Trust and Mistrust von xXx_StarScream_xXx (Itachi x Sasuke) ================================================================================ Kapitel 1: From Hokage to Nuke-Nin ---------------------------------- --- --- --- Trust and Mistrust --- --- --- __the avenger and the assassin__ Hiyah! Welcome to another one of my crazy stories! I wrote this one in English, because… well, I just felt like doing so. If anyone doesn’t understand something, feel free to send me an ENS, then I’ll explain. Other than that, please enjoy reading it and I would appreciate it if anyone left me a comment, telling me what he/she liked/disliked in my story. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Screams. Someone’s screaming like hell. Who? The voice seems so familiar. I run in the direction the screams come from. I see flames, I see blood. And I see a guy. He’s chained on the wall, his head hangs low and it seems as if the fire has already got some of his black hair. I want to run to him to free him, but the flames block my path. Another scream. This time, mine. Now he looks up at me. “Sas…uke…” I hear my name and that moment I know who hangs there in the centre of the flames, almost burning to death. I scream his name and try to get through the flames, somehow. Suddenly a man stands in front of me and holds me back. He has long black hair and eyes like a snake. I know him, that’s for sure. “No, Sasuke. He is the assassin of your parents, of your whole clan. His fate is predetermined. It was his destiny from the very beginning. Even the elimination of your clan was part of this predetermination.” “What?!”, I ask angrily, “If it was predetermined all along, why didn’t anyone stop him?!” My anger rises. I feel the Sharingan activate. “Oh, your eyes! Don’t you try it. You cannot beat me, you cannot beat him. …well, in his present condition, you may even be able to beat him… huh… this will be interesting.” The man orders another man who appeared out of sudden behind him to free the chained guy. “I allow you to do with him whatever you like. Kill him, hurt him, let him escape… whatever you want.” Then the longhaired man disappears into thin air. I look at the guy who now lies at the ground, breathing hard. The man who freed him was gone. I knee down next to the guy. “Hey…” The guy looks up, trying to smile. “Sasuke… Why did you do that? He could’ve killed you for trying to free me.” I smile and feel my Sharingan deactivate again. “If he tried, I would’ve killed him. That’s how it would’ve been.” I twitch my shoulders. His smile becomes happier and he embraces me. “Oh Sasuke. Even though the flames burnt my hair and even though I felt the heat beneath my feet, my only concern was you.”, he murmurs. Then he leans back a bit and looks into my eyes. While we’re getting closer again, I whisper his name. Then our lips meet. ‘Itachi…’ “Itachi…” With a mourn I woke up and looked around me, at first not knowing where I was. Then it came to my mind; “Just a dream...” It sounded sadder than I wanted. That’s why I started to wonder. Why the heck was I dreaming about Itachi? I thought I let him behind me after I beat him. I sighed. Yeah. I beat him, but I couldn’t bring myself to killing him. He was still alive. Wandering around, somewhere. I finally break through this thoughts and stand up. While drinking my coffee like every morning, I think about the dream again. Screams, fire, the longhaired guy, Itachi… It just didn’t fit. The guy said it was Itachis fate to die, to repent for his sins. But if it was predetermined that Itachi killed the Uchiha clan, why the hell didn’t anyone do something to stop him? Even Itachi himself wouldn’t have let anything predetermine his life. He wasn’t like that. With another sigh I cleaned my coffee cup and put it back in the cupboard. Then I went back into my bedroom and changed my clothes. Since the day Naruto, Sakura and I killed Orochimaru, I never wore the blue shirt and the white trousers again. Ever. I’ve been wearing black clothes ever since, in memory of Itachi, who was killed by Orochimaru. He wanted to protect me… He gave his life for mine when Orochimaru tried to kill me. So I put on black, short trousers, like my old white ones, just without the kunai holders, and a black shirt that resembled my old blue one. In short, my clothing just changed colour. I left my house and went through the woods, like every morning, to do a warm-up before training. I ran through the woods and tried to get rid of my odd dream from this night. It was so surreal. Itachi wouldn’t let himself get captured, chained or burnt. Besides there was the fact that Itachi as well as Orochimaru were dead. Exactly that moment I noticed a charka emerge not very far from my position. I decided to look who it belonged to. I jumped on the trees and almost flew over the branches. It wasn’t long until I saw the guy. I sat on a branch and searched the area. Two guys stood there. Two guys to whom it should’ve been impossible to stand there. I tried to hear what they were talking about. “No, Orochimaru! I won’t let you have him!”, my brother told his opponent angrily. “You don’t have the right to stop me. Nor you have the power. You’re still so weak, Itachi, so weak. You are not able to protect him from me any longer. I watched this long enough. Soon you won’t be able to block my path any more! The boy’s mine!!” I was so surprised that I almost fell off the branch. “Itachi and… Orochimaru? They’re… alive?”, I murmured. I could’ve hit me for that. Orochimaru heard me immediately and looked up to me. I used the Hiding Technique I learned from Hokage-Sama when I got the rank of Hokage myself. Itachi searched the treetops too now and he saw me. Orochimaru didn’t, but my brother discovered me. He didn’t say anything though. “What was that? You see anything?”, Orochimaru asked. As if Itachi would’ve answered him. “What… you’re paranoid? Can’t blame you, as you were defeated by Chuunins…”, Itachi provoked the snakelike man. “Ha, ha. Very funny. It doesn’t matter what that was. I’m leaving now, to Konoha village. I got something to get there.”, Orochimaru said and disappeared into thin air. I waited a while until I couldn’t sense Orochimarus charka any more, then I undid the Hiding Technique and jumped down, where my brother still stood. He was surprised to see me, I could tell by his eyes, but then he smiled. “Hello little brother.” “Hello Itachi.” Silence. “You’re Hokage now?”, Itachi then asked. I nodded. “Yeah. Naruto, Sakura and me got the title after defeating Orochimaru. …although this was your victory too.” “Well I just blocked an attack. It was you who did the killing blow.” “Hmph. ‘Killing blow’. He still lives, so this wasn’t a killing blow back then.” Itachis smile broadened. “Don’t sell yourself short. You hurt him so bad that he had to hide for more than three years. …I am proud of you, Sasuke.” I blushed and looked to the side. “Uh, cut it out.” Another while silence. “What… shall we do now?”, I asked him. “What do you mean?” “We can’t just pretend that nothing happened. You killed our clan. I got bit by Orochimaru. We fought. You saved me. I defeated Orochimaru. You almost died. You two are back. This is all too confusing to not mention it.” “…well… let’s just not talk about it, okay? It is past. We can’t do anything about it. I am not saying that we should forget it, just not mention it. Agreed?” “…alright. …for the moment.” “Alright.” I made a few steps, then I stopped. “What do we do once we meet Orochimaru?”, I ask my brother while turning around to him. “We’ll fight. This time… together.”, he answered and smiled once again. “Hmm... Together… we might be able to kill him once and for all.”, I said. Itachi nodded and walked by my side, until we reached Konoha village. I took a deep breath when I saw people running around like crazy. “He’s here already.”, I declared. “What did you expect? He was on his way here before we started.”, Itachi told me. “…yeah, right.” I didn’t know the reason, but my mind was more than confused since I saw my brother. I couldn’t think of anything clearly. In battle, I would’ve gotten big trouble. We stood there for a while, then Itachi asked me the question I never wanted to be asked: “You said… your two friends got the Hokage title too? Why aren’t they here?” I sighed. “Sakura died shortly after you protected me… Orochimaru got her. And Naruto… well… he went away after the battle. I think he wants to drive Kyuubi out of his body. Although this is impossible… But he never gives up.”, I explained to my brother. “I’m sorry. I don’t think you wanted to get reminded of this.” “Nah, it’s okay. You don’t know.” “Sasuke… I…” Itachi didn’t get the chance to finish. Exactly at this moment a familiar man appeared in front of us. “Ah… the brothers. So it was you back there. I should’ve known.”, he said. “Why would you care?”, I said more aggressive than I originally planned, but I didn’t care. This man was to blame after all that Sakura died. “Itachi… you traitor.”, Orochimaru declared and shot some shuriken out of nowhere, so that neither him nor me noticed it quick enough to dodge. He got hit with full power and stumbled. “Itachi!”, I shouted and caught his arm before he got too far away. Then I turned to Orochimaru. “How dare you attack him again after what you did to him three years ago?!” My anger was noticeable more that clearly. “Sasuke, no.” I looked at my brother with confused eyes. “What…?!” “He wanted to attack you and I threw myself in front of you. It was my fault.” Fault? Did he regret saving me? Did he want to kill me like before? But why had he saved me then, if he hated me so much? “But Itachi…!” He pushed me aside and now he and Orochimaru faced each other. “This is my battle.” Hadn’t he said ‘this time we fight together’? What’s that supposed to mean now? Did he want to die again? “But you said…!” Itachi interrupted me. “This doesn't matter any more. I will fight him alone.” I could feel tears in my eyes, but I wanted neither Itachi nor Orochimaru to see my crying. So I turned and ran back into the woods. I could feel Orochimarus eyes on me. I ran and ran, until I couldn’t run anymore. I leaned against a tree and now the tears ran down my cheeks. I slowly slid down to the ground, putting my arms around my knees, burying my face in my arms. “I missed him so much… I missed him terribly… I was so happy when I saw him alive… and now… he acts like at the time when he killed our clan… that’s not fair… He should’ve killed me back then… if I was dead… I didn’t have to bear this pain…”, I murmured with low voice. “Sasuke.” I jumped on my feet and saw my brother in front of me. “What do you want?! I don’t want to see you anymore! Go away! I hate you!”, I shouted crying. But Itachi didn’t go away. He came closer and embraced me. “!!” “Didn’t you just say you missed me?”, I heard his voice. Now I put my arms around him too. “Itachi…”, I heard myself saying, not really wanting to. I felt Itachis face going down to my neck. I still felt the pain of the cursed seal from Orochimaru there. I couldn’t believe what happened. I felt my brothers lips on my neck. I wanted to tell him to stop, I wanted to push him away, but my body didn’t obey. Then, my thoughts and daydreams got ripped apart, as I felt teeth biting me. “Hey! What’s that supposed to be, Itachi?!” “Hun, hun, hun… you should know your brother better than this, Sasuke. You really think I am Itachi?”, I heard the annoying snakelike voice, and just when I recognized the voice, I pushed the guy away from me. But it was too late. I felt the pain which was awakened by the second bite more intensive than any time before. I fell on my knees and saw the snakelike face in front of me. I wanted to extend the distance, but my body didn’t do as I wanted. “Remember, Sasuke? This was how it felt to be strong.” I had to hold onto the ground, I almost fell over. How could I mistake him for Itachi? Did he just misuse my longing? …longing? So… did I really long for my brother? But he hated me. There was not a 1 percent chance that this would go well. “Thinking about him again? Even near death you can’t stop thinking about him. Hun, hun. How cute.” I would’ve killed him for talking like this, but I couldn’t move. He bent down to me and touched my hair. “Oh my, Sasuke. He makes you weak. Why don’t you forget him?” I couldn’t even answer, my powers faded and I couldn’t stop it. My arms gave up and I fell. Hardly breathing, I felt a second charka getting closer. In my hallucinating I thought Itachi was on his way to me to save me, but then reality struck me. He wouldn’t come. He hated me. I heard Orochimaru saying something, and then I heard a second voice arguing with him, but I couldn’t tell who it was or what they said. Then I felt charka emerges and heard something got struck against a tree near me. Orochimaru laughed and then I felt his charka vanishing. He fled. The next thing I felt was a warm hand touching my cheeks and my forehead. “Sasuke?! Sasuke!!”, I heard a voice. It was the voice of the guy driving off Orochimaru. “Let… go… of me…”, I brought over my lips. The hand let go of me immediately. “What’s wrong? You… got bit again?” I could hardly nod. I felt someone lifting my head up. My view was blurred, but I saw black hair and red eyes. “…sharing…an?” “It’s the only way to drive him off. He fears it. Since you beat him with it.” “Are you… really Itachi…?”, I asked with a weak voice. The pain got more and more intensive and I could hardly recognize the red eyes any more. I felt that he lifted me up and now I laid in his arms. The next thing I felt were soft lips on mine. I was surprised, not much less than before because of the fake Itachi, but this time I simply knew that he was really my brother. After our lips separated again I heard his voice, which said softly: “Is that answer enough?” I nodded. Just being here in his arms weakened the pain, if only a little. “Please… make the pain go away…”, I murmured. He touched my cheek and his fingers slid down until they reached my neck. “I know a technique. But… it would make you a Nuke-Nin.” “Why’s that?” “…Orochimaru is very powerful, as are his seals. And now, through the second bite, the seal got strengthened. I know it sounds cocky, but the only way to remove it is to kiss it away...” I was silent for a while. I was unsure if he said what I thought he said. “But… we’re siblings! It wouldn’t be right.” “That’s why it would make you a Nuke-Nin. Think about it, you are out of danger now.” He wanted to let me down to the ground again, but I held onto him. “Just a little longer…”, I pleaded quietly. Itachi looked at me confused. “I thought you hated me. What happened?”, he asked me. “All the years since you killed our clan and fled… I told myself that I was an avenger, only alive to revenge my clan – and kill you. But really… all these years… I missed you… terribly… And when I saw you back there, lying on the ground, killed by Orochimaru, dying because you protected me… I… got so angry… I was raging. I didn’t even need to activate my Sharingan… it did it all by itself. I was wishing for power during these years, because I told myself that it was my duty to avenge my people. But… in the end, I used the power I gained while training to defeat you for killing Orochimaru.” “You… wanted to avenge me then?”, he asked softly. “Yeah.” “Hmm. Then… let’s avenge ourselves together.” I looked at him with disappointed eyes. “You said that before. But when the time came, you sent me away. How can I be sure that it won’t happen again?” Another gentle kiss. “Proof enough?”, he said smiling. I smiled back at him. “You’re a cheater, Itachi.” “Hey, I’ve got the best arguments, haven’t I?” We smiled at each other for a while longer, then my smile vanished. I just had to know. “Tell me…” “Yeah?” “…why did you send me away back there? Why wouldn’t you have let me fight together with you?” Itachi was silent for quite a while. “…I feared to lose you. I looked in your eyes and saw confusion. I knew that if you had fought in that condition, the snake would’ve killed you. …I would give my life to save you one more time, Sasuke. And I would do it as often as I could.” I held onto him tighter. “That won’t do. If you fear to lose me and I fear to lose you, we won’t be able to fight at our maximum strength.” Itachi giggled. “Always thinking tactical, aren’t you?”, he said with a smile. “Well, if you don’t think about these things, I have to do it.” He let me down, but he still held me close. “How’re you feeling now?”, he asked. “My… neck hurts.”, I explained. “… … …I don’t assume you’ve decided yet?” “You mean the seal-breaking-thing? No… I don’t know yet.” Itachi looked at me concerned. “You cannot fight Orochimaru when his seal still hurts you. He’ll use it.” “I know…” I knew that we were short on time, but I couldn’t bring myself to just let go and let Itachi do what he wanted to. “What do you say, let us go to Konoha village. You must rest and think.” “But the village is in danger while we’re there.”, I complained. I was aware of the fact that I had to rest, and I would’ve been grateful for every minute I had for thinking everything over. But the snake-man was dangerous. He would destroy the whole village and kill every person in it until he found us. “I know. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.” It was sweet that he said that. “I can cope with the situation, I don’t need to be protected. The village needs protection.” He smiled and released his grip. Then he made a step backwards. “Your only concern is Konoha village, isn’t it?” “No. It’s Konoha… and you.”, I told him quietly. I could see tears in his eyes. “Why… why are you saying this?” I was still shocked as Itachi grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to the ground. “Itachi…?!” His hands were at places where they never should have been. I heard him whisper my name again and again, and slowly fear came up. He did things that let me become afraid of him. I knew I didn’t need to fear him, but when someone doesn’t listen to you anymore and does things you don’t really want them to… you begin to fear him. “No… Itachi, stop…”, I groaned under the weight of his body. “Why, Sasuke? Didn’t you want me to end the pain?”, he whispered. “Yeah, but I don’t want new pain in exchange!” Finally I was able to push him away. He looked at me confused and maybe a little disappointed. “Sasuke…?” I shook. I just couldn’t stop shaking. He kneed next to me and wanted to touch my cheek, but I pulled my head away from his hand. “Don’t… touch me…”, I said with low, shaking voice. I sat up and crawled a bit away from him. “But Sasuke…?” I couldn’t bear his voice any longer. I turned and ran away, in the direction Konoha village laid. I felt his confused eyes on my back as I fled. Every time I heard his voice, my stomach grumbled and my head got foggy. But while I ran through the woods, I only felt fear, panic, maybe even disguise. And last but not least I felt so sad. Tears ran down my cheeks once again. After a while I arrived at Konoha. The people there just managed to defeat the fire that spread. Orochimaru had laid fire, maybe to cut off the resources for me and Itachi. Or maybe he just loves destroying things. I wandered around, searching the house I used to sleep in. I really needed some rest. But with all the things on my mind, I couldn’t even tell what direction it was. Somehow I managed to find it and almost fell against the door. It opened and I went through. I didn’t even care whether the door was closed, I just fell on my bed and the next moment I slept. Cries. I hear cries. Someone screams in panic. I try to find the source of the shouts, and finally I see someone. I try to get closer, but the guy doesn’t come any closer. I scream his name, but he doesn’t hear me. I run and run, but I can’t get near him. Suddenly, another man appears. He goes to the first one, and I scream his name, because I know what the second one wants to do. The first guy leans against the other one, and the same moment my heart aches. The second guy embraces the first one and the two slowly vanish hand in hand. While they are disappearing, I scream the name of the smaller one, but he doesn’t hear me. He just goes on with the taller guy. “Sasuke!!” The smaller one finally turns. “Don’t touch me, brother.” Then he turns around and the two of them vanish at last. “Sasuke!!!! Don’t trust him! Please!!!” I fall on my knees. Tears fall on the ground, but I don’t even feel them run down my cheeks. “Sasuke…” I woke up with tears on my face. What was that? Weird dream. I saw myself. And I saw Orochimaru. But who was I? I noticed that the door was open and stood up to close it. But the moment I had the handle in my hand, I saw Orochimaru standing on the other side of the street, leaning against the wall and watching me. When he noticed that I saw him he came up to me. I should have run away, but I just stood there waiting for him to arrive. “Sasuke. Not running this time?”, he said when he finally arrived. “No matter where I would run, you’d find me.”, I answered before I could do something against it. My body didn’t obey as it should. “True enough.” He looked at my neck and licked his teeth. “Sasuke, tell me, does your neck still hurt?” “Often, but not permanently any more.” Once again I answered without me wanting to. He made a step closer to me and put a hand on the wound on my neck. “I could end it…” “What?” “If…” I was alarmed and made a step backwards. “If what?”, I asked, getting slightly afraid. “…if you came with me.”, he finished. I looked at him. “Come with you? Why should I do this? You’re evil, and you killed Sakura! I hate you!!”, in the end I almost screamed the words. His eyes became gentle, but the same moment his grip on my neck got tighter. “Well, I did expect you to become angry, but not because of Sakura… I’d thought it was Itachi you wanted to kill me for.”, he said smiling. Why was he so nice out of sudden? He planned something, that was certain. I was silent for a while. “What… would you do… if I came?” The grip got even tighter. “This I can’t tell you. You have to decide now. Do you come or don’t you?” My thoughts were twisted. Should I go and let him end the pain? Or should I refuse, and bear it? I got interrupted by the sound of Orochimaru getting kicked away. I looked up and right into Itachis eyes. “Little brother, haven’t we decided to fight him together?” I didn’t listen to him. I looked at Orochimaru who slowly got up again. “Now is the time to choose. Yes or no?” Itachis eyes became confused. “What is he talking about?” “How are you planning to do your part of the pact?”, I asked, ignoring Itachi. “Another way than he is planning to.”, Orochimaru answered. I looked to Itachi, then to Orochimaru, and then back to Itachi. “….okay. I accept.”, I said with low voice. Orochimaru grinned in a more than evil way. Then he went up to me and Itachi and looked at him sadistic. “I won. See? It’s too simple. I won! He’s mine!” I noticed too late that it was a trap, and when I finally did, Orochimaru had already got a hold of me and pulled me away from my brother. “Sasuke! Why…?! Why do you trust him more than me?” I heard my brothers voice asking me that sadly, and I wanted to turn around and tell him, but Orochimaru didn’t let me. After a moment, we vanished. We appeared in some dilapidated house and finally Orochimaru let go of me. He walked a few steps away from me before he turned around and looked at me. “So… do you love him?”, he asked. I was first shocked, then confused. “Why do you ask?” “Well, it’s clear that he loves you. So I wondered if you love him back. If that is so, it will complicate the weakening of the pain. So?” “…I don’t think so…” “You’re not sure?” “…I can’t really say… he is my brother after all.” Orochimaru nodded. “Sasuke… I will now show you my way of ending your pain. Be ready.” I nodded. The snake-man came closer and put a hand on my neck. “Close your eyes.”, he ordered me. I did as told, and then I heard him whisper: “Here I come.” Then I felt his lips on my face, wandering around, discovering every inch of my face. I didn’t dare to stop him. After all, he promised to make my pain go away. When his mouth touched the wound on my neck, I felt the pain more intensive than before, but after a while it got weaker and weaker, until I didn’t feel it anymore. But in exchange I felt something else. Orochimarus face was wandering over my whole body, stopping at every sensible point. “Sasuke…” I head him whisper my name, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the way he pronounced it, I didn’t like what he did. Then, without me noticing or really wanting it, one word came over my lips. One word which destroyed my whole existence as a Hokage. “Itachi…!” Orochimaru stopped and looked up to me. “…this… will complicate things…”, he murmured and stood up, so that we were at the same height. His eyes changed from gentle and nice to frightening. Then he grabbed my wrists and pushed me against the wall. “Sasuke. I tell you just once. Forget him already. You followed me on the pathway to power. You cannot return to your brother’s path of revenge. You are mine now. And if you refuse to be mine… someone will die.” I felt my Sharingan activate. So it did react to fear too. “Stop it. You cannot defeat me alone. You are all alone now. No more Sakura to save you, no more Naruto to help you fight me. You are lost.” I felt tears in my eyes, and I didn’t want them to come, but I couldn’t help it. Then, without me doing so, I pushed him away from me. “Oh, what do you know?! Sakura’s always with me, even in death! Naruto will come back one day, once he has defeated Kyuubi! And even if he hates me… within me, Itachi gives me strength!”, I shouted. Orochimarus eyes got confused shortly, but then they returned to the cold glare they used to have. “Hun. Just lie to yourself a while longer. Someday you will notice that it was all a false hope. And then… when you finally realise that Sakura is gone… that Naruto is gone… and that Itachi is gone… you will have no choice but to return to me. Remember that.” I shrugged. “Even if they would all leave me alone! Even if they did! I would rather die than return to you!!”, I cried. Then, I saw it for the first time. I saw Orochimarus mask break. His cold glare vanished, and I could see tears in his eyes. “Why don’t you understand?”, he said with low, sad voice, “Sakura is dead. Naruto won’t come back. And Itachi hates you. Naruto was glad to be able to flee from you. You two were never best friends, were you?! He didn’t go to defeat Kyuubi. He went away to get rid of you! Don’t you see?! I am the only one who cares about you now, Sasuke!” After saying this, he embraced me softly. I didn’t know what to think. Was it a trap again? But he sounded so sad. Could he just pretend this? Before I could think about it long enough to find an answer, the door suddenly broke. I looked up, but Orochimaru didn’t even turn around. What I saw were red eyes, black hair and a black coat. I didn’t believe what I saw there. “Sasuke!” “Itachi!”, I pushed Orochimaru away from me and almost fell into Itachis arms. He held me tight and touched my hair. “So… you don’t hate me after all?” , I asked quietly. “Of course not! I missed you all these years! I spent months to look for you, only to find you almost dying by the snake’s fang! I didn’t even hesitate one moment, I saw you, I saw him, and I threw myself in front of you!” I hugged him tighter. “Sasuke…” I looked up into his red eyes. “…I love you.” My heart was about to break as he said that. I felt the Sharingan deactivate. “No!!”, Orochimaru shouted. I was being pulled away from my brother by a extremely long tongue. “I told you before, Nuke-Nin, he is mine!! He chose this path all by himself!” I looked into Itachis eyes. They were sad, but at the same time raging. “Let go of him.”, he ordered the snake with a calm voice, but I could hear that he was everything else except calm. “No! He chose to be with me! He forsook you and came to me!” Itachis eyes got angrier and he came closer. “Don’t come any closer! Or I will kill him!”, Orochimaru warned Itachi and suddenly he had a kunai in his hand, holding it at my throat. “Itachi…!”, I whispered fearfully. His warm eyes tried to calm me down. “Don’t worry. Remember what I told you.” Remember what he told me? …that he would always give his life for mine? No! I wouldn’t let this happen! I pulled my elbow behind and hit Orochimarus stomach. He released the kunai a bit, just a little bit, but it was enough for me to free myself. I almost fled to my brother, who demonstratively laid an arm around me. “Think again, snake-man. He isn’t yours. He’s mine.” Orochimaru shrugged. “He made a pact. Even you cannot release it.” “I am a Nuke-Nin. I can do whatever I like.”, my brother said and I looked up into his face. Confidence lay in his eyes. Hun? Becoming a Nuke-Nin? But… Sakura… Naruto… Kakashi… Tsunade… Their hard work would be erased if I gave up now. And my own hard work. All these trainings sessions… all these nights I stayed awake to train… Could I give all that up? Could I betray all my friends and former teachers? I saw Orochimarus typical evil smile. “You may be a Nuke-Nin, but Sasuke isn’t. It is the most cruel betrayal for teachers and comrades if a ninja becomes a Nuke-Nin. And he even is a Hokage. You really want to destroy his reputation? You want to make all his training, all his hard work, go to waste?” His usual psychotic tricks. I had been sure that he’d come up with these. Itachi lost a bit of his confidence. He looked down upon me and I saw confusion in his eyes. I saw his twisted thoughts. And I knew I could not let Orochimaru win. So I decided to end my being a Hokage. I softly pushed Itachi away form me and made a step forward. “You’re up to the same old psycho-games like back then. But this time they won’t work.” I took my Konoha-ribbon off my forehead and pulled out a kunai from Itachis kunai holder at his leg. Then I held the kunai above the ribbon. “It doesn’t work any more… as I am a Nuke-Nin henceforth.” With that said I carved a line through the Konoha symbol. Then I bound the ribbon around my forehead and put the kunai back. Orochimaru was even more shocked than Itachi. “What did you do?!”, Itachi almost screamed. “From Hokage to Nuke-Nin… Not even your brother, the most famous Nuke-Nin, did that.”, Orochimaru said. “The rank of Hokage doesn’t fit me. I am an avenger, but Hokages must not think about themselves. That’s why I’d rather be a Nuke-Nin, being able to do what I like.”, I explained. Orochimaru pulled out a kunai from behind his back and held it up. Itachi and me pulled out some shuriken and a kunai each too. But then, we hesitated. Orochimaru held his own kunai at his own throat. “I told you… if you refuse to be mine… someone will die.”, he stated and then he cut his very own throat. He fell and a small lake of blood formed beneath him. I kneed next to him and Itachi stood behind me. “But why…? He had wanted to kill me at any cost that day. Why did he kill himself because of me now?” Itachi sat down next to me and hugged me briefly. “When I sent you away back then… he offered me a pact. If you’d choose his path, you are his. But if you decided to come with me, you are mine. And then I told him that if you would leave me… I would die. He said that he would too and so this was part of the pact too. He… had loved you for a very long time now. He only fought you because of the Sharingan. He was so obsessed to get it that he pushed away his feelings. But when you defeated him… he felt his love even more than before. The longing for the Sharingan was defeated by his feelings for you.”, Itachi explained to me. I closed Orochimarus eyes and leaned against Itachi. “What… should we do now?”, I asked with a weak voice. “Well… It would be better if we left Konoha. Let’s travel around, together, until we find a place where two Nuke-Nins like us belong.” I nodded and the two of us rose. When I wanted to go, he held me back and embraced me from behind. “I love you Sasuke… I never hated you…”, I heard him whisper. “I know.” I turned around and looked up into his eyes, smiling. “I love you too, Itachi.” While we drowned in a gentle kiss, we quietly swore never to let the other one go. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Eeeeeend!! Think of their journey yourself, the purpose of this FF was to get these two together as dramatically as possible! Well, thanks for reading it, and please leave a comment. At this point I want to thank S-Slytherin, the first one who left me a comment. Many, many thanks! I had problems changing the content of the FF, so I had to erase and create it anew. Sorry for those who already wrote a comment. Well, until next time, take care and See ya, Kadaj Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)