Hell is where the Heart Is
Prologue
Why is it so hot?
A harsh and frustrated sigh forced itself out of Uchiha Sasuke's lips as his body lurched forward, his hands burying themselves into his black locks. He moved his hands from his hair down to his face before clutching his covers and yanking it off his body, hoping to get some relief from the sudden intense wave of heat he felt.
He hadn't been sweating, at all. Not a single spot of moisture could be found anywhere on his whole person; even his mouth was as dry as a desert. The heat felt as if it were coming from within his body, his veins -- his blood.
Even now, as he sat in his bed without covers and had shed most of his cloths save for his boxers, he could still feel the intense heat.
It was an agonizing feeling, being uncomfortable within one's own skin.
It was not the first night it had happened either, though it was the most intense it had been yet. Normally the heat would run through only specific parts of his body. This time, however, it was consistent through every single appendage from his toes to his fingers.
"What's happening to me?" Sasuke muttered to himself as he threw his legs over the side of the bed. He wasted no time moving over to the large window that led to his balcony and pulled it open, welcoming the cold wind that forced its way into his bedroom and brushed against his skin.
It was surprising, to say the least, when the cold winter air did nothing to satiate the horrible hotness he felt in his body. The wind made his skin feel cold, even going as far as causing goosebumps to cover his arms, legs, and chest, yet underneath his skin, he still felt that heat.
It was as if his blood was on fire.
Sasuke gritted his teeth as he leaned further out the door, desperation welling up inside his gut. He just wanted the feeling to stop.
He had been to the doctor twice, and even they could not see what was wrong with him. In their eyes, he was perfectly healthy and it was just in his head.
But he knew there was something wrong with him.
The heat soon dulled down to a warmth before disappearing completely, leaving Sasuke to feel the cold chill of the night nip at his skin. Every night he'd feel that intense heat, and every night he tried his damnedest to will it away. When it finally went away, he would always be left with the cold chill running through his bones.
Always.
Sasuke withdrew back inside his bedroom as he slid the door closed, sliding the small white latch down to lock it. Now intent on getting some sleep, Sasuke got in his bed and shut his eyes.
----------
"Why? why?"
Sasuke's widened eyes transfixed on his older brother for what seemed like an eternity. His surroundings blurred together into one big purple haze as the image of Itachi remained sharp and vivid.
Real.
Sasuke felt the need to move forward, but his body did not comply. He didn't feel fear, he didn't feel anything. All he was aware of were those simple words being uttered from his mouth.
"Why?"
And the sharp image of his older sibling staring at him with the emptiest of eyes. No, not staring at him. Staring through him.
He tried to say something else, something other than that simple word. He wanted to call his brother's name, but it just wouldn't come out as such.
"Why?"
Itachi's mouth moved as if he were speaking but instead of his voice, Sasuke heard something else.
A scream; loud, screeching, deafening. It was unbearable and agonized, and it wouldn't stop.
It took Sasuke about a minute to realize the scream didn't belong to Itachi, but to himself.
Sasuke shot up in bed before he even had the chance to open his eyes. When he did, he was relived to see his own room. No hazy, purple mass of nothing, just his room.
The image of his brother lingered in his mind for a couple of seconds before slowing slipping away, in which Sasuke was more than happy to let the memory fade.
"Holy shit," he breathed out, panting lightly as his chest rose and fell abnormally fast. His heart beat rapidly against his chest; he felt as if there was a little person in their banging against the walls of his heart, trying to get out.
"Brother."
The word was quick and low, and had Sasuke not slowed down his breathing he wouldn't have caught it. In fact, it was so low that Sasuke had believed it to be a figment of his imagination. Regardless, he slowly turned his head to where the voice came from, which happened to be the direction of his balcony.
His eyes landed on a tall silhouette standing behind the glass, staring at him.
Startled by the sudden intrusion of his home, Sasuke jolted out of bed and reached for the nightstand drawer to his right, yanking it open and pulling out his 9-mm. By the time he took aim for the dark figure through the glass, it was gone.
Still, there was something on his balcony that garnered his attention.
Perched on the railing, as black as the night itself, was a raven.
Sasuke's brows wrinkled in confusion as he took a few pensive steps forward. The first thought that ran through his mind was that this was some sort of prank. And from his experience on the force, pranksters responded well to veiled threats of prison.
The raven lifted its wing a little to peck at its feathers before its gaze shifted to Sasuke. Though he was not sure why, but he felt cold under its gaze.
"Damn bird," Sasuke muttered as he made his way over to the door. He knew he wouldn't get any sleep if that thing just sat there all night. It's not that he was afraid of it, he just couldn't stand the thought of all the staring. He hated it when anyone or anything stared at him, animals being no exception. He remembered a specific occasion when Naruto and Sakura dragged him to the Zoo. There was a monkey there that wouldn't stop staring at him; he had walked away grunting and muttering while Naruto just laughed along with Sakura.
He didn't ever admit it, but he had fun that day.
Upon reaching the door he tightened his grip on his gun. From what he could see, there was no one on his balcony, just the bird. Still, he could not erase that image of the silhouette from his mind.
Lifting the small latch, Sasuke readied his gun, just in case. He felt somewhat ridiculous; he was on the twentieth floor, making it impossible for someone to climb up from below. He was smack dab in the middle, with twenty more floors to go up. It was definitely possible for someone to climb down from the balcony above if they were extremely careful, but to climb back up in such a short amount of time was impossible. One would have to be a ninja to manage such a feat. Besides all of that, Aburame Shino lived above Sasuke, and he highly doubted Shino had nothing better to do than to attempt to freak out Sasuke.
As Sasuke slowly slid the door open the sounds of strong wind filled his ears. The wind itself once again sent chills throughout his whole being; it seemed the wind was unusually cold for a winter in Konoha. In actuality, Sasuke hadn't even realized it until the moment he opened the door. Though he was wearing nothing but boxers, he could still tell the cold was somehow...different. As if there was something impure about the cold air. Something invading it.
The raven's beak opened wide as a loud 'kaw' startled Sasuke out of his little revere.
Now fully annoyed, Sasuke sucked his teeth and started for the bird, waving his gun-hand at it to shoo it away. The bird flapped its wings and pecked at Sasuke, nipping at the gun for a moment, before taking off. Sasuke watched the raven fly away and disappear into the black skies, blending in perfectly.
That was strange, he thought calculatingly to himself. He had slowly taken a liking to birds, but for some strange reason this particular one gave him a feeling of...wrongness.
Sasuke's eyelids felt heavy, letting him know that he needed some sleep. He wasn't sure what time it was but he was positive that it was early in the morning, and he had work soon. He was never late and he wasn't about to start being late now. Especially knowing that he would have to hear about it from Naruto.
The thought of hearing Naruto complain being extra incentive, Sasuke turned and walked back inside, turning back around to close the door, though he was stopped once again.
"What the...?" He arched an eyebrow at a small, folded up piece of paper on the floor, right under where the raven had been perched moments ago. He hadn't remembered seeing it while the bird was there.
Sasuke once again walked out on to the balcony and picked up the paper. It was black, much like the raven. He unfolded it carefully, almost as if something would pop up from under the folds if he weren't careful. Upon fully unfolding the paper the first thing the Uchiha noticed were the red clouds decorated over the stationary.
"Impossible," he muttered to himself dubiously. Images of a younger Itachi doodling those very same red cloud patterns all over the walls assaulted his mind. He remembered his parents scolding Itachi for drawing all over the house; the emptiness in his eyes had been forever etched into Sasuke's mind. Whenever he would draw those cloud patterns on the walls...it was as if he wasn't doing in consciously. He was like a shell. An empty shell.
Though disturbing in of itself, the red clouds was not what had Sasuke's heart thumping mercilessly against his chest. Nor was it what had his eyes widening in utter shock. It was the sentence, "Come to Silent Hill, brother", scrawled out in hurried writing that had Sasuke shaking uncontrollably.