Chapter 11 - Brother
Itachi quietly walked down the sandy path, Sasori just a few steps ahead of him. The Uchiha examined his friend's back, thinking about what was bound to happen soon. For a short moment the puppeteer turned his head, his muddy brown eyes meeting Itachi's somewhat dull, dark ones. A sad expression made its way onto the young man's features, merging with his usually calm appearance. Then he once again turned away and fixed his eyes on the wall to their side.
It was only a few hundred meters until they would reach the arena's entrance, but to Itachi, the all too familiar path felt horribly long today. His mind was reeling, he could not quite grasp and comprehend the situation yet, nor was he sure how to feel about it- first of all, he was relieved that his little brother didn't have to fight- which would have been his sure death, regarding his current state- but on the other hand, Itachi felt a dull sadness overcome him as he thought about the upcoming fight.
He hadn't even contemplated that the choice of him and Sasori as the substitution of Sasuke and Deidara was coincidence. Now that he thought about it, it might as well have been intended from the start. The raven haired man clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, as a special exception showing some emotion.
Just a few weeks ago, he would have considered giving up on his own life in order to let Sasori, whom he had grown to accept and even like, survive. Itachi knew about the red head's closeness to Deidara, and he would gladly have accepted death, knowing that he could do something for them, as well as leave his own lonely, hopeless life behind. A thin smile made its way onto the Uchiha's lips. He would have welcomed death with open arms.
But someone had changed it.
Upon seeing his brother again, even if the boy had no clue who 'Raven' really was, Itachi had regained hope and his will to live.
He had never stopped loving Sasuke, and he knew he never would. After all these years he had just given up. There had always been one reason for him to live: his younger after ten years of separation, ten years of loneliness and self- hatred, ten years of doubting his sanity- Itachi had finally given up on his dream. His dream of seeing Sasuke again.
He had paid Konoha a visit, two years after the massacre. Back then, the village hadn't been destroyed by the war yet. Itachi, neither having much time nor wanting to be recognized, had come there at night, and headed directly to the Uchiha complex. For some reason he could not quite understand, he went to his family's house, only to find Sasuke sleeping there, in the room that had once been Itachi's. The older of the two Uchihas had been tempted to just lay down next to his beloved brother and hold him close, whisper sweet nothings into his ear, let him know that Itachi was still there, that he cared for and loved Sasuke.
He still remembered how he had just been standing there, watching his little brother sleep and wishing for nothing more than to be able to stay by his side. The older Uchiha knew that Sasuke needed him, more than ever- but he could not give in to his desires. Nevertheless, he decided to risk talking to his little brother, disguised as a member of the ANBU squad.
That's why the next day Itachi knocked on the wooden door, anxiously waiting for Sasuke to open it. The little boy flung the door open only seconds later, sending the appearing ANBU a glare that held a mixture of surprise and aversion.
"What is it?", he asked, eying Itachi mistrustfully.
"I'm here to ask you some questions."
He's changed, Itachi thought. He felt a wave of sadness overcome him. Sasuke was an entirely different person, he could tell from only looking at him. His eyes were empty, emotionless. He had something surrounding him that radiated hatred and reserve, his features showing distrust and hardness, at the same time it seemed like a mask the boy had put on in order to not get hurt again.
Itachi felt as though he was looking into a mirror.
"Go ahead." Sasuke made no move to invite the ANBU into the house, so Itachi remained standing in the doorframe.
"I don't have much time, so let's get straight to the point", the older of the two Uchihas said. Sasuke nodded in approval.
"It's about the… massacre two years ago.", Itachi began, observing Sasuke carefully. The boy's expression, if possible, hardened even more.
"Back then you said that you saw the murderer, but you refused to tell the members of ANBU-and even the Hokage."
Sasuke flinched. Itachi watched curiously as the young Uchiha clenched his fists, pressing his fingers into his palms. "I don't intend to change that."
The ANBU tilted his head to the side. "And why is that?"
The boy before him bit his lip and briefly closed his eyes before responding. "If I told you the truth, it wouldn't help in the least."
Itachi was thankful for the mask that was covering his face, otherwise Sasuke might have become suspicious. He knew that his facial expression was threatening to slip from his control, and he was sure that the boy would have noticed.
He coughed, trying to think of something to say. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."
Sasuke seemed to think about something before he answered hesitantly. "I'll show you. Ask me something about my childhood."
This time, the older Uchiha nearly choked. Out of all things Sasuke could have said- why this? He shifted his weight from one foot onto the other, readjusting his mask as he did so. "Why would you-
Sasuke interrupted the ANBU by sending him a death glare. "Just do it."
Itachi feverishly tried to think of something to ask, something that wouldn't give away who he was, or what he was truly interested in- all the while he felt Sasuke's searching look on him.
"When you were younger… how was your relation with your parents?"
Despite his now dead parents being mentioned, the boy's face remained without any display of emotion; he almost looked bored.
"I don't remember."
Itachi looked up at him jerkily, his eyes widened in disbelief. "How can you not-
"Just go on. Ask something else."
Itachi struggled to keep his composure, but he managed to stay collected and calm. "What was your favorite food?"
Sasuke raised a single eyebrow. "I don't remember."
Itachi swallowed. "You had… an older brother, back then. What was he like?"
Sasuke took in a deep breath and trained his eyes on the floor. When he looked up again, something in them had changed. He had been unfazed by the previous questions, although the massacre had only been two years ago- but now, he looked sad. Hurt. Lost.
It took Itachi all the self-restraint he had not to take his baby brother into his arms. The younger Uchiha pierced the ANBU before him with a weak glare.
"I don't remember."
…
The portal opened soundlessly. Itachi strode through the short, tunnel-like underpass that led into the arena, eyes fixed on Sasori and Deidara who were walking just a few steps ahead of him. He was, however, stopped by a man who looked like a guard. The stranger grabbed Itachi's arm and raised it, then placed the hilt of a sword in the older Uchiha's hand. Itachi looked at the man in unsuppressed surprise, but the stranger just bent his head for a few seconds before releasing the raven's arm and whispering "You will need it" before vanishing into smoke.
For a few seconds Itachi just and stared into empty space, then he pulled himself together and proceeded to follow the puppeteer and the blond bomber.
He gasped as he entered the arena. The forest that had been growing rampant only a week ago had disappeared. What was left was dark rock stratum, a stony, gray plateau with nothing giving a chance to hide except for a few rocks which seemed like they had been randomly spread out. The sky above was cloudy, its color almost matching the ground. Itachi watched as Deidara and Sasori stopped. The blond looked at his partner with something that Itachi could only describe as longing. The puppeteer's lips contorted into a sad smile and he took a hesitant step forward. Deidara's fringe was covering one of his eyes, but Itachi thought to have seen a single tear roll down his cheek before the blond flung his arms around the red head and pulled him close.
Sasori didn't react. He just stood there, letting Deidara embrace him and wet his clothes with tears. Finally he let go of his partner, but the two remained close to each other, blue eyes looking into muddy brown ones. Sasori slowly raised a hand and gently cupped the other male's cheek. "You'll be fine", he said quietly, barely more than a whisper- but Itachi heard it.
Deidara shook his head. "Not without you", he replied, his voice sounding like he was on the verge of tears again.
For a brief moment, Sasori's gaze flashed to Itachi.
He looked doubting as he spoke his next words, but he sounded determined nevertheless.
"I'm going to survive. I'll return to your side, Deidara." He smiled once again, running a thumb across the blonde's lips. "I promise."
This is a promise to kill me, Itachi thought. He tightened his hold of the sword, preparing for a serious fight. He knew about Sasori's puppets. Even though the red head normally didn't use them- probably in order to avoid sensation- Itachi had seen them once. Back then, the puppeteer had fought a young woman named Sakura, one of the very few women that had ever been brought to the arena. She had proven to be a strong opponent, but in the end, Sasori had defeated her, using his favorite puppet- the third Kazekage.
The raven haired man's thoughts were interrupted by a voice resounding, its source being one of the hidden speakers.
"This is the first duel taking place in the arena. The two participants are Akasuna no Sasori-" Itachi threw a look at Sasori and saw that Deidara had left- "-and… Raven." A short pause. "The rules are simple; all kinds of jutsu and weapons are allowed. The fight will only be announced as finished when one of the two duelers is dead."
Somewhere behind them the portal closed, causing a strange echo to ring throughout the entire stony battlefield. Once it had faded away, a heavy silence settled. Itachi and Sasori both turned, facing each other.
"Begin." The single word broke the silence and the tension that had built up. For a few seconds they just stood- then both ninja jumped towards each other, Itachi wielding the sword and Sasori pulling out various kunai and shuriken. He threw them at Itachi as quick as a flash, but the raven haired man deflected them withhis sword. They both landed safely on their feet and fixed their eyes on each other, scrutinizing with appraising looks.
"That's how far our friendship goes, Raven." Sasori almost spat the last word, his words dripping with contempt. A sad smile graced Itachi's lips as he nodded. Then, he once again raised his sword and directed it towards Sasori.
"One on one, then?", he asked quietly. For others it might have seemed like an unnecessary remark- but regarding that Itachi was fighting Sasori, a puppeteer, it pointed to something else. And Sasori understood. "As long as I'm willing." With a snarl, he pulled out some more kunai, then started running at Itachi. While running, the puppeteer threw all the weapons at his opponent, but Itachi effortlessly dodged them. Sasori stopped right in front of him, Itachi aimed a kick at his stomach- but the red head dove to the left, successfully dodging the attack. He managed to pull out a senbon, jumping back to escape another kick and the flashing blade that struck down at him.
Sasori threw one of his senbon, but the Uchiha simply took a quick step to the side. The puppeteer seemed to have expected that- he leapt at Itachi and tackled him back onto the rock, his fist aiming for the younger male's face. Itachi rolled with the punch and kicked Sasori in the chest hard, sending him flying over his head onto the rock behind him. Sasori gasped at the pain as he hit the stone flat on his back. He didn't have anytime to dwell on this, though, because Itachi came right back at him, his right hand with the sword slicing at his throat. Sasori caught the blow and twisted the Uchiha's wrist, only for a left-hand slice to hit him in the stomach. He roared with the pain, and his fist caught Itachi under the chin with a powerful snap. For a second the puppeteer seemed to think his opponent had gone down, but then Itachi looked back up at him with his ever so emotionless expression, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
They both rushed at each other at the same time and met in the center, this time with weapons out. The blade of Itachi's sword deflected dozens of deadly pricks from Sasori's senbon, before diving in for the kill.
In this one regard, Sasori was at a disadvantage because senbon were worthless for deflecting attacks. He blocked with his left arm instead- a noise of splintering wood resounded, and the puppeteer's limb fell onto the gray rock. Itachi quickly jumped back, eyeing his opponent with something that could be called curiosity. "You're...?"
Sasori extended his hand, spread his fingers, and let blue chakra-strings attach themselves to his cut off left arm. Instead of answering Itachi's question, he let a short, sharp blade come out of the wooden limb- then fired it at his opponent. Itachi hastily raised his sword to block the attack. Metal met metal, the weapons clashed. Blue strings of chakra whirled through the air, controlling the blade and letting it attack again and again. Itachi blocked and dodged effortlessly, even when the red head began to throw dozens of senbon at him he still managed not to get hurt.
But he also recognized that he was getting nowhere.
Crimson swirled in dark orbs, letting them appear dangerous and threatening. One of the deep red pools closed, its power being sealed for the moment. Itachi dodged another attack, jumped back to not get hit by a poisoned senbon. For a brief moment, his right eye closed- then it opened wide, accompanied by a quiet whisper.
"Amaterasu!"
Black flames flared up, setting the detached limb and the blade on fire, burning them to ashes in a matter of seconds. The flames went out as soon as their target was burnt. Itachi stood, panting slightly, once again looking at Sasori. The puppet had stopped throwing senbon- perhaps he had already used them up?
He had, just as himself, come here unprepared, Itachi thought. This put the Uchiha at a huge advantage. Itachi knew that the red head used scrolls to summon his puppets- which made his jutsu, if he didn't carry said scrolls with him- impossible to perform.
Itachi's strongest weapon was his eyes. However, considering that Sasori himself was a puppet as well, genjutsu would have no effect on him… Itachi bit his lip in thought. So Tsukiyomi was useless… That reduced his opportunities to fire-style jutsu, Amaterasu- and Susano'o. He preferred to avoid using the latter technique- so he would have to do it with only fire.
Black and red flames.
He watched motionlessly as Sasori took out a single scroll.
"This is all I have", the puppeteer said quietly. He looked up, his gaze meeting Itachi's. "But it's enough to defeat you." Itachi watched him perform a few hand signs before placing his hand on the scroll. A puppet appeared, clad in a dark gray cloak with collar made of fur.
"This is Suna's third Kage. Maybe you've heard of him…"
Itachi clenched his fists. The legendary sandaime Kazekage. The man controlling the sands. Black, metallic sands. Blue chakra strings controlled the puppet's movements, and a strange body appeared, built with sand. It wavered and changed its form, until it was blade-like. Itachi swallowed. His thoughts were racing. His sword was useless against the iron sand just as a fireball jutsu. He wasn't sure if Amaterasu would work- but even if it did, burning the sand would only be a waste of chakra. He had to aim at either the puppet- or Sasori himself.
…
Sasuke awoke to the sound of voices on the outside of the tent. He carefully sat up and listened.
"Who do you think will win?" A deep voice, undoubtedly belonging to a man.
"The little monster. He's got some creepy aura surrounding him, even if he looks pretty."
"Do you even know how old he is?"
"No idea, but he doesn't look older than eighteen… or nineteen, maybe…"
Sasuke looked down at his injuries. The bandages he had wrapped around his torso were discolored crimson, but the blood had dried already. He sighed, then once again concentrated on the two men talking somewhere near.
"He doesn't act like it, though. He seems like he has more life experience, you know? As though he has witnessed way too much for a nineteen year old-
Footsteps resounded, and the two stopped talking for a few moments, then Sasuke heard a new, unfamiliar voice.
"Taking about the duel?"
The young Uchiha sat up and took notice. Who had been ordered to fight instead of him and Deidara?
"Sure. Who do you think will win?"
Laughter. "Three loafs of bread for the quiet loner."
All of them chuckled. "Are you sure? Nobody's ever really seen him fight."
"That's because nobody survives fighting against him, idiot", the one who had asked the first question retorted.
"Yeah yeah, but maybe he's got some dirty little trick? The fucking rat just survives, that doesn't mean he knows how to fight properly."
Sasuke closed his eyes and let his head fall back. Who the hell were they talking about?
"Do you think it's coincidence that they chose those two of all people?"
Silence. The other two seemed to think about the question. "Hm. Rumor has it that the arrogant little red head and that blond brat have something going on…"
'Arrogant red head' and 'blond brat'? Were they possibly talking about Sasori and Deidara? Sasuke smirked. He had though about that, too. The bomber and Sasori just had a little too much chemistry. Even if they were always fighting, Sasuke had caught them suspicious-looking close on a few occasions.
"And the other one? As far as I'm concerned, he has nothing to do with that Sasuke-kid."
Sasuke snorted contemptuously. He got up and smoothed out his clothes, then ran a hand through his rebellious hair. Maybe he should just go and ask them who was fighting in the arena right now…
…
Itachi fell onto his knees, panting heavily. He felt blood running from his eyes down his cheeks, then dropping from his chin onto his clothes and the stone underneath him.
He watched Sasori fall down as well, just a few steps away from him. The puppeteer had lost both his arms, his left leg was half-burnt, and a few cuts defacing his normally flawless face. Somewhere behind him lay the remains of the third Kazekage, the puppet having been burned by Itachi's fire style jutsu.
The Uchiha coughed, spitting blood onto the gray subsoil. He felt Sasori's gaze resting on him and looked up.
"I promised Deidara to return", the red head said, breaking the silence. Itachi reached out for his sword and clasped its hilt. Then he got back onto his feet and started to walk towards Sasori. He staggered, nevertheless he didn't stop.
"You have nothing to live for", the puppeteer murmured.
The sword's blade blinked as Itachi raised it. "Wrong", he replied coldly.
A malicious smirk made its way onto Sasori's lips. "So you hope for your precious little brother to forgive you? Once he finds out the truth he is going to kill you… Raven."
Itachi didn't respond. He reached down and roughly pulled Sasori to his feet, closing a hand around his throat.
A blade from behind Sasori's back shot towards him, but he blocked it without even looking. Itachi's right hand found the puppeteer's heart container, and he extended his fingers to touch it. Sasori closed his eyes. "You can either have your life, or your little brother. You-
Itachi slapped him across the face. "Shut up", he hissed. The top of his sword slowly sunk into Sasori's chest. A pained gasp, widened eyes- but Itachi stopped his movement, once again staring into the red head's brown orbs.
"I wish I didn't have to do this." He spoke the truth, but his voice didn't hold any emotion.
A short, hard laughter escaped his opponent's lips. "I could have killed you, Raven. With all my puppets, with my army… I could have killed you-" The blade twisted, causing Sasori to hiss in pain. Itachi felt him weaken and tightened his grip on the puppet's throat, wanting him to stand.
"Make it quick." It was a plea. Barely more than a whisper, desperation, fear and pain sounding through.
"I will."
Muddy brown eyes closed, blades hissed as they were once again folded behind Sasori's back.
"Burn me."
Itachi looked up, but the red head's eyes remained shut.
"After you've stabbed my heart… burn me." His voice was already fading. But Itachi heard his words, and he nodded, knowing that Sasori would notice his response.
He took in a deep breath- then abruptly moved his right hand forward. Something splattered, blood began to stream from the wound. Itachi removed his hand from Sasori's throat.
For a horribly long moment, the red head stood in front of him. His eyes opened once again, their muddy brown looking dull.
"Tell… Deidara… Itach-
He was silenced by mechanically spoken words, a few hand signs being performed quickly.
"Fire style; fireball jutsu!"
And the lifeless body of the human puppet was set ablaze by flaming red fire.
…
Sasuke had, after thinking about what he could do, decided to go to the training grounds. Maybe, despite his current state, he would be able to throw some shuriken, practice with a katana- if he found one. Therefore, he was now walking down the path that led to the wall fencing off the arena, and the training grounds.
Sasuke spotted a blond man standing approximately hundred meters away. He stopped and took a closer look. From where he was standing, it seemed like the man was waiting in front if the arena's entrance…
The young Uchiha started moving again, changing his direction and walking towards him.
"Deidara?"
The blond turned around, facing Sasuke. He looked lost; almost sad, and Sasuke wondered what had happened. He remembered what the three men had said earlier- maybe it was really Sasori who had been announced as his substitute?
"Sasuke… They just announced that the fight is over, un. I-"
He was interrupted by the sound of the portal opening. It was a sound Sasuke would recognize anywhere. After having spent more than two weeks here, most of his time practicing on the training grounds, he had heard it almost every day.
They both turned, waiting for someone to arrive.
Nobody came.
After a while, Sasuke once again spoke to Deidara. "Deidara, who has been-
He fell silent. A figure stumbled out of the underpass. Their clothes were torn, blood was dripping from several wounds, and a deep gash ran down their left arm.
Sasuke tensed, he tried to find words, wanted to look at Deidara- but all he could do was whisper a name.
The word was drowned by Deidara. "No," the blond said, sounding powerless and broken. "No…", he repeated.
Sasuke watched as Raven limped down the sandy path, leaving a crimson trail of blood. For a few seconds Sasuke just stood as though he was frozen to the spot- then he began to walk towards the injured man.
Raven lifted his head, his empty eyes met Sasuke. The young Uchiha suppressed the urge to start running, he just proceeded to walk into Raven's direction, eyes never leaving the raven haired man.
He didn't say a single word, even as his arms twined around Raven.
"Sasuke."
A name, not more. The way it was spoken reminded Sasuke of older times. He let go of Raven stayed close, examining his face. Those deep, onyx colored eyes, the black strands of hair escaping the pony tail- the two lines running down from his eyes-
His gaze met Raven's, and he found some emotion he couldn't name nor understand in them. Sasuke hesitated. A weak, thin smile swept across the older male's lips, but he didn't say anything.
Raven… are you my-"
Sasuke suddenly fell silent as Raven stumbled back before slumping to the ground and remained lying down, eyes closed.
The young Uchiha hastily knelt down beside him and tried to lift Raven up and carry him back to his tent, despite his own injuries causing pain to flash through his entire body. He kept trying, lifted him a few centimeters, only to scream and let Raven fall back down. Sasuke clutched at his side, hissing through gritted teeth. He stopped trying to scoop Raven up for a moment and just looked down at him. A shaky hand touched the unconscious male's cheek, Sasuke let his fingers trace the two delicate lines that looked like they had been drawn.
"...brother.", he breathed, ending his sentence.
Okay. It's been three weeks. All I can do is apologize for the late update. I was busy (and a lazy ass on top xD), so...
Thanks for the reviews, and a special thanks to love everlasting- your review inspired me to start working on this again!
I hope you liked the chapter. I think you're all gonna like the next one, hehehe...
Oh well.
Merry christmas! This year, all I want is reviews. xD
