Synthetic Darkness
By: Ruriko L. Minamino

Disclaimer:
I do not own the Naruto series. Kishimoto, annoyingly thoughtless flop that he turned out to be, has that privilege, unfortunately.

Author's Notes:
After roughly three years of stop-and-go writing, it's finally done, one and all. The pain and the torment of thinking up ways to make this as real as possible without god-modding has finally come to an end. My hands can rest. Finally, I present to you the epilogue of Synthetic Darkness, by dear brain-child and precious pet project. I do hope it meets with approval.

Final thanks to Death-Angel-Hikari for proofing this not even thirty minutes ago! I'll thank you properly tomorrow, when we hit the theaters to see "Watchmen," hun.

For all those who've supported me throughout the long and steady crawl to the finish of this, thank you so very much. I know so many choose silence now, but you have inspired me to complete this.

Happy Friday the Thirteenth!

Without further ado, here is the Epilogue.

Epilogue: The Bleeding Dawn

Seven, almost eight, years ago, when he'd first accepted the mission for the assassination of his entire clan, Itachi had never envisioned life would become like this. Lying in bed in a sparsely-decorated room on the top floor of a small motel in one of the towns of Kaze no Kuni, the events of the last few years flashed before his eyes.

A calloused hand ran down the side of his cheek. "No word yet from Sasori and Deidara. Are we going to head out on our own?"

He looked down into a pair of eyes the exact void-dark shade of his own. He drank in the sight of pale, angular features so like his own. The same sharp eyes, with lashes just a little thinner than his, the same narrow nose, the same thin lips. The same thick raven bangs lay flat against the familiar high forehead, although while his hair had to be tied back with a thin elastic band, his companion's lay in unruly wild spikes on the pillows. A body only slightly less hardened than his own, just an inch or three shorter in height. But then, that difference would vanish in only a matter of a year or two. His lover. His brother. His Sasuke.

"The capture of the Ichibi is not our concern," Itachi reminded his sibling, brushing back his bangs.

Concern flickered in Sasuke's eyes, but only for a moment. He hardly ever allowed for more than that to show; Itachi knew he was trying his best to emulate him. The younger nin nodded once, sliding his hand over to his brother's bare chest. "We can avoid the sentinels more effectively, then." There was a flinty hardness in his eyes. "You won't have to use the Mangekyou at all."

Itachi was almost tempted to smile. He had never thought, seven years ago, that this is where his life would lead him, but in spite of it all, his young sibling was the one reason he had no true regrets. Despite the way that he had been forced to grow up, there was still something left of an adoring little brother in Sasuke. Pushing him gently off his chest and turning back the sheets, he got out of bed and started to change. "I promised you I would avoid using it."

That was as much as he could really afford to say and Sasuke understood that. The reminders of the why were draped haphazardly on the table and chairs. The black cloaks with their red-and-white clouds. The blue-gray clothing. They didn't even need to look there really; all they needed was to peer down at their hands. All they needed was to look at the dark polish on their nails and the metal bands on their fingers – Shu on Itachi's right ring finger and Sora on Sasuke's left little finger – though the latter was in itself unforgettable for more reasons than one. It was a new ring, a replica of the original which was out of the organization's grasp. No matter, it was a negligible detail.

Akatsuki. How ironic, what he'd at first fought to avoid, he'd finally turned to in the end.

"We have an hour's run to reach the meeting point," Itachi said, slipping his shirt over his head.

"All right," was the short reply. A brush against Itachi's shoulder told him that his brother was finally moving as well. He wouldn't rush him; Sasuke knew how to be quick. The very reason they'd found time to be together as they had was because they had arrived in the area too early. "I'll send word to Kisame that we're moving as soon as we get downstairs." A snort escaped his lips. "The shark was annoyed that Leader didn't allow him to come – even if he is your official partner."

Itachi shrugged. Despite the way he spoke, he knew his brother actually got along with the Kiri nin. Kisame was just a teammate, assigned to the elder brother both because he had been the one sent out twice to recruit him and that his elemental affinity for water was compatible with Itachi's for fire. Sasuke worked with them most of the time, though, since he had no official match – yet.

For a brief moment, as he tied on his head protector in front of the wall mirror, Itachi's eyes bled to Sharingan red. He stared at the slash across the symbol of the Leaf, the same slash on his brother's head protector as well. His thoughts turned to the man they followed. Not the man that the organization referred to as 'Leader,' but the true puppet master who held all the strings. Their own flesh and blood.

Slim hands slipped his cloak over his shoulders for him, pulling him from his thoughts even before he'd fully immersed himself in them. In the glass, Itachi could see the determined fires in his brother's eyes. "We're getting closer, Aniki," Sasuke said, the tomoes of their clan doujutsu swirling lazily in his gaze . There was dark relish in his words, a smirk of anticipatory triumph pulling up the corner of his lips. "Just a few months more, and the waiting will finally be over. We can finally return to Konoha."

Again, the marvel of the way the events had turned out struck Itachi. At ten, all he had wanted was to train and one day cease to be under the control of his clan. He'd met a snake who'd hinted at much but said nothing real. At twelve, his secret mentor had revealed to him everything – including what the snake had meant. His father, oblivious, had confirmed the parts that he knew. By the time Itachi had turned thirteen, his entire goal had taken several drastic turns. He'd turned against his family, and their blood would forever stain his hands. But the most earth-shattering change that had come over him was the shift in the way he looked at his brother. He'd broken vows and promises when he'd made the decision to simply stay in Konoha with him. He'd carried his secrets in silence all the years he'd waited for Sasuke to grow up, and then he'd planned to leave. Fate had other plans. Sasuke had managed to dig his way deeper and deeper into Itachi's heart and consciousness. To leave him behind would have been the final straw for the older brother's sanity. And the desires – they were not to be denied. When Sasuke had expressed the same wants, pushed for them and fought for them like a madman, Itachi had finally given in. With or without the Sandaime's final letter, he would have shared everything with his brother in the end.

And then there was the betrayal. While he had been willing to curb Sasuke's eventual rage and lock the past behind them, Danzou and the old advisers had forced his hand. Now the younger sibling's desire for revenge upon those fools was the elder one's own as well.

This was the cruel fate Konoha had carved out for itself.

"Aniki," Sasuke's voice called softly. Seeing him standing there, fully dressed but with his cloak just barely resting on his shoulders, Itachi moved closer.

Their foreheads were pressed together, their hitai-ate clinked and scraped against each other softly. Their lips met in a slow, devouring kiss. It would never change between them. With acceptance, Itachi had discovered, the torrents of passion had doubled in strength. When they parted, he was faintly amused. The stinging in his lips and the sight of a droplet of blood welling up at the corner of Sasuke's was a reminder of how much had not changed in the last three years.

"Our meeting is at noon, Otouto," Itachi stressed lightly, cleaning off the redness with his thumb. He pulled his brother's cloak more securely around his shoulders and turned to the door. "Come."

With speed borne of years of practice, they made their quick departure from the town. Itachi settled their accounts while Sasuke went out to send word that they were moving. The desert sun was almost painful that close to high noon, the sands stretching endlessly the closer they got to the heart of Kaze no Kuni. The unchanging terrain was the perfect location for a hidden village. It was near-impossible to locate – unless one was specifically trained for such missions or knew exactly where one was going.

Suddenly, the ground shook. In the distance, the sands rose up with sudden force, the waves of explosive aftershock cutting through the air. Again and again, twice more. The two brothers crouched down low in the sand, anchoring themselves so as not to be blown back by the wind currents.

"Idiot!" Sasuke hissed out loud, the Sharingan flaring to life angrily in his eyes. "If that's Deidara's idea of a signal, he might as well have thrown an explosive at us instead."

Itachi ignored his brother's growling. Slowly, he got to his feet, eyes swirling red-and-black orbs. He turned his gaze to the sky and there identified two small masses of chakra. Their two associates' chakra signals were atop what looked like a giant bird, one of Deidara's clay creations. On the ground beneath them was what was likely the village of Suna itself. Itachi narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze to the low crags jutting up just west of the explosions.

"Argue with him later," Itachi said quietly. He led the way to the steep rocky mound. The explosions continued at irregular intervals; they were forced to run at full speed to find more stable ground.

From the vantage point of the tall rise, the sprawling village that was Suna was completely visible. They had reached what looked like a look-out point with a half-hidden shack for sentries. The ground just in front of the make-shift shelter was stained dark brown with dried blood, but there were no bodies to be found.

"Sasori's work," snorted Sasuke, stepping into the cabin. "Deidara would have made a bigger mess."

Even with the Sharingan, Itachi could find no trace of life in the immediate perimeter, save for himself and his brother. He turned his attention firmly away from the sounds of the besieged village. He glanced up at the sky again, calculating; it wouldn't take the other two Akatsuki operatives too long to capture their prey. If they finished ahead, the Suna shinobi would soon swarm down over the sands to find the abducted Ichibi – who was also their new Kazekage.

The cold-eyed redhead from the Chuunin Exam in Konoha three years ago; Itachi remembered him well. Even then, he could sense the power of the bijuu inside the boy. It was the kind of sealing that should never have been done to anyone. But then, most bijuu sealing rituals could hardly be called humane. The case of the Kyuubi, buried deep inside Uzumaki Naruto's body, was the one exception to the rule. The Konoha genin was still fully himself.

There was a signaling burst of familiar chakra coming from the edge of the rocky viewpoint. Red eyes flashed with mild approval. Three years, and it seemed that Sasuke was not the only one who had matured. A familiar figure landed on the edge of the cliff.

"You're late," Sasuke commented. He couldn't suppress the glimmer of excitement that flashed in his eyes. "Being a fugitive has made you careless, Neji."

It was one of the small marvels of time apart. When one came face to face with a person one long absent, the changes perceived were so very striking. Three years had done a lot for Neji. The Hyuuga was taller, as was expected. Like Sasuke, he's developed a leaner form and more angular facial features. His bright silvery-white eyes had narrowed a bit, and he now had bangs lightly framing his face, slightly similar to those of the two brothers. He was wearing lightweight brown clothes, the common clothing of choice in the desert. What Itachi approved of the most was the subtle change in his chakra. The circulating power flow was thicker, proof that he had not spent the last few years in idleness.

"Still cranky as ever, aren't you, Sasuke?" the Hyuuga bantered back, smirking slightly as he nodded to each brother in turn. His voice, too, had deepened somewhat. What was curious, though, was the grim wistfulness in his eyes. "I had something to attend to before I left."

Sasuke huffed once, clasping his old friend's hand tight in greeting. "I thought you'd have been eager to leave that place after spending more than two years there."

"I may not have been allowed beyond the immediate territory of Suna, but it was still a welcome change from living in a gilded cage. I chose this village on my own."

There was that familiar injured flintiness Itachi had recognized in Neji from the first day he set eyes on him. It was a familiar pain, perhaps the primary reason he had approached him and encouraged the Byakuugan-user's friendship with Sasuke in the first place.

"Itachi," Neji spoke softly, turning his pale eyes to lock with his former ANBU captain's. "I completed my research and experiment a week ago. The operation is possible," here his gaze flickered to Sasuke, "if both parties are compatible."

A few months after Itachi and Sasuke had burnt their old clan compound and turned their backs on Konoha, Neji had finally found a way to circumvent and remove the Caged Bird seal on his forehead. He'd stolen the secret scrolls of the Hyuuga Clan and killed the clan elders who knew the contents – and were responsible for the branding of the Branch Family members. He'd sent the information to Itachi and Sasuke in the Akatsuki for disposal and fled from Hi no Kuni to Kaze no Kuni. There he had sought and gained refuge in the village of Suna. It had been a genius foresight that had made this possible: in exchange for sparing the lives of the Sand siblings and helping them escape after the Chuunin Exams, he had been granted asylum in their village. It had become the single dark blight on the delicate, new-formed peace treaty between the Leaf and the Sand, but it had been Neji's salvation.

"Everything will be fine then," Itachi affirmed, nodding his head. "You learned surgery jutsu from the medic nin Chiyo. I trust you won't make mistakes."

"With the Byakuugan, it will take me no more than an hour," was the confident reply. Despite his tone, though, it seemed there was something distracting him. "As soon as Sasuke achieves the Mangekyou, I can perform the eye exchange for you."

Even without looking at him, Itachi knew his brother had raised his eyebrow. "And your own requirement? What are you going to do about that?" There was suspicion in Sasuke's tone. Despite the trust he placed in their Hyuuga accomplice, he still knew enough to be cautious. They could have just had Neji meet them at a safe house, but this way, they could judge for themselves if he was still the loyal companion he had once been to them.

Something resembling a bitter half-smile passed Neji's lips. "I've already met that, I think." He turned his gaze back to regard Suna. "The pain has begun. I will be fine for a few more hours before I will need to rest."

Just as he did, a monstrous chakra force flared out and a massive wave of sand rose up to cover the entire village. A second later, from Deidara's clay bird, an explosive fell. The earth shuddered with the impact. On the rocky look-out point, the three ex-ANBUs braced themselves on chakra-coated feet to avoid toppling over. The explosive had gone off, but the sand shield covering the entire village absorbed the blast whole. As the sands fell back to the ground, the village was revealed to be untouched. The clay bird swooped down towards one of the buildings and picked up something.

"It's done." Itachi didn't need the Sharingan to tell that the powerful chakra force that had now disappeared was the Ichibi's. Deidara and Sasori's mission was a success. Just in time. "If you are ready, Neji, we can leave now."

"All right." The Leaf fugitive nodded his head, steadfastly keeping his eyes away from sight of the village and the retreating Akatsuki operatives.

Sasuke took hold of the Hyuuga's shoulder. "What's the matter with you?"

Pale eyes sharpened to diamond brightness. "It's nothing of concern." He seemed to push what had been bothering him from his thoughts and instead turned his attention to Itachi. "From the rumors, t organization has only just begun to collect the jinchuuriki. Won't this cause a setback?"

Itachi started to lead the way back down to the sands. He felt a familiar chakra presence and decided they needed to make haste. "There is more than enough time to prepare. A half-year or so."

"More waiting," Sasuke grumbled, jumping into a sprint from the lowest portion of the crag.

The elder Uchiha smirked mentally. Despite what maturity he'd gained, Sasuke's patience would always remain on the short side. "Once Neji gains acceptance, things will move along much quicker."

"You anticipated a death in the Akatsuki so soon?" Neji inquired. "Your solid numbers are well-known." There was a knowing glint in his eyes, as if he already knew of a death that was to occur – or, with his meddling, already had.

It was Sasuke who replied. "Even the Akatsuki has a few weaklings who've outlived their usefulness. Something you've already exploited, from your expression."

"Call it revenge for a friend. But it also serves our purposes, anyway."

In the recesses of his mind, Itachi went through the familiar flashes of memory. Just as the innocent toddlers had vanished one by one and just as the young boys had been forced to age, the teenage youths had become – prematurely – men. Blood-chillingly efficient and cold, they were the products of a corrupt village ruled with deceit. Treachery to repay treachery. That was the only way left. In an ideal world, it would never be the case. But that ideal world was far from the reality.

Two pairs of blood-red eyes locked as their owners streaked through the sand. The cold determination in Sasuke's eyes was a mirror for Itachi's own resolve. Konoha would fall. With the Akatsuki's and Neji's help, Konoha would fall.

This was their darkness. They hadn't been made for it, but to it they had had to adapt. It had been theirs to accept. In the end, however, the marvel was that in it, they deeply bound together. Not by physical chains and not by jutsu. They were bound by blood and they were bound by the experiences that they shared.

Sasuke's knuckles brushed the side of his hand as they ran.

Everything, theirs, together.

Thank you again for everything, dearest readers! I hope to have lived up to expectations. Even in parting, I leave you with speculations. Shall there be a sequel? Only time will tell.

- R.L.M.