Ain't That a Kick in The Head?

Goddamned Bureaucracy

hiiiiii this is on AO3 already but im posting it on wattpad bc im a slut for validation anyway the og authors note is long as fuck but basically this was gonna be a oneshot now i'm 2/3 deep and I've written 90k words :,)

we've got your feels, found family, fix it, but at its core, this story is an ooey-gooey rom-com. anyways enjoy ૮₍ ˃ ᵕ ˂ ₎ა~♡

He had already won, it was clear the fight was already over. Retreating was pointless. It was clear that Itachi had chakra exhaustion– he should just roll over and let Sasuke slit his throat already.

Sasuke took a step forward, adrenaline coursing through his veins. His ankles wobbled under the uneven ground, under one of the craters they'd created out of this temple. Out in the distance, he spotted Itachi taking cover by a large piece of stone debris.

Cloaking the meager amount of chakra left in his reserves, Sasuke snuck towards his brother.

It was all a lie.

Everything he'd ever been told was a lie.

The iron pillars that he'd constructed his perfect revenge upon were all tin.

With a battle cry, Sasuke threw one of his last kunai at Itachi's feet. He leaped back as the explosive tag he'd attached to it went off. The large panel of stone that Itachi had been hiding behind was torn apart. The area filled with gray smog and a rock chunk the size of a small cat whizzed past Sasuke's head. The smog spread rapidly, completely covering the area before dissipating entirely. He activated his sharingan, just to be sure it wasn't a genjutsu.

He'd blamed the wrong person. For years, he'd blamed the wrong person.

The wrong person, who'd taken on the burden of an unspeakable act, in the name of a miserable fucking village that had perpetuated the cause of the unspeakable fucking incident in the first place.

It took him a couple seconds to react when Itachi charged at him. He quickly threw a shuriken at Itachi, which he parried with Sasuke's half blown-up kunai. Itachi ran closer to him, and Sasuke cussed. He jumped backwards onto a shard of rock emerging from the dirt. It wobbled slightly with his weight. He formed the hand signs for the fireball jutsu and tried his best to spit roast Itachi for good. When the fire cleared, his brother was inches from his face. Sasuke swore again. He grabbed another kunai and lunged for his throat.

Itachi had only been trying to protect him.

Itachi had only been trying to protect him.

That's why he left him alive. Sasuke no longer has any room to doubt that anymore.

But why... What about...?

Sparks flew as their kunai clashed.

Why the hell would he go so far to protect the place that killed him? That used him and spat him out like he was worthless? Why the hell did he go so far as to ensure Sasuke was the one that killed him?

Itachi was smiling, somehow. Sasuke felt a flicker of offense wash over him, then it disappeared.

If anyone should be smiling, it should be him.

"I'm sure this must be quite the shock to take in." Madara says, shrouded by the flickering shadows of the Akatsuki's underground hideout. His sharingan glows blood red, a flare in the darkness.

He watched, slack jawed and helpless, as Itachi pressed a finger to his forehead– the same way he'd always done when they were kids– and collapsed, dead.