"With this power, lightning will strike down from the heavens. All I have to do is guide its power straight through your skull."

Itachi could have smiled at the irony of the situation. Here was his beloved younger brother, who's entire life up until eight years had been devoted to shadowing Itachi, standing as cold as stone as he gloated over the impending kill. Itachi had brought this upon himself. He had taught his brother to hate, to thrive on murderous passion.

Itachi fleetingly wondered if it had been worth it. If only events could have been manipulated to better serve them all. Perhaps if the Uchiha clan hadn't tried to overthrow Konoha, or the Third Hokage hadn't ordered the clan massacre. Maybe if he'd killed Sasuke... perhaps his brother could have been spared the pain.

But he couldn't kill Sasuke, not even now. He loved his little brother too much. Even if it meant throwing away his life and making himself a curse to the world, Itachi couldn't bring himself to destroy the last person important to him.

Besides, he had asked for Sasuke's hatred. Every single time they had chanced to meet he had driven his brother further down a path that no man should have to travel. He had taught an eight-year-old the desire to kill. Yes, everything had been his fault. Itachi deserved death.

But it didn't keep away the hurt when he knew it was the little brother he cared for so deeply that now sought to destroy him. There was no regret in Sasuke's eyes, only cold malice as he spoke.

"The name of this technique is 'Kirin.'"

Itachi drew back slightly, watching the lightning gather from the one eye he could see from. Whatever it is, do it quickly. He knew he wouldn't last much longer. His left arm was badly burnt from Sasuke's fire jutsu, and his leg was still bleeding sluggishly from the rigged shuriken blade. On top of that, Itachi's weakened body was finally giving out of years of pressing himself beyond his limits. He wouldn't go down without a fight, though. Even if this was the end, he would continue to defy death as long as he had any breath in his body.

A great creature appeared at Sasuke's summons, a monster created of electricity. Itachi started, knowing this was something he couldn't dodge. He would have to use his last card, and even that might not be enough. Even now there was little time.

"Disappear with the thunder," Sasuke's voice rang out, so cold and void of emotion. The monster vanished into the clouds, then launched itself towards Itachi.

He barely had time to activate his Susanoo before the attack hit. Powerful bursts of lightning blasted apart the surrounding area, sending elecric jolts into the Susanoo armor. Itachi could feel his body begin to give way again as the force of the attack threw him into the ground. Something was wrong. The Susanoo should have blocked the attack. Why did he feel the lightning begin to twist around him, the elecricity pulsing through his body?

Itachi screamed as the lightning jutsu broke through his Susanoo. Crimson and celadon waves of chakra wrapped around him, an impossible maneuver for the combination of the techniques. Susanoo and Kirin enveloped him in their embrace, chakra of an unknown kind warping the surrounding air. A blast of sound and light exploded in Itachi's head. He felt the sensation of falling before his head struck something hard. Merciful blackness fell, and Itachi wondered if he would finally able to know how dying felt.

...

As the smoke cleared away, Sasuke stared at the place where he had last seen his brother. His eyes widened and he drew back in shock. Itachi was gone. The surrounding rocks were blasted apart, but Itachi was nowhere to be seen.

Sasuke let his chidori die down and fell back against the stone slab, his chakra spent. What had that blast of chakra been? Sasuke had never seen such an explosion of power before. Did that mean... was Itachi alive?

Sasuke felt his hopes collapse along with his triumph. He had failed! For eight years he had devoted his life to avenging his clan, and once again his plan had been dashed to pieces and thrown to the winds. For eight years he had relished this moment, only to watch it disapate into the wind.

A sudden thought clutched Sasuke's heart. Perhaps there was a chance Itachi had been killed. Had Kirin been so powerful it had completely incinerated the Uchiha? Sasuke slumped against the stone, feeling an overwhelming sense of regret. What if Itachi was dead? What if... what if he had killed his older brother?

It was strange. For so long Sasuke had lived to kill Itachi, and now he wished for all the world that he had his older brother at his side. Hang the fact that he was supposed to be the clan avenger. What good was revenge when it only took away the one important person he had left?

Sasuke's breath hitched as his emotions warred against each other. Itachi was dead. He had fulfilled his mission and could return home with his head held high. Itachi was dead. What was the purpose anymore?

The realization hit him with a vengeance. He had killed his older brother! Memories of the days before the massacre came to mind. Itachi training with him, helping him with his homework, reading to him when he was sick, simply being there as an older brother...

"ITACHI!" Sasuke screamed to the skies as a sob burst from his throat.

His head bowed and his shoulder shook with silent weeping. Tears tracked down his face, mingling with the rain. He was so wrapped in his grief that he didn't notice the approaching footsteps. It was only when the blow hit his head that Sasuke realized he hadn't been alone.

Darkness fell before he could do anything about it.

...

"Come on!" Naruto shouted as he raced ahead.

"Naruto, slow down!" Kakashi called. "You can't keep running ahead of everyone."

Naruto growled and refused to slacken his pace. He knew Sasuke was close, and this time he wasn't going to fail to bring him back to Konoha!

I'll show you, Sasuke. I'll prove to you that there's more to life than revenge! Can't you get it through your thick skull how much everyone worries about you? Can't you think about anything but killing your brother?

His resolve giving him strength, Naruto pushed himself to go faster.

"Naruto!" Kakashi's voice rang out in the distance.

Naruto's mind didn't acknowledge his former sensei's calls as he continued racing through the forest. Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks.

An entire section of the forest had been blown away. Faint pulses like elecric shocks tingled in the air, making Naruto feel like tiny ice cold needles were lightly jabbing his exposed skin. The trees were splintered and the plantlife gone, leaving only fallen timber and gouged earth. To his horror, Naruto saw a small body curled in the midst of the wreckage.

"Sakura!" he shouted over his shoulder as he ran forward. "Get over here, quick!"

Gently pushing a fallen tree limb off the cloth bundle, Naruto gasped. A small boy lay limp on the ground, a long black shirt wrapped around his body. His head was bleeding from where it had struck against a tree stump, and another streak of blood had dried on one side of his face.

"Sakura, hurry!" Naruto called again as he took his cloak off and wrapped it around the shivering boy.

"Naruto! What's wrong?" Kakashi's voice rang out as the group of ninja dashed into the clearing. Everyone stopped abruptly as they took in the ravaged forest.

"What are you waiting for, Sakura?" Naruto shouted, bringing her attention to the young boy lying on the ground.

"Wait, don't move him!" Sakura ordered curtly as she ran over and pulled out her medical pack. She hated the fact that this was delaying their search for Sasuke, but she couldn't leave the boy to die.

"Everyone spread out," Kakashi ordered. "Check the area. Watch out for further attacks."

Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Sai, and Yamato disappeared into the trees. Kakashi frowned behind his mask as he studied the young casualty.

The boy couldn't have been more than seven or eight years old. His small body swam in his black shirt, almost as if he were wearing a large nightgown. It was the boy's face however that drew Kakashi's attention.

It can't be...

Sakura clucked her tongue in sympathy as she examined the boy. Her skilled hands found no broken bones, but the large knot at the back of the boy's head promised a killer of a headache. A streak of blood had dried on the boy's cheek, leading from his right eye.

"He seems to be all right," Sakura said as she checked the boy's eye for the source of the bleeding. Strangely, nothing appeared wrong. "He's pretty bruised, and he's taken a nasty hit to the head, but other than that I think he'll be fine."

"I wonder what happened to him?" Naruto commented.

Kakashi knelt down and studied the boy's face. He knew immediately who the child was. The two distinctive lines were obvious, and the facial features were unmistakeable.

"I'm sure we'll find out as soon as he wakes up," Sakura replied. "I just hope he didn't hit his head too hard. I need to know his name so we can contact his family."

"I don't think that will be as easy as you think," Kakashi said darkly.

"Huh?" Sakura and Naruto looked up in surprise.

Kakashi reached under the collar of the boy's shirt and pulled out a long necklace with three bronze rings.

"I believe we've found Itachi Uchiha."

...

I do not own Naruto.