~~**~~Well, another ItaSasu piece from me^^ I haven't done one in a long time, so I got the feeling these two were sulking about being left out lol So, this piece actually got away from me, even this early into it. I had originally intended to do alot more with it, but some how it came out simplifying itself and stopping me from doing all the heavy yaoi I wanted to XD It's still a beautiful piece, so please, feel free to enjoy^^ Thankyou so much for reading and commenting!~~**~~

"Lost Beginnings"

"this one goes out to the one i love...this one goes out to the one i left behind...a simple prop, to occupy my time...this one goes out to the one i love..."

He knew where his little brother was. He always had. There had never been a time that his little ototo had left his mind's eye, let alone his true eyes. He knew the boy was hiding out with Orochimaru and he knew what Orochimaru was doing to his little brother. Fire lit behind his eyes at the thought of such a snake touching his ototo.

Rage filled his brother's heart and mind. Rage that he himself had placed there. A blind hatred for anything and everything that stood in his way of the goal his life centered around. Rage that Orochimaru fed into and fed off of...just waiting for the day that it became strong enough for him to use as a catalyst and take over the boy's very soul. He would tear the boy apart from the inside out. Just as Madarra had done to him, in the beginning.

Part of him had often toyed with the idea of leaving the Akatsuki...of stealing his baby brother from the jaws of the serpent...of starting a new life with the monster he had created. The logical part of him knew this was an assinine idea though, always gently pushing it to the back of his mind and locking it away with his other forbidden and foolish thoughts. Today though, today he would speak to his ototo. Today he would walk into the burrow of the snake and pull its prey from its coils. Today, he would tell his younger brother the things that had always needed to be said.

Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes as he trudged tiredly down the hallway. It was late, he wasn't even sure why he was up. Sleep had evaded him for a long time here...It had been two years since he had come looking for Orochimaru to teach him about the curse mark. And it had been close to two years since he had slept a full night.

He supposed his recent thoughts of Naruto were what was keeping him up tonight. Orochimaru had shown him some sort of crystal orb, offered to let him use it like the third Hokage once had. He had taken the offer, used the crystal for what it was for, and watched his best friend at his usual antics. It had hurt more than he had expected; which upset him more than he expected. He had given the crystal back to his master after that. Told him he didn't want to use the ugly thing anymore, that it was foolish and most likely broken. The snake never said a word in return; Sasuke knew he knew something was up.

He paused in the open hallway, looking out either side of the open arches, watching the wind whisper through the trees. He took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of freshly turned soil, aged bark, and rich moisture in the air. He wasn't allowed outside very often. Supposedly too dangerous, though he had always thought the sentiment as stupid as the man who spoke it. He wasn't here to hide and he wasn't here to learn much from the old fool. He wanted one thing and one thing only. Power. Power enough to slay those who needed to be slain. And then he wanted to go home...

Something scuttled across the ground, rustling leaves and perking his ears. He failed to move, hands shoved deep into his robe pockets, face as empty as the air around him. Everything stilled and silenced itself, and he let out a soft breath, not having realized he had been holding it in. A thought struck him, some quiet chord that he didn't expect to hear. Naruto had been practicing a genjutsu when Sasuke had peered in on him. He had been training with another one of the sennins. He remembered when Naruto had trouble doing the simplest of genjutsus at the academy, so to see him performing some rather well crafted ones had surprised him.

Sasuke pulled his pale hands out of his pockets, blinking tiredly as he slowly rotated them in front of himself. There was a bandage revealing itself from beneath the hem of his robe sleeve...covering marks atop of marks. He could see the empty blue of his veins, twisting and writhing over the back of his palms before coiling around and beneath themselves, only to twine up the inside of his wrist. He looked at these veins often, trying to remind himself that warm blood coursed through him, that he was alive and physical.

Furrowing his brows lightly he curled his fingers, turning them this way and that, as if forming a ball of air. His lashes brushed over his cheeks as he all but shut his eyes, focusing energy between the air of his fingers, continuously rotating it to shape it. He released another breath, lifting his hands to greet it. The synergy whispered out into the night, clouding and whisping before slowly threading together to take shape. When he opened his eyes again his breath caught in his throat, swelling into a painful lump as it did, almost pricking tears to his eyes.

"Evening, little ototo..."