-Paint It Black-

Sasuke can be a really sneaky little shit, but there are times when you can easily read on his face whether something's wrong or not. Unlike Itachi, who doesn't show his emotions unless he wants to, Sasuke often fails to suppress them. Which is good, because I don't always have the patience to ask him if something's wrong and then try to pick up hints for hours on end until I can finally figure out what happened. No. With Sasuke, it's easy to figure out when he's in shit.

But Sasuke seemed completely fine this morning, while Itachi didn't. And that, right there, was enough to make me worry about what was going to happen once they left the house. I know Itachi didn't want me to interfere, and I respected that. But there's no way he knows what he's doing, since I didn't know either and I'm his only source of information.

Itachi is difficult to talk to. Not in the sense that he doesn't listen, but in the sense that you never know whether your words had an effect on him or not. He never gives the slightest hint as to whether he's been convinced or not. I had told him the story about Izuna many years ago, and yet I only recently found out that he didn't believe a thing. He's so observant, and yet so silent about his observations. He's a great person to know- but a nightmare to parent.

I was waiting for him to call me. Any moment. Tell me what I was afraid to hear. That Sasuke got hurt and he's in a coma. That I have to help him fix the same mistake that I had done. The same mistake that I had been unable to fix, rather. But the call didn't come. And I waited. And I waited. And I waited. Until 2pm.

My phone rang, and I was shocked to see Sasuke's number on the screen. Did Itachi forget his?

I answered and waited to hear a voice. I waited for Itachi's voice to say what I thought it would say. I could almost imagine Itachi's composed mask falling as he told me, 'You were right, Madara'.

'I know I was right, Itachi. You fucking idiot. Is he alive?'

But that was not by far what I heard. Instead, Sasuke's sobbing voice came out. I could not understand what he was saying; he yelled, and then he whispered, and then he yelled again. He sounded like he was 8 again, wailing about how he's been abandoned by both his parents and Itachi. Only, he was even more desperate now.

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND! MADARA, what happened? Wha'did I do? Wha'did I do t'him? MADARA I'M A MURDERER. Madara, please save 'im. He said you know 'bout... ABOUT THIS. SAVE 'IM. Please, please save 'im. Wha' do I do? He's dyin', he's dyin' right in fronta my eyes!"

I had never heard Sasuke sob before. Cry, yes. But never sob so desperately. Never speak so fast. It wasn't like him.

"Calm down and tell me what happened, Sasuke."

"YOU KNOW WHA' HAPPENED! I killed 'im! He said I had da powers too. I didn't wanna do it! Just come save him, come right now, no matter what, come right now, to the old house."

He hung up on me before I had the chance to say anything. Itachi... what happened to you?

I picked up the phone again and dialed the only person who could've helped in this situation faster than I could: Hashirama.

"Senju at your service~"

"It's me. Are you at the dojo?"

"Indeed I am. What's up?" His cheerful voice was in complete antithesis with what I was about to tell him.

"I need your help. Sasuke and Itachi must be somewhere in front of the house, and I need you to go check on them before I can get there. Something happened to Itachi, and Sasuke isn't much better himself. Go check on them. Call an ambulance if needed. And if you can, try to calm Sasuke down..."

"Jesus, Madara, your people are trying to kill each other again?"

"No time for stupid jokes, Hashi. Just go there and I'll owe you one."

"No worries, I'm on my way." Once again, I had to try hard to convince myself he was smarter than he sounded. I know he's competent. At times, he's even more competent than I am. Yet... these are Uchiha matters. I can only hope he's versatile enough to handle this. I owe him one again.

7pm.

5 hours of painful waiting.

5 hours of sitting in the same chair, next to Hashirama, while I try to ignore the sounds coming from the hospital bathroom. The sound of constant gagging and crying. The sound of a person throwing up saliva, because all the food is already gone.

I'm not sure why he didn't leave me too. The good samaritan Senju blood... Or maybe it's just Hashirama.

2 hours ago, we were told that there was no telling what was going to happen.

Direct strike. Cardiac arrest. Paralysis. Possible brain damage. Artificial breathing. Possible death.

Don't worry, you know he can survive it. Izuna survived it.

"Madara, stop glaring at the ground. Why don't you go check on Sasuke?" Hashirama whispers next to me, afraid that Sasuke might hear him.

"He's still throwing up in there. What do you want me to do, bring him a hair clip?"

"No, but maybe try to talk to him? This is why you don't have children, you have the emotions of a stone." Says the guy who has no children of his own either. The hypocrisy...

"Sorry, Mr. Dad Role Model. I don't feel like arguing with you on this stupid subject right now. In case you didn't notice, my other nephew could die any moment now. You think you can lecture me a little later?"

"I was juuust saying." He looks at me apologetically and then gets up to talk to the nurses again. At least I don't have to do it. Another apologetic head shake. I hate this guy sometimes. I hate how he always saves me in ways that I can't save myself, doing all those embarrassing things like bowing down to people. Now we wait some more.

7:30pm.

Sasuke gets out of the bathroom and collapses into one of the chairs. He wants to see Itachi. I see his pale face and the dark circles under his eyes and I think that's the last thing he should be doing. Looking at his brother again, reliving his mistake. I've been there before, and it didn't help me at all.

He didn't try to discuss what Itachi had told him, nor what actually caused the thunder. It's been obvious to both Itachi and I that he had the sharingan, so it's not a mystery. But why is he not curious about it? Is the shock holding him back?Why would he not want to discuss it, at least so he could understand why he did what he did?

At 8pm, Hashirama leaves.

Sasuke is still in his chair, smelling and looking like death. His lips are dry, and he keeps licking them.

9pm.

10pm.

At almost 11, I try to drag him back home. But just as I was done convincing him, a nurse comes to us and tells us we can go see him. No talking, just to see him. Or what's left of him.

Itachi looks neither dead nor alive. To me, at least, he looks like a roughed up plastic doll version of himself. His hair had been left untied, and was now resting on his shoulders, partly covering his chest. It was a very unfortunate display, really. Even if the hair still looked shiny and alive, it didn't match his current face at all. If anything, it was just a grim reminder of what his normal self was like- not this.

Sasuke sat down on the stool next to the bed without saying a word. It was Itachi who opened his eyes and started talking first.

"How are you, otouto?" he asked while looking in my direction. His voice was faint and had no vitality in it, but how could I really expect vitality from a moribund?

"Better than you." came the answer, and I think Itachi would've smiled at that if he had the power to.

"Where are you?" Itachi asked as he tried to move his head towards the spot where Sasuke's voice came from. Did he think he was looking at Sasuke till now?

"Next to you?" Confusion. Worry. Surprise.

"I don't know if they told you, but I can't see much right now. Only moving shadows."

Like Izuna...

"Jeez..." Sasuke grabs Itachi's hand and rests his face against it. He doesn't have any more tears to cry it seems.

"You were right. I messed up." That one was for me, but it didn't make me feel any better. "But at least it was me."

"Don't be a moron. How is this any better?" He just attempted a smile.

I know. I know what he means, and I don't agree. I keep looking at the two of them and I know for sure that if the roles were reversed, I'd be just as shaken up. It's an achievement for him, maybe. Telling the truth without hurting Sasuke physically at least. But it's not for me.

"They say I won't be able to move for a while. And my lungs are compromised." he announces me with that same straight face. "I'm sorry I've become a burden for you."

Sasuke gets up and leaves the room. I hear him gagging on his way out, and I assume he's going to throw up again. That leaves me alone with Itachi. Knowing that he can't see me, I take the liberty to stare at him as much as I please. He still looks awful. He reminds me of Izuna, and that makes it even more painful.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this again."

Everything he told me after that was just a jumble of soft spoken words. Sometimes he was so silent I didn't catch what he was saying. He told me to move some hair out of his face, and I did. He said he went to the old house because he knew Hashirama would be there, at the weapon shop. He was happy.

He was happy.

"I think it might take me a while to recover." he said, with a sigh. "Sasuke said he doesn't want to see me anymore."

"He was lying. He threw up the entire time while you were unconscious. He's been worried sick too."

"Yes... but he does not wish to see me. I lied to him, and this is my punishment." he was serious. Way too serious for someone who managed to survive. "You know what this means, right?"

"I don't, actually."

"Will you listen to my... last wish?" His eyes opened wider, although I'm not sure if that helped him see anything. Why does it have to be a last wish?

"What is it?"

"I want to go to that place too. The place where you two can forget about me without feeling guilty. If it worked for you, it should work for Sasuke too."

No... Why?

"Why on earth do you want to go there? Do you want to live and be treated like a vegetable for the rest of your life?"

A useless vegetable in a hospital that keeps its patients for life... What kind of wish is that?

"Is that not what I am, though?" Itachi sighs again and closes his eyes. "I will continue to atone for my sins in a place where I can't hurt or bother anyone... And besides, I want to meet him."

A/N: Sorry for the huge delay. To be honest, I was just plain reluctant to write this chapter, because I've been busy writing the NEXT one, which is a personal favorite. It's still under construction though, so please review with reactions/impressions/suggestions so I can make the next one even better. It's always great to see what readers think.

-Ioio