"Sasuke." The familiar low voice broke me from my trance.
I grunted in response to my name, which was barely distinguishable over the pounding rain. My forehead was pressed against the cold window, every breath fogging a small patch of the glass. I had been watching the spot vanish and reappear for the past twenty minutes before Itachi spoke.
"…Do you hate me?" My head whipped around to face my brother, who was staring out at the cemetery through the rain. His head was bent slightly down, letting the long strands of his dark hair shield his face.
"'Hate'?" I repeated. "You're annoying sometimes, and I want to hit you a lot, but I don't hate you. I could never…hate you." I looked closely for some sort of reaction, but as usual there was nothing more than him shutting off the ignition, opening the door and stepping out into the downpour. Puzzled, I followed him to our family's grave.
We paid our respects in silence, returning to the car a good half-hour later, both of us soaked to the bone. The rain was still not letting up, and Itachi hadn't spoken a word since his bizarre inquiry. His dark aura kept my mouth shut, too.
I watched my brother out of the corner of my eye as he drove, trying to get something from his movements.
Itachi's posture was relaxed, and his wet hair was a harsh black against his pale skin, still flushed from the cold. His expression remained blank. I never could read him, though he seemed to know me like the back of his hand. It always aggravated me that this was the case. He was once more ahead of me.
My eyes fell onto his body, trailing over the creases of his tight black t-shirt under his trench coat. I was dressed in a similar fashion, but a glance down at my own stomach revealed flatness obtained from good genes and a healthy diet. Frowning, I looked back at my aniki, comparing other features of our similar yet so different bodies. Itachi's face was leaner, his eyes a harsher onyx than my own. His hands were bigger and his fingers leaner, and a silver ring adorned the left thumb. And he was wearing nail-polish…
"You're staring at me, otouo." Blinking, I found myself leaning on my elbow, facing Itachi, and giving him an intense examination. Blushing fiercely at my position and Itachi's growing smirk, I sat back in my seat, tightly crossing my arms over my chest. Oh, my god. He probably thinks I was checking him out! Oh, god! I blushed harder at the thought, barely noticing the unfamiliar bridge we were on.
Itachi's deep voice interrupted my embarrassing thoughts again, saying,
"So you don't hate me." I sighed, rolling my eyes, though relieved he was the one who had brought up the topic.
"No, I don't hate you. Why do you keep—"
"Do you love me?" He glanced at me, his smirk widening at my expression.
"…What?" I stared hard at my brother.
"You don't hate me, so does that mean you love me?"
"Er…yeah…I…I guess so. I mean you're my –" I was cut off again by Itachi's exhalation and sudden smile.
"Good." With that, his expression darkened, his grip on the wheel tightened, and he pressed his foot harder on the gas pedal.
"Wha—" He turned the wheel sharply to the right, sending our car skidding across the slick roads…and headfirst off the bridge and into the raging flood-waters below.
I didn't have time to scream as the car plunged into the muddy waters. My head snapped forward, slamming into the dashboard as the hood of the car collided with the earth at an awkward angle. I
looked up dazedly, finding Itachi kicking out the cracked windshield and letting the brown water flow in. The glass finally came free, flying past me as the water flooded into the car at a startling rate. Itachi managed to pull himself out against the raging water, and I heard his footsteps on the roof.
Within seconds the dark water was up to my elbows – and I was still strapped to my seat. I felt desperately for the buckle, but quickly found it to be stuck. Shit! I yanked and yanked at the strap, but it wouldn't budge. Shit, shit, shit! I'm going to drown! The water was to my neck when I remembered the pocket knife Itachi always kept in the center consul. I opened the consul and felt around, quickly feeling the familiar smoothness and flicked the knife open. The water was past my mouth, now, so I took a deep breath and started sawing at the belt. It cut through easily, and I pushed off the seat and crawled out of the opening.
I surfaced quickly, though the water was as deep as I was tall. Gulping for air, I started to climb across the top of the car, spotting Itachi's blurry dark figure retreating on the opposite bank. What the hell…? I squinted through the rain, putting one hand to my forehead to create a cover. The raging water sped up, causing my grip to falter and I was rushed down the make-shift river like a leaf in a stream. Trying to keep my head above water, I started to pull myself to the side of the never-ending river, but the speeding current pulled me along. I glanced ahead, seeing that the river narrowed and made a sharp turn before slowing as it branched off. I took another deep breath and continued swimming for the bank, but I couldn't see the large rock hiding beneath the surface. My foot jammed into rock, sending me lurching forward and knocking my head into the jagged stone wall.
Any good? Total crap? Continue or not? Lemme know!
