Ohayo~! =D this is my first ever fanfic, so bear with me. =p That does not mean, however, that this is my first attempt at writing a story—that landmark passed a long time ago. xD So basically, I think anyone who chooses to read this should be in for a pretty swell ride (and also, please feel free to critique and point out all and any errors. =) )…assuming, of course, that I can stay focused long enough to actually take this anywhere. xD Soo~ if you actually want to read more, harass the shit out of me! Seriously, that is the only way there is any chance this will be updated. xD But still don't be surprised if I just suddenly drop this without warning or explanation someday when I get bored, 'kay? =p Enjoy anyway! =D After all, what's life without a little risk, amirite? xDD

Disclaimer: The only piece of Naruto I own is the Sasuke poster hanging on my wall. xDD

Chapter One: Born of the Tears of Gods

"Heaven opened and the water hammered down…carpet bombing still, tea-colored puddles the way memory bombs still, tea-colored minds." – The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy

With one tiny fist, Sasuke Uchiha rubbed the sleep from his wide—still innocent—eyes. He had been up most of the night, again. Pacing. Back, and forth…back, and forth…over and over; just waiting for the sun to rise. For, by his eight-year-old logic, the boogeyman, embodiment of all that was wrong with the world, struck only at night. Terrible things, like the vague yet menacing concept of "death," only happened during the night; of that he was sure. In the bright, happy light of day, nothing could go wrong: The monsters under the bed all vanished, the boogeyman retreated, and Itachi came back. Sasuke threw open the blinds to the tiny window in the small, sterilized room and peaked out at the world—it had dawned grey.

He should have known the boogeyman had power over days without a sun.

Missing, in his childhood naivety, what he would later know to be a terrible omen, Sasuke took up his usual vigil on the single crappy chair between the two starched hospital beds. Everything was so clean in the hospital. It made him nervous—as if disturbing any of the perfectly cleaned and sanitized surfaces would upset some fragile balance that was keeping his parents alive—so he tried to take up as little space in the room as possible, touching only the chair and the window…and occasionally his mother's frighteningly still hand. Just to make sure she was still warm, still alive…

Sasuke swallowed hard and opened his book, picking up where he had left off the night before in a falsely calm voice. He was reading that particular book to his unmoving parents for the third time, because the doctor had told him the sound of his voice might help his parents to wake up. He had spent every day for the past six weeks reading aloud to the two still bodies, and every night pacing the halls, unable to sleep, both afraid the boogeyman would come and take his parents away and…alone.

He did not know where Itachi went at night. Usually he returned smelling strangely; a strong, bitter odor that Sasuke did not like. His eyes would be red, like he had been rubbing them too much or crying, but Itachi did not cry. "Drinking himself to death," the nurses would whisper, but Sasuke did not know what they meant. All he knew was that every night Itachi left him all alone in the hospital with their parents that the doctor had said might not ever wake up.

Sasuke sniffled and rubbed hard at his eyes, willing himself not to cry—Uchihas do not cry!—but he could feel the tears running soft down his cheeks anyway, salty and warm. Warm like Mother's hands when she used to comfort him and brush all the tears and pain and bad things away…

"Sasuke…" came the soft, gentle voice from right above his head, now bowed and shaking as he sobbed. Suddenly, the grey sky erupted, pouring down its godly tears against the little window. Sasuke looked up into the brazenly calm face of his brother, abruptly angry—angry at Itachi for abandoning him every night, at his parents for trying to leave him forever, at the world for trying to take them all away, at the doctors for not being able to do a damn thing about it.

Fueled by the sudden rage, he smacked Itachi's hand, probably intended to give comfort, away and surged to his feet.

"Shut up!" he screamed, the bitter frustrations and sorrow of the weeks finally breaking free in a wave of tears. Trembling, sobbing, leaking snot in the way only an extremely distraught child could, Sasuke Uchiha stood before his brother, finally at the end of what his child's psyche could endure.

Itachi merely stared at his wreck of a brother for one long, rain- and tear-filled moment. Then stiffly, reservedly, he placed a hand on his baby brother's shoulder. He could afford to allow himself nothing more than such a brief, un-consoling touch. He'd made up his mind. For the sake of Sasuke: The phrase played itself over and over in his head. For the sake of Sasuke. Resolutely, he turned his stiff and unyielding back on his precious little brother—so Sasuke could not see him cry.

"The driver's waiting outside," he said softly, voice utterly devoid of emotion. "Have him take you home. Go get some sleep."

"What? No I—" Sasuke started to protest in a loud, temper-tantrum way that brought Itachi to the verge of smiling despite himself. But he interrupted ruthlessly regardless, "I'm serious Sasuke." Then, unable to help himself, he turned around, the slightest of smiles tilting his lips, and poked his brother in the forehead.

"We'll all go somewhere together soon—all four of us. I promise," he assured calmly, tasting the lie. Forgive me Sasuke.

Eyeing him doubtfully, Sasuke nodded slowly, his large dark eyes filled with an unquestioning admiration for his older brother that made Itachi's stomach twist into a painful jumble of guilt and self-disgust.

Hm…So nothing seems to have happened in this chapter. xD And it's hopelessly short…but it just feels more right to end it here, and have Three Things Happen next chapter. So that's how it is. =p consider this a prologue

p.s. Itachiiiiiii. E777 Magical brain-washing crows ftw. Also, I E7 The God of Small Things. Everyone should go read that book. Nao. Lastly, about the title: I firmly believe that you can't ever actually know the title of a work until it's complete, so I'm thinking of this as a working title, though I rather like it. xD Why? Because it's an allusion to the single greatest BL manga ever written. It's called Banana Fish and you should probably go look it up. Immediately. Before you do anything else—like seriously, before you even breathe. It's that freaking important. xDD

p.p.s. I love long author's notes. xDD