A/N: This is completely AU and it contains character death, reincarnation, and of course language. I own nothing~
The day was dark, clouds hanging low and seemed to mock a young boy as he walked stoically through the streets - a bag in one hand and two flowers in the other - one was a white rose and the other a white lily, his mother favorite. Or from what he could remember...
The little boy ran from one room, to another as smoked choked the air from his lungs. There was no sign of his parents... nor his big brother...
He coughed violently, stumbling and falling to his feet.
'Mother...' he thought, tears now staining his cheeks as the hot air rushed against him.
Their family home was on fire, and everyone was still in it.
Suddenly, some one came through the main hallway, pausing for a moment to catch sight of the young boy.
"Hold on son!" The man called, picking the boy up with ease and taking him away from the burning hell that use to be his home.
"No! Kaa-san! Tou-san!" The boy screamed, reaching up and trying to get away but of course he was too small...
The man made his way outside, giving the boy to some paramedics before rushing back in for anyone else.
The boy just cried, knowing his family was still within the crumbling walls of the burning house. Until he looked up, however.
There was his brother, standing and watching the flames touch the sky endlessly, with no emotion attached. Not a shred of fear on his face, only broken for a moment when a woman came and put a blanket around his smaller shoulders.
The smaller of the too just stared in horror, wondering why his brother wasn't upset. Their house was burning down!
"You..." The smaller one hiccuped, eyes narrowing as he stood while his knee's shook considerably. This, however, did not get his brother's attention. The older of the two just kept watching...
Without any notice, the smaller one just ran towards the other and crashed against him. He cried and hit the other out of hatred. His brother cared nothing of what they were losing... he could see it in those cold eyes.
After a moment of this, the smaller, more tired of the two just stopped and began sobbing against his older brother. He gave into weakness.
"... Don't cry." The elder brother said, however, there was no love in that voice and no love in the gentle strokes over the boy's back as the elder attempted to sooth his younger brother.
"I… hate you," the younger one said.
And the little boy always did from that day on.
Sasuke looked up once he felt a rather large and wet drop of rain hit his forehead, cursing the sky as it dared to drizzle on him; especially on this day.
He was young when his parents died in that fire, only six years old. Too young. It had been fourteen years since that day, and not one went by that Sasuke hated himself for leaving his parents in that house...
Of course not one day went by that he didn't hate his elder brother for just not giving a damn. Itachi had never changed, that icy coldness never left his eyes. The man had no heart, even 'till this day.
Sasuke, for some reason, asked his brother to join him in visiting their parents graves. He was of course turned down. Apparently Itachi had better things to do, than pay respects to a bunch of dead corpses. Those were his exact words, if Sasuke remembered right, a few years back.
They had a fight before he left like always, though it was a bit more heated than normal. Sasuke felt his breath hitch slightly as he walked, knowing the other likely bruised his ribs.
The raven haired boy turned and walked into a familiar graveyard. His face stopped softening or saddening after so many visits. He walked to a fairly decorated grave stone. Sighing gently, he began by laying the flowers on the grave; the white rose for his father and a lily for his mother.
Within minutes, there was incense burning softly and much to Sasuke's luck the rain decided to hold itself back for a while as he prayed.
The youth felt a slight bit of guilt in him but brushed it aside. Even if Itachi was his brother, the man was in no way loved by him.
Once it seemed his time was spent, the boy shoved the plastic bag that held the flowers in the pocket of his coat and retreated from the cemetery; at least till the following year. Wincing slightly, his eyes traveled down to his torso.
"Damn bastard..." He muttered as he walked down the street, spotting a pay phone. Just in time, he thought. The skies deciding to cry hard.
Once inside he shook his messy black hair slightly and picked the phone up and dialed out. He ignored his hair as it plastered its self to his neck. The phone rang three times before someone picked it up, answered, and sounded slightly tired.
"I want to train," Sasuke said firmly.
"Now...?" Came the reply, drawled out a bit from his tiredness.
"Yes, now." Another simple statement, a slight air of annoyance in the mists of it.
There was a long pause, then a sigh - not from the man on the other line however. The sigh sounding distinctly female, which caused Sasuke to frown.
"Get out of bed and leave that whore. I'm sure she'll still be there once we're done," he said in irritation as he ordered the older male.
"Fine... but don't bitch at me like this. You told me you didn't want company today, that's why I never called." This time the sigh was the other on the phone.
"I've changed my mind, obviously. I'll be home soon, and hurry." Without hearing a confirmation, Sasuke hung the phone up with still narrowed eyes as he huddled closer in his jacket. After a few minutes, he exited the booth.
At that point, Hidan pulled the phone away from his ear and glared at it. When Sasuke was in that kind of mood, Hidan was a little more reluctant to bother with him.
Today was when his parents died, right? Or so he questioned himself. So what the hell did he want to train for?
The woman next to Hidan sighed again, snaked her hands around his naked torso and buried her face against him.
"You really don't have to leave... do you?" She mumbled a bit. "You haven't even slept."
"I do," the blond said, pushing the women away from him without a care. This caused her to narrow her eyes at the other and she moved to curl under the covers.
"Why you listen to that brat, I'll never know..." She was a 'regular', if that's what he called his girlfriends… And she had a fiery temper. Ironic really.
At that, Hidan shot her a glare. A warning to the woman to keep those lips shut; meanwhile, he dressed himself. The woman caught this and quieted herself, not moving.
Picking a few things up and putting a shirt on, the man was ready in minutes. Without another word he was out the door.
The woman frowned, moving to get up. Like hell she'd still be here...
Hidan answered to no one and no thing, except his religion. Sasuke just happened to be apart of it.
It wasn't long before Sasuke was soaked through. The rain had poured hard as he ran down the street to his home and the family martial arts gym. He only hoped his brother wasn't home... he just knew they would get into another fight and that made him sick.
Moving past a rather large wooden gate, Sasuke noticed a car parked in their drive way. It belonged to the closet thing Itachi had to a friend.
Sasuke reached for the door and opened it gently. He said nothing as he pulled the wet jacket from his form and hung it on a hook to the left before taking his shoes off. That black, uneven cut hair of his was still soaked and dripping.
The blond would be there soon enough, he thought, but Sasuke figured he'd have time to eat something.
His plans were derailed quickly, however, as he walked further into the house. He found a man laying face down in a pool of his own blood. Itachi's friend, from what Sasuke could tell.
"What the..." Sasuke looked mortified and quickly scanned the area for anyone.
The house was deadly quite... which should have tipped him off but lost in ones own thought tend to be a bit distracting.
Eyes fell back on the seemingly lifeless body. He walked forward to it… only to be met with the sight of a slit throat and various stab wounds to the young mans torso. To the vitals, he figured.
Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke moved a bit and backed up against a dresser. He slid a drawer open, pulled out a gun, and cocked it as quietly as possible before moving on. There was no one in the house… that is, as far as Sasuke could hear and it made him wonder where his brother was even more.
Stepping softly across the wooden floor, it creaked. Sasuke winced and held the gun the best he knew how. He was a martial arts student... not a policemen.
That gave him a bright idea and he moved to the phone.
Reaching his hand out, Sasuke was stopped swiftly by a rather bloody hand. It out came from nowhere to stop him.
"Sh-!"
Moving too slow, the assailant grabbed the arm that held the gun and twisted it backwards. Sasuke released the gun with another curse. He was about to scream for help, for anyone, until he managed to get a long good look over his shoulder.
It wasn't as surprising as Sasuke thought it might be, staring into his own brothers eyes. There was blood smeared on his face from his earlier kill.
Frozen in time, they looked at one another before Itachi broke eye contact. Bending down to pick the gun up, the older Uchiha slipped it behind him in his pants before bringing a bloody knife to the other's throat. Sasuke tensed, gritting his teeth as he glared as much as he could at his own brother.
"Don't cry..." The elder muttered, the words only making Sasuke widen his eyes in anger.
Without any notice, Itachi moved the knife away before swiftly stabbing his brother in the lower back, all in one fluid motion.
Sasuke cried out in pain, trying to untangle himself from his brothers grip. He was too strong...
Itachi pushed the other to the ground, moving around as Sasuke grabbed at his stab wound the best he could. Blood split from his body while the pain was searing him from behind.
"F-fuck... you," he muttered, moving away as best as he could. "Leave me alone!" Sasuke managed to stand even though his legs protested. Itachi walked closer and grabbed his brother by the shirt to pull him down the hall. Sasuke had no clue where but he was dragged the whole way trying to get away and scream for help.
Itachi pushed his brother down to the bathroom floor once they had arrived. The younger Uchiha winced as he hit the tile, feeling slightly dizzy from the blood loss. There was a nice trail behind them, after all.
"Don't…! I'm your brother, remember…?" Sasuke screamed in shame. He was begging for his life now with the brother he hated more than anything. The other didn't care, or so Sasuke guessed; not that he ever didn't respond, he only grabbed the other's messy hair and yanked his head up harshly. That was when Sasuke caught sight of a full bath tub with widening eyes; they held pure horror in them. He really was going to be killed by his own brother... drowned no less.
"Stop! Y-you can-" Sasuke found himself cut off, never got to finish those words as Itachi stood over him and forced his head into the steaming bath water; Itachi drew probably not moments before Sasuke came home. It burned as the water rushed over his face. Itachi had planned this all, and Sasuke just happened to walk right into it.
Suddenly, Sasuke moved faster for once. His brother didn't expecting him to grab that forgotten knife. Pushing himself up, Sasuke gasped for air before rounding on his brother. The knife stabbed him in his lower abdomen before Sasuke extracting the blade. The elder brother stumbled back slightly, no form of emotion on his face whatsoever as he looked down.
Sasuke coughed, eyeing his brother the best he could through damp bangs. "You... demon..."
Itachi slowly looked up, fingers curling around his stab wound as blood seeped through. Then, he gave a smile.
Sasuke just... lost it. He hated that smile so much. When he moved, he thrusted the knife in the other's chest. Itachi did give a small grunt to that before pushing his brother away. He hit his head on the bathtub, now even more dazed then before. Itachi didn't take notice the stab wounds as he moved forward and fisted a hand full of his brothers hair once more. Again Sasuke was submerged.
It couldn't end like this... Sasuke felt this was so cheap. Was he that weak? He couldn't protect his family nor himself... never.
His lungs ached for air and he coughed underwater, only to fill those burning lungs with the scolding liquid. Despite the hotness of the water, his body felt so cold.
Just as Sasuke's attempt to get away began to calm down, Itachi pulled him from the tub. The younger brother coughed and gasped in attempt to purged the water from his lungs.
Leaning down, Itachi whispered in his dear brother's ear. "I set the house on fire..." He said softly, voice slightly wet from his own blood.
Sasuke widened his eyes, full of tears only because of the hot water.
Why hadn't he known...? Maybe he did...
Once again, Itachi pushed the other's head down and this time he did not let up until his brother stilled completely.
Sasuke just closed his eyes, praying to any god that somehow he'd be saved. Though, suddenly a picture of his mother flashed in his mind and the thought of dying seemed to just not bother him so much. There was a chance at peace... right?
"Good bye..." Itachi said with no remorse. He watched his brother drown by his own hands. After a moment, Sasuke's body stilled and Itachi finally notices that blood was coming from his mouth. It stained the white shirt his brother wore.
Without warning, a strong hand yanked the elder brother back and shoved him into a wall. Itachi grit his teeth and reached up to his painful stab wound before just settling back against the bathroom wall.
"Sasuke!" Hidan cried out. He looked down on the horrific scene. He watched the boy's lifeless body, half in the tub and half out. Memories came back to the blond from years ago… Finally, Hidan moved forward and wrapped an arm around the body. The blond used the other hand to pull his head from the scolding water, cradling him up against his upper arm.
Sasuke's face was red and Hidan tilted his head to pour the water from the others mouth. "Dammit… Why do you keep dying?" He muttered, pain in his voice as he felt for any pulse in Sasuke's neck. Nothing... Hidan gritted his teeth before he yelled. "Why the fuck do you keep dying!" He just didn't understand… It was like he didn't have a fucking hope in life.
After a few moments, he shifted slightly to prop the body against the bathtub. There was obviously no answer, just the lifeless body of the boy Hidan swore he'd protect... His attention was draw away however, by small clanking noise.
Looking a bit behind him, Itachi had a gun; it was the one Sasuke managed to dig out but not use. Itachi's hand was shaking, no doubt from the blood loss.
Hidan wanted to kick his ass and then some. This was a second time he succeeded to kill Sasuke... would this never end?
"You can't kill me," the blond said, his voice angered as he spoke.
Itachi figured he probably could kill him, considering he had the gun... but didn't. He was more so favor to bring the shaky gun up to his own temple and pulling the trigger.
Hidan widened his eyes, watching the blood spray against the door and wall with ease.
The dead brother dropped the gun instantly and slumped slightly to the side. Crimson eyes were still open to look forever upon what he had accomplished.
Falling back against the bathroom wall, Hidan just stared in shock. Both of them were dead... murder-suicide. Why did their lives always have to end like this?
"... Will it always be like this?" He asked, looking up to the ceiling. His expression looked tired as he asked his dark god.
They were driving to Atlanta and would arrive there in a few hours to pick up some equipment.
It was early in the morning. The sun was still hadn't came up and wouldn't for another hour or so. Everyone, to Hidan's knowledge, was asleep. Pecking away on the keyboard of a laptop, he looked through some online articles. Something shifted behind him and he look over his shoulder.
"Why aren't you asleep?" Asked a the dark headed youth.
"I was looking up what you asked for," said the blond, pausing for a moment. "I found it."
At that, Sasuke moved to sit down next to the other. He pulled the laptop closer so he could read. The head line read 'Tragic Brotherly Death - Murder-Suicide, 1977' and caused Sasuke to read further.
There was a long pause before Hidan broke the silence with a flick of his lighter. He lit a cigarette and took in a long drag before blowing it the other direction.
Sasuke didn't speak for a long time still. His mouth was slightly open in shock as he stared back at a pair of brothers...
"It's..." He trailed off, trying hard not to believe what he was looking at.
"You," finished Hidan, flicking the ashes in a lone ash tray