Here's another chapter, sorry for taking so long.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Golly gee go figure.
The story should hopefully progress more smoothly now, I've gotten to the true point of conflict.
Sorry for crappy grammar.
Chapter 10: The Brothers' Journey
"When did you get out?" Sasuke asked, not really interested, he was seated in the passenger side of his brother's black sedan, leant back against the cool tan leather seats, nose crinkled against the foul smell of cigarette smoke that covered everything.
"I could ask you that same question little brother."
"Smoking is a disgusting habit."
"And yet it's one of my most legal ones." Too prove his point Itachi pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Removing one from the packet he lit it and inhaled a large lungful of the smoke, breathing it out directly into Sasuke's face. Sasuke scowled and rolled down the window as Itachi pulled the car away from the curb and drove away.
"That was childish of you." his glower just made Itachi chuckle.
"Probably," Itachi conceded, "Anyways Orochimaru has business for you."
"I don't work for Orochimaru anymore so what business could he possibly have for me?" Sasuke's words were flat and emotionless, almost as if all feelings had been drained from him, still his words made the elder Uchiha laugh derisively.
"You can't just quit working for Orochimaru Little Brother, that's not how it works." Sasuke's eye twitched at how Itachi distinctively did not answer his question.
Biting back the urge to press for answers Sasuke shrugged instead, "I did, years ago actually and that viper of a man had no problem with it."
"He's changed his mind." The quip was retorted as though the younger raven should have clearly seen this coming.
"Well I haven't. I never even willingly worked for him, you forced me to." The last bit held accusation.
"That's not true and you know it, Sasuke. You wanted out from under our father, and there was a price to pay."
Itachi spoke the truth.
Sasuke ignored it.
"Regardless, I've paid my debts to the snake. I refuse to be dragged in again."
"But little brother, you'll always be dragged in again, and again, and again. That's the way this game works at least as long as you're close enough to get dragged back in anyways."
"Fuck your game."
"Is that why you got into the car with me? Just to say fuck our games? I never played with you like father did, but if you'd like that's a different game we can try…"
"I would slit your throat the moment you tried." Sasuke was growing irritated at his brother's inappropriate words, though he tried not to show it. Of all the things to show up and ruin his breakfast with Naruto!
"Why am I the only person you don't play with?" Itachi gave a fake pout, he had no intention of molesting his brother, they both knew that, but the elder was taking the opportunity to bring up old wounds. With this goal he proceeded to speak the harshest words he could conjure: "Orochimaru used to play all kinds of fun games with you. Not to mention all his business associates. For the most part though they just enjoyed beating the shit out of you, am I right? Everybody's little whipping boy. Only ten years old but you glowered like a hardened warrior. Never cried a drop for all those years. Everyone was so sad when you got picked up by the police. But here's the thing: You were home free! Lost in the system you could have gone anywhere once you aged out but you came back here. But I figured 'hey, he's different now,' and nobody could get away with hurting you anymore anyways, you had grown to tough for that. Instead of being a whipping boy you became one of us for real, Orochimaru even paid for you to go to university. You were no longer a whipping boy- you were an investment, and then you were gone. Too good for the likes of us anymore Orochimaru let you go. You were home free a second time. So why the Hell are you in this car with me right now? Why are you in this fucking city- fucking country even! Goddammit Sasuke!" Sasuke wasn't really listening, he didn't need his brother to tell him what had happened, Hell he had been the one living the nightmare Itachi was describing. Instead he stared out the window, memorizing the route they were taking. Well until he heard his brother take in another large breath to continue, at that point Sasuke had had enough of the friggin' lecture.
"Just shut the fuck up Itachi!" he cut the raven off as the elder opened his mouth, "Don't pretend like you're looking out for me when you're the one driving the car so I can fucking go meet up with the bastard." Sasuke snapped. Itachi's motive was obvious, his brother was trying to get him to turn back. To force Itachi to be the good guy for once and let him go. Go back to Naruto's and finish breakfast and pretend that none of this had happened. But Sasuke wouldn't turn back. He wouldn't let his spineless brother manipulate the situation. His brother was too much of a coward to stand up to Orochimaru, and just cowardly enough to survive. Itachi was even too craven to refuse a job that meant handing his little brother over to a monster, but he was just barely brave enough to try and get Sasuke to take control of the situation in his stead. Sasuke scowled out the window at his brother's stupid selfish ways. He wasn't actually thinking of his little brother. Just of his own conscience Sasuke was sure. Stupid Itachi. Sasuke would do as he planned and go in person and tell the snake-like man to fuck off.
"Why'd you come back after you left the system?" Itachi asked transforming his rant into a clear coherent question. He truly didn't understand why Sasuke had returned to a life he had so very clearly hated...
"You know why." Sasuke tossed over his shoulder coolly, "Fugaku was still alive," and Naruto was gone anyways….
"It was all you knew I suppose…" Itachi said softly ignoring Sasuke and instead supplying his own reason "I suppose that's my fault." The switch from cruel to angry to pensive did not alarm Sasuke much. His brother had always been like this, he hadn't expected that to change in their time apart.
"Fugaku's not alive now." Ignoring Itachi's stupidly supplied answer, "I have no intention of going back to Orochimaru and his sick fucks."
Itachi's glance towards his younger brother was brief before he returned his eyes to the road.
"Then why did you get in the car?" It was the question of the day to be honest.
"Too see my older brother again." The younger Uchiha said simply.
"Blood is thicker than water, eh?" Itachi smirked, but inside he was frowning.
"Perhaps. Perhaps I just wanted the opportunity to kill you myself. I'm considering the latter if you don't shut the fuck up!" Sasuke's head hurt, he had forgotten how irritable dealing with the elder Uchiha usually made him.
"Ooh the sass coming from this one! Will that be your next deal with Orochimaru?" Itachi's grin widened, gaining an unpleasant edge.
"I'm done making deals with that snake."
"Then I'll ask, just one more time Sasuke." The smile was gone as quick as it'd come, "You were out. You made yourself better than the rest of us so why did you get in this car? You know I wouldn't have forced you. You even could have just not answered the phone, ignored me and stayed with your boyfriend…"
"Did you not want me to get in? To see my only remaining family after God knows how long?" Sasuke cut off his elder brother, "Did you want me to leave you to return to Orochimaru, the failed messenger? You can't afford anymore failures Itachi! I'll tell Orochimaru face to face that I've no intention of working for him. I won't leave my idiot of an older brother to do it for me!" Sasuke voice had risen with each line until he was damn near screaming at Itachi.
Itachi grimaced, "You're the only fucking idiot I see." He scowled, but despite his words he continued to drive his younger brother to face the monster that was Orochimaru.
"You must be speaking to the rearview mirror," Sasuke quipped with false humor, "I'm a registered genius. Better than you, you even said so yourself."
"I'm not an idiot, I'm a coward, or else I would've refused to do this job for Orochimaru. I would have argued harder for him to leave you alone."
"That would've been suicide and you know it."
Itachi shrugged, "Blood's supposed to be thicker than water, but all I seem to be able to care about is saving my own skin…"
The self-resentment was not lost to Sasuke's ears, and he pondered an appropriate response. Yes, his brother was a coward, but it wasn't as though Sasuke hadn't known that already. Though of the same blood the two just weren't made up of the same stuff. "Someday," Sasuke murmured at last, "You'll find something more important to you than yourself, and it'll make you better. A person can't be selfish all their days."
"No but I can try to be selfish for the rest of mine. That suits me just fine. Back then I knew about the important thing. Putting someone else before myself, Hell Sasuke, before you were that person, but you left Sasuke. You left for so long and I learned to watch out only for myself. I've forgotten how this kindness thing is done Little Brother and I would rather you stay away so that I don't have to learn again the hard way."
"If I don't go you'll learn something else the hard way and it'll be a little more permanent than some other lessons." Sasuke retorted dryly, "The die is cast Itachi. You will drive me to Orochimaru, you will leave and then I will inform the man that I've no intention of working for him. You'll have done your task. I'll have done mine. That being said I'd appreciate it if you stopped trying to force me to back down. I'm not that kind of man, you know that."
"What the Hell possessed you to come back to this accursed city little brother?" Itachi raked an angry hand through his hair, but his words were more tired than truly angry now, "You should take the first bus and get the Hell out of town. Nothing good will come of you being here." Itachi sighed and the sound was swallowed by the wind whipping past the open window. At some point he had extinguished his cigarette and now both hands lay flexing anxiously against the cool leather of the steering wheel.
"Nothing good ever comes from dealing with Orochimaru. It's a shame we both decided to do just that all those years ago." Sasuke replied blandly and Itachi let out a humorless laugh. This damned brother of his had quite the dry-wit.
"Yes, you're very right about that." Then pausing he caught sight of the younger brother's actions. How the raven kept his gaze both on where they were going and on ensuring that the elder made no sudden movements. He knew that calculating look, the other man was completely aware of every inch of his surroundings and that meant that despite getting in the car, Sasuke had no faith in his elder brother to not try and hurt him. Itachi frowned upon realizing this, his feelings were hurt, "You expect no loyalty from me at all do you?"
"I expect no loyalty from anyone. I do trust you however, Itachi."
"Really?" Itachi didn't believe it for a moment.
"Yes, I trust you will act in your own best interest. As most people do. People very seldom put others before themselves when it comes down to it, and no one has ever put me first in their lives before, so why should I expect it now? I don't expect you to change Itachi."
"That blonde of yours would put you first." Itachi ignored the jab. He also resisted the urge to point out that before, their mother had put Sasuke first, and that, for a time at least, Itachi had put the younger raven first in his life as well.
"And he would suffer terribly for it wouldn't he? But no, he wouldn't. He knows better than to trust a human being. People like Naruto, Sakura, Sai and I, we know better. We know the truth about human beings."
"And I don't?"
"No. You, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Karin…None of you do."
"Then tell me. What is the truth about human beings?" Itachi parallel parked alongside a club, directly in front of a seedy looking bar. He turned off the car and looked at his brother, waiting for a response.
"That half of us are dead inside and the other half are their murderers; and that most people who realize this fact are mistaken in what role they play."
"So what are you Sasuke are you mistaken in your role?" The elder brother asked nonchalantly.
A single eyebrow raised as though the younger brother was sincerely surprised, "Isn't it obvious? I'm a murderer. There's no mistaking me for dead, because if you do I'll kill just to prove you wrong."
With those cheerful parting words he opened the car door and slid out, shutting it firmly behind him. Itachi hesitated before following suit. His brother strode ahead of him, shoulders tense under the weight of being one of the murderers, and Itachi didn't doubt for a moment that his brother's role was that of a murderer. He did disagree on their only being two categories though. That was where his brother was mistaken, black and white was the wrong way to look at life, but he doubted he'd be able to convince Sasuke of that fact.
As Itachi stared at his brother's pain-taut shoulders he followed after him into the dark bar. The raven-haired elder brother was deep in thought as to what would happen next and as he blinked slowly, he idly wondered if the wetness on his cheeks happened to be tears. He wiped them away half-heartedly, wondering why he was wasting his tears now when he was sure he'd be in greater need of them later. Itachi wiped his calloused hand off on his pants leg and continued to watch those shoulders move away. "I'm sorry Otouto," he said softly. The elder brother had at last spoken the apology that was burning on his lips and had been for the last decade.
But the younger brother was already too far ahead of him to hear.
Hope you enjoyed as always if you can REVIEW! For this chapter I'd love feedback on what you think of Itachi as a character and on the whole Uchiha sibling relationship.