A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I'm taking so long but when I was writing this chapter, it was getting way too long so I cut it in half! So to add to name of what I said the next chapter will be called, I'm putting in 'Pt. 1' and so on and so forth. Don't worry, for those who are committed Itachi and Sasuke fans, but the torture will only last for two chapters. This one and the next one. I'm starting to get a little stuck on part 2 anyway… So in the mean time, read this chapter, and you guys can scream and rant at me later about how Itachi's romance is going on with another guy. Hehe…

I DO NOT OWN any of the Naruto characters, or the story itself. That belongs to the cruel hands of Kishimoto… I swear if he doesn't help Sasuke or Itachi soon, I'm gonna go on a bloody massacre! Anyway, thank you for those who have reviewed and please keep them coming. They inspire me to write more everyday! Thank you and enjoy!

Ch. 14: Memories of a Loved One Pt 1

Memory One: We Meet

Huff, huff

Huff, huff, huff

With each passing step Itachi takes through the dark forest, the more he pants than the step before. His whole body hurts from battle. He was able to fight off every hunter that attacked him and his group but it cost the lives of his comrades and now he is all that remains of that battle. He needs to sit down and rest but he's lost too much blood and if he can't find a place soon, then the sun will come out and he will be burned to a crisp. He has to keep moving and find some shade. Then if he's lucky, he might find something small to at least help him gather a little strength for a bear or something bigger in the forest. But all he sees is trees and the sky gets lighter and lighter with each slow, agonizing step he takes.

'Damn it,' he curses. 'They not only took us by surprise but we underestimated the enemy. How could those humans be so strong when the Kaguya clan is known to have a disease pass down the family line? Anyone would think they would be easy prey, even myself. Now look at me.' Itachi stops to catch his breath as he leans his side on the tree. Sweat mixed with the blood of his companions and his own drip down his face. The wounds on his body bleed more and he can feel his strength slipping away. 'I…I must…I have to…' Itachi takes one more step, pushing his aching body further but all that does is cause him to fall to the ground, unable to hold himself up any longer. On the ground, Itachi tries again to push himself up but his body won't respond to his will. He can't move and he's on the verge of death. He could feel his conscious slipping away. Darkness begins to cloud his sight and for one last moment before he completely lost consciousness, his mind plays tricks on him and he could see his little brother smiling at him and his laughing ringing in his ears. '…Sasuke…'

Then Itachi passes out as the sun begins to rise overhead.

When the vampire heir woke up, the only light he sees is the one besides him and he can feel the fiery heat from it.

'Wh…Where am…I?' he wonders, noticing that above him is a wooden ceiling instead of the leaves and branches of the trees and a brighten sky full of sunlight that should have cooked him.

Hearing a crackle, Itachi looks to the side and he sees a fire burning in the middle of the room he's in. He stares at the fire dancing in the fire place in the middle of the room before allowing his brain to connect with the rest of his body. He still feels weak but not as weak as he was before and there are still parts of him that are sore from battle, but he's better compared to how he was in the forest. But there is one thing that over powers all of his physical pain, the thirst in his neck. Besides that, he can feel soft cushions under him and that surprises him. Itachi pushes himself up and he looks down to see that he's lying on soft bed mat with a pillow and there's a blanket over him. But he notices not just that. He notices that even though he still has his battle suit on, which is long pants with a sleeveless shirt with a high collar and an armor suit on his chest and arms, his body is clean from the blood he had earlier and some of his wounds that haven't healed yet are wrapped in bandages. If he were wondering on what happened to his pack of weapons that were on his side and his sword that was on his back, all he has to do is look to the side of the room he's in and it's leaning on the wall not far from him.

"So you're finally awake?"

Hearing that unknown voice instantly made Itachi very cautious. He sharply turns around to where he heard that voice from and several feet away, near a curtain covered window, is a teenager who appears not that much older than how Itachi looks now. From how the room is constructed, it is pretty simple with a large space, a fire place in the center of it all, a door and two windows. As Itachi is at the back of the room since he's by the fireplace, this teenage boy he sees before him is at the front of room, being under one of the windows, the one that's nearest to the door. Good place if he wishes to make a quick getaway or he's on guard duty, which Itachi suspect he is.

This teenager here, he appears to be 15 or a year older but Itachi must admit that he is the one of the most unique looking person the vampire prince has ever met. His hair is brown, resembling that most of milk chocolate and it's curly. It's short and it makes his hair look more like waves like he just flew in from somewhere miles away. He appears to be on the masculine side for he has a strong build and hard muscles visible on his shoulders, arms, and chest. His skin is a little tan. It's not too dark but it's darker than Itachi's that's for sure. He has a rather broad, square chin but in a way, it makes him appear handsome and mature. But looking into his sharp, crimson red eyes, the teenager doesn't look that mature. His eye interest Itachi the most. If he wanted to, this teenager could appear very intimidating if he glares for his eyes almost look like that of a demon's and with his eyes being naturally red like that, he could be mistaken for a vampire. The vampire prince right now is trying to determine if this older looking boy before him is vampire or not and more importantly, is he a threat.

"Who are?" he asks, raising his guard up a little higher in case of an attack. But all the boy does is wave and smile without a care in the world.

"The name's Shisui," he answers. "Don't ask for my surname because I have no idea what it is."

Well that's interesting. He's an orphan with no memory of his family or where he came from and yet he says it with such a happy smile on his face. What a strange person he is… Looking him over one more time, Itachi sees that even though his skin is a light tan, he's too dark to be considered vampire. Which means…

"You're human…"

"And you're a vampire. What else is obvious?"

What the? Did he just?

Itachi didn't have anything really to say to this sarcastic behavior, especially when this human's red eyes are big and wide like a child's. The prince wouldn't lose his temper over anything so small, or not at all, but his blood consumption is low from the earlier attack and he just woke up with a rather sore body. That and somehow this human activated a certain pull in Itachi's guts that's giving off the big impression that this human is talking down at him. The vampire prince does not have the time for any impudence.

Still, he keeps his cool as he asks, "If you know what I am, why did you save me?"

The prince didn't mean to sound that cold, or maybe he did, but it was all from under the lines of trying to survive and he does not want to risk another surprise attack. He's weakened enough as it is and one more attack like that and he will most certainly be doomed. However, this human doesn't appear to belong to the Kaguya clan and he is surely not a vampire so what does this human hope to gain from saving Itachi?

But all Shisui says is, "Oh trust me. I didn't save you for your sake. I saved you for mine. I've seen a vampire in sunlight before and it is not a pretty sight. I have no intentions of seeing that again. So I covered you up and brought you here."

So no real reason besides his own, huh? Interesting but nothing special. Since this human promises to be no real threat to him, Itachi pulls the covers off and stands up. He stumbles a bit from lack of strength, but nothing a little blood can't cure. He just has to find an animal or something to feed on because there is no way Itachi is going to bite this human, especially not after he just saved his life no matter how selfish the reason may be.

"Well, human, you have my thanks," he says, keeping his ground. When he moved, Shisui watches him intensively and as if ready to spring up and help the vampire prince should he so collapse. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be off." Itachi notices the rest of his stuff at the side and walks over to reattach everything before he goes.

As he does that, Shisui looks a bit skeptical before shyly grinning and saying, "I wouldn't be moving any time soon if I were you."

Itachi thought that Shisui was refereeing to his body so he assures, "I will be fine. My body has recuperated enough strength to move."

"I wasn't talking about that." Before Itachi could ask, he sees a second light entering the room and when he looks up to see what it is, he sees Shisui holding the curtain up and allowing sunlight to come pouring into the room. In reaction, Itachi goes into danger mood and kneels down as if like an animal as he backs away to the darkest corner of the room. Then he lets out a loud hiss, baring his vampire fangs and his once satin eyes glowing red. A rather threatening pose and if any normal person were to see him now, they would run as fast as they can like a bat out of hell if they hope to survive. However, Shisui doesn't appear at all scared. Only fascinated. "Wow, you hiss like a cat." Itachi growls at him for that, his deadly glare intensifying. But once again the human teenager doesn't appear affected by his threatening stance or gaze and just drops the curtains to hide the light. "It's still mid-day so I suggest you stay in here until sunset. Don't worry I don't live with anyone so it's just you and me in this old shack for the time being."

Who the heck is this human? Is he so stupid to think that he can tell a vampire what to do? Who's the imperial race here? And who's the one who looks ready to pounce on the next person or object that moves? But still, he did save Itachi but that must really mean that he's really stupid.

"Why did you save me?" Itachi asks, his voice deep, harsh, and alert as he also calms down his stance a little bit. VERY little.

Shisui looks at him in confusion as if he's the stupid one here. "I thought I already told you the reason."

So it truly is for the only reason of saving him the trouble of watching a vampire fry in the sunlight? Well now that's entertaining, in a very morbid way and it causes Itachi to let out a snicker. "Heh. You must not be a very smart human." If a simple glare won't scare this suspicious human then maybe a threat will. "You should have left me there to die and avert your eyes elsewhere if you did not wish to watch. Now that I know I can't go out and I am in dear need of blood, the only thing in here for me to feed off is you."

"And that is why I'm staying at the window. If you even try to attack me, I'll pull the curtains up like this…" Shisui grasps the curtains again and lifts them up to let in some light and Itachi flinches and hides away deeper in the darkness, hissing at him. "…and you'll back off. I'm not as stupid as I look. Besides, I already have something you could feed off on." This caught Itachi by surprise. Shisui drops the curtains before going to his side to reveal a tied up, live, frigid rabbit. "I was going to kill it when I saw you and since I already decided to save you, I kept the rabbit alive, seeing how much you were bleeding and all. I also figured you might be thirsty." He tosses the frightened rabbit to the vampire prince and it lands a few ways away from the now surprise and confused vampire. "But if you prefer human blood, I guess I can cut my wrist and let you suck from that. Just don't bite me."

Itachi first looks at the terrified creature before him before looking back up the human, still distrust in his eyes despite his confusion on the human's charitable behavior. "If I say yes to your generous offer, what makes you believe I wouldn't decide to drain your dry?"

"You don't look like the kind of person to do that."

Huh?

Now this really took Itachi off guard, so much so that he nearly dropped his guard complete. Seeing this reaction, Shisui grins in approval of his words. He hit the mark perfectly. "They say that I can tell what kind a person is just by having a brief conversation with them and from what I've learned, the only reason why you're making yourself sound like a deadly predator is because you've been raised to act like one. But that's not your true self is it? You seem more like a kinder, gentler soul than that. You just want to know my reaction and figure out why a human like me, who can easily die within a second of staying in the same room as a vampire, would go so far as save your life, treat your wounds, and feed you. I have you all figured out."

The whole speech without the last sentence would have been fine. But with that last sentence, Itachi's getting the impression that this human is getting cocky with him. Like he's going to stand for such attitude. "You don't know me," he says, glaring at him again.

"But I would like to."

And the human has done it again with a genuine smile on his face to back it up. That smile…Seeing that smile confuses Itachi all the more. This human is so…different than the terrified or hateful ones that the prince has known his whole life. He has never met a human who could be so accepting and so friendly to a far more deadlier race. All the vampire heir could do was stare at this strange human before him that holds no fear or hatred in his naturally red eyes.

Itachi then looks away from him, not wanting to see that smile anymore, and he grabs the rabbit. "The rabbit is fine."

"Then before you bite it, let me leave." Itachi looks back at him with a raise brow and he sees Shisui standing up and dusting off his legs. Does blood or gore really bother him that much? He says, "I'm gonna go fishing and come back. I still gotta worry about my own hunger you know. Since we're in the middle of the forest and there's no one around, you should be fine." Then he puts on a goofy smile and says, "Sorry. I know that it's your method of survive to consume blood and all but blood really makes me queasy." Well that explains it. Shisui waves at him and says, "See ya!" Then he's out the shack, trying not to open the door too much to keep most of the light out and Itachi just watches him leave.

Shisui didn't take very long. He came back, dripping wet and with several large fishes for him to eat. By then, Itachi already drained the rabbit dry, killing it, and he was trying to burn the corpse in the fire. It made Shisui drop his fish and go outside to vomit because of the smell.

"What the heck are you doing?" Shisui asks, coming back after emptying his stomach.

Itachi was poking at the burning rabbit corpse in the fire with a stick as he answers, "You said that blood made you queasy so I could imagine what a dead body would look to you. I was trying to get rid of it."

But Shisui tells him, "I may have said that blood made me queasy but I do skin my own rabbit and I eat meat so a dead body wouldn't be so bad." Hearing that made Itachi want to really slap himself out of stupidity. Damn it! Why can't he think straight and have figured that out? Was he that distracted when he was trying to figure out Shisui's true intentions for helping him?

Itachi looks away from him and says, "If you want to get rid of the smell, then open the windows or the door."

"Can't, remember? It's still light out and you're in here. It's alright. I can handle the smell till sundown and I already lost my appetite."

Hearing this causes Itachi to feel even more dim-witted than he already feels. That and a little guilt…Wait, hold on! Guilty? Since when has he ever felt guilty, especially to a total stranger he just meet several hours ago? This is really starting to drive him up the wall.

But this human is thinking about Itachi before himself. He's not going to eat because of the smell and he won't open the windows or the door to air out the shack because sunlight could get in. Why would this human care so much about a vampire's well being when Itachi could easily kill him in a heartbeat?

After that, Shisui started to clean the fish he caught for later and Itachi just observed him doing it, not saying a word and not moving a muscle towards him. In his mind, he was still trying to calculate of why this human would help him. It confuses him greatly and he was trying to figure out other reasons besides the fact that Shisui doesn't like blood, he's not a slave, and he's not afraid of him. When Shisui notice that Itachi would be staring at him, the vampire prince would simply look away as if he wasn't watching him and every time, the human would smile as if Itachi was acting like a silly child. It's the same expression Itachi usually gives to Sasuke when he's acting silly. It was really starting to bother the vampire prince and by the time that the day was coming to an end, he still couldn't figure Shisui out.

"The sun's setting," Shisui notes, taking a small peek outside. Out there, the sun is already half way down pass the mountains and the trees. There's very little light out but still, there's light out and in Itachi's condition, maybe it's a little soon. "I say wait a few more minutes and it should be safe for you to go out. You alright?"

"I'm fine," the prince answers. He already has all of his packs reattached to his side and his sword is strapped to his back. He stands up and walks to the door, saying, "That rabbit's blood was able to heal most of my wounds and I have enough strength to make it home."

Shisui has his eyes on him as he watches the vampire walks toward the door as if in a hurry. "Well if you're sure then."

"Farwell." And Itachi is out the door and out in the open. To him, outside isn't really that bright and he still feels not completely one hundred percent but if he doesn't return home soon, he knows three people who would get a panic attack over him; his parents and his little brother; especially his little brother. Sometimes, he wonders who the adult of his family was.

"Hey! Hold on!"

Hearing Shisui calling him, Itachi, who is already several feet away from the shack, sees the human coming out and staring at him. What else does he want? "What?" he asks.

"Well before you go, may I at least ask for your name? I would like to know who it is I saved in case I need to move to another land or what."

Like before, if he didn't say the last part, he would have been on Itachi's good side. But hearing this also insults the vampire. So this whole time the human had no idea who he was? Well that would explain why he wasn't terrified or even nervous because one completely wrong word or action and Itachi could have him killed, if not by him.

Itachi tells him, as calmly as always, "You can rest assured that you may continue your life where you are now. You are in no danger. My name is Uchiha Itachi."

Shisui blinks a couple of times after he heard that. Then he looks as if he's progressing the name into his mind. "Uchiha Itachi? So I just saved a vampire royal. Good thing I do live here or I would be dead."

Okay now, Itachi really needs to leave. He already spent way too much, unnecessary time with this confusing person and he has other, more better, things to attend to. Facing the direction he was heading, he starts walking.

"Itachi!"

Now what? And when did Itachi give him permission to use his first name like that without even saying 'prince' before his name or even '-sama', like the rest of the humans. As calmly as he can and trying to not reveal too much emotions, Itachi asks, "Yes?" which usually ends up his voice sounding very similar to that of a dead person.

"Before you go…" Then all of his sudden, Shisui's smart-alic voice becomes gentle and almost sincere. "…can I at least ask you one more thing?"

It wasn't just Shisui's voice that took Itachi off by surprise. It was also his face. To Itachi, it felt like this human was teasing him and it was his peculiar behavior that distracted the prince from knowing that this human is simply being nice. But now, as his natural crimson eyes stare deep into Itachi's onyx ones does he feel like he's noticing that fact. This human that only looks older than him is actually a very caring man who values all life, human or vampire.

"Are you a boy or a girl?"

Scratch that. Never mind!

Itachi literally has some hair sticking out and he's practically frozen with disbelief. "What?" he asks, wanting to confirm what he just heard.

Then Shisui drops the sincere act and goes back to his simple-minded behavior by explaining, "Well it's been bothering me all day and there weren't any wounds to the chest, besides your stomach and your arms so I couldn't tell what you were. You definitely do not act like the girls I've ever known but you look really feminine. So either you're a boy that was blessed with a woman's looks or you're a girl with a flat chest and a spunky attitude."

Now Itachi's patience has just completely drained from him at an incredible rate. It was like his patience level just went from a seventy-five to a fourteen. It's out of character for him but this human is making him feel he really needs to kill something or he might go insane and thankfully, Shisui is right here. Which he would usually never do because he hates killing something that has done nothing mortally wrong. Does insulting the vampire prince count? Feeling like this is very new to him but at the same time, it feels natural to feel like this. Trying to surpass the extreme need for blood-shed, he says as calmly as he can, "I'm a boy…" which only makes his voice sound very dead than it did the first time.

"A boy, huh?" Shisui asks. He progresses the information into his head for a moment until he smiles again and says, "Well that's okay too. You certainly are one of a kind." The smile on his face is genuine, like the one before. It catches Itachi off guard again and he stares at it curiously. How can this human smile from the bottom of his heart in front of the vampire prince? "I live in a village not too far from here. This shack is just an abandoned building that was nearby so if you ever want to just swing by and say hi, look me up, alright?"

Say yes or no? The polite thing is to say 'yes' because then Itachi doesn't have to show that he wasn't grateful for Shisui for saving his life but he really doesn't want to come back here and see him again! No matter how intriguing this person maybe, Itachi is going to force himself to never be reminded of him again! But if he says 'yes' and doesn't see him, wouldn't that be the same as breaking a promise? He never breaks a promise. Never! Not to mention, what kind of an example will he be if he makes a promise to come back and doesn't keep it to his little brother?

Sasuke…

He really needs to get home before that kid dies before his time. Knowing his little brother, he can do some pretty outrageous stuff at times. But in order to get home, he needs to answer. So, say no…say no… say no… say no… say no… say…

"Alright…"

Hearing that answer, Shisui's face brightens up like a happy child and he waves. "Then see ya, Itachi."

And with that, Itachi leaves without returning the smile Shisui had on his face or even wave to say bye. He left without a word and second look.

All the way home, Itachi was wondering of why the heck did he say 'yes' to that guy? All this one human practically did was insult him and spoke to him as if Itachi was the stupid one! He, the prodigy of the Uchiha royal vampire family, the most powerful families in all the lands, was being treated as if he were stupid. Maybe he can send a servant to secretly deliver a gift of gratitude and say that he can't visit Shisui because he is busy with prince duties or something. But besides the human problem, there is one thing Itachi is wondering on what to do.

How to deal with a worried-to-death little brother?

When the prince finally arrives home, the first people to greet him, besides the castle guards, were his parents. They were near the front door when he entered and the first thing they did was 'attack' him with hugs, kisses from his mother, and comments of relief and praises thanking the Kyuubi that their son is alright and home at last. After reassuring them that he's fine, a small little voice cried out 'nii-san' and he looks over to see his little brother standing at the entrance to the hallway with a wooden sword in his hand and dirt and sweat all over his body. Sasuke must have been training somewhere and as soon as word hit that his older brother came home, he must have run over as fast as he could to get here. The boy was trying to live up to his vow and that brought an even brighter smile on the heir's face when he greeted him. Of course, Sasuke came running to him in tears and cling on to him as if he hasn't seen him in years. He screamed out his worries and like always, Itachi used simple words and warm touches of his hands to calm the hysterical boy. Sasuke stopped screaming but not his tears quite yet. He cried for hours while still clinging to his brother as if his own life depended on it.

For several nights, Sasuke hasn't left Itachi's side. Rather it was eating, training, studying, or even sleeping, the little boy refused to leave his brother's side. As touching and cute as this may be, Itachi was able to convince Sasuke to let him have his privacy after two weeks. After all, now that he has one problem taken care of, Itachi has one more problem to deal with:

How to deal with the human known as Shisui?

Memory Two: Can't Get You Out of My Mind

It's been months since Itachi last saw Shisui and that cursed human hasn't left the young vampire's mind. When Itachi brought him up to the surface of his mind, he couldn't stop thinking about him and trying to figure out his true reasons, if he really had any. No, there has to be a reason to why Shisui would go to such lengths for him. As the vampire heir was trying to distract himself with trying to train Sasuke in the art of using a sword and showing him a few tricks, Shisui wouldn't leave his mind and it was starting to make Itachi really frustrated.

'You cursed human!' Itachi screams in his head. 'Get out of my head!'

"Nii-san?"

Hearing that small voice, Itachi gets out of his thoughts and looks down at his side to see Sasuke looking up at him with his big onyx eyes staring curiously at him with concern. "Are you alright? You seemed out of it since you came back."

Has he become that obvious that even his little brother noticed that he's troubled, or does Sasuke have a good eye?

Seeing this boy did surprise the older vampire. It's around the time that everyone should be in bed before the sun rises and since Shisui has been on Itachi's mind, he couldn't sleep. He hasn't been sleeping well in the past months since he's been back. He tried many things to help him sleep before the sun came up but nothing would help. He would have to wait for the drowsiness to take over but that would take hours to do and by the time he does try to sleep, he would notice that the sun will be directly overhead, noon. Itachi was just reading at his desk to try and get his mind off the man but the story he was reading had a main male character in it and the first face that popped into Itachi's head was Shisui's. That only made him all the more frustrated.

To cease the boy's concern, Itachi smiles and pokes Sasuke's forehead with his fingers like always, causing the vampire boy to wince from the small jab. "I'm fine, otouto. I'm sorry if I worried you. But you shouldn't be up at this hour. If you want to become a strong warrior like you promise you would be, then you need your sleep."

Hearing this causes the boy to blush in embarrassment, almost like he's embarrassed to be caught staying up late because he's worried about his brother or he's embarrassed by that courageous vow he made. "I know, but…" he says, looking to the side since he's nervous with looking at his older brother in the eye. Or rather, he's embarrassed about his reason for being here. This little boy is just too sweet for words, and he's so innocent.

"But what?" the heir asks, urging him to continue.

Now Sasuke looks almost shamed to what he's going to say next. He keeps his eyes on the floor as his hand and rises up and grasps his throat. It took Itachi off guard as the boy mumbles, "My throat was burning so I couldn't sleep."

Around this time, Sasuke's awakening into a vampire hasn't been that long ago. It's been a good five or six months since then and for being that young, he would still need a lot of blood. Being awakened as a vampire is the same as being turned into a vampire, blood amount wise. You will need a large amount of blood at first and by that vampire's will, the amount of blood desired for the vampire body will either grow or lessen. Usually, stuff like this will take months but for Sasuke after only two weeks, his amount began to lessen. Itachi can't even remember the last time the boy drank his blood. His blood is the only blood that Sasuke will consume.

"Of course."

Sasuke looks back at his brother and he sees older vampire smiling at him again. Itachi gets up from his desk and grasps the boy's hand to lead him to the older vampire's bed. He gets on first and helps the boy up before saying, "Go right ahead, koneko-chan." The younger vampire prince would have blushed at the nickname and at how his older brother said it but his eyes became fixated with his brother's neck. Itachi is already leaning his back to the wall and all Sasuke has to do is move a little closer and sit on his knees to achieve the same height. Once in reach and with one hand on the older vampire's shoulder and the other grasping Itachi's sleep shirt, Sasuke opens his mouth up wider and bites down on the ivory flesh. The vampire heir gasps for only a moment from the pain before letting out a shaky moan and relaxing completely and holding the boy closer in reaction.

Oh god he missed this! This unexplainable pleasure from his little brother's bite cannot simply be compared to anything else! Itachi's mind has been so distracted lately with thoughts of Shisui that he almost forgotten how wonderful this feels.

Shisui…

Even during this, the guy cannot just leave the poor prince alone! What does he have to do to get the human out of his head and done with?

"This shack is just an abandoned building that was nearby so if you ever want to just swing by and say hi, look me up, alright?"

Is that all he has to do? Visit the guy? One thing's for certain. The sooner that Itachi can get that human out of his mind, the sooner he can forget about him and move on! Even if that does mean visiting him. Maybe then Itachi can be free and be completely and willingly absorbed into his baby brother's bite. His promise will be fulfilled and he would return the favor for the human saving his life. With that resolve created, Sasuke released his brother's neck and licks away the remaining blood as the wound heals and disappears. Itachi mentally cursed in his head when he realizes that his brother stopped. Sasuke was still only inches from the teenager's neck so Itachi didn't see when the boy's eyes look up at him in concern and worry.

Then he looks to the side, only to get his attention caught with what's outside the window.

"Nii-san, what's that?"

Itachi first looks at the boy first to see what he's looking at before looking up at the window. When he sees what captured the boy's attention, he panicked. Rising up from the sea of forest in the brightened sky is a light but not just any light – sunlight. Before Sasuke knew it, Itachi pushes him off slightly, jumps off the bed, and pulls the curtains over the windows completely right before the sun could fully release its deadly rays on either of them.

Damn it, he's really losing it to have forgotten to cover his windows completely to prevent any sunlight from getting in. He could have killed him and Sasuke both! Only goes to show on how much he needs to get this Shisui problem cleared!

"Nii-san?"

Itachi looks back at his little brother and now the boy looks scared. He must be worried that the usual calm and collected Itachi would just panic right before his eyes as if there were a bomb in the room. The way that Sasuke looks at him now, it would give anyone the impression that now the boy thinks his brother has gone insane. It really scared him, and what was that light he wondered.

After a moment to collect himself, which includes several deep breathes and second to properly collect his thoughts, Itachi tells his baby brother, "Forgive me, otouto. I didn't mean to frighten you."

"But what was that light, nii-san?" Sasuke asks, pointing to the edge of the curtains. "It looks so…big!"

Itachi has always been over protective of him so this was the first time that the boy has even seen a peek of the sun's existence. His curiosity and his fascination with it is to be expected for someone to have never seen it before. "It is big, Sasuke. It's called the sun."

The younger vampire prince blinks in surprise of that answer as his older brother reproaches the bed and climbs on. Sasuke's eyes stayed on the him and he asks, "You mean the big orb in the sky that gives off sunlight that we need to avoid?"

Itachi sits in front of the curious boy and smiles at his behavior. He answers, "Yes, or we'll be burnt to a crisp."

"But it's so beautiful." Sasuke looks back at the window, as if looking directly at the sun pass the thick curtains to see it and he says, "The moon is pretty too but I wonder what'll be like to actually look up at the sun without getting burnt. I saw pictures of it and there are things called 'sunrises' and 'sunsets'."

Hearing this, all the teenage vampire could really do is chuckle. What a callow little brother he has. So innocent and so naïve. "Do you think they're beautiful too, little brother."

"Yep!" he answers immediately, looking back at Itachi. "One day, I want to see a real sunrise and a real sunset and I want to see it with nii-san! I want to see my first sunrise and my first sunset with the one I love most! Wouldn't that be cool? Maybe I should wish for it the next time we see shoot stars, nii-san! Would that be okay?"

His childish, impossible dream… What more can an older brother do when he hears such words from a young child's mouth other than smiling at his little dream and caressing the young boy's hair. Sasuke's cheeks turn a slight red from the strokes given his brother's warm hands and Itachi tells him, "Foolish little brother. As beautiful as the sun may seem, it doesn't change the fact that its light is deadly to our bodies."

Hearing this, Sasuke makes another one of his adorable, angry pouts he's so famous for. "Yeah, I know but I can dream, can't I?" So cute…

"Yes, you can." Itachi pulls his hand back and starts crawling up the bed to the pillows and the edge of his comforter and sheets. He pulls them up and tells Sasuke, "Now let's go to sleep, otouto. You may stay here for the day."

Hearing those words, the boy's whole face brightens up and he cheers, "Yeah!"

Sasuke always enjoys sleeping with Itachi. Every time he gets a nightmare or he wets the bed, he wouldn't go to his parents. He would always go to his nii-san and Itachi would always help him with his problem. Rather it's comforting him and speaking soft words of protection against all that threaten to scare the young boy or clean him up and changed into new sleep clothes. Sasuke feels no better protection or love than the ones he gets from Itachi. But as he's gotten older and no longer wets the bed or gets too frightened from nightmares, his visits to his brother has become less and less and he gets too embarrassed to simply ask to sleep with his brother out of pure desire. He wants to show that he's a big boy now, but Itachi wouldn't mind if the boy wanted to sleep with him. He would accept the little boy no matter how much he's matured or how old he's grown. Once under the covers, Sasuke cuddles to Itachi's chest and the vampire heir has one arm as a pillow for the Sasuke as the other hand is soothing the boy by rubbing his shoulders.

As the boy tries to sleep, Itachi watches him a little longer before making his own attempt, again, to sleep. "Ne, nii-san?" Well that didn't take long. Sasuke looks up at his older brother and asks with hope filled eyes, "Tonight, can you help me on my double block?"

This time when Itachi smiles, his smile appears apologetic and he taps the boy's forehead one more time. "Forgive me, Sasuke. Maybe next time, okay?"

"Uh? But why?" he asks, confused.

He answers, "I need to do something tonight and I don't know how long I'll be gone. I'll train you again once I've completely some unfinished business but I'll ask Kakashi if he can train you tonight, alright?"

Sasuke's onyx eyes sadden when he hears this. Not that he doesn't like Kakashi. That guy is like a second brother or like a second mentor to him. But the boy would rather have his brother train him. However, if it's just this once than he can let it go. He doesn't look back at Itachi but he does snuggle closer and barriers his face into the teenager's chest. "Okay…"

After that discussion, the boy goes to sleep in a matter of minutes. When he feels his breathing slowing to a calm pace, Itachi stares at the boy, gazing upon his beauty and taking it all in. He can stare at his baby brother all day and all night if given the choice. Sasuke has the most intriguing beauty anyone could possibly possess and being with him brings out a form of tranquility to the vampire heir. Only with Sasuke can Itachi feel fully at peace. Even now, he can feel himself getting sleepy after his mind was just bobbling over Shisui. But he can't have the boy stay the day in his room every day or people really are going to notice that something is wrong with him, regardless of how happy Sasuke might be to do that. Tonight, it'll all be over once and for all.

Memory Three: A First Kiss

As planned, Itachi first looks for Kakashi to ask him for a favor and the masked vampire was more than pleased to train Sasuke for the night. It's a little early for the boy but since his brother is not going to train him, Itachi asked Kakashi if he could also introduce how to activate the hidden power within him. The hidden power is a power that every vampire has inside of them; born or turned. Awakening it usually takes a lot of training and stamina. Sasuke was the one who always told Itachi that it was cool he could manipulate fire and he always says that he couldn't wait to know what his hidden power is. The hidden power could either be a physical ability or a control over an element. Both Itachi and Kakashi are element controllers, Itachi the fire and Kakashi the lightning. Since the older vampire prince has noticed the boy's progress in the training, he figure that he might be ready to discover what his hidden power is. That and it'll distract Sasuke long enough for Itachi to go to Shisui and come back without him wondering when he's coming back.

After the reassurance that Sasuke is going to have a good training session today, Itachi sneaks out of the castle and heads towards the old shack he had to stay in with Shisui when he was wounded. Sasuke is the only one who usually worries when Itachi is going out. Everyone else doesn't. Neither his parents, so long as they know that he'll come back to the castle before sunrise. They know that he can take care of himself so they trust him with a lot of freedom. Only when he's needed for battle do they wonder where he is.

Before, Shisui said that his village wasn't far from the shack and it didn't take Itachi long at all to catch the smell of fire cooking dinner in a family home or hear the homey chatter of families and friends. He follows both senses and soon discovers a peaceful village of happy humans living their passive lives together. Seeing them like this was new to the vampire prince. All he's known is order, laws, and the mistreatment of the humans at his castle. In this village, about every villager is by far only happy to be alive. Rather they're rich or poor, it doesn't matter. In a way, it fascinated Itachi but at the same time, it made him feel uncomfortable to be out of his element in such a happy place.

The vampire prince hides in the shadows of the village as he searches for Shisui. The sooner he finds the human and says hi, the sooner he can get out of here and hopefully never think about it again! It took him a while because of all the different smells and loud chatter disrupting his search but when he finally spots Shisui, Itachi sees him accompanying a village girl. From how it looks, the girl appears to have an infatuation with Shisui.

'So he has a lover?' Itachi wonders, watching them. But from Shisui's expression, there appears to be a different story. Out of curiosity, and not wanting to leave and come back later just because the human was busy, Itachi continues to watch the guy who saved his existence in the shadows. Thanks to his vampire abilities, no one spotted him or even noticed his presence. It almost tempted the prince to just appear in front of them and wonder what their reaction will be. Would it be acceptance like how Shisui displayed or will it be total rejection and vampire exterminating weapons?

After hours of following the young couple, Itachi is then lead to an area on the outskirts of the village where there are some houses and from how it looks, Shisui is escorting his lover home. By then, Itachi is more than tempted to just go already. He can be patient but when he's only wasting his time as something as trivial as spying on a human's romantic affair, his patience can only go so far. Not to mention that spying on a date does not sound like him at all. Finally, Shisui and the girl stop in front of what appears to be the girl's house and they both faced each other to talk. Itachi had no choice but to listen.

"Shisui-kun," the girl calls. "I had a wonderful time tonight. Did you enjoy yourself?"

Instead of answering that he did, Shisui has a rather guilty look on his face and apologetic, calculating eyes, like he's trying to form some kind of speech to say that he knows the girl isn't going to like to hear. His pause made the girl frown. "It's not that I didn't have a good time, Nuriko, but I'm afraid we should move on in our lives as friends."

"What?" she asks, shocked and at this moment, Itachi is the same way as her only without the distress starting to appear on her face. "But why? Was it something that I did wrong?"

"It wasn't you," he answers. "It's just that I don't see us working out."

Then Nuriko gets angry, "Is that the line you gave to the past five girls you've been seeing these past nights?"

Wait! Hold on! Did she just say 'girls'? As in Shisui has more than one lover or he's just not committed to one? Hearing this made Itachi look at the guy with disgust. Why would someone get a girl interested in him for only a short period of time and then just end it? It's like the guy toys with feelings and takes pleasure in crushing them the moment it reaches its highest point! And the guilt is just an act. Why would you bother waste your time with someone you know you're not going to last very long with? In the vampire community, the way that Itachi's been taught was that you don't take love lightly. You find someone who will support you and be there for you through thick and thin, someone who would never try to hurt you or leave you, someone who would be faithful to you and only you no matter what. So what is it with humans the constant seeing other people before breaking it off like it's nothing more than an annoying fling that happened?

If Itachi had any respect or any kind of feeling remotely similar to that, it's all gone now.

"Nuriko, please," Shisui tries to plead the girl as way for him asking her to calm down. But the next thing that happens is Nuriko slapping him right across the face. It causes Itachi to blink and Nuriko glares daggers at the teenage boy in front of her.

"Shisui, you idiot! You're nothing but a player!" Then she stomps her way to her home and slams the door shut once inside.

Instead of looking guiltier, Shisui just lets out a sigh and then acts like nothing just happened. "Time to go home." Then he starts walking towards where Itachi should be.

He's well hidden so he knows that Shisui won't see him when he walks by. In the mean time, the vampire prince is trying to remember why he came here to see the guy in the first place. The guy's not even worth his time right now after seeing that little show. So after making his decision, Itachi turns to the side and starts walking into the forest where he can have shelter and safe passage back to his home. The sun won't be up for another few hours so there is no rush. He can just walk home and take his time getting rid of these irritating feelings that caused him to come and see Shisui. But because Itachi moved and didn't wait till after Shisui passed, the human sees movement at the corner of his eyes and he sees the vampire prince walking off into the forest.

"Itachi?" he calls, making sure he's not seeing things. The prince tenses up when he hears his name being called and it soon causes him to start fast walking his way into the forest. "Wait, hold on!" Shisui calls and then he starts running up to him to catch up. "Itachi, what are you doing here?"

Really not wanting to deal with him right now, Itachi's ice cold voice lashes out, "What am I doing here? That's all you can say?"

Well that was unexpected and it sure left Shisui in the cold pretty fast. "Uh, well… Hello?"

"Hello, human and goodnight!" Itachi quickens the pace and Shisui still tries to catch up with him.

"Wait, hold on! Why are you here?" he asks.

"You said I could visit so I did. I'm blithe to know you had a wonderful evening."

Unexpected thing number two. "Are you jealous?"

All of a sudden, now feeling extremely insulted to have been asked that, Itachi stops and sharply turns around to face the human who nearly crashes into him from the sudden stop. "Absolutely not!" he screams.

Shisui blinks in complete surprise of hearing that. "Wow. I never thought you would scream like that. You have spunk but I noticed that you have class."

Hearing this brings Itachi back to reality and makes him notice that he's losing his temper all too easy for the wrong reasons. What the heck is wrong with him? He's never been like this before. Inhaling a very deep breath and exhaling it out to calm his nerves and to at least try and act civil, he says, "I'm sorry. But I only came because you said I could visit. So here I am."

"After several months? I must not be worth remembering if you only decide to come visit me now."

Forget being civil. Itachi's had it and Shisui here is making him feel like an idiot again.

"I don't know why I'm doing this. You've been stuck in my head for the past several months and nothing I could do could get you out of my head. Do you have any idea how many hours of sleep I missed because of you? I'm losing my temper now because of you. And now you listen to me and you listen good." He roughly grabs Shisui's collar with extreme grace despite his incredible strength and speed and pulls him close to tower over him and appear threatening and to be taken serious. His voice still nothing but ice and his expression dangerously blank. "After tonight, I am NEVER coming to visit. I only came to repay my dept and now that I have, I can move on." He drops the human by pushing him to the ground and then sharply turning away, not wanting to see Shisui's face right now. "Now if you don't mind, I'm leaving. Goodnight, human and farewell."

Grasp

Itachi didn't expect to feel Shisui's hand on his wrist, nor did he expect to feel a slight pull so that the human could stand up. The rest was something he wasn't sure happened until everything around him stopped. The hand must have stunned him. Shisui may have wrapped his wounds up before but Itachi was never conscious to know how Shisui's touch would feel. When his hand grabbed him, it most defiantly took him by surprise and that was why Shisui had the chance to turn Itachi around and then press his lips against Itachi's. For the vampire prince who has always felt ice cold touches, the feel of warmth that first affected his wrist is now on his shoulder where Shisui's other hand is to hold him and on his lips. Itachi's eyes are wider than entrée places and his mind becomes a total blank.

What…the…

"Unhand me!" Itachi with his free hand, since the other is still in Shisui's grasp, pushes Shisui off him and as the human hits a tree, Itachi has his hand over his lips.

"Ow…" Shisui whines, rubbing his now sore back. "You know, that really hurt."

There other things to worry about than his back at this moment! What happened just now was Itachi's first kiss, something that he has never experienced before. Sure there were family kisses but this one is entirely different than that! This one was full of passion and desperation and something the Uchiha prodigy in all of his blood-soaked existence has never experienced before. He was surely in shock. He doesn't know if it's because humans are warm blooded or what but his lips felt really warm when Shisui touched them and they still have traces of that warmth as if they're on fire. He didn't understand any of it and better yet, he has no idea why Shisui did that. He felt like a robot that was just splashed with water and cannot recuperate as fast as he could before.

"Wh-Why..why did you…?"

"Because I couldn't get you out of my mind either." Now Itachi is really in shock. After that confession, he sees definitely the most sincere look on Shisui's face that he has ever seen so far. The way his eyes appear so gentle and yet to confident when he looks at him and the way that his lips curl up into a half smile. Suddenly, Itachi feels like he can't breathe when he looks at him. "As I said before, you are not like anyone I have ever met. You got spunk and when you're trying to figure something out, you're adorable. I wasn't totally honest with you when I told you the reason why I saved you. I saved you that day because from the moment I saw you, you were the most beautiful creature I have ever laid my eyes on. I didn't want such a pretty thing to die so I saved you. Even now, all shocked and confused, you're still beautiful. I don't know why but I feel drawn to you. Did you hypnotize me or something?"

Itachi became so caught up and so intensive on listening to Shisui's words that he didn't notice the human standing right in front of him and for looking so much older, Itachi had to look up to see his face. Though after his speech and his question, the vampire prince tries to avert his gaze to something else more interesting and distracting. Like the floor beneath his feet with stones, fallen leaves, and dirt.

"Wh..Why…" Great. Itachi is stuttering. Since when does he ever stutter? "Why would I want to hypnotize an annoying human like you? You have been nothing but a nuisance since the day I met you."

Shisui's chuckles when he hears this. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you Itachi? Keeps me interested." He got a slight glare from that but he just smiles away. Then his face became sincere again. "May I ask one thing before you can cut off my head?"

"Wh-What?"

"Can I kiss you again?" Itachi looks at him fully with no glare. Just wide eyes and a slight open mouth. "There is something I want to confirm."

The way that his crimson eyes are looking directly into Itachi's, it was like he instantly became under a spell he can't break from. But for a mere second, he didn't want to. He doesn't want to confirm something, especially not this kind of something. But at the same time, he does. He too wants to confirm that warmth he felt when Shisui kissed him so he nods his head.

"Sure."

Shisui smiles at him one more time before leaning closer to his face and planting a chaste kiss on Itachi's pale lips. And there is was. That warmth that Itachi felt the first time but only this time more deep with feeling and a sort of adrenaline that's making the vampire prince close his eyes and take it all in. Right there and then as the kiss lasted longer than the first one, something has been confirmed. This kiss is sweet and warm and Itachi…he likes it. It was over too quick.

Shisui slowly pulls away and his eyes slightly open to look at the boy in front of him. Itachi still has his eyes closed, making the moment last just a little longer before opening his eyes to look at the fascinating and unique human before him. Seeing the hazy gentleness in his onyx eyes, Shisui grins. "How does that make you feel?"

"I don't know," he answers, his voice sounding barely a whisper. "I've never been kissed before. It was…" The ground became fascinating to him again and his hand rises up to gently press his fingertips against his still warm lips. "…something."

"I hope that something is a good thing because I sure enjoyed it." Itachi looks back at his face and Shisui has that goofy smile on this time. "You truly are the most unique person I have ever met, boy or girl."

It only felt right to answer back. Especially when Itachi feels like his brain is still not functioning like how it's supposed to. "You're an..interesting human, Shisui. I've never met anyone like you."

"I'm glad." Then he kisses Itachi again and the vampire heir creates no struggle against it. He only accepts it fully to savor this inexplicable feeling of being kissed. At least there was one thing the vampire prince was sure of. If this is how you're kissed romantically, he is more than willing to allow Shisui be his teacher.

Congratulations for those that have survive. I completely understand if this is irritating the hell out of you. If I was reading this, so would I. But remember! This is an ItaSasu story. Some ItaSasu moments will come but that's later. But tell me how it went. Was it good? Bad? Criticism is always welcomed! Let me know how it went okay? Till next time! You only have to relive this torture another chapter more and then done! Bye-bye!