A/N- Greetings to you all, wonderful readers, you really caught me by surprise last chapter with you awesome reviews. I want to thank you for reading as well as leaving me notes. Ok, what do we have here? This chapter is a little bit chatty, but it is because people have to talk if they want to get to know each other, no? o_O?
Hope you like it. Enjoy.
Floating worlds
.
"Sasuke will be fine."
"No he won't!" Itachi snapped all of a sudden "Cant you understand? If that man marked him then all is lost! Once they mark you, it happens again and again!"
.
A lullaby to close your eyes
.
Heavy clouds sailed the skies, and drained it out of light in the middle of the morning. The air was cold as ice and painful to inhale. It looked like any second now a snowstorm will ravish the earth.
Does he have enough food? Did he take warm clothes with him? He probably left in a rush; chances are he did not foresee this weather. He was out there in the cold with no shelter and no comfort, oh Sasuke, you foolish little brother.
The sound of hoofs hopping on the gravel distracted Itachi's worried mind.
Pein led his massive black horse to the gate where Itachi waited; a smaller horse, chestnut-colored, was led by a servant.
"We are all set." Pein said, "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes…"
Pein captured Itachi's hesitation as the teen glared at the small horse. "You know how to ride, do you?" he asked.
Itachi shook his head and blushed. As much as his Sensei invested in his education, riding lessons were never included.
Pein ran a hand through his coppery locks and gave him a reassuring smile. "It's fine; we'll ride together on mine and use the other one to carry our equipment"
He said that, and tied the two horses together. The servant helped him to move and secure the packs. When done, he mounted his horse with such ease, which caused Itachi to glare with envy.
"Come on." Pein reached his hand to Itachi, but the teen just stared at him.
"Maybe this is not such a good idea." The youth took a step back.
The horse shook his raven mane and snorted arrogantly, Pein laughed.
"If you show him fear, you'll only get in troubles. Come on, now, Kiri is a nice guy, once you get to know him."
Itachi raised an eyebrow, a nice guy? That damn thing was a monster.
"Here we go…" Pein gave up on persuasion and just grabbed Itachi by the hand and pulled him up.
He was placed in front of Pein, and a strong arm supported him. The giant horse stirred impatiently underneath them. All those shifting motions caused Itachi to give out a frightened yelp. Pein pulled him close to his chest to calm him down.
Gods, how embarrassing! He began to suspect that Sasuke and Pein carefully designed this whole charade with the sole purpose of humiliating him.
"Where are we heading?" Pein asked, amused.
"Not in front of strangers." Itachi hissed and looked at the servant. He was afraid Fuen's men would reach Sasuke before he does. "Let's ride to the west gate, I'll tell you once we are out of the city."
Pein rejoiced on the way Itachi included him in his 'not strangers' group. "Very well, here we go." He gently kicked Kiri with the heels of his boots and the horse leaped forward.
"Oh gods, can't you go slower?" Itachi gasped as Pein galloped the horse.
"Don't worry, my little weasel, the key is not to resist his rhythm. Just surrender to his movements and you'll be all right. I know you can manage that."
Itachi could sense the smirk in that man's voice. "You are impossible." He grunted and noted to himself not to reveal his unease ever again.
Because of the weather, only few people walked the streets, but all recognized the warlord as he passed near them and most of them bowed spontaneously. All this to show who much they appreciated Danzo's defeat.
Midway through their ride in the city, it began to snow. Soft snowflakes hovered silently and slowly made their way to the ground. It would have been a beautiful and a peaceful sight if Itachi were not so worried about his brother.
"Are you cold?" Pein was wearing a bear-fur coat that suited the upcoming weather. He wrapped his coat around the teen and tightened his hold on him "How are you doing?"
"Fine." and it was not a lie, slowly but surly, Itachi got used to the riding. His natural sense of balance kicked in, helping him to relax and even enjoy the experience. When they come back, he will ask for riding lessons, if Pein will grant him, that is. "Please hurry."
"Hai." Pein responded by tugging the reins.
Kiri pounced forwarded with amazing power, happy to oblige, the smaller horse, on the other hand, struggled to keep up.
"We are at the gate." Pein announced moments later. "Lead the way."
"Umm, you see this small path to your left?"
"The one leading up the mountain?"
"Yes, take it."
That path looked narrow and muddy, weed grew on its rims and it obviously was not commonly traveled. The slope was currently moderate, but it was a long way up. "Where does it lead?" He asked Itachi while galloping the horse again.
"To my secret place." Itachi sighed, "I first took Sasuke there when he was six years old. It became special to him too. Only the two of us know how to get there. I hope I guessed it right. Pein, What if I got it all wrong and he did not go there? I don't know where else to look. Oh, gods, Sasuke, where did you go?"
"Hush now, don't panic…."
Itachi felt strong arms embracing him, hot lips pressed against his cold cheek. The low soothing voice whispered to his ear "We will find your brother. You'll see, everything will be all right."
"Gods…" Itachi tried his best not to shiver as he smothered away his tears.
"Tell me about it." Pein whispered again. "Tell me about your special place."
Itachi knew Pein was only trying to distract him from frightening thoughts, and he was grateful, so he made the effort to talk.
"My… Our mum died while giving birth to Sasuke. They burned her body and Fuen told me to take the ash and scatter it over the bridge. I didn't want to do that. I didn't want my mother's remains to be taken away from me by the river, so I hid the urn. On the first chance I got, I climbed up the mountain. I buried her ash in a forest clearing and I paid a stonemason to place a small stone shrine there. When Sasuke was old enough I took him there to pay our respect and we often slept in a nearby cave, so I thought…"
"Yes, seems like a reasonable place for a child to go and seek comfort" Pein agreed. "I think you made the right decision to go there. How long does the journey take?"
"By foot- a day and a half, but maybe more so now, since it is snowing or less because we have horses, I don't know."
oOOo
The storm became stronger, the wind grew wilder and a layer of snow started to accumulate on the ground. The curving path took them further up the mountain, and as they climbed higher, it got colder, and the road became more and more steep.
"We should get off the horse." Pein said when Kiri almost slipped over a loose stone for the second time.
"Huh?" Itachi woke up from his brief snooze.
Pein chuckled "My little weasel, and there I thought you hated riding." he got off first and helped Itachi down. The sudden descent did no good for him.
"My head…" Itachi placed his hand on his bandaged nape; the world was spinning around.
Pein gave him a harsh glare "Maybe we should take a break." He suggested, worried.
"No, I can go on."
"Just a little break, no harm there."
"No."
"Fine, but if you need one, you must tell me."
"Are you coming, already?"
Pein frowned but said nothing. He let Itachi lead the way, while he took care of the animals. The wind got stronger, and unfortunately, it was sliding down the mountain, adding more difficulty to the climbing.
Itachi fought upwards stubbornly, running awful scenarios in his head. What did that perverted man did to his Ototo? Was it painful? Did he harm him in any way? Did he break his innocent soul? It was his entire fault, he should have refused Pein's invitation, and he should have stayed with Sasuke, where he belonged. He neglected his older brother duties, and Sasuke will have every right to hate him.
This thought was the most frightening of them all. He imagined Sasuke's desperate black eyes, staring at him coldly, filled with contempt. This thought punched into him with the force of a sledgehammer. He felt his bowels turning. "Oh, kami!" Itachi hurried to lean on a nearby tree, vomiting without control.
"Itachi!" Pein cried out. He threw the reins and hurried towards the youth. "Itachi are you all right?" He pulled the teen to him; his hand caressed the boy's cheek, and then placed on his forehead. No doubt about it, the youth was burning up.
Fucking idiotic baboons! He cursed those guards again "I will have them killed." He hissed to himself "Itachi, you have a fever, we must stop now."
Itachi wiped his mouth with a shaky hand "No!"
"Listen to me, if…"
"We can't stop now! Sasuke is out there, in the cold, with no warm clothes, with no food! How dare you ask me to stop now? He is only an eight year old! He needs me!" Itachi practically roared at the redhead.
"He needs you alive, you thick-headed weasel!"
Itachi glared at him astounded, he did not expect Pein to shout at him with the same vigor.
"Please, Pein, … please let us go on. We still have some daylight…" He said although his view was getting darker and darker.
"We stop for today, Itachi." Pein repeated his decision with a commanding tone, which gave no room for further discussion.
Itachi sighed, frustrated, cursing his head injury.
"I saw a hunter's hut, half an hour ago, let's go back there."
Going backwards, Itachi resented the idea, but he felt like he was going to be sick again, so maybe that arrogant nobleman knew what he was talking about.
"Do you want me to carry you?" Pein asked
"Hell, no!" The youth answered, clinging on to the remains of his pride.
oOOo
When they reached the hut, the storm was raging wild. A big pile of snow blocked the hut door. Pein grabbed a shovel that leaned against the wall and moved the snow away. "Get in." He ordered Itachi.
The younger male had obeyed with no argument. Pein took the horses to the open sided shelter that fortunately was there. He released them from their load and covered the smaller one with a rough blanket. It was not much, but it was the best he could do. He hoped that the storm would not worsen during the night.
"Take care…" He petted Kiri's shining mane. Kiri nuzzled him with affection. When he stepped away, the two animals huddled together in search of warmth.
Pein picked up the packs and got back to the hut. Inside, Itachi was shoving charcoal into a tin stove that stood in the middle of the room.
Along with the stove, there was a small bed with a straw mattress on it, and some pots on a shelf, but otherwise the hut was bare.
"I'll take care of the fire, Itachi, you lay down."
"I can help."
"I said- lay down." Pein hated repeating himself.
"Fine!" Itachi hated to be useless.
He watched as his patron spread their bedroll on the straw mattress. Itachi climbed on it, and Pein wrapped him up with his fur coat. He placed his hand on Itachi's forehead again; the temperature was still high. "How do you feel?"
"Pathetic and worthless." Itachi mumbled.
Pein ignored that remark and occupied himself in building up the fire. He tried to hide his concerns, but he was very angry. He was angry with himself for letting Itachi go after his brother. He was a warlord; after all, he had hundreds, waiting on his command. He could have organized a searching party with the blink of an eye, but no… he had to oblige Itachi's irrational pleas. That stubborn idiot should have been back at home, resting and healing, not taking a mountain hike in the middle of a blizzard. If anything goes wrong, Kakuzu will kill him.
Pein took a pot down of the shelf and filled it with snow from the outside. "It will take the water some time to boil, and then I'll make you an herb tea to bring down your fever."
Itachi snuggled into the coat and laughed, "I've never imagined you as the mother-hen type of a guy. This is hilarious."
"Is that so?" Pein frowned "I do it all the time."
"Hn."
"In the middle of a war campaign, out in the wilderness, us soldiers must take care of each other."
"Really? Don't you have officers to do that for you?"
"I do, but what kind of a leader would I be, if I don't set an example?"
"Mah, you must be a wonderful father, then." Itachi declared.
"I'm a horrible father." Pein gave out a sad smile. "Last time I saw my child, he was a year and a half old. Now he is three, imagine that. I probably wont recognize him if I saw him. Kids at this age grow up so fast. He learned to speak, to walk, to eat solid food… all without my help, without me being there."
"Why is that?"
"Obligations." Pein said and added the herbs to the stirring water.
Itachi realized just then, how far apart were the worlds they lived in. There was sorrow in these silver eyes, so he did not press forwards. A soft silence filled the little room, only disturbed by the howling wind outside, and the cracking fire in the stove. "There you go…" Pein handed Itachi a steamy cup of tea.
"Thank you."
The taste was bitter, but it had a wonderful effect on his nausea from the very first sip.
"Can you stomach anything?" Pein asked, "I'll prepare dinner now."
"Let me think about it." Itachi said, sipping his tea.
He lay down, wrapped up in the coat, watching Pein cooking. For some odd reason, watching that man's well-trained maneuvers calmed him down. He did not even notice when he fell asleep.
The smell of food brought him back up. His stomach growled impatiently. "Oh, that smells delicious, Pein, what is it?"
"Nothing fancy, just rice with dry plumps and chestnuts. You want some?"
"Yes, please." Itachi stretched his hand eagerly towards the bowl Pein gave him. They did not have chopsticks, so he had to use his hands. He dug into the meal and placed his fingers in his mouth, sucking them with pleasure "Oh, god… so good!" He moaned, and Pein eyed him with amusement but said nothing.
He was happy to see that his weasel got his appetite back; it was a good sign. He also hoped that Sasuke found shelter from the storm and did not go to seep hungry, but he did not want to say anything, not to upset Itachi, so instead he focused on his own food for a while.
"You are an excellent cook." Itachi said, after licking his bowl clean.
"Now, now, you were very hungry, that's all."
Itachi placed the bowl down and yawned loudly. "I am so tired…"
Pein responded by placing his hand on the seventeen-year-old forehead "The fever is gone."
"All thanks to you." Itachi smiled and sighed softly "No one has ever cared for me like this, not since my mother died."
Pein smiled softly and added more charcoal to the stove. It was nightfall and it was getting colder by the minute, the little stove could not fight back the chill. To make mater worst, the hut was poorly built, and the wind could easily slip in through the cracks in the walls. Still, this was the best shelter Pein could find for them, and it will have to do.
"Are you cold?" He asked Itachi.
"I'm fine."
Such a beautiful liar, Pein thought, he could see the uncontrolled shivers even under the thick coat. Pein pulled off his boots, and released his belt. Then he stripped himself from his robes. Itachi watched him confused.
"Are you crazy?"
"Make room." The naked redhead commanded.
Itachi welcomed Pein under the coat, and the man did not waste time. He opened Itachi's robes and pressed their naked bodies together to share body heat. Pein's skin was surprisingly warm, and him massive form produced enough heat to stop the lean body from trembling.
"Better?" Pein asked, rubbing his hands against the smaller male's back.
"Yes, better." Itachi whispered. He could not ignore the large organ; pressing against his abdomen, the tip nudged at his navel. "Pein…?"
"Go to sleep."
Itachi turned within the embrace, trying to find a less arousing position, but the problem only pressed against the small of his back. Itachi stirred and grunted.
Pein chuckled softly "What's wrong? Should I sing you a lullaby? I must warn you, I can't carry a tune for the life of me."
"How old are you?"
"Huh? Twenty-nine, why?"
"What's your height?"
"About 6"5, why?"
"What is your main element?"
"Metal, and my favorite food is tempura, and my color of choice is gray…" Pein laughed gently "What's with you?"
"Nothing, what's with you?"
Pein sighed, "Go to sleep, little weasel."
"What are my duties, now that I swore my loyalty to you?" as Itachi threw that question to the air, he could feel Pein's body stiffening behind him. "Will I have any other roles besides spreading my legs for you?"
"Itachi, there is a place and time for…"
"Please, my lord, I want to know now."
Pein breathed warmly on Itachi's nape. "I won't lie to you, I will never give up your body, I desire you too much. Nevertheless, you are a ninja, and you have rare skills, be sure I'll put you to good use."
So this was a different kind of enslavement, thought Itachi, yet in the back of his mind, he did appreciate Pein's honesty. At least, that man respected him enough not to smother the truth.
"Do you believe in prophecies?"
Pein chuckled at yet another sudden change of topic "Depends, why?"
"Sasuke and I were born because of one. There is a legend among my clan saying that every few generations, a very special kunoichi, is born; a female ninja that possesses extreme beauty as well as all of the clan's talents. They call her 'a perfect weapon'. When my father met my mother at the brothel, he thought she would be his perfect mate to try to create this… weapon. Funny thing is, both Sasuke and me turned out to be males. He must have been very disappointed, failing to create the legendry weapon from his own seed. After mum died, he lost all interest in us."
"Your father lives?"
"I don't care either way."
"So I am not the only horrible father in the world, after all." Pein tried a joke, but Itachi did not respond to it. He breathed deeply and kissed the youth on his temple "Good night."
"Good night."
oOOo
o
OooO
"I want to see the one in charge, un!"
"That would be me." the silver haired man smiled.
"Bullshit, I know you are only an officer. I want to see your master!" Deidara pointed a scolding finger against that smug smirk.
"Now why would ya want that?"
"Because you keep me captive here, with no good reason, un!" Deidara waved his finger again, at the risk of poking that man's eye, although he well deserved it.
"Do I? You poor, poor thing." Hidan leaned forward, just to spite the little blonde.
"This is not right; I want to see your master now! I want out!" He pointed his finger yet again. Trying to look intimidating, he even unconsciously stood on the tip of his toes. He got the opposite response of what he wanted. That annoying man looked more and more amused.
Hidan grabbed the slender finger and pushed it down "There is no fucking way I am letting you go, and as for my master, he is currently out of town. So why won't you be a good boy and return to your bloody room? You don't want me to chain you up again, do ya?"
"Gah! I hate you!" Deidara screamed, "I'll make you pay for it, un! I have friends who have friends!"
"Oi! I'd like to meet your fucking friends." Hidan snarled "And beat the hell out of their scummy asses. Some friends you have! Letting a kid like you use opium, and sell himself on the street… is that where you want to go? Back to the fucking gutters?"
Deidara's face turned red, it looked like he was ready to burst "You!" he growled with loathing "How dare you, un, passing judgment on my life? The way I live is none of your fucking business!"
"The way you live, huh? Let me remind ya that you almost fucking died when I picked you up!"
"What's it to you?"
"Deidara…" Hidan moaned in a way that was almost agony.
With his keen senses, Deidara spotted this sudden expression of weakness. Maybe this calls a change of tactics. Deidara decided to give it a try. He put on his best seductive smile, and brushed his golden hair away from his face.
"Hidan…" He took a step forward and brushed his hand over the officer's arm "Maybe we got started on the wrong foot, un. I bet that we can understand each other." he cuddled against the stiff man and nuzzled his jaw line "See, I can give you something you want…" He sent his thumb to brush against Hidan lower lip "And in return you'll give me something…"
"Cut the crap, you're not returning to your opium den." Hidan said coldly.
"Shit! What's with you? Are you made out of stone? I am a pretty good fuck, un!"
"I bet ya are, now move your pretty little ass back to your room."
"No, no no! I hate you! You cruel, sadistic fucker!" Deidara lost his self-control and started crying and slamming his fists into Hidan's chest with all he was worth.
Hidan took the pounding with amazing tolerance; he let the boy hit him without the slightest protest. He stood there, waiting for Deidara to exhaust himself
"I hate you! I hate you! Let me go! Let me go!" the boy showered him with punches, totally absorbed in his tantrum.
Hidan let the youth lash at him; he knew this would be over soon. And so, Deidara finally let go, and slowly slide down to the floor, where he wept miserably.
"What am I to do with ya?" Hidan sighed.
Deidara did not pay attention; he crawled into a small ball, sobbing and moaning.
"Fucking hell…" Hidan kneeled down and scooped the kid to his arms. "There there…" he petted the golden hair "When this fucking poison is out of your blood, you'll feel better, Kakuzu promised." and if he is wrong, I will rip his balls off, he added in his mind.
Deidara snuggled to his chest, crying like a lost child. "I hate you!" he moaned.
"Lots of people do, you are not that special." Hidan replied with a smile. "Come on, let's put you in bed." He got up, carrying the whimpering stray back to his room.
Deidara's sobs gradually became soft wails, occasionally followed by yawns.
Hidan struggled to open the door. He glimpsed at the window, and he could see through the blinds that it was snowing heavily. There was no way in the world he could let Deidara escape in such weather.
"There you go…" he placed the boy on the futon and covered him with the blankets.
"Hidan…"
"You fucking hate me, I know. Just for your information, I am going to lock the door when I leave, so don't try to pull another fucking…"
"Hidan…"
"What?"
"Please stay."
oOOo
o
OooO
The blizzard withered out somewhere along the night, leaving a heavy blanket of snow on the ground and frozen temperatures behind.
Pein decided to free the horses, and continue on foot, since it was too dangerous slope for the poor beasts. The last thing he wanted was for his beloved Kiri to break a leg on the slippery mud. He was also worried about Itachi, but the young man was so concerned about his brother, that he would not stop, unless dropped dead.
"What is taking you so long? Hurry up!"
"I'm coming." Now being scolded by a subordinate, that was a new thing.
"This way, come on!" Itachi commanded again.
Pein picked up both of their packs and tried to keep up the pace. They left the path an hour ago and entered deep into the forest. Itachi led the way, navigating easily between branches, rocks and obstacles. Pein could not compete with these supple, graceful maneuvers of a ninja.
"We are almost there, move it!"
"Don't get used to it!" Pein grunted while his pack managed to tangle itself on a tree branch, yet again.
"Sasuke! Sasuke-kun, can you hear me?" Itachi practically leaped into the forest clearing. "Sasuke!" in his keen sense of hearing, he could detect sobs. He followed them to the source, and there was a little boy, kneeling in front of a black basalt shrine.
The child lifted his teary eyes and faced Itachi. "What took you so long?" he clearly tried to masquerade his fear with arrogance.
"Sasuke!" Itachi ran the rest of the way and charged his ototo with a crushing hug. "Thank gods, Sasuke, I was worried so much!" The child was freezing to touch. He was dirty, his robes were a little bit torn, but he was alive and well. "Are you cold? Are you hungry? Did you get hurt on the way?"
"Yes, yes and… yes."
"Sasuke!" Itachi tightened his hold on the little boy.
"Aniki, let me breath!"
"Itachi, you found him, good." A low voice of an adult male joined in. Pein stepped into the clearing.
Sasuke took only one glance at him and pouted, "What's he doing here?" he did not bother to hide his loathing. "Go away, you redhead demon!" he shouted, "Leave us alone! We don't need you!"
"Sasuke…" Itachi frowned.
"It's all right." Pein interrupted the scolding before it even started. "The kid has a point. I'll leave you the packs and take a walk around."
"When will you be back?"
"An hour?"
"That is a good idea." Itachi smiled, grateful.
"Fine, then, see you soon." Pein smiled as well and turned away, disappearing in the woods.
When they were alone Sasuke pouted again, "Why did you have to bring him here? This is our place! Now you ruined my plan!" the boy started crying again
"What plan?"
"To meet you here…and… to run away with you…" Sasuke said between moans.
"Run away?"
"Yes, I don't want to go back to Fuen's house again, not now… not ever!"
Itachi sighed, he held Sasuke's small face and wiped away the tears, yet it was useless, because fresh ones followed them.
"Sasuke, hush, please calm down…" He kissed the little cold nose, and petted the silk like raven hair. "I am here, everything will be all right, trust me."
His embrace and kisses, seemed to have worked. Sasuke stopped crying, and clung to his brother tightly. Itachi cradled him for a while, looking at the drops of melted snow falling from the trees. Then he heard Sasukes stomach growling.
"Were you going?" Sasuke yelped as Itachi released him and walked away.
"I'm not leaving, don't worry. I just want to get you some food." He picked up one of the packs, Pein left for them. In it, wrapped up in clean bamboo sheets, were the rice balls Pein cooked last night. Sasuke was ogling at the food, nearly drooling. Itachi gave the meal to the waiting hand, and watched as the boy devoured everything within seconds.
"When was your last meal?"
"My food ran out on yesterday morning. What took you so long?"
"I was busy, besides, it was reckless of you, going out here so under prepared. I bet you did not even take a bedroll with you."
"I didn't. I slept on the cave's floor."
"Some sleep you had." Itachi looked at the dark blue marks under Sasuke's eyes. "My foolish little brother…"
"Don't look at me that way! I had to go! There was no way I'd stay there, not after what happened!"
This was all Itachi was afraid of. All blood ran out of his face, yet he tried to keep his voice casual "What happened, Sasuke?"
"A man." Sasuke lowered his gaze, blushing.
"Go on." Itachi could hear his own heart pounding like crazy.
"It's all a mess, Niisan, I don't remember everything. Fuen gave me a strange tea, and I went to sleep. When I woke up… "
"Yes?"
"There was a man in the room. He came near me and…" Sasuke's blush became deeper "He was, Aniki, he was naked!"
"Is that so?" Itachi replied with a trembling voice.
"He said he wanted to play with me. What kind of an idiot man wants to play with children?"
"Did he play with you?"
"He was so annoying; he tried to kiss me and to touch me in places." Sasuke said, fighting the urge to cry again "He told me he wanted me to kiss him there…"
"Kiss him were?"
"Somewhere… private."
"Gods." Itachi felt tears flooding up his eyes. "Did you kiss him there?"
Sasuke bit on his lower lip, as he always did, when caught doing something wrong. "Well kinda…"
"Did you or did you not?" Itachi nearly snapped.
"He took my head in his hands and he shoved me down there!" Sasuke shouted, "I had no other choice, I got scared and so I... I… "
"Sasuke…" Itachi could not hold back anymore, his tears came down his face for Sasuke to see.
"I bit him, Aniki, I am sorry. I bit him really hard and there was blood everywhere, and he fainted, so I took his wallet and ran away."
"You did what?" Itachi asked, sobbing.
Sasuke's courage left him; he joined Itachi in his cry. "I am so sorry, Aniki. I know I did wrong. I know Fuen's very disappointed of me now, and you, because I could not make him happy. Just please, please Itachi… don't be mad at me!"
"Mad? I'm not mad! I am happy, so happy!" Itachi pulled Sasuke into another embrace. Sasuke did not figure out why Itachi was so cheerful about. He hugged his strange Aniki anyway.
"So this is all that happened?" Itachi asked again, after calming down.
"I think so, why?"
"So you feel all right? Is your body all right? It doesn't hurt in strange places?"
"Well, I've hurt me knees climbing up here but…"
"Good! So good! Oh, thank gods!"
"But… but aniki, I failed to make that man happy."
"You don't have to make any man happy, you hear me Sasuke? That pervert got what he deserved!"
"I don't understand…" was all Sasuke managed to say before he was pulled into another suffocating hug.
oOOo
After leaving the two brothers to talk, Pein did not waste time. He gathered wood for a fire, and although most of the branches were wet from the snow, he did found enough suitable ones. The clouds were heavy in the sky, and daylight slowly diminished, it was getting very cold again.
'I gave them enough time.' Pein thought. He picked up his stack of burning material, and turned downhill. The snow under his boots gave crispy noises as he walked back to the clearing. There he found Itachi, kneeling in front of the small shrine; Sasuke cradled in his arms, soundly asleep.
"Is everything all right?"
Itachi raised his eyes; Pein could see the trail of dried tears on the lovely features. Before he could inquire, Itachi gave him a dazzling smile.
"He asked me for a lullaby, and dozed off with the first line, poor thing."
"He needs his sleep."
"Yes."
"Do you want me to carry him? We should head out to that cave of yours, it is getting late."
"I can manage." Itachi petted the boy's soft hair, and placed a kiss on the creamy cheek. Pein smiled at this warm display of brotherly love. Those boys had no one in the world, except each other.
"Let's go" Itachi asked.
"Just a moment, I want to pay my respect."
"Huh?" Itachi raised an eyebrow, but quickly understood. The man was referring to the shrine. He watched as Pein kneeled in front of the black stone, closing his eyes and bowing slightly.
Pein lips mumbled without a sound as he thanked Mikoto for giving birth to a beautiful creature that was Itachi. He promised her spirit that she could rest in peace, for her children will be taken care of.
"Itachi…" Pein opened his eyes after the pray. "When we get back, I will go to lady Fuen. I will buy you both from her."
Itachi's heart skipped a beat, both joy and fear rose in him. He said nothing, and kept to his stoic pose.
After a long while he broke the silence, "Fuen-sama is greedy. She will charge you a huge amount of money. Sasuke also harmed one of her guests. That man will probably demand a serious sum for compensation."
"Leave it to me, Itachi-kun, Fuen-san will be reasonable." or she will have her house burn into ashes. "Come now, show us the way to the cave."
Itachi led them to the nearby cave, where Pein spread their bedroll and placed Sasuke in it. After that, they set up the fire and cooked. The boy woke up to the smell of food. He ate his share and fell back to sleep, soon after.
Pein asked about what happened to Sasuke. This unexpected interest took Itachi by surprise but he told Pein everything that occurred, and the nobleman listened gravely. After he finished, they both set in perfect stillness and watched the fire.
"How is your head?" Pein finally broke the silence.
"Much better, thank you."
"Thank Kakuzu. Do you think the three of us can squeeze into one bedroll?"
"I hope so." Itachi laughed.
"Come, weasel. Let's get some sleep."
oOOo
At midnight, the blanket of clouds was torn apart, to reveal a half-crescent moon. Pein tossed and turn in the little space he had. Unable to rest, he gazed upon the shadows, cast by the silver light.
"What is the matter, sir? Can't sleep?" The amused voice of Itachi came whispering. "Do you want me to sing you a lullaby?"
"I'm sorry I woke you up."
"It's ok."
"Itachi…"
"Yes?"
"What is your height?"
"5"7, why?"
"What is your favorite food?"
"Mitarashi dango."
"And your main element?"
"That would be water, why are you…?"
"How old were you when you were first taken by a man?"
Itachi sighed lightly before answering, "About six year's old, sir."
Pein suddenly hugged him tightly. Then he kissed him gently for a long while. "Good night."
"Good night."
oOOo
TBC
OooO
A/N- If you press the little green button, you'll make me happy. Good or bad (I think…), I want to hear from you ^^
Have a great day.
