"Man, why is it so cold?". The onyx eyed boy growled, pulling himself from bed and slowly making his way to the dresser.
A little black heater sat on the edge, practically mocking him with its cold disposition. Yep, there was definitely something wrong.
There was no heat coming from it.
" I hate you" Sasuke growled at the broken contraption. It was cold, and not just any kind of cold. It was the ' could freeze the balls off a brass monkey' cold, and the heater was broken.
Uh-huhn
Yes. Yes.
THIS was definitely his luck.
With a swift smack of his hand agains the side of the little black… thingie, it gently whirred to life and a small, steady blast of warmth came flowing out.
That's right.
A little TLC (Torture, Loathing, and Crushing) could solve ANY problem.
Then, suddenly, Sasuke heard something. His ears picked up some sound from the house. An unwelcome sound in the dense, COLD, silent night. It sounded like movement.
Movement of a stranger.
A stranger in his house.
Sasuke slowly reached for a kunai, then realized he had none equipped.
Oh well.
Its not like he was in any real danger. I mean, Its only a fangirl going through his boxers again, right? Or some new crazy stalker who wants to wear his skin. There's no real need for alarm. All he had to do was catch the little pervert and make it go home.
Unless it was an enemy ninja stalking the shadows, equipped with a thousand kunai, ready for the attack, on a mission to assassinate the uchiha.
But what are the chances of that?
None.
Zip.
Nada.
Finally convincing himself, Sasuke 'hmph'ed and walked towards the room where the sound came from.
A figure was sitting in a chair, looking at … something. It sure as hell wasn't a pair of boxers.
Before Sasuke could see what it was, the figure noticed his presence.
It moved slowly, gently sitting the object down and standing to face sasuke.
It was… tall.
And definitely not a girl.
Second option?
A ninja.
Sasuke sprang to action, Kicking at the figure swiftly. But he missed and the 'figure' grabbed sasuke's ankle and lifted him up so he was no longer touching the ground.
Then, 'it' spoke.
"hm. I think I felt a breeze on that one"
As laughter from 'it' filled the silent night, Sasuke froze at the all-to-familiar voice. Dread and memories seeped from deeply within him, filling his entire body. The hand holding him…
… was the hand of death.
And 'it' was in his house.
Before Sasuke could react, it tossed him into the chair, which nearly gave way and fell backward, but steadied itself at the last moment.
'It' turned on the lamp next to the chair. The sudden brightness making Sasuke squeeze his eyes shut.
Slowly, Sasuke re-opened his eyes and allowed them to adjust to the new light.
Then, in that moment, his fear and dread came to a painful reality.
"Itachi", he breathed.
Even the word tasted of death, of everything feared and despised.
Sasuke jumped up, readying himself for battle, But was brought back down by the hand of his brother.
Smack!
The stinging on his cheek felt like millions of tiny needles. He turned his head away so Itachi wouldn't see the tears welling up in his eyes.
Then he caught a glimpse of something.
The 'Something' that 'it' was holding only a moment ago.
A picture of team seven.
Kakashi, Sakura…
…Naruto…
He allowed the tears to fall freely. He was no better thatn the man standing before him. He was not stronger, and he was alone. He left his friends in the cold, which is worse than death. Its plain cruel.
"You call yourself an uchiha?"
The words cut deep, but without the mess of blood, and with more pain than bearable.
" You are pathetic. Not even worth the effort it would take to kill you".
Itachi grabbed Sasuke and lifted him from the chair, knocking the picture from the desk it was sitting on.
It fell.
The frame broke.
Glass was everywhere.
Team seven had broken apart, and it was all because of this man. This Weasel.
Itachi.
Then, Sasuke woke up, and his worst dream had actually come true.
The heater was broken.