Disclaimer: Naruto, his friends and the universe they live in don't belong to me but to Masashi Kishimoto. I write this story only for my own pleasure and don't make any money with it.

This is not yet the long story I have promised when I finished "The Canalized River" (I am still busy planning that one) but a shorter story that sprung into my mind when I read the recent chapters of the canon...

It is basically a One-Shot, based on one idea (well, a little bit more), written within one week (and a few days) and it's covers a time of one day (and a few hours.) I have divided it into nine sections.

I wrote it before chapter 393 was out, not knowing how the fight would end, and I tried very hard to finish it before it would be ended. I was afraid that my story would become obsolete if the fight ended with Sasuke's defeat, but rereading my first chapter now makes me realize that my predictions were not so bad.

I am have now rewritten the first chapter because it was not so good. Now I could include some of the information from chapter 393.

Warnings: Spoilers for those who have not read chapter 392.

Some mentioning of sexuality – not more, so this is also a warning for those who read fanfic only because they want porn.

Clumsy, formal language – I am not a native speaker.

All comments, positive or negative, constructive of destructive, are appreciated.

Thanks go again to Eowyn Unquendor, my beta reader and my best support and critic.

Thanks go as well to kayuuko from LiveJournal who has found the picture that was one my sources of inspiration. You can find her answers to my picture search here:

A/N: The story was inspired by recent events in the manga, that is by the fight between Sasuke and Itachi in an old Uchiha meeting-place. I wrote this story before chapter 393 was out, but as it turned out, my assumptions about the ending of the fight were not so bad (if this is indeed the ending of the fight.)

While Sasuke is fighting his team Hebi is waiting for him outside the secret meeting-place. Out of boredom, Suigetsu has begun to fight Kisame.

A team from Konoha is pursuing Sasuke and his team, but they meet Tobi/Madara and have to fight him before they can continue. In my story it is assumed that they are quite near to the place where Sasuke and Itachi fight.

I wish you fun with this story-

Chapter One: It's over

It had been a hard and bitter fight, and it had ended not with a final blow from one of the two Uchiha brothers but with Itachi breaking down, blind and completely exhausted. It was not how Sasuke had imagined it, but it did not matter to him now: Now he was just glad that the fight was over and that he was still alive.

He went over to Itachi to see whether he was truly dead. He did not want to make the same mistake as after his Kirin jutsu when he had thought that his brother had died and then he had stood up again, and indeed: Itachi was still alive, casting a small genjutsu with the tips of his fingers, saying: "Did you really think that I had not taken any precautions myself? Did you really think that I had not considered that I might have to learn to fight without my eyes?"

Sasuke broke the genjutsu easily, even though he had hardly any chakra left himself. Then he looked for a second tome, very cautiously, a kunai in his hand, prepared to kill Itachi if he had to.

He did not have to, and he was glad about it. That last feeble genjutsu had finished off Itachi – at least it seemed so. Sasuke considered cutting his throat all the same, or beheading him with his katana sword, or even finding a wooden stake and pushing it through Itachi's heart, as one did with vampires.

He thought better of it. With his eyes empty and turned into different directions, and his body all limp and twisted, Itachi had to be dead.

Sasuke was glad that he did not have to kill him now. Killing him during the fight, his heart full of anger, his veins full of adrenaline, would have been one thing – cutting his throat now, while Itachi was helpless, was another. It would not even have been an act of hatred – just one of reason, because he could not trust Itachi.

His team Hebi, who had been waiting for him outside the fortress were coming looking for him. Suigetsu was bleeding from many wounds, meaning that he had not obeyed Sasuke and fought Kisame, but all in all he was in a better state than Sasuke himself.

Thank goodness it is out of the question that I push a wooden stake through Itachi's heart now, Sasuke thought. They'd think me crazy if I gave them the impression that I still believed in vampires.

"You are a medic nin", he told Karin. "Go and see if he is truly dead!"

"Sure he is", she answered after some testing that had altogether taken ten seconds. "Why do you doubt it?"

"One never knows with an evil guy as him who has nothing to cling to except his own life", Sasuke answered.

Slowly he began to realize that now finally he had really done it: The quest of these last four or rather nine years was over. He had beaten Itachi – not with his Kirin Jutsu, as he had planned, but by making Itachi overexert himself. He had completed his revenge. He could be proud. But at the moment he only felt exhausted.

He lay down while his team prepared the meal. They did not ask any questions, but let him rest, and he was glad of it. He did not sleep, but let his thoughts wander... As a child he had imagined that he would triumph and rejoice when he had finally defeated Itachi and let himself be celebrated as the great victor over Evil. He did not feel any of it now. He was just relieved that it was over. The price had been too high.

The image of his father appeared in front of his inner eye.

"Now you see", he told him. "I am worthier of your love than Itachi. I have proved to be stronger than him; even without the Mangekyou Sharingan I was able to defeat him. I have been a dutiful son who has not followed Itachi's path of Evil. I have avenged you."

The image of his father did not smile nor give any words or signs of acknowledgement. He remained motionless, as he had always been, and Sasuke thought that his father was not happy about being avenged, just sad about his oldest son having turned evil, and now, that he was dead, without any chance of turning back.

Sasuke had hoped that his father would recognize him as being truly his child, that he would thank him, that he would give him permission to revive his clan, finally being worthy of its heritage.

His father did not give that recognition and permission, and Sasuke did not know whether he wanted it. He had always dreamt of restoring his clan's honour and reviving the family, only that now it seemed that there had never been any honour to restore, and no family worthy of being revived.

He did not have to look for a wife now, nor have children as soon as possible. He had fulfilled his duty towards his family by avenging them, this was enough. There was still Madara, but he would take a break before hunting him down. If Itachi was right and he was only a shell of his former self there was no hurry. He had denied himself so many things while he had been training with Orochimaru that he now wanted to enjoy again – even such simple pleasures as looking lazily into the sky and feeling the sun on his skin. (Most of Orochimaru's hideouts had been below the surface.) Spring had begun and he had not noticed.

He listened to a blackbird above him in a tree. How he had missed them too! The only birds whose songs seemed like real music to him, with real melodies, one note gently leading to the next one, and no stanza the same as the one before, and their voices were like human's voices, women's voices to be sure, full and warm, not high and thin and rather chirping than actually singing.

Back in Konoha he had loved music, but in Sound they had used it as a weapon and he had come to hate it. Now I have time to take it up again, he thought.

The little black and orange guy in the tree had stopped singing because he was busy fighting off another blackbird.

At Konoha, music had been considered an unmanly occupation, Sasuke remembered with regret, but with birds it were the males who sung, and the best singer was the manliest of all...

Naruto, he thought. How could I forget him? Now I can finally make up with him. It was what he had most longed for during the years with Orochimaru. Make up with him, explain everything, so that they could be friends again. He had always thought that this would be the first thing he did after completing his revenge.

He remembered their last encounter, not with Naruto himself but with one of his kagebunshin. He had pushed the clone away, chidorizing it and thus making it disperse, but he had been well aware that doing this he had let Naruto know where he was. He knew that Naruto and whoever was with him were now following his trail.

He sat up.

"Wait with the meal!" he told his team.

"Why?"

"The team from Konoha who are pursuing us: We shall invite them to join our feast and celebrate with us. Karin, can you already feel their chakra?"

She performed her jutsu.

"They are quite near, actually. However, they are engaged in a fight."

Sasuke felt his energy returning. "That's perfect! We'll help them out!"

"Wait!" Suigetsu said. "You are not in a state for another fight."

"So what? You can still fight, can't you?"

"You mean that we should fight for them so that you will be accepted back by your friends from Konoha?" Suigetsu continued.

"Yes."

"So let's go! Kisame ran away when he saw that Itachi was losing. He has just raised my appetite – I am hungry for more."