Within the waking hours of dawn, Itachi finally awoke from his fatigue. He lifted a hand to rub his eyes so he could see properly and noticed the bandages. He looked at his other arm. Bandages and an IV.

"Hospital." He muttered.

It was still dark in his room, as the sun had yet to fully rise over the horizon. To his left there was a small bouquet of little white flowers, probably a courtesy of someone who had visited him during this…

Utter disaster.

He sighed, eyeing his right arm. Surely his mother and father were informed about this. He was still underage, so he couldn't sign himself out of the hospital until they either discharged him or his parents got him out themselves. He let out a low sigh. And Sasuke…

Itachi felt a pang of guilt about what his younger brother had seen. His last look at Sasuke's face before he blacked out surprised him.

His little brother…

A small cough made Itachi turn his attention to the foot of his bed. There, halfway curled up in a chair with his head on the bed, wrapped in a blanket, was Sasuke. It was a wonder Itachi hadn't noticed him there earlier.

"Sasuke…" Itachi's voice was cracking. He shook his brother's arm lightly, wincing at the pain that shot up his arms. "Wake up…"

Upon hearing Itachi speak Sasuke immediately shot his head up, still half-asleep. His voice was hoarse from crying the night before. "Aniki…?"

Itachi gave a small little twitch of his lips; not enough to be called a smile. "Yeah- It's me, ototo."

Sasuke's face lit up entirely. Jumping off the chair and into the bed, he hugged Itachi hard, causing his brother to let out a sharp hiss of pain.

Sasuke let go, blinking away tears. "Did I hurt you?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"…"

Sasuke stepped off of the bed and grabbed the blanket, placing it on Itachi's lap and patting the blanket until it was covering his feet. Itachi gave him a confused look.

"…You'll catch cold if you stay barefoot like that." Sasuke smiled weakly.

Itachi motioned for Sasuke to come closer. When he did, he patted the bed. "Wanna sit up here?"

Sasuke's eyes were pressing for information, but nevertheless, he hopped up onto the bed again and snuggled into Itachi's left side under the covers.

"Thank you, Aniki."

"Your welcome, Sasuke."

They both lay there for a moment when Itachi turned his head to Sasuke and was startled to find Sasuke with his eyes closed, shaking.

Itachi was silent for a moment, then quietly whispered, "Sasuke, are you alright?"

Sasuke straightened his position and stared at Itachi blankly. "Why wouldn't I be? You tried to kill yourself, and I want to know why. But I know that you'll never tell me, and oto-san and oka-san will probably never trust you again." Sasuke's eyes started to water slightly. "And… You're my brother, nii-san. I wish I knew… What I did wrong."

Itachi looked at him in utter confusion. "What you did…wrong?"

Sasuke nodded at the statement. Itachi pulled him closer and hugged him, much to Sasuke's surprise. Itachi took his shoulders and held them firmly, looking into the eyes so much like his own.

"You didn't do anything wrong, ototo. It was… my fault."

"But what did you…what happened to make you…do that?" Sasuke finished quietly.

Itachi looked up at the ceiling. "It doesn't matter; I was wrong to do it."

"You're just saying that so you can get out of here and do it again, aren't you?" Sasuke said hotly.

Itachi chuckled, causing some discomfort when he shifted his arms to give Sasuke another hug. "No." He saw the look on his brother's face that demanded an explanation. "I just-" He stopped. "…It's dawn." He looked at Sasuke. "…How'd you get in here?"

Sasuke pointed to the air vent on the wall, the cover hanging from a single screw. "No one knows I'm here, nii-san. I made sure of that."

Itachi just shook his head in amusement. Then he grew serious. "Sasuke…"

"Yes, nii-san?"

Itachi found this very awkward for some reason. Nevertheless, he continued.

"…Do you want to know something?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Y-You'd tell me what happened?"

Itachi smiled slightly. "Yes."

"O-Okay."

Itachi leaned down onto the bed completely and sighed. He eyed his right arm again.

"It makes things hard to deal with when there's so much pressure involved with everything- and I…" He caught the look on Sasuke's face and stopped. "What?"

"I want the whole truth, Aniki. Oto-san and oka-san will press it out of you when they come back, and I know you're probably going to lie to them."

Itachi stared at his brother. "I'm sorry Sasuke. Maybe that is true, but, then again, I don't know."

***

At the kitchen table in the Uchiha household, Fugaku sat down, holding a teacup with shaky hands. His nerves were shot.

Itachi may've been hard for him to read, but never, as his father, had he ever contemplated that his son would try something so self-destructive. Itachi was a special case; soaring above and beyond all expectations.

He sighed, eyeing the clock to find it eight in the morning. He hadn't slept since he returned home.

Perhaps entering the ANBU squad at his age had taken its toll on his mind. Thirteen was young… But yet, he never showed any signs of behavior like… what had happened.

Fugaku had yet to see his son; only Sasuke, the younger of the two. And the look on Sasuke's face was feral, almost menacing, when he yelled at his wife and himself.

'BUT IT'S MY BROTHER, AND I LOVE HIM!'

He heard a loud rush of air and the sharp sound of a door slamming open. His wife came barging in, teary-eyed and breathing heavy.

"Sasuke isn't in his bed… I think he ran off to the hospital."

He sighed, getting up. "Why am I not surprised… Let's go get him."

When they arrived at the hospital, however, the nurses stated that they had not seen him. Mikoto was in quiet hysterics.

"Please help us find him! We're worried sick about both of them, and…"

Arisa walked out into the lobby and saw both of them. She stepped up to them, smiling.

"Both of your sons are sleeping. They're fine."

"But how'd he get in here in the first place?" Fugaku demanded.

Arisa knew why; she had helped Sasuke get into an air vent from the outside. "…I'm not sure, but if you want, you can go see them."

Wordlessly the two parents followed her down a corridor, until reaching the room with the patient name, 'Uchiha Itachi'. She held a finger to her lips, motioning for them to stay silent. She opened the door for them, then left.

Their mother pushed open the door and stepped inside quietly. Her husband followed, and to their surprise, their lay Itachi and Sasuke, sleeping; Sasuke was curled up and nestled into Itachi's side, while Itachi was lying down on his side, with a bandaged arm wrapped around Sasuke's shoulders.

They were both quiet for a moment, taking in the sight of their eldest son bandaged up, with an IV on his left arm. But for once… he looked relaxed; not at all tense. Almost peaceful.

Mikoto was turned to her husband, wiping tears from her eyes while she saw his expression of utter shock and confusion. "We should let them sleep."

"No need; I'm already awake."

Itachi sat up carefully, propping his arms up warily to avoid further pain. He moved his arm from Sasuke's shoulders and looked at his parents blankly. His parents returned the stare the same way.

"Itachi…" His mother said softly, "What happened?"

Itachi looked at Sasuke, then to their father and mother. "Not here."

Sasuke quickly looked up at him, startling his older brother. "You promised you'd tell me too."

"…Alright." Itachi leaned onto his knees. Once again he found this type of conversation awkward. "I simply wanted to know what it felt like."

His father let out a sigh. "You're kidding, right?"

"No."

"Then why else?"

"There is no other reason. It started small, then…" Itachi stopped talking.

"Then what?" His mother asked.

"It started to feel good to me."

"Nii-san." Itachi turned to Sasuke as he spoke quietly. "You need help."

Itachi laughed, shocking his family immensely.

"What's so funny at a time like this?" His father demanded.

Itachi rubbed his face in his hands. "…Nothing. I'm just getting over the pain; it's going away."

About two hours later all of them left the hospital, Itachi limping slightly every time his arms hit something. He was annoyed by the stares of other people, eyeing his bandages with curiosity and confusion. It bothered him.

Gingerly he felt Sasuke's hand grip onto his, and as they walked, Itachi smiled to himself and squeezed back.

For once, he wasn't going to mind going home.