UsagiItachi

Summary: It takes true strength to forgive when all there had been before was hatred

Crossover: Naruto

Characters: Usagi, Itachi, Sasuke, many others

Pairing: UsagixItachi, hints of MichiruxDeidara, MakotoxKisame, and maybe NarutoxHinata

Note* once more to remind any that this fic was created for pairings and stories of Usagi connected to someone normally people don't often pair her with, whether because it's not a normal pairing period or because there are very few of them.

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The entire room was silent, no one even moved as the two stared at each other.

One stared held a combination of hate, bloodlust, and longing while the other a calm, serene, and awaiting balm. On both sides were separate groups awaiting for how it would all go.

One group consisting of followers to one of the two taking part in this showdown, all waiting for the sign for them to strike down their enemies like the hawk their team was named after. The second group consisted of Konoha ninjas selected specifically to handle the two and Team Hawk, however due to the presence of the third group and being split up earlier they could only wait before acting; something the leader of the group, a young blonde hyperactive of a ninja, was not enjoying. The only thing holding him in line was the presence of the lavender-eyed kunoichi next to him.

The third group was silent, knowing that this could be the last day on earth for some of them. The group consisted of a few that were well known in the Bingo Book, such as Kisame Hoshigake and Deidara no Iwa; while others were unknown, even civilian-like, such as the aquamarine-haired artist who stood close to Deidara or the ninja-chef that stood next to her blue-skinned husband with her battle/cooking tools at the ready. The last member of the group was a small blonde with blue eyes, holding herself in a way only a field-medic would. They were watching the standoff with anxiety, the blonde more so than the others.

The silence was suddenly broken by one of the two. "I did not expect you to find me." That seemed to make something snap in those blood-driven eyes.

"YOU GODDAMNED BASTARD! WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST, FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, SAY NO? YOU COULD HAVE GIVEN IT TO SOMEONE ELSE! YOU COULD HAVE GIVEN THE DUTY OF KILLING OUR CLAN TO SOMEONE ELSE! SO WHY? TELL ME DANMITT!" Every person in the room except the older of the two became tense as they awaited an answer. Depending how this answer was received, it would mean the difference between a bloodbath and a truce.

Suffice to say the answer was unexpected to most of those watching. "To make you hate me, and to save your life." The younger of the two became a statue, his eyes staring into the unseeing eyes of the one person his whole world had revolved around for most of his life.

"What? What do you mean hate you?" The elder gave the younger an unmasked gaze.

"If I had let another do it they would have followed it to the dot, 'to kill all of the Uchiha clan, every man, woman, and child'. By doing it myself I insured that if I faltered in my mission then there would be explainable reason as to why. It also insured that by hating me, you would not hate the village and thus fall into the same trap our clan fell into. As long as you showed loyalty to the village to some extent, than you were more likely to not have been held back by the fear and prejudice of the High Council. And it worked; it worked so well that when you agreed to grow stronger under the snake the Council barely had time to even create a rushed team of one chunin and genin."

The elder did something that shocked every single person watching then, he got on his knees and bowed in front of his brother; completely exposing himself to attack if the younger one should desire it. "In the end, my efforts to give you some semblance of a chance was destroyed by the very words I had told you to live by. For that Sasuke, I am truly sorry."

The entire room was frozen in shock. Here was Uchiha Itachi, one of the world's most infamous clan killers, and all around S-ranked ninja, willingly on his hands and knees apologizing to the one person in the entire world that had wanted him dead for years.

The mere sight of it was enough to make some of the audience pinch themselves to make sure this wasn't a genjutsu.

The blonde medic didn't care about the shock of her lover's actions, she had seen this long in the making. What she did care about was how Itachi's actions were affecting his younger brother.

The first few seconds Itachi had kneeled Sasuke had probably intended to kill him and had he actually done so Usagi would have struck him down, no matter how much Itachi would have hated her for it. However, after those few seconds the youngest Uchiha also surprised everyone there.

He fell limply to his knees in front of his still venerable brother and stared.

He stared for what felt like hours before they heard it. Softly at first, but slowly and surely, they recognized it. Sasuke Uchiha, the Avenger of the Uchiha, was crying.

Usagi instantly realized a breakdown when she saw it and relaxed. Sasuke was not going to hurt anyone for some time.

"I would have gone with you…had you asked me aniki." He breathed through his tears. Itachi tensed at that forgotten name. "I would have gone with you had you asked me, even as you stood over our parents corpses."

Itachi raised his head to look at his trembling brother. "Sasuke…"

"I forgave you for killing them long ago. I was not ignorant enough to not have noticed how stressed the clan made you since I could remember, and I hated them for it. But leaving me behind…." Itachi placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, before pulling the younger man into a hug.

Neither said anything else.