Sorry for the long time before an update, but I went for a week on a trip to visit my friend, and then it was hard to get back into the loop of writing. My updates may be slightly delayed due to university starting again, and my schedule for first semester (labs every single day!) makes me want to shoot myself. Thanks for the luck everyone, but I totally messed up on my piano exam due to an unexpected nervous breakdown during it. Never happened before to me, but I guess there's a first time for everything. Oh well…I'm quitting anyway. Too stressful.

Ugh, I am so mad that I'm not allowed to respond to reviews anymore. Such a stupid rule. Grr…I liked doing it too, and I had all my reviews responded to for the last chapter and I just had to delete them all. I will answer one, since I think blisblop made a good point: why didn't Itachi just kill Orochimaru?

I figure the reason Itachi didn't kill Orochimaru in the first place was because he wanted to join the Akatsuki, and killing a top member of the organization was generally not the way to go. Another reason is that it would almost be too easy. He really did want to measure his power, and it would be much more difficult and impressive to wipe out his entire clan rather than just one person. Though I doubt he'd tell our beloved Sasuke that he wanted to kill the clan. After he joined the Akatsuki, he was advised not to kill Orochimaru, because the nin's actions might prove advantageous for the organization. However, I'm sure if Orochimaru ever hurt Sasuke in any way, Itachi would not hesitate to give him an excruciatingly painful death.

Chapter 6: Love Me

I moaned and nuzzled up, trying to find a comfortable warm spot so I could settle back to sleep. What I felt was a cold hard surface, and I opened my eyes to see I had been nestled up to the boulder. I sat up and looked around, Itachi nowhere in sight.

"That bastard," I snarled under by breath. What was with him leaving me to wake up cold and alone after acting so uncharacteristically affectionate? It pissed me off. Was it too much to want to wake up in his arms? Yeah, yeah I knew I was a hypocrite, and I didn't give a damn anymore. I got up and brushed the dirt off my clothes before setting out to search for my forsaking brother.

Voices alerted me to his possible presence, and I followed them to find my rather annoyed brother glaring at the blue-skinned Akatsuki he had spoken with before. The stranger turned and looked at me with creepy eyes as I approached.

"So this is your little brother? Heh, looks a little scrawny to me."

I tensed and balled my fists, reminding myself not to let my temper get a hold of me. My brother didn't even bother to turn his head to acknowledge my presence.

"Leave him be, Kisame. Leave us both. I told you not to bother me until I was ready to come back. And I am not ready."

Kisame folded his arms. "And what am I supposed to tell the others? You went off on a little vacation?"

"Tell them whatever the hell you want," said Itachi softly. "If they have a problem with it, they can take it up with me personally. Besides, I thought Diedara was working with Sasori on this one. They can prepare themselves all they want. I know who my target is, and I'll be ready to get it when the time is right."

"While babysitting that runt?" snorted Kisame. Itachi's eyes flashed, and the shark-man smirked. "Ooh, hit a nerve, did I?"

I could see Itachi raise his head to look up at him, and Kisame instantly flinched away and whirled around to avoid eye contact. "Shit, Itachi, can't you take a joke? You shouldn't be using that so carelessly."

"I'll see you when I'm ready, Kisame. When I am ready." Itachi turned and walked towards me, brushing past my shoulder. "Come, Sasuke."

I glanced back at a disgruntled Kisame before jogging to catch up to the long stride of my brother.

"What was that about?" I questioned him as we walked.

"Stay out of my affairs, Sasuke. That is all."

I shut my mouth, knowing Itachi wouldn't be good for conversation for a long while. We kept walking for a few more hours, and I was going to ask where we were headed, but the irritated look on my brother's face stopped any words from coming out. Finally he stopped and I did the same.

"Fight me."

"What?" My eyes widened. I wasn't prepared for this. Just what was he expecting from me?

"Don't hold back. Show me everything that you are capable of. My goal at the moment is to train you so you are beyond the reach of Orochimaru. Then maybe you'll finally be able to take care of yourself."

"I can take care of myself just fine," I snapped. "I went to Orochimaru on my own free will."

"And I'm sure you could leave on your own free will," stated Itachi, raising an eyebrow. "I thought not. Come on."

I pulled out my kunai with a sigh. Already I knew this was going to be a depressing match. I didn't want to go all out only to have my ass handed back to me by my brother because I was nowhere near his skill level.

Itachi tilted his head to the side and waited for me to make a move. "I'll go easy on you by only using physical attacks. Now stop stalling."

I conjured up images of my mother and father, dead on the floor, with my brother standing over their bodies, their blood staining his clothes. I took all the rage and pain and concentrated it to serve as my motivation for the attack. I would be able to see just how far ahead Itachi was in skill, and it could serve as a measure of how much farther I needed to advance in order to bring him to his rightful end.

So I lunged at Itachi and gave him everything I had. I came so far since the days of the academy and team training, but once again I felt like the child I was, believing I was something truly extraordinary. I remembered fighting with Kakashi and not getting in a single blow despite my efforts. Now it was just a repeat, but with Itachi. No matter how fast I was, he was two steps ahead of me with a block and counter attack. Looking into his face as I made another attack, I was ashamed to see his eyes closed. He wasn't even bothering to use his sharingan to read my moves. He had placed all these handicaps on himself while I fought relentlessly, not getting even a tiny scratch against his pale skin. To say it was frustrating was a supreme understatement. I finally stepped away from him, panting and sore.

"Are you finished already?" Itachi arched an eyebrow and opened his crimson eyes.

I glared back.

My brother shook his head in disappointment. "We have a long way to go. Really, I'm surprised Orochimaru has any interest in you. It would seem to be such a pain to have to train you up so far in order for you to be useful to him."

"Can you please keep the insults to a minimum?" I hissed. I was already in a bad mood and didn't need my brother's encouragement. "How do you expect me to improve when you don't show me how?"

Itachi shrugged. "I did well enough on my own. Aren't you an Uchiha prodigy?"

"Maybe to everyone else in that village, but the amount of skill you expect from me right now is ridiculous. You can't measure me by the same scale as yourself."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Why can't I?"

"Because we aren't the same," I snapped.

"I beg to differ. The only difference I see is your abnormally slow progression."

Was he trying to get me riled up again? I could hardly hear his words anymore from the blood pounding in my head. I shut my mouth, not wanting to encourage his sneering remarks.

Itachi cupped my chin. "Calm yourself, brother. Fighting in a rage only makes you clumsy. It's going to be tedious training you, though. It will certainly take more time than I am able to spare, but that can't be helped. The protection of the sharingan is my first priority."

"What about my protection?" I snapped. "Is this all about the sharingan?"

Itachi stared at me. "Is it about anything else?'

"Jerk," I hissed. All those touches, all those kisses, I knew they meant something, at least to me. How dare my brother claim that all this was only for the sharingan. I grabbed him by the collar of his robes and pulled him down to my height. I think the only reason he didn't resist was because he was curious as to what I planned to do. I planted my lips firmly on his to prove my point. "The sharingan means nothing. It's just an advantage in battle by being able to mimic an opponent's moves. That is the only meaning it holds."

"And was your kiss supposed to hold meaning?" Itachi slyly asked.

"I know you love me Itachi! Why can't you just admit it! You always tell me that I can't hate you, but that's only because you can't bring yourself to hate me. All this time you've been looking out for me, and you're even putting me above your duties with the Akatsuki. For me, that means something, but I want to hear it right from your mouth."

"Do you?" Itachi asked, leaning close to my ear. His breath tickled it and I shivered.

"Say it," I commanded, trying to keep my voice even.

"You fool, Sasuke," he chuckled into my ear and moved away. Once again, I was faced by his back. Brother, you can be such a frustrating idiot.

I dug my hands into my pocket and trudged after him, feeling slightly pouty. How unlike me. I hadn't acted this childish since, well, when I was a child following Itachi around. My brother's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"If your affections for me grow too much, it will only be harder for you when you try to kill me."

"I'll kill you when I feel like it," I snapped. Right now, I just wanted to be accepted. His death would be empty for me if I couldn't look into his eyes as an equal. And it would prove me even stronger if I was able to conquer my feelings and kill him. "Perhaps if you would stop sending me mixed-messages, I could cope with this better."

Itachi simply chuckled and kept walking. "But it's so difficult to say 'no' to those eyes. They really can be quite pitiful sometimes." I couldn't see his smirk, but I could hear it in his voice.

I grabbed the back of his robes in childish retaliation. He whirled around, and his crimson eyes made me freeze on the spot.

"You want me Sasuke. You want me to touch you." He ran his slender fingers down my body, causing me to shiver. "Your eyes do nothing to mask your emotions. Through them, I can see the very depths of your desires so clearly. Right now, you are scared and surprised by my sudden actions. You don't want me to stop, but you loathe the thought of me toying with you so easily like this. You're angry, because you're right in the palm of my hand."

Itachi tilted my chin up and smelled up my neck, sending a tingling up my spine.

"You like it when all my attention is focused on you. You crave it. When I look at anyone else, you become awash with jealousy, which you label as hatred. Don't shut your eyes Sasuke, I've already read how you feel. And I'm right, aren't I?" His fingers played across the hairs on the nape of my neck and I just wished I could melt away from that spot. I was completely vulnerable under his touch, and he already proved he could practically read my mind.

"Stop it," I choked, squeezing my eyes shut even tighter.

"I killed our father. I killed our mother. I killed all the friends you ever had."

"Stop it, I know."

"I left you with nothing but hate, yet you dare come back to me demanding love. You never learn, do you Sasuke?"

"Stop it, you're confusing me."

"Stop it, stop it. Those are just empty words. You're leaning into my touch. Your actions are what speak the truth."

My eyes snapped open. "I know you love me Uchiha Itachi! You can't mask that by baring my soul and using my own feelings as a shield! I don't need to see past your eyes to know."

Itachi stared at me expressionlessly and stroked my cheek one last time before removing his hands.

"If you think I love you Sasuke," he said softly, "You will only get hurt in the end."

And with that he left me standing there, wondering just why the hell I had placed my heart out on a platter and offered it willingly to my brother who had long forgotten how to feel. I felt stupid and ashamed with my accusations, because not once did I see the flicker of anything, much less caring, across his face. For all he gave away, his motivations were solely with the sharingan, and my body was simply a toy to play around with, and something for him to watch squirm in unrequited affection.

You love me Itachi. I wont believe anything else. I don't want to.

Once again, sorry for the lateness! I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter, and I still feel like it didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. I'm not sure about the next time I can update, since classes start Monday, but I promise whenever I can I will update. Thanks to all of my loyal reviewers! Keep the feedback coming:)