Disclaimer: I own nothing. Seriously. Nothing.
Warning: This is SasuNaru yaoi, and will include lemons in the future. Don't like don't read.
A/N: I know what you're thinking, readers. You don't even have to say it. Another chapter fic to be stressing over is exactly what I DON'T need right now, right? I know. Read it anyway.
Enjoy!
Sleep was impossible. If not for the sound of water, as it dripped rhythmically into one of the several buckets that were spread throughout the house, or the shrill blaring of police sirens speeding down the street- then certainly it was the painful rasp of coughing. It was a wheezing, wet cough. One that Sasuke knew had resulted in the release of blood. The coughing was the worst. It seemed to taunt the young Uchiha as he tried to sleep, it was clearly audible through the paper thin walls that separated his mother's room from the living room, and bit by bit, with every intake of choked breath, Sasuke could feel himself going insane.
Death. He was surrounded by death. He heard a ruffling noise from the couch to his left, and was suddenly aware that Mikoto's coughing had woken Itachi. Lovely. As if tonight wasn't bad enough.
Sasuke opened his eyes and saw Itachi sitting up, trying to struggle to his feet. With lightning speed, the younger brother was at the elder's side, catching the taller teen's crippling body before it could collapse to the floor.
"Lay back down, Nii-San. Just go back to sleep if you can."
Itachi frowned, not liking to be in a position that required him to lean on his little brother. Still, Sasuke was only trying to help. It was unfair to be upset by that. "Otouto… Okaasan, she needs…"
"I'll go to her in a moment, here let me get you back on the couch."
Sasuke maneuvered himself so that Itachi could lean on him more comfortably, but upon reaching the couch, he discovered a large spot of cool wetness. He looked upwards, and surely enough saw that the leak had traveled over to this part of the living room.
"You know what, Nii-San? My back sort of hurts, would you mind sleeping with Okaasan so that I can have the couch?"
Itachi gave a weak smile, and agreed that he didn't mind. In truth, he was elated to be able to do such a small service to his brother. It wasn't fair that Sasuke had to take such good care of everyone without ever getting a reward anyway, and it was rare for the young teen to ever ask for anything in return. In fact, he'd never asked for anything in return.
When Sasuke had Itachi safely secured in bed with their mother, he let out a relieved sigh, then went to get her some warm tea. He had to grind her medicine up into the tea in order to get her to take it, and it still didn't seem to be doing much good. She had to go back to the factories every day, just to afford the mortgage on this shitty leaking house. There she inhaled all sorts of debris and fumes that kept her coughing all through the night. Itachi was even worse.
When they were both situated and back to sleep, Sasuke got to work on trying to dry the couch before bacteria took advantage of the dampness. The last thing he needed was more shit for his mother to be breathing in every day.
By the time the couch was dry and positioned to a place where it wouldn't get soaked again, and all the buckets were poured out and changed, and the kitchen was cleaned, Sasuke was ready to go back to sleep. So, of course, it was four in the morning. Time to make breakfast for his mother, she had to be at work by six, and her job was an hour away driving, but she had to take a two busses and a train.
Sasuke quickly took out some pancake batter that he'd refrigerated earlier and put oil to a pan, frying up some eggs and bacon along with the pancakes. In only a few moments, he heard the sound of the shower coming on. Ten minutes after that, Mikoto was rushing into the kitchen and quickly scarfing down her breakfast. She placed a quick peck on Sasuke's cheek then rushed towards the door.
"Have a great day dear! Don't forget to move the radio close to Itachi so he can listen in, and today's the twenty-third, so –"
"Nii-San has his monthly appointment with the doctor. Don't worry about coming home yourself. I'll take him."
Mikoto smiled. "I couldn't have asked for better sons. I love you. See you tonight!"
"See you."
With that she left, and Sasuke got started on Itachi's breakfast. It would have to be much more simple and gentle on the throat than Mikoto's, they both had a coughing issue, but Itachi had a legitimate disease. Even on the best of days, his teeth were stained pink from coughing up so much blood.
That day, Itachi was served poached eggs, and maple sugar oatmeal. He ate it without complaint, and smiled when his brother brought the radio over to him. Sasuke flicked the dial on, and adjusted it to Itachi's favourite station. It broadcasted current events all day, and helped the elder Uchiha brother to feel like he wasn't as out of touch with the world. The end of an add about Tofu that tasted like pigs feet was just ending, and Sasuke sat next to his brother and listened to the morning news.
"What would you do with one million yen? What would you do if I told you that all you had to do for it was relax on an island with one thousand other people? May I present: The Winners Game! The easiest game you ever played! To sign up, just grab your nearest computer and send an email to i_want_to_win_a_million_yen [dot] yahoo [dot] co [dot] jp! You could be a winner in only thirty-"
Itachi snorted, and reached for the dial himself, shutting the radio off. Sasuke raised a curious eyebrow.
"That sounded kind of easy, huh? Sit on an island for a while with a few harmless strangers, and get a million yen."
Itachi rolled his eyes. "The winners game... They should call it the sinners game. If you expect that much money out of it, you won't come out untainted."
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, somewhat put off that his brother was so hasty to doubt what seemed like a pretty legitimate get-rich-quick scheme. Not that a million yen was really rich, but it would certainly increase the way they were living now.
"Every couple years or so, they have ads for that stupid game. I've taken the time to read the fine print. You see, the trick of it isn't that you have to live with those other people, it's that you have to make them disappear. Every day for thirty days, three yachts pull up to the island, that's enough room to take everyone back to wherever they came from. But that's just the thing, at the end of the thirty days, whoever's left on the island splits the million yen. Now, you can see the error from there, Otouto. A million yen split up between a thousand people is barely enough for dinner and a movie. The real game, is in making sure that you get as many people dead or off of that island before the month is over, because every less person still there with you, is one less share that you have to give."
Now it was Sasuke's turn to frown. "That's sick. Besides, no one would be stupid enough to willingly climb aboard a yacht that would take them away from the money."
Itachi only shrugged. "You say willingly like it matters. Kill if you have to. Tie someone up and force them onto the damn boat if you have to. Do whatever it takes, to win the stupid fucking winners game, right?"
Sasuke had to think about that. Would he kill or injure nine hundred ninety nine other people if it meant his mother never had to work another day in her life? If it meant he could pay for Itachi to have the treatment he really needed, instead of the only crappy doctor they could afford? He couldn't honestly say that he wouldn't do it. Which is why later that day, when he took Itachi to the hospital, he logged on to one of the service computers in the waiting room. And he sent an email.
A/N: So, what are you thinking of this so far? Hopefully I've captured your attention. I was gonna take the time to convert the money, so that you guys know how much money a million yen would be in your respective countries, but you're on the internet already, so just Google it yourself xD
Please bless me with a review telling me what you think! Sorry this chapter is so short, I'll try for longer ones in the future!
I love all the readers!
-Beloved
