His head was pounding in time with the rain. Every drop exploded on the ground with a colossal throb somewhere behind his eyes.
He tried to stretch his fingers, to...what? Clench a fist? Reach for something? He didn't know. It didn't matter anyway; his hand wouldn't move. He tried to blink, slowly, slowly... The rain splashed against his eyelids and slid to the ground.
Vaguely, he heard his brother stir beside him. He opened his mouth, but his voice failed him; only a dry, rasping sound escaped him. Several attempts to swallow, then: "I could kill you now." He hadn't decided if it was more to reassure himself than to inform his brother.
Amused. Moreso than he'd heard him in many, many years. "Could you?"
He ignored the other, blinking slowly. "I could kill you and be done with this."
"You could." A soft snort, or maybe a sigh. Was his brother amused still, or resigned? It was difficult to tell.
"You killed kaa-san...you killed tou-san...I could kill you right now." He grit his teeth. A numb sensation traveled up his arm; his fingers dug into the rock beneath him.
There was silence for a few moments, save the rain. Slowly, ever slowly, he blinked, and loosened his fist. His brother broke the silence – the notion was strange.
"So what will you do?"
He closed his eyes then. I could kill you right now. It was the first thing on his lips, but for some reason, his voice stilled. The rain dripped onto his cracked lips, past them; he sighed. Contented, relieved...just plain tired.
I will wait. He didn't say it out loud, but when his brother made that same soft snort, the same sigh, he knew he heard anyway.