The rain poured without a break.
Sasuke had been sound asleep until a clap of thunder jolted him awake. He reached over almost instantly to shake awake his brother, who slept beside him, but only touched empty air. Itachi was nowhere to be seen; he wasn't filling the spot on the futon where he usually slept next to his little brother, and not at all in his room where Sasuke normally stayed in spite of the weather forecast.
"Itachi? Big Brother, where are you?" he mewed, reluctantly rising from his warm cocoon of eiderdowns to find Itachi.
The spot where his brother had been was still warm, denoting that it wasn't so long ago when Itachi had gotten up.
Darkness enshrouded the rooms and hallways aside from the erratic flashes of lightning that unveiled the wooden pathways that lay ahead of him.
Sasuke repressed a whimper, ashamed of his weakness, and shivered, wrapping his arms tightly around his shoulders in a vain attempt to skirt the cold as much as the unsettling sensation that suddenly overcame him.
He ambled down the hall gradually, his bare feet silent on the cool boards while he groped the walls for guidance. He poked his head around a corner that opened up to the kitchen, assessing any danger first, like a rodent sniffing for a late night meal. Inching through the kitchen's entrance, Sasuke hastily scanned the area for Itachi. Particularly on nights like this one—when a storm denied him a tranquil slumber—Itachi would spend his waking moments enjoying a small snack at the round kitchen table, and sometimes he'd pull out a chair and have Sasuke join him.
The fond recollection brought a smile to the younger Uchiha's lips. However, the thought perished quickly when another flash of lightning suddenly bared a silhouette of somebody on the wall near the front entrance.
Heart quickening, blood rushing to his head, Sasuke went still for minute, unsure whether the origin of the shadow was an intruder or his obnoxious friend, Naruto, who possessed a bad habit of occasionally sneaking into the Uchiha manor. He made use of his ninja training and tiptoed ever so softly as he cautiously approached whoever was sitting on the low step. To his relief, Sasuke discovered no intruder and saw his elder brother slipping on a pair of sandals made especially for shinobi of the Leaf Village.
"Big Brother?"
The elder Uchiha squeezed his eyes shut and cursed his luck. Earlier when he rose from the bed, Itachi had desperately hoped that Sasuke wouldn't wake up. Those old Hokages—who supposedly still watched over Konohagakure from the beyond—must have been cursing him for what he was about to do to his family, and most importantly his cherished little brother. Perhaps it was better this way. In the long run there would be less suffering… with any luck.
"Sasuke," he said as he turned around halfway to address his brother. "What are you doing up at this hour?"
"I should be asking you that, Itachi."
"Did the storm frighten you?"
Sasuke did his best to appear affronted.
"No!" he stated with a rather adamant tone, while he turned his head slightly to hide the scowl of discomfiture, Itachi noted.
He was embarrassed.
How cute, Itachi thought with a grin.
Sasuke's cheeks had flared an attractive shade of crimson and his arms were crossed, a sign that meant he was trying to control strong emotions he preferred sharing with his brother but was far too ashamed to make known his true feelings.
"It's okay to be scared, Sasuke."
His tone was simple and pacifying to the ears, like putting a seashell to one's ear and falling asleep to the drone of the crashing ocean waves.
Sasuke opened his mouth to rudely retort and ended up with a look of utter defeat. There's no getting past those ridiculously perceptive obsidian eyes. For a brief second the image of a five year old Sasuke flashed before Itachi's eyes, terrified and shivering from a thunderstorm back then. He used to crawl into his elder brother's waiting embrace, gradually subsiding into unconsciousness as he melted into Itachi's ever present warmth.
"I woke up and you weren't there."
A sharp pang of guilt gored Itachi. His heart felt like it was on fire, his innards a pit of writhing serpents. Whatever doubts he had had been revived all because of that susceptible and pure voice, those same obsidian eyes that desperately implored him to return to their futon, to nestle once more into the safety of his sturdy arms. Itachi meant heat and security and wisdom. He always knew what to do, but now looking at Sasuke he could not conjure up anything to remedy the situation. Never before had he wanted to cuff himself so badly.
"I'm sorry Sasuke. Go back to sleep."
"Big Brother, what are you…?"
Itachi had stood up from where he sat and turned around fully to gaze at Sasuke significantly. Awareness struck him and Sasuke's eyes glistened with a fresh sheen of tears. The eight year old slowly shook his head as the meaning behind it all suddenly dawned on him. This couldn't be happening, but in the depths of his mind he knew it had only been a matter of time for Itachi, for them both.
"Itachi, no! Today can't be the day!" At this point Sasuke was nearly yelling in agony. He didn't give a damn who heard.
"Sasuke, please keep your voice down," Itachi warned.
He took a knee in order to be at eye level with Sasuke, and gave the youth a forced smile. Through his heavy tears Sasuke failed to take notice as his brother extracted a clean blue handkerchief and began wiping away the snot coursing from his nose.
Tempting as it is, the young Uchiha did nothing to interfere. This was probably going to be the last time Itachi had the opportunity to coddle and take care of his little brother like this. Sasuke wanted to scream, to choke Itachi until he went blue in the face from lack of oxygen. But he also wanted to enfold his arms firmly around his strong neck and never let go.
"You knew this day was coming," he said sadly.
"But why today? Why not tomorrow? Just stay one more day Itachi, please!"
Itachi shook his head forlornly.
"I can't Sasuke. Things have changed. If I don't leave tonight I may never have this chance again."
"Then take me with you."
Sasuke's eyes had suddenly lit up with hope and he almost smiled at the prospect of travelling with his beloved elder brother. He was still crying, his breath hitching, but had relaxed considerably. Itachi had wondered about the abrupt switch vaguely, especially since Sasuke was the recipient of such dismal news. There was no reason to ponder it any further now.
"What?"
"Take me with you, Big Brother! I promise I won't be a bother; I'll stay out of the way and do whatever you say!"
So young and naïve and filled with such a passionate optimism, it was inspiring… which is why Itachi wanted to die right there, for he was about to brutally snuff that light.
"Don't be foolish little brother," he said. "You can't go where I'm going."
Sasuke's heart plummeted to his stomach. He bowed his head and barely whimpered like an abused kitten. But when he raised his head to look Itachi in the eye, the crippling desperation had been replaced with sheer hot resentment.
"Why not?" he demanded through clenched teeth.
"Because it's not safe… And I don't want you to come."
Itachi sensed the tension in the air, so thick one could cut it with a knife, and witnessed Sasuke's fingers curl into fists so tight that his knuckles turned completely white. He shouldn't have been surprised, really, because he actually expected what transpired subsequently, but an expression of slight shock still painted over his face nonetheless. Despite his small size, Sasuke still managed to roughly shove his brother onto his ass and was on top of him, force-feeding the older Uchiha his fists… or at least attempting with all his might while screaming bloody murder.
With hardly any effort Itachi redirected Sasuke's attacks, twisting his body so he landed on top of him instead, and pinioned the boy's arms above his head so he could not move. Sasuke continued to scream and thrash around, hoping their parents would hear the furor and maybe stop Itachi from leaving.
Little did he know that his brother was well aware of Sasuke's intentions, and Itachi set a hand firmly over his brother's mouth to shut him up. Eventually it worked and the screams were lowered to a strained sob. Itachi leaned in close and whispered something into Sasuke's ear to placate him further, before releasing his hard grip and permitting Sasuke to rise a bit.
The brothers stood there for a while, out of breath, just staring at each other with unchecked emotions and words left unspoken. Overhead the rumble of thunder began to drift away. The storm was passing, leaving behind a gentle drizzle of rain. Another one will show its ugly mug soon. This was just a generous respite.
It was time to go.
Itachi picked up a black umbrella resting on the mat where the Uchiha family placed their shoes and jackets. As he slid open the front shoji door, a refreshing breeze that smelled of spring flowers and cool rain wafted to their nostrils, inadvertently reminding them of better, happier days.
Even knowing it would do no good, that it would change nothing, as a last request, Sasuke said, "Big Brother… take me with you… Please don't leave me."
He walked over to Sasuke and bended down to his level. With a quivering grin and obsidian eyes that gleamed with anguish, Itachi raised two fingers and gently jabbed Sasuke on the forehead, a familiar sign of his undying affection.
"Sorry Sasuke. Maybe next time."
He left then, sauntered through those doors and never stopped to look back, with just an umbrella, a small bag of personal belongings, and the clothes on his back. The death grey sky had bathed everything in a gloomy miasma. Sasuke stood outside and watched his elder brother walk out of his life, stealing half of his soul, until he was nothing more than a ghost in the distance.