Dusk Till Dawn

2

The dull crash of water hitting rocks resounded through Sasuke's head as he contemplated his options. Madara had gone; to where he didn't know - didn't care - yet he was alone again.

He could go back to the battle scene and inspect Itachi's body, but what he would gain from that he did not know. Would he be looking for a chance of redemption - forgiveness maybe - from Itachi's corpse? Now that he knew the truth a dull ache had settled in place of the hatred that had burnt for Itachi.

It was a cold fact that Itachi was innocent; far more innocent than the cherished brother he had protected for so long. The cherished son, the lone Uchiha in Konoha, was the one to betray Konoha.

Every action Itachi had taken - every neat, calculated step - head been for Konoha, for him. Itachi had been playing a dangerous game in joining the Akatsuki, even Sasuke knew it could have been a fatal move, but the Uchiha had played his part stunningly, even to his death. Itachi partner would find the corpse and inform the organisation of Itachi's dead; to them it was another closed book, nothing more.

He wondered briefly if Konoha would thank him for this act, after all Itachi was an S-Classed Missing Nin, regardless of his guilt or not. Of course this was another option; he could go back to Konoha, allow the Dobe his victory, and start the Uchiha clan again, yet he wasn't ready - would he ever be?

Dark eyes watched as the water pooled around the rocks, spraying occasionally upon his face in a cooling and soothing gesture. Team Hebi would be expecting him, he could easily return to that Team. What would he accomplish, though, what was his need for them anymore? The only useful person in his goals would be Karin and god forbid that he even let her see an inch of his skin in any situation where they were alone.

That left only one option; to remain alone. It wasn't as daunting as Sasuke had expected, sure there was the empty hollow in his chest but that would clear. Madara had made it clear what he wanted Sasuke to do and, like he had been his whole life, Sasuke would oblige and play along. It was only in his nature, after all; something that had been nurtured inside of him unconsciously by Itachi.

The Kyuubi had once said that, if Sasuke killed him, he would regret Naruto's death. That statement made sense now; Kyuubi had known this was coming.

Long ago, Sasuke had accepted that he was the lone survivor of the Uchiha Clan. Itachi had made his intentions clear, even in death it was easy to see that Itachi wanted Madara dead; why else would the Amaterasu react so strongly to Madara that it would want to kill him on sight? Itachi had planned the next motions of Sasuke's life, enough time for him to begin a new page of his life.

Sasuke stepped down from the rock he stood upon, hand resting gently on the hilt of his Katana. Peace had overcome his mind yet this was no time for private reflection. The dawn of war was approaching, the sound of war drums as loud as the crashing waves, and Sasuke knew how to begin his part; Madara's days were numbered.

In many ways it would be a eulogy to Itachi; the caring man who had devoted his life to his little brother and received nothing but hatred and isolation in return. There were so many times, too many to count, when Sasuke would have loved to know that Itachi had been innocent - and he guessed that he'd known it deep down - but there could be no other Itachi in his mind.

From the age of six, Itachi had always carried the title 'Brother who murdered the Clan' as opposed to the simple 'Brother'. It would forever remain that way, regardless of his innocence. It was who Itachi was to him, what he represented and what his actions had done.

Maybe, just maybe, if things had planned out differently he would be standing somewhere similar to here, two sets of eyes overlooking the waters as Itachi explained various properties to whatever Jutsu they were studying but that was a selfish dream, a foolish ambition that simply could not occur.