Too bad I don't have superstition to blame for this one, too. It's just bad. (Why do I keep posting bad writing?) But the next several are much better, promise. IMO, anyway.
Although, several of the ones that I think suck, my reviewers seem to like better than the others. Perhaps I've misjudged my readership? Or maybe we just have different tastes…which is kind of funny, if you think about it.
oOoOoOo
Title: Nightmare
Rating: Kplus
Summary: (Needs summary)
oOoOoOo
Sasuke stared directly into Itachi's pinwheel red eyes, despite what he knew was about to come. He struggled to breathe, fingers prying uselessly against those wrapped around his throat. His feet kicked against the wall, trying to find purchase and brace himself, as his toes could not reach the floor.
Itachi was keenly aware of his brother's struggle for air, but did nothing to loosen his squeezing grip. His face remained impassive and bloody eyes blank.
"Why…" Sasuke gasped, clawing at the hand on his neck, "…do it?"
Itachi's eyes narrowed, but his fingers loosened marginally.
Sasuke quickly gasped in a lungful of air, meeting his brother's Mangekyou again. "Why?"
"You already know why. You have asked this question before, otouto. It was to measure my abilities."
Sasuke quickly shook his head, the best he could. "I still do not believe that. But that is not…what I was asking."
Itachi nearly quirked an eyebrow. His grasp on his brother's pale neck tightened momentarily, before relaxing again.
The younger winced, but continued. "Why do you…use the Mangekyou…so much? When you know that it will…is making you go blind? Why do you use it…on me so often?"
Itachi closed his eyes briefly, but the pinwheel sharingan did not disappear. "You are weak, otouto," he said finally, as if that explained everything.
Sasuke's brows furrowed, and his hands clung loosely around Itachi's fingers, no longer prying.
"You are weak because your hatred is weak," Itachi continued, briefly wondering if his little brother truly did not know why, or if he were just denying it to himself. He was fairly certain he knew which.
"By reminding you of what you have lost, your hatred grows stronger. When your hatred grows stronger, so will you." He sighed lightly. "You still do not have enough hatred…"
Sasuke's brows only drew down further, confusion filling his face. Itachi was trying to make him stronger? But…"Why?"
"You have much potential, foolish little brother. Do you really think you could have reached that potential were you still caged within the confines of that pathetic clan? Look at us. Do you think either of us could be this powerful if we had stayed? I did us both a favor."
Sasuke's eyes were wide and his knuckles white as he clung onto Itachi's choking hand. He wanted to yell and scream and curse and say that was no better a reason and he would rather have his family and life back than power, but he didn't. It would have done no good. He knew that that was the best answer he was ever going to get, either way.
Yet he still didn't understand. "But…why? You will still…go blind."
Itachi seemed disappointed. "You have great potential, otouto, as I said. You may one day be even more powerful than I. And yet you do not seem to want that power. It is almost as though you do not want to kill me. And if you do not want to, you will never be able to.
"Though it is a small disadvantage, if I am blind, perhaps it will be enough for you to defeat me. So you see, really there are two reasons to use the Mangekyou."
Sasuke's eyes had gone impossibly wide. Not only was Itachi trying to make him stronger, but he was purposefully making himself weaker…? No, no. There was something seriously wrong with all this. Itachi did not care about him, about how strong he became. Itachi did not kill the entire clan because he cared about Sasuke's growth. He did not use the Mangekyou to make himself weaker, or Sasuke stronger, or both.
No. Itachi killed the entire clan because he was evil, and he continued to torture Sasuke with it because he had no heart.
Itachi's pinwheel eyes narrowed, and he gave a small smirk. "You knew it all along. It was all for you. Their deaths were all for you." The pinwheels spun.
Just as the world melted into black and white and red, Sasuke shot awake with a sharp gasp. He was covered in cold sweat and breathing hard. He reached up a shaky hand to wipe his forehead, trying to calm his racing heart. That nightmare…it couldn't be true…Could it? Did Itachi really care? And maybe that was the most frightening thing.