Hi everyone,
An extra long update for you guys!
I hope you enjoy this chapter of jaded, and thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows XD

Sasuke stopped showing his memories and pulled his brother into the normal world of Tsukuyomi. He wanted to talk -yell, scream, rage- to Itachi about the decisions he made for as long as Sasuke had known the truth, and now he finally had an opportunity to let it all out.

In the future, Sasuke had hoped that with all kinds of dead, famous shinobi coming back to life, Itachi would be amongst them. Of course his luck wasn't that good. It was made even worse when he found out later that Itachi would have been among the edo tensei people, had his brother not asked Kisame to burn his body when he died. Except for his eyes, there was nothing left.

Sasuke had felt conflicted by it. One the up side, Itachi wouldn't be there to fight against them in the war, and that was something that you couldn't say for a lot of dead people. Even the shinobi who fought by your side were at risk of being brought back to life by edo tensei, only to fight against you this time. So that his brother was spared this fate, was a relief.

On the other hand, Sasuke couldn't handle what Itachi had kept from him. If he had had the chance to talk with his brother, it would have eased a lot of the suicidal depression he had gone through after he died.

Yes, the suicidal depression he had gone through.

Now, standing in the Tsukuyomi world, Sasuke only had one question. He had to get the confirmation of Itachi's answer. He took a deep breath.

"What do you think happened after you died, nii-san? What do you think future you would have in mind when he made me kill him?"

Itachi, who was still in shock and petrified at what happened to him and his little brother in the future, could hear the need Sasuke had for an answer from him. This must have been a question that haunted his little brother for a long time. And even though the him from now wasn't the him from Sasuke's future anymore -and he never would be, Itachi vowed to himself- he felt the need to answer. So he thought about why future him would have done what he did. If he could answer Sasuke's questions and ease his suffering for even a tiny bit, he would be satisfied.

Suddenly his father's last words came back to him. 'Compared you, our pain is over in an instant'. The words seemed oddly fitting for the situation. Because even though future Itachi had suffered longer than his mother and father, Sasuke had been in pain even longer than all of them combined.

He was still suffering, even now.

Itachi thought about what he would have done had Yuugure not existed, and through his own thought process came to the terrifying conclusion that he would indeed have gone through with Danzo's orders and massacred his clan.

The only one who he would not hurt to keep the peace, was Sasuke. But if he had murdered his own family, Sasuke's family, he wouldn't have deserved to live anymore.

He shuddered at the thought, and felt a chill go down his spine at how easily he followed what future him's intentions were for his little brother.

He had wanted Sasuke to become strong and kill him. He didn't deserve to live, and Sasuke had to be strong for what was coming, so he had made it Sasuke's lifelong goal to kill him. Effectively making him stronger and showing the last Uchiha's loyalty to Konoha by killing their most wanted traitor since Orochimaru.

So what did he think future him would have thought Sasuke would do as soon as he was dead?

"You would have gone back to Konoha and lived your life like you were supposed to." Itachi finally said in a voice thick with his emotions. "But that didn't happen, did it...?" He had a sinking feeling in his stomach. If everything had gone like of was supposed to, no one from Yuugure would have known what had really happened. They would have seen him as an enemy, not a potential member. So the only thing that could have happened was...

"You found out the truth." He stated. "But how?"

Sasuke chuckled weakly. It seemed that he had been correct in his assumptions. Itachi hadn't taken into account that he would learn the truth, and thought that he would simply go back to Konoha. He could see the question in his brother's eyes, and began to explain.

"Your plan would have been perfect nii-san, but there was one thing, one person you overlooked. Uchiha Obito, your co-conspirator. The one that you thought would not tell me anything because he was Konoha's enemy and the secret leader of the Akatsuki."

At Itachi's incredulous look, he could see that that turn of events hadn't even come to his mind. "Why would he tell the truth to you when you were his enemy? When you were a Konoha shinobi?"

Sasuke sighed. "It's because I hadn't gone back to Konoha yet. Soon after my fight with you, I collapsed from exhaustion. He saw his chance and abducted me with the intention to get me to turn against Konoha by telling me the truth, and as soon as I woke up, he told me everything."

Itachi watched wordlessly as Sasuke showed him his memory of the event.

He saw how his little brother, who wasn't even an adult yet at the time, bore the pain of killing his beloved Aniki with his own hands. How his whole world was turned upside down with every word Obito spoke. And when all was said and done, he saw how Sasuke clutched his head in agony and developed the Mangekyo sharingan.

That alone was telling him how much emotional pain his little brother must have experienced at that moment.

And for the second time in a month, Uchiha Itachi cried.

Silent tears were running down his face, and his thoughts were running rampant. 'NootoutothiswasntsupposedtohappentoyouandImsosorryihatemyself...' He was brought out of his train of thought by two tiny arms surrounding his middle, and he looked down.

Sasuke was hugging him.

"Don't cry nii-san" he mumbled into his brother's shirt. "I'm glad I learned the truth, even though it hurt. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. Otherwise I wouldn't be here." He tried to comfort his brother with his words.

In Itachi's mind however, all his thought turned towards Sasuke's future. "What did you do?" He asked with a hoarse voice. "What happened after you learned the truth?"

He truly dreaded the answer. Would he join Obito and Madara? Or would he go back to Konoha? In the darkest corner of his mind however, he knew that neither would be the case. The emotional trauma Sasuke had just gone through was just to great to continue living his life like before.

Sasuke unwrapped himself from Itachi, and with hunched shoulders and a guilty countenance he told him the absolute truth.

"I tried to commit suicide."

Even though he had suspected it, Itachi was still surprised. He felt like he had been sucker punched in the stomach. Bile rose up in his throat, and his next words came out through clenched teeth in a hiss of irrational anger. "You didn't."

"I did."

"Why!?" Itachi shouted. "Why would you do that after everything I had gone through to make sure you survived!? The only thing I ever wanted for you little brother, was to live!" His voice broke on the last word.

"Don't you see!?" Now Sasuke raised his voice. "I had just lost everything! I killed my older brother with my own hands, and not even days later I hear that you were only trying to protect me! That you were innocent and that my whole purpose for living had all been for nothing!

Of course I would try to kill myself after that!"

They stood across one another in anger, each breathing heavily.

Then Itachi's body slumped.

"What happened exactly." He asked tiredly. Even though he didn't want to see, he had to. For his own piece of mind. There already were several gruesome scenes running through his head, all about Sasuke's suicide attempt. He would have nightmares for years to come if he didn't know exactly what had occurred. Not that he wouldn't have nightmares anyway.

Surprisingly, Sasuke smiled.

"I'll show you."

Sasuke had just violently rejected Tobi's offer for him to join the Akatsuki. To join, meant to move on with his life and have a new goal, a new purpose.

And he didn't deserve that.

As Sasuke looked back on his past actions, he was truly disgusted by himself. Without the outlook of an avenger that he had in the past, everything became crystal clear to him. He saw himself in a new perspective, and it wasn't a good one.

After the massacre, he had just shut the world out. Every person who tried to get closer to him, he shot down immediately. He had to train to kill Itachi, he had no interest in other people, he was above everyone else so they didn't deserve to interact with him.

He had been deluding himself into thinking all of these things were reality. In truth however, he had been afraid. Afraid of forming bonds with people, caring about someone other than himself again. Because he had experienced the loss of those bonds once before already, and simply wasn't sure that he could survive it if it happened a second time.

Then came team seven.

He could honestly say now that they were the best thing that ever happened to him. Kakashi-sensei, the weird perverted jounin teacher who had also become Sasuke's mentor and a person whom he could go to with his problems -not that he had acknowledged that he felt that way at the time-. Sakura, the annoying fan girl that had become more like the younger sister that he never had who loved him unconditionally. She had even offered to come with him when he defected.

And then there was Naruto.

Naruto, his former best friend. The one who was actually the most amazing of them all.

Yes, Orochimaru had told him about the burden Naruto had to bear since he was a baby. It was meant as a way to motivate him -and he was ashamed to say it worked-.

He however, had no chance whatsoever to be accepted back in Konoha, even if he wanted to go back. Because the things he had done to Naruto were unforgivable. Sasuke had allowed himself to get closer to the blonde only to gain the Mangekyo sharingan for when he killed him.

He felt the bile move up in his throat when he thought about their battle at the Valley of the End.

He had put a Chidori through Naruto's chest with the intent to kill him to gain the Mangekyo.

He had put a Chidori through his best friends chest. For power.

If it hadn't been for the Kyuubi sealed inside of Naruto, the blonde would have died.

That's when he knew. He had to end this madness. He had to end it, he had to end himself before he could do even more damage. And who better to put him out of his miserable existence than the very one who he sought to kill in the past.

'The one who probably hates me now', he thought bitterly.

He hadn't seen Naruto since the battle at the Valley of the End, and he was suddenly glad for it. If he felt this pained when he even thought about his former best friend now hating him, how would he have felt if he had seen the hatred in his eyes, knowing with a hundred percent conviction that he wanted Sasuke dead.

'Well,' he thought, 'if he wants me dead, then I'll give him exactly that.' At least his life would still be good for something that way.

So Sasuke travelled to Konoha with the intention to die.

He made sure that he was seen a lot during his journey, as to give a forewarning that he was coming. Naruto would be waiting for him at the gate, planning to attack him as soon as he came in sight. They would fight, and he would lose one way or the other -because Naruto was just amazing that way, he realised that now-. Sasuke would probably die from a rasengan or some other ridiculously overpowered attack, and finally his life would be over.

Of course, Naruto being Naruto, it didn't work out that way.

The first thing that went different then he expected was that Naruto didn't meet him at the gates, he had met Sasuke half way. Of course, this being their bloody ridiculous lives, the half way point ended up being the Valley of the End.

Sasuke snorted humorlessly, it was a fitting place for his death.

Here, he had committed one of his greatest sins by trying to kill his best friend. So here, Sasuke would be killed by him. It was great irony indeed.

Naruto was the first to break the silence.

"So you finally decided to come back to Konoha?" He questioned.

Sasuke looked up in surprise at the jovial tone that Naruto used. What he saw reflected on his former best friend's face honestly stunned him. Not a even hint of hate or resentment was present. Wasn't Naruto supposed to hate him? He put a Chidori through his chest for gods sake! Why didn't the blonde try to kill him on sight!?

"No. I didn't come here to join Konoha again." Sasuke said in answer to the blonde's question. He was still trying to figure out why Naruto would act like he didn't hate Sasuke when there was absolutely no reason for his former best friend to pretend that he didn't.

Oh. He was probably pretending.

Naruto simply brought one hand up to massage his shoulder and cracked his neck while he rotated his head around to loosen up his muscles. "Well then..." he said nonchalantly, "I will just have to drag you back against your will."

Before Sasuke could react, let alone say anything, the blonde had already formed a rasengan in his hand.

As the blonde rushed headfirst into (what he thought would be) combat, Sasuke simply saw the opportunity for what it was and spread his arms, waiting for the finishing blow, hoping that it would kill him. He closed his eyes, waiting for his demise.

Sasuke stood there like that for several seconds in silence, he opened his eyes again to see what was keeping the blonde.

Naruto was standing right in front of him, hand stretched out before him like he was about to hit him in the chest with the rasengan -the irony-, only the technique had dissipated just before it hit.

Sasuke looked up, only to be met by Naruto's very confused expression. "O..Oi! Sasuke, what the hell is wrong with you!?" He asked, completely befuddled by Sasuke's strange behaviour. Why the hell wasn't he fighting back!?

Sasuke sighed, sounding completely exhausted when he answered. "Does it really matter? Just finish it already."

At Naruto's now even more confused expression, he looked up at the sky and elaborated.

"Come on, kill me."

When he didn't get a reaction, he curiously looked at Naruto again, only to be met with an expression full of pure rage. It was in fact the most angry he had ever seen the blonde (and that said a lot, considering how easily Naruto became worked up).

"What the hell did you just say!?"

Before he knew it, he was punched in the face by an enraged Naruto. "What the hell happened to you!? Who are you and what have you done to my friend!? The Sasuke I know would never just roll over and die, and certainly not by my hands!"

Sasuke looked at him in shock for a moment. "I thought that you would appreciate to be the one to kill me, considering I have tried the same with you before." He carefully formulated.

Then Naruto's earlier statement sunk in.

"Friends?" He questioned hoarsely. "You still consider me your friend after all I've done to you?"

Naruto snorted. "Teme, did you fall and hit your head lately? I said I would bring you back to the village, why would I even bother trying if you weren't my friend anymore."

Sasuke froze where he stood. This wasn't going as planned -of course not, this was Naruto he was talking about-. He thought he had nothing left in this world, no family, no village, no team, no friends, no brother -but that wasn't true now, was it...?-. Surely he should do the world a favour and end his existence because all of these things before were of his own doing.

But still... . He couldn't get that niggling voice out of his head. That selfish voice that said he is your friend Sasuke. Naruto said so himself. You still have a friend, a Brother, in this world. Even if you're a being too disgusting to even contemplate touching him, he doesn't think so. He thinks of you as his friend. He thinks that you are worth saving. He believes, no matter how misguided that believe actually is, that you are not a waste of space.

All of these things made Sasuke come to the most logical conclusion in his mind.

Naruto didn't know the truth.

That thought stopped Sasuke in his tracks as he slowly began shaking. At first it was an unnoticeable tremor that ran through his body. Then it turned into non-stop shivering until Naruto noticed, at which point he began uncontrollably shaking.

"Sasuke...?...Sasuke!?...Sasuke!" Naruto was worried for his friend. First he shows signs of wanting to die, then he questions wether Naruto still thinks of him as a friend and upon getting confirmation that yes, of course Naruto still thinks of him as a friend you big idiot, he clearly starts going into shock.

This was not how he imagined their reunion going.

With that Itachi-bastard finally dead, Naruto had hoped for a somewhat more happy outcome. And because Sasuke was a broody bastard and a shitty friend, he was prepared to make it a happy return, even if Naruto had to drag him back kicking and screaming.

That was clearly not the case here.

Sasuke was shaking, almost to the point that Naruto thought it was better to sit him down and wrap him up in a pile of blankets with a steaming cup of cocoa for emotional comfort and warmth. And since that wasn't an option at the moment, he opted for the next best thing.

Naruto gave him a hug.

Miraculously, Sasuke stopped shaking almost immediately. Naruto made a note to himself to try hugging people again in the future since it clearly did wonders.

Sasuke slowly relaxed into the hug -the HUG! When was the last time that happened- that Naruto was willing to bestow upon his unworthy self, until he eventually began clinging back as if the blonde was his lifeline -which he kinda was-. He let himself be coaxed gently towards the nearest sitting spot (the head of the first Hokage), and they both sat there for a while just hugging each other. Naruto calm and quiet for once, and Sasuke in emotional disarray.

Sasuke's mind was caught up in a whirlwind of confusion, shock and pain. And after years of pushing people away in fear of coming to care, after years of distancing himself emotionally from anyone he could come to care about, after years of bottling up all his positive emotions while letting the negative run free because it was just so much easier, he let it all out.

Sasuke became a crying mess as he retold his life story from the beginning. He let out all of his emotions, told Naruto of his happiest moments and whispered to him about his darkest secrets and vilest thoughts. He laid himself, everything that he was, bare before Naruto in hope of him finding something, anything redeemable in the darkest pits of his black soul.

Naruto just listened.

Listening, Naruto knew, often was a lot more healing than any other kind of therapy. He had seen this with his own eyes in lots of the bars (shinobi and civilian) that people were too drunk to kick him out of. Escaping your problems was a common thing in the world, and Naruto knew that listening to someone without judging them and accepting who they were, even just for the night, often helped those people face another day. (Not that it worked for Naruto, but that was another story entirely...)

Hearing that his best friend tried to kill himself because he thought he had nothing left in the world hurt. It hurt in such a deep place in his heart that Naruto couldn't help his first reaction of indignant anger, but he held himself back. Because of course Sasuke tried pushing people away by any means necessary. He couldn't imagine having a family and then losing it.

Naruto knew that if there was ever a moment that Sasuke needed a connection with someone, it was now. When he opened up before possibly the only friend he thought he had.

So Naruto told him about some of his childhood, his loneliness until he found a home with team seven. He told him about the burden of being a jinchuuriki, the feeling that he was hated and alone in the world. The happiness that Naruto had found with his comrades, and that he imagined his relationship with Sasuke was like what having a brother was like.

He told him of chasing after Orochimaru in the hope of finding any clues to his location. And Naruto quietly vowed to Sasuke that he would never give up on him, that he would drag him back home if he had to, that he would kill Sasuke over his dead body, and that he better believe it, because Naruto would of never break his word because that was his nindo.

From that day forward, Sasuke returned to Konoha and clung to Naruto as his lifeline. The brother that he hadn't had since he was seven years old.

After a year of probation from active duty, -because he did kill Itachi and Orochimaru- Sasuke threw himself into training with one relentless determination. He would make Naruto the Hokage, and stand by the blonde's side as his ANBU commander.

Sasuke would do everything in his power to make his new brother happy and be able to stay by his side. Naruto deserved the best, and even though Sasuke knew he wasn't worthy, he would be the strongest, the most loyal, serve with an unprecedented devotion, if it could keep him by Naruto's side.

His emotional stability left a lot to be desired. And he had his ups and downs over the course of the next few years, but Sasuke was rewarded for his work by becoming Naruto's second in command as the blonde became Hokage.

Then the fourth great shinobi war broke out.

Keeping Naruto alive became his primary objective and reason for living. His mental stability (which was already fragile with the Mangekyo) went downward fast with the enemies going after the blonde specifically. Sasuke bathed in red, and did it with a smile on his face, as every kill became another enemy that would never reach his Hokage. When he began to go blind with overuse of the Mangekyo, he asked Sakura to replace Sasuke's eyes with Itachi's without even a second thought.

Naruto began to participate in the battles, and Sasuke exhausted himself keeping up with the blonde's stamina and staying by his side EVERY SECOND of the fight. Because one second, he knew, could make the difference between life and death. Losing the last person he considered family, the person that he not only considered his leader, but also his hope, was not an option.

When within a few months of participating in the war Naruto could for the first time be seriously injured by newly invented chakra weapons made with tailed beast chakra from the gedo mazo, Sasuke went on a self made suicidal mission to destroy any and all people involved in the invention and production of the disgusting things. He had taken them all out, but the weapons were reaching millions as he was done. They were deconstructed and used again.

The first time Naruto was on death's doorstep (and he had counted them all), Sasuke had become a madmen in his need for revenge, slaughtering everyone responsible. Every single time he disappeared until the blonde was insisting on participating in the war again. And every time he presented his Hokage with the culprits heads, drenched in the blood of his enemies.

Naruto looked uncomfortable every single time.

He could see the change in Sasuke. See the change that he had wrought in his best friend and brother, see the insanity in his eyes that was increased every single time he was injured so bad he couldn't fight for weeks.

Itachi could see it too.

Every memory showed Sasuke becoming more closed off from the world, insanity in his eyes and bathing in the blood of his enemies. Every memory it became more and more apparent that Naruto was his world, and every time that world was threatened his mind fell deeper into the curse of hatred that plagues their bloodline.

Itachi thanked the gods for Naruto's existence.

Because without the blonde it was becoming crystal clear what would have become of Sasuke. Dead, or worse, driven into insanity.

I hope you liked the chapter!
Imagine Naruto saving the work by hugging his enemies...:-)
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