Drink Me In

Part II


"Watch me, Otouto." Itachi crouched down on the roof top. His eyes glowed in the darkness, cold and determined. Anticipation rushed through Sasuke's veins.

They watched a couple walking down the street below. Only the neon lights on the shops lightened their way. A strange smell, somehow familiar yet hard to recognize, drifted through the air.

Sasuke frowned. "Are they criminals?" His voice was just loud enough so that his brother would hear him.

Itachi's eyes closely followed the humans, like a hawk spying on its prey.

"No. However, our clan's position gives us responsibility. I have a mission to accomplish."

"You?"

"Stay behind me, Sasuke."

Sasuke snorted. "I can help. They're just humans."

His brother didn't reply.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Vampires?"

Itachi's eyes only narrowed in reply, fully focused on his prey. His voice was barely audible. "I brought you here… since you said you wanted to learn how to hunt. I don't want you involved in this, though."

Sasuke nodded reluctantly and held his breath. Itachi slowly moved forward, inch by inch like a cat. His muscles tensed and his eyes flared with the Sharingan. Perfect calculation, determination, intention…

Sasuke felt desire boil in him. Itachi was the image of perfection.

His thoughts were interrupted when his brother did a quick hand sign. A flurry of crows suddenly emerged in front of the couple on the street, surrounding them. Itachi launched himself of the roof a split second later, landing behind them without a sound.

The woman spun around as the crows attacked her, her eyes glowing fiercely red. With bared fangs, she attempted to strike at Itachi. But the crows overwhelmed her; ripping at her clothes and skin and tangling her hair. Her male companion fought violently against the onslaught of beaks and claws with bloodied hands.

Sasuke's eyes widened. He had been so transfixed on Itachi that he hadn't noticed his surroundings, but now it was clear. They were in the same alleyway where Sasuke had caught his first prey. A trail of blood led off from the fray. That was the source of the strange smell – human blood. Several corpses were lying in the shadows. Sasuke recognized them as the citizens from his own hunt a couple of days ago.

Sasuke watched as the male vampire, now released from the frenzied birds, started to approach his brother. He made a rush at Itachi, only to be thrown to the ground. The male recovered quickly and moved again, snarling and baring his teeth.

Itachi was already standing in the place he moved to and easily struck him down again. The elder Uchiha now turned to face the woman, who by this time had fought off the last of the crows. She looked feral as he hissed at him; her eyes wild and her fangs glistening.

Sasuke leaned forward, watching intensely. Suddenly the male attacked Itachi from behind again and just as Sasuke prepared to jump off the roof, the woman went completely stiff. Itachi swiftly turned and pierced the male's chest with a flick of his silver knife that he always carried with him easily penetrated the skin.

Itachi threw the male vampire on the ground, not paying any attention to the quickly dissolving corpse as he turned to the immovable woman. A hoarse scream left her lips and her arms limply fell to her sides.

It took Sasuke a moment to realize why she didn't escape while she could – her crimson eyes were wide and frozen.

Tsukuyomi.

Another terrified sound escaped her while Itachi quickly retrieved his knife. He darted forward again, swift like a pouncing cat. His smooth lips parted over her neck and her scream turned into a gurgling sound.

A moment later it was over and Itachi straightened. He was so smooth, efficient, never leaving a mess behind. The front of his black shirt beneath his cape was completely clean, without so much as a wrinkle or a stain on the expensive silk.

Admiration and pride filled Sasuke as he watched the woman's corpse dissolve. He left the roof and jumped down, landing next to his brother. The other vampires had left a mess, however. Sasuke frowned with disgust. During the times he spent in their luxurious mansion, sleeping and feeding from Itachi, he had never been exposed to this.

The sight only made his resolve strengthen further.

Itachi turned to him, disapproval clearly visible in his face. He sighed and rubbed his forehead with slender, pale fingers. Sasuke caught sight of his eyes: the crimson hue wasvslowly fading and leaving dark grey behind.

"I hope you did not intend to join in, Sasuke."

"Did you expect me to just stand there?"

Itachi sighed.

Sasuke hissed and his hands instinctively flew up to shield his face as the very first, hesitant rays of golden light appeared between the rooftops. It made his head sting intensely and he shut his eyes tightly. His entire body reacted to that glowing orb.

Itachi walked over to him and pulled Sasuke's hood properly over his dark spikes, then gently held his face in between his hands. He lovingly pressed their foreheads together, inhaling deeply, before kissing him. The younger boy groaned into the kiss and instinctively pressed closer, wrapping his arms around Itachi.

"Nii-san…"

Itachi reluctantly pulled back, his hot breath swept over the younger's face and made him lose his focus completely. Sasuke tightened his grip around the elder's lean body.

"You smell wonderful, Otouto," Itachi groaned quietly before pressing his lips to his forehead again. Sasuke felt a tension build in his lower stomach. Itachi's body shielded him from the sunlight and he couldn't care less about their surroundings.

The need was overwhelming, taking control of him. The moment he felt Itachi's lips grazing his neck, the bliss was complete. Sasuke arched his neck, exposing his throat and urging him on. Another sensation bothered him – the world around them slowly lightened up, the annoying light infiltrated his senses.

Itachi's lips moved against his neck. "Your blood… it's singing beneath your skin, so cruelly tempting… just asking to be devoured."

His fangs touched his skin, moving like a brush over a canvas. The teasing sharpness almost drove Sasuke mad. He bucked into his brother, grinding their lower bodies together. The elder withdrew a moment later with a strangled moan. A pained look briefly crossed his face.

"It's time to go back, Sasuke. It's already dawn."

The younger's protests were effectively silenced as Itachi put a finger to his mouth and pulled him into the shadows. A few humans walked past, unaware of the bloodshed that had taken place in the darkness.

.

Sasuke yawned and squinted his eyes as Itachi lay him down on their double bed. As the elder walked over to the large window to secure the curtains he heard a light snore and realized that his brother had already fallen asleep.

Itachi smiled and discarded his velvet coat on a chair before approaching his brother. He gently pulled on the strings that kept the cape in place around Sasuke's shoulders and carefully put it aside before joining him. The room was encased in dusk, only the faintest light managed to sneak in between the floor and the heavy velvet curtains.

He let his hand caress the side of Sasuke's smooth face before moving to his silky hair. His little brother was truly… exquisite. Itachi couldn't help the fact that he still regarded him as a child in many ways. Vampires matured slower than humans, as a result of their long lifespan, and Sasuke's sixteen years were far from enough to consider him fully grown.

His little brother was still not strong enough to fully provide for himself, which was the reason Itachi kept on spoiling him. He never could deny him anything, indifferent to the fact that Fugaku strongly disapproved. Their father had expressed disappointment about Sasuke's limited abilities early on, expecting him to follow Itachi's path. That's why he had decided to always be by his brother's side.

He pulled Sasuke to his chest, adjusting his body to fit against his, and relaxed. Sasuke had from the very beginning roused an intense protective instinct in Itachi. He inhaled his Otouto's sweet scent, feeling something stir deep inside of him.

That special someone... Sasuke's blood was seething for him only, boiling, making his venom flood with desire. The term was well known among vampires – only reserved for lovers. Il mio cantante… la mia unica tentazione.

Itachi intertwined a strand of spiky hair with his own. The milky white skin of his brother, his coal black eyes, the soft rebellious spikes surrounding his face, his thick eyelashes creating crescent moons on his pale cheeks… such a beauty was too pure to ever be tainted by this world. Itachi had a streak of possessiveness deep inside of him, much like Sasuke did, and he knew why.

From the very moment he breathed Sasuke's scent for the first time, he had known the inevitable, even if he was too young to properly describe it.

Throughout the ages, your 'singer' was proven to be your soul mate. Sharing blood with another vampire was considered such an intimate act, that it had bound them to each other. It had been inevitable that Itachi eventually had given in and allowed himself to taste that sweet, forbidden nectar. He had brought his own demise upon himself, but it was well worth it.

After all, his thirst could only be fully quenched by one person. No amount of human blood could ever do the same, but for many years he had been forced to rely on that only, deprived of what he needed the most.

Itachi tightened his arms around his brother and bit back the thirst that gradually had started bothering him since the break of dawn. They both needed their rest, but the desire was always the most dominant feeling. The smell of Sasuke's blood was so tempting; he could feel it on the tip of his tongue as he listened to the slow, steady heartbeats of his love.

Itachi's two most dominant instincts were always battling each other – the intense urge to ravage and ravish his willing little brother and lose himself completely in the temptation that his incomparable blood offered, and the equally strong need to protect him, to keep him safe from every danger in this world – including himself.

Itachi swallowed the venom that filled his mouth and let sleep defeat him.

Sasuke woke up from a familiar, scratching sensation in the back of his throat. Heavy sleepiness surrounded him, urging him to close his eyes again. His brother's delicate, reassuring scent lingered around him and made the thirst intensify. Sasuke slowly realized that his face was so very close to his brother's beautiful, muscular neck. He pressed his nose against it. The irresistible liquid flowed strongly beneath that thin layer of skin, for him only. Itachi was his.

The older man's pulse was slow and steady, almost teasing him. His mouth sought out the jugular and he had to use all his willpower not to press his fangs through it. Biting too violently could be dangerous even for another vampire. Sasuke had of course never had the opportunity to try his fangs on anything other than his brother, himself and his stuffed teddy bear – as a child – and he wasn't sure how to actually kill someone.

Sleep eventually managed to defeat his thirst and as he pressed himself closer to Itachi he concluded that nothing must stand in his way – he was going to learn how to hunt someone, kill someone, by himself. If he didn't, he could end up losing control and harm his Nii-san someday.

.

Itachi was four years old when his father decided that he must learn to hunt by himself. Fugaku had not allowed him to feed from anyone for a week prior to the 'lesson', making his son starved. He then took him outside during the night. Itachi had attacked the first human he saw. He remembered it all too well; the feeling of sinking his small fangs into the neck of an adult human twice his size and emptying its veins. He had made a mess, but his father had been pleased.

A couple of years later Sasuke was born. For the six year old Itachi, the new family member was a very strange creature.

"He has no teeth," he commented as he inspected the newborn in his mother's arms. His baby brother yawned and Itachi could only see the smallest, minimal hint of something white in his gums.

"It's true," their mother smiled.

"So he can't hunt," Itachi established. Was there something wrong with his baby brother?

"He will grow fangs just like you, when he is older," Mikoto explained. "I will give him energy until he needs blood. Do you want to hold him, Itachi?"

Itachi took the bundle in his arms and swallowed. His baby brother smelled good; much better than any human he had come across before. Sasuke's fragrance reminded him of a strong flower he didn't know the name of. Delicate, sharp and luscious; he could almost taste the sweetness on his tongue. Still, it roused only the faintest warmth in his throat. The burning ache was missing. Itachi had already developed a fair amount of self control, but even a scent as overwhelming as this was surprisingly easy to ignore.

Mikoto watched him and smiled. "Infants have a very small amount of blood in their bodies compared to adults," she explained gently. "That's why you must not drink from him Itachi, even if he smells good."

He knew enough to realize what that meant. Instinctively he pressed his baby brother closer to his body before gravely looking over at their mother.

"I will protect him."

.

His baby brother was indeed a very strange creature. He slept heavily during the nights; his tiny body so unmoving and still that Itachi listened close for his heartbeat just to make sure. During the day Sasuke screamed and fussed, putting Fugaku in a foul mood and making Mikoto and Itachi lose their sleep.

It wasn't until the crib was put in Itachi's room that Sasuke gradually grew calmer. When he was a year old and stopped feeding on energy only, Mikoto asked Itachi to babysit him during the nights when she and Fugaku were out hunting.

One night Itachi watched Sasuke sleeping in his crib like usual; his small hands were clenched instinctively on each side on his face and his face was turned on the side, exposing his minimal neck. His baby brother was so exposed, so helpless.

Itachi wondered how he ever could become a real vampire and hunt for himself – maybe his baby brother was disabled. He had never seen such a tiny vampire before, one that didn't even have fangs. It seemed abnormal, like a bird without a beak. Mikoto said that all babies were like that, but Itachi found it hard to believe. He had no memory of that; he had always been aware of his surroundings even as a small child and his fangs grew out early.

Sasuke started waking up; his big eyes slowly opened to reveal dark irises glowing faintly red. As he uttered a quiet whine, Itachi lifted him up and cradled his small body.

"Good morning, Otouto."

Sasuke's strong, sweet fragrance enveloped them both and made a slight ache rise in the back of Itachi's throat. Still, there was something within him that forbid him to as much as think about sinking his fangs into that neck – he knew he just couldn't. He would never let Sasuke come to harm.

His baby brother started crying and Itachi rocked him reassuringly, watching his eyes turn a darker shade of crimson.

"Are you thirsty?"

He held his wrist in front of the baby's mouth. Sasuke abruptly stopped crying. His eyes went wide for a moment before his lips closed around it and he started sucking intensely.

The feeling of wet gums pressing into his skin without the slightest success of breaking it made Itachi confused. He only felt a faint scraping from a premature tooth. His brother would never survive like this.

Itachi brought his wrist to his own mouth, ignoring the saliva from the baby and let his fangs pierce the skin. He didn't waste a drop and let Sasuke indulge at once.

The baby closed his eyes and sucked for only a few minutes before his head fell back. Sasuke's mouth formed a perfect little 'o' as he slept heavily.

Itachi wiped the corners of his mouth clean before kissing his forehead slowly. This feeling was completely new. Knowing that his baby brother was completely dependent on others for his survival, and furthermore so very tempting with his own sweet blood… it only strengthened his protective urge. The realization that he had used his own life source to feed his brother, that his own blood now filled Sasuke's stomach…

It made him want more.


To be continued. Reviews are very appreciated!
Thanks to my beta Tsukiko-Hibiko for feedback and support.

Love, Crystallinee