Broken
The sequel to Branded has finally arrived! Dun dun duuuun! :dramatic music:
Naruto had been re-united with his father and Sasuke had deemed that he would continue to be faithful…but hate is a powerful thing. The promise to keep their lives intertwined became a challenge, and only new obstacles could arise within their broken lives. Same pairings I suppose! Actually no - I lie - more ItaDei/DeiIta in this one…why? Who knows…I just love Deidara…rocks my socks haha… annnndd there may be a little GaaNaru, but the main paring still is SasuNaru…though…it may steadily become more like NaruSasu…paha… (also I changed Deidara's 'un' to a 'hm'…rolls of the tongue better I think XD).
Usual disclaimer and warnings applied as in Branded. Vampires/demonic themes…pretty cheesy…haha…oh the weird and the wonderful!
You WON'T understand this unless you've read Branded. You can try though, but it's not really suggested. If you're new to the world of SabakuKyuu17 then you will find my other fic Branded on my homepage.
Also to explain the poem below - I'm reading (well pretty much finished) Tom Holland's The Vampyre, and have fallen in love with Lord Byron's poerty…yey! The poem is the first one that you come across in the book. I'd recommend it to any vampire-fan. So I guess that means you.
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But first on earth as Vampire sent,
Thy corse shall from its tomb be rent:
Then ghastly haunt thy native place,
And suck the blood of all thy race:
There from thy daughter, sister, wife,
At midnight drain the stream of life;
Yet loathe the banquet which perforce
Must feed thy livid living corpse:
Thy victims, are they yet expire,
Shall know the demon for their sire,
As cursing thee, thou cursing them,
Thy flowers wither'd on the stem…
Wet with thine own best blood shall drip
Thy gnashing tooth and haggard lip;
Then stalking to thy sullen grave,
Go - and with the Gouls and Afrits rave;
Till these in horror shrink away
From spectre more accursed than they!
LORD BYRON, The Giaour.
But I hate things all fiction…there should always be some foundation of fact for the most airy fabric - and pure invention is but the talent of a liar. ( - Lord Byron).
(Begins in a flashback)
Chapter One
Dark Red Tears
The kiss of the night could shine upon everything, lighting it, shadowing it, cowering it in darkness and in a coaxing light that seemed to draw things in. It was the power of the moon that could do such things, the thing that made all else so beautiful even in the blackness of night.
The hazy glow of the moon settled upon the wavering lake, shimmering upon the stirring surface in silver ripples. Black eyes could not be torn away from the mesmerizing shine, watching it as if his whole life lay within those glimmering waves, subtle as they were, washing against his feet. He could stay there, away from it all…absorbed in the calm, his body and mind so drained of life…so drained of love…filled only with obligation…and otherwise empty.
Duty. Duty. Duty.
That word made his head throb…make it world circle and his was his reason. Was it much to ask? Do your duty to your clan? Do your duty to your people - protect the people…but why? He'd often wondered this himself. Why train so hard? Why train his mind, his body, ready himself for a hardship that his family wasn't even ready to tell him about yet? He hated wasting his life in order to fulfil something that he didn't know anything about.
Itachi only wanted a reason. He only wanted to know what on earth it was that these people wanted of him…that his family wanted of him. He couldn't think that it was so much to ask…and yet there was so much that these people wanted of him without giving him any reasons or explanations. It tore at his soul…it had never suited him…it had never fitted him right…it was like holding a katana that was too large…or wearing a kimono that was too small. It seemed wrong…it felt wrong…and all in all, he felt as if he was meant for something more.
The night-time sounds had always soothed him…he's always found rest there, hidden and safe surrounded by trees and a fair distance away from the complex. To them he'd seem only a blur in the distance. He preferred it that way…yet he could hear the slap of bare feet against the wood of the decking that extended over the lake…small feet, and small pants or a running child. Itachi's eyes moved from the mesmerizing movements of the lake and glanced over his shoulder as his brother lunged at him from behind.
"Aniki!" he cried, wrapping his arms around Itachi's neck and holding on as tight as his white and nimble arms would allow. Itachi placed his hand upon Sasuke's small wrist and held onto it as his brother remained attached.
"You're like a little leach." Itachi muttered. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"
Sasuke shook his head, burying it in his brother's back, his hands balling as he held tighter onto his brother. Itachi dropped his head, allowing Sasuke to stand there until out of his boredom he dropped down onto his knees, his resolved grip was weak and he made a small sound like an aggravated moan.
"Don't pout, Sasuke."
"But I don't want to go to sleep." Sasuke pulled himself to kneel besides his older brother, looking up at Itachi's profile with tired black eyes, rubbing them with small white hands.
"Mama will be angry if she finds you out of your bed." Itachi resolved as Sasuke sat on his knees next to him, dressed in his white night clothes, his large black eyes glassy and hazy, his nose pink from the chill.
"I was never in bed." Sasuke countered, folding his arms and putting out his lips in an exaggerated pout that caused Itachi's lips to curl. "Papa was talking to me then he told me to go to my room…and I don't want to go to my room…I want to be there when aniki talks to papa!"
"Papa wants to see me?" Itachi had voiced it as a question and yet he realised that he'd totally forgotten about it. He'd been told at dinner that his father would like to speak with him privately later on…it had played on his mind as most things did, weighing down his thoughts a little more until nightfall had come, and he'd finally found some time to be alone.
"Papa said so, remember?" Sasuke wiped his eyes again, though seemed to perk up slightly at the confusion in the eyes of his brother.
"Yes, I remember. And otouto can't come." Itachi came to stand, lifting his feet from the water of the lake and lifting his sandals from his side as Sasuke's eyes went broad, following the taller form of his older brother in annoyance as he began to walk back up the deck towards the mansion.
"Oh, aniki!" Sasuke moaned. "Why? Why can't I come?" Sasuke followed just behind Itachi, his eyes falling over the Uchiha fan that adorned the back of his brother's deep blue yukata…noticing that his brother had his hair held back in a neat bun that night…not something that Itachi did often.
"It's not for small ears to hear." Came Itachi's neat answer, though he reasoned that Sasuke wasn't going to like it. And indeed he felt the retaliation of it soon after as Sasuke gripped onto his yukata and tugged as hard as he could in an attempt to make Itachi pay attention to him. Itachi stopped as Sasuke had wanted his calm half-cast eyes looking down at his small brother whose brow was marred with a frown, his lips puckered in a pout and his eyes entirely serious.
"Gomenasai, Sasuke." Itachi sighed, placing his hand upon his brother's head, Sasuke still reluctant to let go of the back of his yukata. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow, okay?"
"Really?" his eyes lit up slightly, but he almost didn't believe it. "You'll tell me?"
"I'll try my best. Now off to bed with you before papa realises you're here with me." Itachi promised as Sasuke's hand steadily came away from the bottom of his yukata, his eyes bright yet so tired.
It didn't take much more convincing. Itachi watched as Sasuke ran off ahead of him towards the mansion, vanishing beyond a screen door quickly and into the house before it looked as though anyone else had noticed. Itachi felt a slight stab of guilt in his heart knowing that he'd probably have to lie to Sasuke again about what he and his father talked about.
His father had forbid him from talking to Sasuke about anything that they were doing. Nothing could be told to Sasuke - not yet - although already his mother and father told him bed time stories that made Itachi suspicious. His father continued to hide something from him…and in ways Itachi was almost certain that although Sasuke wasn't aware of it, he was being told more about the threat that faced them than Itachi was.
His father always asked them to meet at night after Sasuke had gone to bed. It had been going on for two years now…and Itachi had always felt as if his father was trying to prepare him for something that he would have to face alone. He didn't dare to question it…the time for questions had long since passed and yet he felt as if he was owed so many explanations. He could not dwell upon it…he had no choice other than to move forwards almost blinded by the light that his father had chosen to guide him to his future - whatever that may be.
His father didn't seem annoyed that Itachi had arrived later than usual; instead he was in the middle of writing something when Itachi asked to enter his private chamber. His father sat beyond his writing desk, knelt on the ground near to the outer wall, while Itachi with his legs folded beneath him sat neatly watching his father as he finished his writing from his left.
The stern crease in his father's brow told him that he was weary of something; the dark lines beneath his eyes - much like Itachi shared with him - told him that he also had a lot on his mind. So much so that he lost sleep over it. He waited in total silence until his father had finished, he kept his dark eyes lowered to the tatami mats and his mind remained blank. He didn't want there to be any kind of emotion read upon his features or in his eyes that could appear as a kind of weakness.
"Itachi," his father began, folding away what appeared to be a letter. He did not turn to face his son; instead his eyes looked down at the papers at his writing desk.
"Yes, father?" Itachi voiced, bowing his head slightly, his hands remained held upon his lap.
"There are some serious matters of which we need to discuss. Of which, I feel that I owe you explanations…we were apprehensive. Yet I shall tell you what it is that you need to know."
Itachi looked up almost at once, entirely surprised and almost caught off guard by the news from his father. His father remained as he was, yet Itachi's eyes were now carefully trained upon him, watching his every move. If any part of him could be eager or anxious it was just then…so hungry to learn the truth that he felt he deserved to know after being held in the shadows for the passed two years.
"It may be difficult for you to accept at first, though knowing your mind, Itachi; you've probably been yearning for these answers for quite some time now. And although we may not be able to go through it all tonight, I shall let you know of the…basics." His father had paused momentarily as if attempting to find the right word…although afterwards didn't seem very impressed by his own choice of wording.
Uchiha Fugaku moved around so that he was sat facing his son, his hands folded along with his arms as his stern jaw hardened and he looked down at Itachi sat silently, watching his with inquisitive black eyes.
"Yes…well…" he thought again for a moment, wondering where he could begin. "Truth is, Itachi, that many generations now, years and years before us, our clan was not so much as it is now. All those years ago our nature was not so much that we train and fight to protect, much as now…back in those times, our family held a far more sinister nature."
"Sinister nature?" Itachi voiced, uncertain of what his father was saying. "What type of sinister nature? They were bad people?"
"Maybe I started the wrong way," Fugaku sighed, shutting his eyes momentarily before he began to speak again, trying to speak clearer that time. "The reason why I've been teaching you, the reason I've been training you is because it is not only to keep you safe, but to be a future protector of this clan."
"From what?"
"From those who stalk the night." His father said bluntly, looking Itachi in the eyes, curious as to why he'd said 'what' rather than 'who'.
"Those who stalk the night?" Itachi said it aloud but it didn't sound right to him. "What are they?"
"I don't like this word, but I suppose you may understand it better. Those who stalk the night are blood drinkers, Itachi. Vampires." His father didn't wait for any response out of his son, actually he didn't expect one and was proved right as Itachi remained silent, yet his eyes were suddenly distant as if he was thinking on it. "It has become our second nature to protect against them, to fight against them and to stand in their way at any cost. You see…what I was trying to say before was that the reason is that we do this is as to redeem ourselves. In the past, in the very distant past, our family had been a clan of blood drinkers. Does that make sense to you?"
"It does." Itachi nodded his head. "Now I understand why I fight."
"Good boy," Fugaku nodded his head, reasonably pleased though it could not show upon his features. "I left it so long to tell you this because, Itachi, there have been doubts plaguing my mind recently."
"Doubts about what?"
Fugaku exhaled deeply, his eyes shut once again. "Before I tell you that, I may need to explain further." He said. "You must understand, that although our ancestors shunned this heritage, this part of them, it still remained dormant within their blood…as it rests within mine. As it rests within yours. Although weakened through the generations, it continues to grow within us…and as unlucky as it is…sometimes that dormant part of our ancestry is stronger in some of us, and we are cursed by it."
"Has that happened recently?" Itachi asked, although he hadn't entirely thought through all that his father had said to him yet, he reasoned that he would have enough time to think about it a little later on. Right then he wanted all that he could out of his father.
"Not recently." Fugaku looked directly at Itachi's solemn eyes and attempted to read them, but as always Itachi's eyes didn't give anything away, instead he only starred back as if attempting the same thing. The doubt was thick in Fugaku's eyes…and the moment that he noticed Itachi's eyes fall away from his, he realised that Itachi had come to the conclusion on his own.
"In a few nights' time you will go out with a few of your older cousins in order to test your skills. Normally we would wait until you were a little older, though you seem naturally gifted in such things so why bother waste anymore time." He stated almost as if it was a matter of fact, though Itachi's mind now dwelled elsewhere.
Nevertheless he nodded his head in understanding. "Of course, father."
"Good." Fugaku sighed. "We shall talk about this some other night. You may leave."
Itachi bowed his head as he climbed onto his feet. "Thank-you, father," he voiced before he left his father back to his writing, walking back to how he'd been sat at the lake those minutes prior.
Almost as if he'd not moved Itachi had set his sandals aside him as his feet were in the water, his eyes focused on the smooth ripples though his mind was elsewhere…scanning the words that his father had spoken…trying to read between the lines.
He's doubtful of me. Itachi had realised that as his fathers eyes had stared at him unblinking those moments ago. And although the whole blood drinkers heritage was entirely new to him, somehow he wasn't all that surprised. He'd reasoned for a while that it was something similar…yet why did his father not tell him until then? Why did he keep it a secret for so long? Why did the bedtime stories that he told Sasuke have those monsters riddled into them?
Itachi didn't want to believe what he thought, but it was the only reason he could think of. That his father worried that he had that curse. Although Itachi wasn't certain, he could only assume…but he didn't like to make assumptions, they were unsafe.
He couldn't reason that he was doing anything different to anyone else…that he was any different to Sasuke even…though that doubt that hung over his father was that his eldest son was stronger in his heritage than anyone else. Why was that? Was it because Itachi was a quick learner? That he was intelligent? Or had it something to do with how he acted in general? The type of person that he was moulding into…that he was different to the others…
Itachi had always seen himself almost as an outcast…and maybe his father's doubts and suspicions were the reason why he was treated so differently. Of course they praised him when needed; maybe it had always been to humour him? Just to make him believe that nothing was wrong when in fact they'd doubted him for years.
Itachi couldn't fathom it for the moment. For all he knew he was simply thinking too much about it, that he was taking it too far, making it deeper than it was. Though he felt in his heart that there had always been something amiss.
His wavering reflection in the lakes surface was but a shadow. The loom of the moon was beyond him now, and he was simply a blotch of black upon its face. Itachi felt saddened by it. That maybe his life was just a façade…only a shadow…that although they had lead him, they had strived upon his intellect and his strength that in all they'd never believed any of it…and simply humouring him as if humouring a child. How long had it been like that? He couldn't remember…but he reasoned that everyone was guilty of this…his father, his mother…the whole clan probably knew…aside from little Sasuke.
Sasuke couldn't know because Sasuke couldn't believe anything bad about his aniki. It didn't work like that, Itachi knew. Sasuke looked up to him, Sasuke strived to be like him…yet Itachi knew that the clan didn't pay half as much attention to Sasuke as they did to him. They were all keeping a close eye on him just encase he slipped up…of course they could be entirely wrong…they could simply be suffocating him without a true cause…Itachi could be entirely normal.
Itachi raised a hand to rub his tired eyes, yet upon his fingertips he felt the warmth of his tears…silent as they'd been he'd not even noticed, though he felt the pain of this betrayal deep within his heart. He hoped that he was wrong.
Fugaku watched Itachi closely from the top of the deck, looking down at the slouched figure of his eldest son; a crease marred his brows, a frown placed there, unable to be rid of the thoughts that plagued him. He too wanted to be wrong…though in those few nights time he would test Itachi…in hope that his suspicions were incorrect.
Yet over the years his hope had dulled, Itachi had always been too perfect. He'd worried for so long, and soon enough he would know the truth. He already suspected that he'd probably said too much. Itachi may already be entirely aware of what had been going on for so long, yet Fugaku felt that he'd had no choice. No other options. Itachi had always felt like a threat…Fugaku knew that he should never feel like that about his own son, and around Sasuke he didn't…yet Itachi's eyes were always watching always knowing. His mind always at work, always so aware…he managed to excel at everything…achieve so much in such a short time. Other's put through the same rigorous training as Itachi had been through didn't take their trial before they were fifteen, yet Itachi could surpass all of them and he was only twelve years of age.
He hoped greatly that Sasuke did not follow the blood stained path of his older brother, yet everyday Fugaku saw that love in Sasuke's eyes that only a little brother could have for his aniki. He adored Itachi, he worshipped him and hoped that he could become exactly like him. Sasuke only ever saw the side of the clan that praised Itachi, and maybe it was for Sasuke's sake that they didn't acknowledge him as much as they acknowledged his older brother.
For once, Itachi…fail at something…prove to me that my suspicions are incorrect. A father should not have to bury his own son.
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The morning had dawned darkly, the clouds were laden thickly in the sky above and although it called for it, Itachi couldn't get out of bed. He'd barely slept that night; he'd simply stared up blankly at the ceiling above…at the strange pattern that had been painted there on his ceiling along with the Uchiha fan.
He heard the commotion from outside his room, Sasuke wanted to come in and see if he was awake but his mother was almost firm against it…Sasuke only whined a little more before he eventually came to respect what his mother's wishes were and went away. Itachi realised he was probably making a grave mistake by acting oddly, but what more could he do? He had every right to be angry…every right to be upset…and yet he felt that by doing so he was letting his guard down…and if he was letting people in, giving them things to latch onto to prove their suspicions correct.
It was midday when Sasuke managed to sneak in, jumping onto his brother's futon and staring wide-eyed down at his brother. "You okay?"
"I'm just tired," Itachi replied, reaching forwards and running his hand through Sasuke's hair. "Sorry that I haven't gone out with you…I'll take you out riding later if you'd like?"
"Neah, it's alright…I'm just worried because aniki is never the last one out of bed." Sasuke remained as he was, his legs pulled up to his chin, his face resting upon his knees. Itachi brought himself to sit up and look at his brother with tired eyes, so weighted down by worry and guilt that threatened to smother him.
"Sorry, Sasuke," Itachi said. "I don't mean to worry you."
"You don't mean to do a lot of things," Sasuke smiled, his small face bright for a moment, his eyes gently shut. "Aniki hasn't been himself lately."
So Sasuke had noticed too.
"I haven't?" Itachi raised a dark brow and looked curiously over his brother; no doubt his reasons for believing this would be different as to the answers that his father could provide for him.
"Noooo," Sasuke shook his head, dark hair messy and draped over his large glassy eyes. "Aniki's been really quiet…well quieter than aniki usually is…and aniki has been sitting alone…and aniki has had a sad look on his face." He pointed out, putting out a hand and singling out a finger, poking Itachi's nose. "Actually," he paused. "Aniki's face has always been sad…why is aniki's face always sad?"
Itachi laughed gently at this small comment made, taking hold of Sasuke's small hand and lowering it from his face so that he could see his bother better. "My face isn't always sad."
"Most of the time it is. Aniki always looks like he's worried. Won't you tell me what's wrong?" Sasuke asked, putting his hand back into the fold beneath his chin and upon his knees. He looked at his brother almost carefully, trying to figure out the look in his eyes but he didn't seem to be getting anywhere.
"Aniki just has a lot on his mind." Itachi sighed.
"Has it got to do with what papa said to you last night?" Itachi wondered when Sasuke would bring that up.
"It does." Itachi answered honestly. "He told me that in a few days time I will have to go away with some of our cousins. I shouldn't be more than a night, though." Itachi said out of comfort after catching the surprise in Sasuke's eyes. "Don't worry, you'll be asleep when I leave and when I return. You'd hardly notice I was even gone."
"Where are you going?" he inquired, his eyes focused now, entirely. Itachi too felt wide awake although the night time had long since been, he'd barely slept more than two hours the whole time.
"I'm not certain yet."
"Why are you going?"
"Papa wants to see if I'm strong." Itachi had to choose his words carefully…though for himself more so than for Sasuke. Sasuke wouldn't understand anything else. Sasuke smiled at the answer given to him though, as if it had been a surprise.
"Of course aniki is strong." He laughed. "I can tell papa how strong aniki is…but I thought that papa already knew."
"Papa only wants to make sure." Itachi answered, unable to think of anything more that he could say. "Are you going to be doing anything today, Sasuke?" Itachi had decided on changing the subject. The only way that he felt he could escape the one-sided awkwardness of their conversation. Sasuke simply shrugged casually, not a single thought truly plagued his innocent mind.
"I don't think so…" he replied. "I think mama is going to walk to the village today. I might go with her."
"Are you going to help mama?" Itachi asked with a subtle smile that was only ever meant and seen by his little brother.
"I'm going to protect mama." Sasuke answered.
"Protect her? What are you protecting her from?"
"Monsters." Sasuke replied as if it had been the most obvious thing in the world. He gawked up at Itachi as if he couldn't believe that he'd asked that question. Itachi played along.
"Oh of course, monsters. Its just that I never thought that they would ever attack mama or go anywhere near her with you around. Good thinking, otouto." Itachi's lips pulled into the same smile his fingers tousling Sasuke's spiky hair as that cheeky and proud grin danced upon his bothers face and glowed in his large black eyes.
"Mhm, I'll protect mama." He said with pride. "I'll show papa that I'm strong too."
"Papa knows that you're strong." Itachi told him.
"Will he test me too?" Sasuke asked, looking up eagerly into Itachi's eyes. Itachi felt a stab of guilt again, filling his body, making his heart ache.
"Maybe." Was all of the answer that he could give his brother without wholly lying.
"I like it when papa treats us the same." Sasuke beamed, catching Itachi somewhat off guard. That smile of his brother's brought warmth to his otherwise cold heart. He wished he could speak with Sasuke about everything…he wished that he didn't have to lie…to dye the truth…but he was a protector…and if there was anything - anyone - that he wanted to protect it was Sasuke.
"Doesn't he always treat us the same?" Itachi questioned, wondering where Sasuke was going with it.
"Nooo," Sasuke drawled, sticking out his bottom lip, his eyes suddenly sad. "Papa ignores me a lot."
He ignores you because he's keeping an eye on me…Itachi's head spun. He didn't want this for his otouto. He knew Sasuke was loved…and he knew that his parents didn't worry about Sasuke…no doubt he would become a strong whatever-it-was-that-his-father-wanted…while he on the other hand was being watched so closely that no one ever paid any heed to Sasuke. Itachi had always felt watched, always felt that he'd needed to be the best that he could be because that was what everyone wanted…wasn't it? That was why everyone looked at him the way that they did…right?
"Do you want me to speak with papa?"
"No…papa will get angry."
"Why do you think that?" Itachi raised a curious brow. He'd not known Sasuke to look so saddened before.
"Papa only ever talks to me when he gets angry…because I do something wrong."
"Is that why you protect mama all the time?"
"I don't think papa likes me as much as he likes you."
The stabbing pain in Itachi's chest only grew worse minute by minute. The look on Sasuke's face was crushing; he honestly felt it as physical pain. He wanted so much to tell Sasuke the truth…to tell him that he had it all backwards…that there was almost no love between he and his father…there was no trust and no bond…only suspicion. Itachi could not crush Sasuke's world like that.
"Papa loves you very much Sasuke. He knows that you're strong…he just doesn't show it very well." Itachi attempted to be comforting yet he felt as though he had failed at it. Sasuke's face remained glum, much to his dismay. Itachi couldn't think of anything more that he could say.
"Sasuke are you in there?"
The both of them turned their heads towards the screen door. The silhouette of their mother resided upon the other side, her voice had been put a gentle whisper as if she feared to wake her eldest son.
"Yes, he's in here with me." Itachi voiced so that Sasuke wouldn't get into trouble. "You may enter, mother," he added.
She slid the door aside and her face appeared, her dark eyes searching for Sasuke as he sat at the side of his aniki's futon. "Good afternoon, Itachi," she said with a fake kind of smile that Itachi was used to, though when she turned her attention to Sasuke it became genuine and shone also in her eyes. Itachi wondered what it felt like to feel accepted.
"I'm going to go into the village now, Sasuke-chan. Are you going to come with mama?"
"Hai!" Sasuke announced, a hand in the air as he jumped up onto his feet. "Bye-bye, aniki!"
"Bye-bye, Sasuke."
……………………………………………………………………..
Alone in the mansion with his father, Itachi believed that he could simply avoid him as he usually did and went about his own business, reading scrolls and studying as he sometimes did before he wished to take refuge down at the lake again.
Though when Itachi arrived, he saw at the head of the deck was his father. Fugaku held his back to his son, his arms folded into the sleeves of his brown yukata, his long hair loose and taken by the wisp of the wind. Itachi stood motionless for a moment or two, questioning whether he should continue…wondering if his father would continue their conversation from the night before…but he didn't want to risk it or tempt to incur the wrath of his stern father.
"I've decided that it shall be tonight."
Itachi looked back down at this father…uncertain if he'd spoken or not, though he listened again, watching his father to see if he spoke again. He did so, momentarily.
"Your cousins, Kin, Nakatsu and Keigo will accompany you to a dwelling where a blood drinker is said to roam." He glanced over his shoulder, barely glancing at Itachi before he looked ahead of him again. Itachi turned fully back towards his father, many questions flooded his mind, but he could say little.
"Of course, father." He replied and walked away…fear swelling in his every fibre of his being that of all things he couldn't allow his father to feel. Dread issued his thoughts and Itachi felt that pain in his heart grow…being subjected to such a thing he could tolerate…but being watched closely as if a subject of an experiment did not suit him at all. He was worried about failing…or was it succeeding? He couldn't tell anymore.
The night seemed to fall to sternly…to quickly for Itachi. The entire complex was on edge, and at its apex the central manor, Itachi dressed into the clothes that his father had left out for him, Sasuke watching him closely as he sat aside of Itachi's writing desk having returned from the village with their mother. Sasuke had asked continuously what Itachi was going to do, but Itachi only replied that it was a secret, trying to stir Sasuke away, make it seem as if it were a harmless game…but it soon grew serious as Itachi slung onto his back a short bladed katana.
"Are you going to take anything else with you?" Sasuke wondered as Itachi wrapped the heavy shroud around his shoulders, holding it back with a pin that was carved and painted with the Uchiha-fan and let it hang upon his narrow shoulders. He felt almost small wearing those clothes…all of the black and the strange sandals that his father had given him…all of it seemed too unusual for him. He did not feel comfortable wearing them.
"I don't think so, otouto." Itachi replied honestly, tying back his hair from his face as much as he could, yet dark bangs still covered his eyes.
"No food?"
"No food."
"But you didn't eat anything a dinner…" Sasuke pouted, his eyes darkening, his arms crossed.
Itachi dropped his head, his back turned towards his brother. He'd lost his appetite earlier that day; unable to think straight…he feared that night he may make a serious blunder. "Then fetch me an apple." He said, glancing over his shoulder towards his brother, a faint smile toying with his lips.
Sasuke smiled somewhat, and nodded his head rushing towards the screen door, only to have it opened just as his hands were placed upon it. He jumped back somewhat, Itachi turned around, picking up the last part of his uniform…a white wooden mask, shaped like the face of an animal, coated in a red pattern.
"Itachi-san," Itachi looked over the tall form of one of the three who would be out with him that night. The stern face of his eldest cousin Nakatsu loomed over him, dressed in a similar uniform, the mask also ready in hand. His other cousins stood ominously at Nakatsu's sides. The brothers Keigo and Kin, their masks they wore though angled so that their faces weren't entirely covered.
"I will be with you momentarily." Itachi said as Sasuke stared up at the three cousins that he recognised, yet their eyes shone as if they did not know him anymore. As if they were different people. They watched his aniki as if suspecting him…of what Sasuke couldn't know.
"Very well," Nakatsu bowed his head in a sign of mock-respect and shut the screen door behind him as he walked away with the other two. A strange longing gripped at Itachi's soul, and he felt Sasuke's tug upon his hand.
"Don't go with them, aniki," Sasuke pleaded. "You mustn't."
"Of course I must," Itachi replied, squeezing Sasuke's hand in return. "I shall be back before you rise tomorrow. I promise you that."
"Aniki…" Sasuke lowered his head and pulled his hand away from Itachi's. "Are you going to fight monsters?"
Itachi's throat was suddenly dry. Though the calmness of Sasuke's face, the sadness that loomed there, Itachi knew that he couldn't lie to him, not now. "I am going to protect my most important person."
"Your most important person? Who's that, aniki?" Sasuke's black eyes looked back up to his brothers. Itachi placed his gloved hand upon his brother's head and his lips curled into a somewhat genuine smile.
"The person of which I care about the most in the world. The person of which I shall protect with my very life…the person who I will fight Death to protect. The person of which I love with all of my heart." Itachi knelt down on his knees and knelt ahead of Sasuke so that they were eye level. "My little brother." He answered to Sasuke's confused face, only causing him to blush. Itachi lifted his hand and gently poked Sasuke in the forehead with his index and middle finger before once again coming back onto his knees.
"I'll see you in the morning, otouto."
Sasuke didn't hold onto his brother any longer, only watched him as he walked away, taking his brother's promise entirely to heart. Itachi had never let him down before; Sasuke didn't think that he would start now.
Itachi took that apple before he left, showing Sasuke as he waved them off from the front of the mansion as the twilight fell upon them. Itachi was stood between his older cousins, the masks of Keigo and Nakatsu lowered, they did not look back, though Kin hung back with Itachi a little longer, his pallid face still shone from beyond the white of the mask and the black of his lengthily hair. Itachi did not speak or say a word to Kin as maybe he would have in any other situation in order to seem approachable, but in such a situation he felt that it simply was not needed.
He pulled the mask down over his face as they brought him into the dense woodland that surrounded the complex, he wasn't certain where they were heading or if indeed he'd been fooled into something…but he followed them, as they were a silent troop…and soon enough he had to expose his capabilities as the three of them jumped to the trees as silent as the breeze, and he too had to follow them to those new heights. He managed to keep up with them.
Itachi had not questioned any further. They kept to the shadows and they didn't make a single sound, uncertain of how things such as that worked, Itachi felt entirely isolated although it was Keigo who was bringing up the rear. The silence of the forest worried Itachi, and at the speed that they were travelling he couldn't help but wonder how far it was they were already from the Uchiha complex.
Miles had seemed to have gone by. Itachi felt the sky had blackened entirely before Nakatsu had even given the slightest sign to him that he knew where he was going. The silence had been almost numbing, Itachi felt that his ears were picking up the noises of everything around him and yet he could hear nothing at the same time…when they'd come to a momentary stop, perched upon a heavy branch that seemed more like a trunk in the denseness of the ancient forest, Itachi reached beneath his mask in order to wipe his brow dry of cold sweat. He took a heavy breath before Nakatsu spoke.
"There is a ravine a few more miles to the north of here. At its depths the river is dry as it has been for years and it was here that Yachiru-san found those remains a few days ago. In the cave at the head of the ravine is where the blood-drinker is said to haunt." He explained, at least Itachi knew a little more now. He looked through the eyes that his mask had offered him, noticing for the first time the different faces of the animals that looked back at him. To his left was Keigo, his white and red mask depicted what Itachi thought was a dragon, Nakatsu's ahead of him appeared more like a mask of a samurai, painted in a brutal scowl, while Kin to his right looked at him through the mask of a wolf. He'd neglected to notice his own…and even as Nakatsu continued to speak, Itachi found that his mind was elsewhere.
"Itachi-san," Itachi looked towards the voice, and there was a nervous 16-year-old Kin staring at him through a half raised mask. Itachi looked him in the eyes, seeming to be caught off guard for a moment…a flash of red bled into the eyes of his cousin before it vanished. "We're to round to the other side of the ravine. Did you hear?"
"Aa…" Itachi nodded his head, and solemn Kin lowered his mask again and stood onto his feet. Itachi followed in his footsteps, Kin asked no more and said no more, only lead the way.
Within a few minutes - thirty at the most - Itachi watched as the ravine appeared ahead of them in the black of night. He felt a tug upon his soul, a lust that filled him as if he was ready for the hunt to finally begin. A blood drinker…he'd never met or even seen one, so how was he to know what to expect? The idea of it beat him into excitement…and he was ready for it in his heart…though how was he to prove himself? His father had not said, and he supposed that was the point.
"There," Itachi saw it as he and Kin appeared above the rise of the ravine before it fell a good twenty feet into blackness, yet the moon helped them, and a small amount of light reached the bottom, showing them what they'd been looking for.
"I see it," Kin whispered and reached the ledge as his eyes searched the other side, watching as a small light flickered to signal that Keigo and Nakatsu had also reached the other side. Kin reached into his cloak and from a pouch brought out a tiny flare and lit it so to make his brother and cousin aware of their arrival.
"Let's go," Kin put the flare away after the other one vanished, and he stepped towards the edge. He did not look back at Itachi though he followed and came to the edge also, looking down as the moon over head was taken by looming clouds and blackness descended over the lands. Itachi wondered how they were going to get down, wondered what was beyond that darkness and how he would confront this creature that supposedly haunted there.
Kin suddenly seemed to vanish over the edge of the ravine…almost to Itachi's horror…though once he gawped over the edge he saw that the edges of the ravine sloped inwards becoming narrower the further down it got. Kin was sliding and silently jumping down the side of the dusty walls…no doubt the others were doing the same. Itachi readied himself, and soon he followed.
It was as black as he'd expected it to be down there. He could barely see anything ahead of him, only kept low as he skulked along the bottom of the ravine, feeling the dust crunch beneath his feet, rising to the air like a muddy cloak in order to smother him. Kin was ahead of him again, keeping to the side of the ravine much as he was as they approached a boulder where the others were awaiting them.
Itachi barely knew what was happening…he still felt that cold sweat lingering upon his fingertips and his brow; if not for the mask then he was almost certain that the others would have noticed also. There seemed to be no movement around them…yet so far as they'd travelled they'd been silent and stealthy, making the best of their abilities.
Itachi did not feel comfortable, the uneasiness that had been building only doubled when he felt a shiver rise up his spine…glancing behind him into the blackness of the ravine, almost certain that he'd seen the pale sheen of blue.
Again Nakatsu was talking, and yet Itachi couldn't hear his words. Kin glanced back towards Itachi again, noticing that he was facing the blackness behind them…he too had felt a shiver…and doubt had formed at the back of his mind. He put out his hand and took Keigo's wrist, and both Keigo and Nakatsu turned to look at Kin. Their eyes searched behind their masks…and in the still of the blackness they watched as something small hovered towards them.
At once Itachi saw that it was a small bird. From the distance it looked as if it was in a daze, moving up and down as it flew towards them…and none of them could make sense of it. Kin shuffled back, Nakatsu was uneasy about it and he too moved backwards, taking hold on Keigo as they moved further back…though before they'd moved far enough away, the flying bird settled just head of them in the gloom…and as the clouds allowed the moon passage into the ravine…Itachi noticed it was made of out clay before without warning the bird roared into an explosion and blasted them back against the rough ravine walls.
Itachi's mask flung from his face, half in shards, he choked on his own blood as his back hit the ravine wall and his blood spluttered from his lips, causing his sight to fail steadily…his breathing becoming thick. He couldn't see through the darkness around him where the others had fallen or even if they were still alive…although he'd been closest to the bomb when it had exploded he'd had further to fly before he hit a wall…the others may have landed more awkwardly or rougher than he.
Itachi fell forwards, his torn cloak fell from him and he left it behind, his body covered in scrapes and blood and bruises as he fell onto his hands and knees…blood fell from his lips again and it was painful to breathe. Itachi managed to glance up momentarily as the moonlight flooded the ravine once more…able to see ahead of him a tall hooded figure…his cloak decorated in strange red clouds that remained ominous in the eerie light of the moon. Itachi's dull eyes showed the ache and strain of his body, he felt a burning in his chest as the blood ran from cuts on his face…he felt the wood of the half destroyed mask beneath his bare fingertips.
The figure did not look towards him or even glance down upon him…yet even in the thickness of the tension and fear that throbbed through his body Itachi strained to hear…there were words passing between the cloaked figure and someone else…Itachi saw almost at once the hunched figure of Kin.
"…didn't have to blow us up." He managed to catch a bit of it, Itachi shut his eyes, a pain at the back of his head alerted him to another injury and more blood fell from his lips…dripping from the cuts beneath his eyes like bloody tears.
"I couldn't help myself…hm." The voice had come from the cloaked figure…male, at least that's what Itachi thought. He swallowed hard, tasting the bitter copper of his own blood as he attempted to stop himself from choking on it. "Now get out of my way, hm. You're of no use to me anymore."
"You can't just throw me aside…" Kin's voice was small his words almost painful. "You…you promised me that you would help me…I cannot return to them like this."
"Then don't, hm. Like I said. You're no use to me anymore, and you're not my problem, either." Itachi looked up, trying to figure out what was happening, and yet it didn't take him long. Kin had the blood curse, Kin had sold them out to this vampire so that he may have help…and now he was being deceived. Itachi steadily brought himself to his feet, falling against the rough wall of the ravine though his eyesight cleared and adjusted to the shadows around him.
"Besides," the stranger's voice said again. "You - Uchiha Kin, are not the Uchiha that Leader-sama wants. You are nothing but a weak branch member…and the source of which I search for, is far stronger than you, hm."
Itachi looked towards Kin, he was gripping his bleeding side and yet within one moment his eyes blood red clashed with Itachi's own black ones, and before he could realise it Kin held onto Itachi and held on firmly, forcing Itachi back down onto his knees.
"What are you doing now, hm?" asked the stranger, his voice laced with annoyance. "You won't kill him, will you? Though the lust in your eyes is telling me that you really want to, hm?"
Itachi remained frigid. His breathing had deepened and his head pulled back with Kin's hand upon his chin, his blood coloured eyes staring at the stranger ahead of him, whist Itachi's own began to fail him again.
"You have nothing more to lose, hm? Since your brother and cousin are dead. I bet they knew what you were, hm? They hid it from everyone for you to keep you safe. And now you've betrayed them, shame on you, hm. Shame on you." He laughed, a beautiful bittersweet laugh that drove into Itachi's mind. He suddenly hated Kin. He suddenly loathed him…Kin had people who cared about him and protected him…he'd betrayed them. Itachi had no one who wasn't ready to force suspicions upon him, who wasn't ready to criticize and analyse his every movement and decision.
That anger and loathing burned in Itachi's heart…and before he'd realised it, his eyes were burning harshly staring up at Kin with a fierce hatred. His drooping arms lunged up at him, his knife in his hand and with one power-filled movement he was not only upon his feet, but Kin was beneath him, choking upon his own sweet blood. Itachi stared down at those blinking red eyes…watching the pattern within them as they faded and died, blood pouring from Kin's throat. Itachi pulled out the knife and staggered backwards as if only remembering his own wounds.
Time seemed almost to stand still…he looked up, his own crimson stained eyes met with an excited blue one, and before Itachi had managed to compose himself, the blue-eyed creature was upon him. Itachi's knife fell to the side, flung away as if by an invisible force. His back hit the rough ravine wall again with a heavy force as hands pressed against his sore shoulders, causing him to cough up blood again from his pained lungs.
A silent cry passed his lips as the shock riddled his painful body. Teeth tore at his exposed throat, and drew blood from the wound so quickly that within moments the pain seemed at an end…and yet the hands continued to hold him up. The blood red of his eyes faded back into black…the aching of his body drained away as the blood left him. His eyes saw nothing; his ears heard only the dying of his heart-beat.
Itachi believed that death was upon him…and in that time he realised that he'd broken his promise to Sasuke…his promise to return.
"Forgive me, otouto," Itachi whispered, blood falling from his lips, his eyes blank and dead as the blue eye that had taken his life from him stood back and left Itachi's body slumped against the dusty wall, his head drooped forward…his bloody chin upon his torso.
"Oops," the creature laughed. "Shouldn't have done that just yet, hm."
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Well that was chapter one. I hope that you guys enjoyed it because already I've started to figure out where this story is going :D. Sorry if you guys don't like flashbacks…but I think I want more people to understand what happened in the past, and certainly what happened to Itachi. More is on the way!
Thanks again, and I hope that I haven't made you wait too long for a sequel, since although I asked ALL OF YOU not to ask me for one, most if not all of you who reviewed the last chapter of Brandedpretty much demanded for one.
I don't like demands, by the way.
As usual I will be updating at my own pace, I can't write unless I'm inspired - and you guys don't want a shitty story, do you?
Thanks again all of you who've read. And I would love it if all of you could review! :D it would make my day!!
Love from - Sabakukyuu17
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