachi, close enough that he could reach out and place his hand on his shoulder if he wanted to.

"I wasn't interested in speaking with you," Sasuke said, "I was going to kill you on sight. But now I'm curious. What were you doing with my medic?"

Itachi tried not to bristle at the way he referred to Sakura – not by her name, but like she was a possession. He deliberated on whether he should telling Sasuke about their time in Toyeiki together. What would he think of that?

"She wanted you to know something," Itachi said, "And she thought that you should hear it from me."

Sasuke scoffed. "Really?" he asked, "What could that be?"

"The true reason for the massacre."

Sasuke's eyes widened and he froze in place. The air around them was still and quiet. The sun was beginning to rise and the light in the woods was eerie and dim.

"To test your ability, right?" Sasuke spat, his eyes darkening with anger.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. I did not trust you with the truth. I wanted to protect you from it. You meant the world to me – you still do. I thought if I lied to you that I could save you from the same fate I had," Itachi said. The words flowed out of him unexpectedly. He never imagined it would be so easy just to talk to Sasuke instead of finding more creative ways to manipulate him.

Sasuke remained silent, a pained expression remarkably similar to the one Itachi wore on his face.

"I would like to show you the whole truth," Itachi continued, "If you will let me."

Some of the rage that burned in Sasuke's eyes had subsided. His hands unclenched at his sides and his shoulders dropped. The man who had come to kill his older brother had somehow morphed back into the one who had adored him.

"Okay," Sasuke said, "Show me."

.

Itachi showed him everything. He showed him his meetings with the Hokage and the clan leaders. He showed him Shisui and their original plan. He showed him Shisui's suicide, the tearful deaths of their parents, and the way he let Sasuke go. He showed him how he received orders from Danzo, how he asked Madara for help, and how he chose to join Akatsuki in order to keep an eye on Konoha to make sure that Sasuke was safe.

When Itachi released Sasuke from the memories, Sasuke fell to his knees, tears brimming in his eyes. His face was contorted with so many emotions – ones that Itachi had been processing for years and that Sasuke was experiencing all in the matter of seconds.

"Sasuke…" Itachi crouched down next to his brother and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He half expected his hand to be violently pushed away. He almost expected Sasuke to accuse him of lying again, to deny that what he had just seen was the truth. But Sakura was right. When Sasuke looked back up at him, his eyes the same coal black as his own, Itachi could see the boy he had left behind. The boy who wanted nothing more than to train with his older brother.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Sasuke asked in a whisper. "Why did you want me to kill you?"

"I made mistakes, Sasuke," Itachi answered, "I'm not perfect and I know that. I understand if you won't forgive me. I wronged you in more ways than one. I thought I was doing what was best for you, but I was wrong."

Itachi shifted so that they were face to face.

"I see now that I should have trusted you with the truth," Itachi said, "I was constantly pushing you away, trying to prevent you from becoming like me. I wanted you to be free from the burdens of being an Uchiha, free from the kind of life I lived."

Itachi paused and took in a shaky breath. His hands were trembling and he felt tears prick at the back of his eyes, but he somehow held them in.

"I didn't give you enough credit," Itachi continued, "Maybe if I had trusted you with the truth things might have turned out differently. Maybe you could have succeeded where I failed."

Sasuke's hand drifted to his shoulder and settled over Itachi's.

"I never stopped loving you, Sasuke, even when you hated me. I will never stop loving you," Itachi said.

Sasuke leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Itachi. Itachi couldn't stop the tears then as he returned his little brother's hug. Why had he ever thought that letting Sasuke kill him was a good idea? His mind raced through all the mistakes he made, all the pain and suffering he dragged Sasuke through.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke."

A flash of pink in the distance caught Itachi's eye. He gazed over Sasuke's shoulder and saw Sakura standing between Kakashi and Tenzo with Naruto standing in front of them.

He quickly got to his feet, pulling Sasuke up with him. He couldn't be sure that they wouldn't attack him. He was, after all, still a criminal – even if Sakura and Sasuke now knew the truth.

As soon as they were standing upright, Naruto barreled toward them. Itachi, having the good sense not to get involved in whatever was about to happen, leapt backward, away from Sasuke, away from his former teammates.

Naruto landed a punch square in Sasuke's face, knocking him back to the ground. Itachi assumed he deserved it, but coming down from his emotional high, it felt like he had been the one punched.

"You put us through all that shit," Naruto said, seething, "You talked and talked about your one goal and how you couldn't come back to Konoha until it was finished."

Sasuke sat up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

"And you're not even going to kill him!"

Sasuke got back to his feet, glaring at the blonde man in front of him. "How did you know that?" he asked.

From his back pocket, Naruto produced a file that had been folded in half.

"After you kidnapped Sakura," Naruto began. Itachi glanced over at the pink haired woman in question, who sheepishly looked toward the ground. "We went to her apartment to look for her when she didn't show up for work and found this on her kitchen table."

Naruto thrust the file into Sasuke's chest. Sasuke glanced warily at Naruto and then Sakura before opening the file.

It must have been the proof Sakura had mentioned, Itachi thought. But where could she have gotten such a thing?

"So everyone knows, then?" Sasuke said, skimming the file with his Sharingan.

"Just Team 7 and the Godaime," Kakashi supplied as he approached them. His one visible eye drifted to Itachi. It was an intense flurry of uncertainty that caused butterflies to swirl in Itachi's stomach. Kakashi and Tenzo had been his teammates once, and he had fought against them as an enemy. Standing before them now that they knew the truth left Itachi feeling like he was standing in a vacuum.

"Sakura informed us that Sai was the one who retrieved this information from ROOT's underground base," Tenzo said, "Sai is now missing. He did not show up to our rendezvous point for this mission."

Sasuke growled and clenched his fists. "Danzo is the one behind all of this," he said.

"Sasuke, I know you're angry and you want revenge, but we need to take a step back and think about what we're going to do next," Sakura said.

"There is no we," Sasuke snapped, swirling around to face her, "This is a matter for me and Itachi."

"Sakura is right," Itachi spoke. His voice seemed to make that vacuum real. Everyone looked at him. No one spoke.

"Akatsuki is the biggest threat to the village right now," Itachi continued, "We should be focusing on that."

Itachi tried not to feel intimidated by the way everyone continued to look at him. They were right to be cautious and he felt too much like an intruder, like he didn't belong with them. Technically, he was not their ally.

"Have you defected from Akatsuki, Uchiha-san?" Kakashi asked.

Itachi blinked at the formality. "Not officially," he said, "But I'm sure they are wondering where I am right now."

"We should go back to Konoha," Sakura said, "We should be discussing all of this with Tsunade-sama."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Will you cooperate with us, Itachi-san?" he asked, "We could use any information you have on Akatsuki."

Itachi closed his eyes, feeling a dizziness prickle in his head. He must have been dreaming. Not even an hour ago he had been resigned to his fate, accepting the death that would release him from the hell he created for himself.

And now he was standing among his former teammates who were asking him for help. His brother was standing by his side. It was the opposite of what he expected. In a strange way, it made him feel like he was home.

A cooling sensation whipped through his chest and straight up to his brain. He realized that Sakura's hands were on his chest again, pumping her healing chakra into him.

He locked his fingers around her wrist and pulled them an inch away from his chest, just so that they were not touching him. He was sure she could feel the way his heart was hammering in his chest, even without touching him.

"I'm fine," he said to her, "It's just overexertion from my Sharingan."

She took a step back away from him, pulling her wrists out of his grasp. He was both amused and mortified to see the pink tinge in her cheeks and the bashful way she stared at her feet. If anyone else noticed, they had the tact to disregard it.

"I will cooperate," Itachi said, "I'm happy to share any intel you need."

"Wait," Naruto said, "So Itachi is on our side now?"

Five pairs of eyes settled on Itachi again, waiting for an answer. Itachi looked at Sasuke to gauge his reaction. Sasuke had defected from Konoha. Did he want to come back now that Itachi's reputation could potentially be cleared? Did he want to go back home with his teammates now that his quest for revenge had been stayed?

Sasuke's face was as impassive as ever, giving him no indication of what thoughts were behind those familiar and yet somehow still foreign eyes.

Itachi wanted to look at Sakura to see what she thought. He could nearly always read her from her facial expression. But he knew that if he looked at her he would find it too difficult to look away.

"He's under no obligation to go back to Konoha," Sasuke finally said, "And neither am I."

"I want to go back," Itachi said, surprising himself with the determination in his voice, "I want to help get rid of the Akatsuki threat."

Risking a glance at Sakura, Itachi saw that a wide grin had spread across her features. It was infectious enough that he felt the corners of his mouth tilt upward as well.

"Great," Kakashi said, "Let's get back to the Hokage tower."

"Well, Sasuke?" Itachi asked. "Are you coming with us?"

Sasuke begrudgingly nodded and the six of them set off toward Konoha.