Next Chapter up. This version is with brotherly love only.

After their talk over a week ago Itachi had tried to show Sasuke the harmless side of vampires. They went to a restaurant, a bar, went shopping for shoes in a small store and had Sasukes car checked in a garage, all lead by vampire families. In addition Itachi pointed out vampires all around them in their daily live, together with their human friends. A mother gathering her children from school, the teacher saying goodbye to his charges for the day, youths playing soccer on a muddy field, two best friends taking a stroll in the park with their dogs, a group of girls shopping for clothes, the friendly waiter who brought their drinks, a collector at the store. Even a policeman talking to a young woman, soothing her after the shock of someone trying to steal her bag, while his human partner lead the robber to their car.

All of them proved to be true vampires. A small flash of red eyes was all he needed. It was a vampire greeting, Itachi told him. Another secret the hunters would love to get into their hands.

But that wasn't everything Itachi showed him. They also went into the poorer parts of Konoha, those with high criminality. They walked pasted clubs, rundown buildings, prostitutes, drug dealers, their customers and other unpleasant folk, as well as the poorest of the poor, sleeping on the ground in dark alleys. Here the red flash of eyes wasn't always a friendly greeting, but rather an angry glare telling them that they didn't belong down there. Or it was but a dull flash, showing the owners exhaustion and despair.

Sasuke had taken it all in, learning, remembering and beside small questions kept quiet. They were out so frequently, he didn't have the time to ask Itachi any more about vampires and especially about Itachi himself. He would need to find an opportunity to do so. They had come even closer to each other over the time, being together so often. He couldn't quite put his finger on the feelings he had for Itachi. It was like he had known him for all his life, like there was something connecting them. He trusted him more than before, more than his friends and somehow, it scared him.

Bam

"ITACHI!"

The sound of the front door slamming shut and Sasukes angry, no outrageous, voice made Itachi jump of the couch and leap towards the door of his safety promising room. Perhaps he had gone a tad bit too far…oh well, it wouldn't hurt the younger to socialize a little.

"Oh no, you don't."

Sasuke slammed the door to his safety shut in his face and pushed him up against the wall. He was faster than Itachi had thought. So he was met face to angry face with the pissed of hunter who held both his arms pressed against the wall, his close up body preventing him from moving even an inch. He was very close, mind.

"Ahem, would you mind letting me go. You're invading my private space bubble…"

Sasuke only growled at him.

"How dare you!"

Suppose that was a 'no'. Well, he had his ways to make the younger let go. After all, they were talking about a trained hunter. So he set on his most charming, innocent face.

"But why, I was only trying to help out! You seemed so stressed these past days, to be in desperate need of some relief and unable to take care of it."

Carefully Itachi reached for his pocket knife. Sasuke was too riled up to notice. What he did notice was the flash of metal as Itachi snapped the knife open at his side. His hunter training took in and as predicted Sasuke jolted backwards, loosening his grip on Itachis arms. This made it easy for the vampire to slip away from Sasuke and dash into his room.

Unfortunately the shocking effect on the hunter didn't last long and he prevented Itachi from closing the door by tackling him to the ground. A small 'ooff' escaped Itachis lips as Sasuke knocked the air out of him and mad him fall hard on his belly. Sasuke had fallen on top of him. Itachi rasped out a shaky breath.

"You're heavy."

"Shut up!"

He groaned out at the pain in his back as Sasuke shifted atop of him and tried to push the younger of to sit up. But he was roughly pushed back.

Itachi tried to look up over his shoulder at the seething hunter. Sasuke had both of the vampires hands pinned to the ground besides his head and was sitting on his back. Itachi raised an eyebrow at their position.

"You know, I think you're too old for a piggy back ride. And too heavy"

He started shifting around, felling a little uncomfortable. Sasukes face turned red.

"Stop trying to change the subject , AND STOP THE HELL TRYING TO PUSH ME OFF!"

Itachi stopped his movements.

"You started it…"

Sasuke growled.

"How. Dare. You. To set me up for a date with this FUCKING BITCH!"

Itachi swallowed. He needed to do something, before Sasuke could let go of his anger. Something to throw him out of the concept.

"I plead innocent! I swear it wasn't my idea. I'm just an intermediary!"

"Gah!"

Sasuke stood up suddenly, throwing his hands in the air in frustration and stomping out of the room. Itachi blinked several times, looking after him perplexed and staying on the ground a while longer before jumping up and going after the seething youngster.

He poked his head into the kitchen to see him take down a bottle of Sake from the cupboard. Sasuke poured himself a cup and raised it to his lips. However, the cup was snatched from his hands. Itachi drank the contents in one swallow and also took away the Sake bottle.

"Hey!"

Sasuke grabbed for the bottle but Itachi kept him on a distance with his foot while he stored the Sake in the cupboard again. If looks could kill Itachi would have turned to ashes long ago.

"Alcohol won't help with your problems. It only makes you forget them for a while, gives you a fucking headache and makes you feel sick, do stupid things you will surely regret, if you remember them at all and it will surely give you more problems than you already have. Should I go on?"

Itachi had a stern look on his face. Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest, near about pouting.

"You're not my mother, so stop lecturing me."

"I'm not lecturing you like a mother would. Believe me, that would have sounded completely different. I think my lectures are more like an older brothers one."

Itachi sat down at the kitchen table, beckoning Sasuke to sit with him.

"Older brother, huh. Now where did that come from?"

Itachi just shrugged his shoulders.

"If you think it's more suiting for me to act as your mother…or secret lover…"

Sasuke glared at Itachi but reluctantly followed his order and sat opposite from him. He was still angry, but had his emotions under control now. Perhaps it was the thought of Itachi as his brother. It was such a casual remark, but somehow it had irked some kind of emotion in the younger. He was very comfortable with the idea. Itachi smirked.

"Now shall we plan the date?"

And suddenly the comfortable feeling was gone. Sasuke growled.

"You know, you just declared war."

Itachis smirk just grew.

"Don't worry. Since you seem too scared to go alone…the date just turned into a double date."

Itachi held up Sasukes cell phone, which he had snatched during their quarrel earlier. On the display were the words 'message sent'.

"WHAT!"

Sasuke sighed again and continued killing his meal with the fork. How he wished he was deaf or his ears would fall of right now. Sakuras constant blabbering he could block out but mixed with Suigetsus and Karins bickering it was unable to get a straight thought.

He glared at Itachi who was laying by his side in his wolf-form, grinning up to him. That bastard actually managed to get Karin and Suigetsu on a date by sending both of them the same message: that he (Sasuke) had a date and needed some support and already had the perfect partner for them for a double date.

Not that Itachi bothered telling him which pair he was going on the double date with. He had deleted the messages. He only noticed as he met Suigetsu and Karin at the entrance to the restaurant, both of them angry at him for telling them he had the perfect partner for them in the message. Of course he couldn't just tell them that the message wasn't from him, but the vampire that was living in his apartment, disguising as his dog and playing himself up as older annoying brother.

So he had to explain 'his' actions and listen to their bickering till Sakura arrived and they all decided to go into the restaurant. At least the date wouldn't take any longer, they were already at the dessert.

"Say Sasuke, some weeks ago you asked me about a vampires healing abilities, haven't you?"

"Uh, I did?"

"Yes, you wanted to know if everlasting scars were possible. I have searched through some books in the library, but couldn't find out more. I am still wondering why you have been so interested, you never showed interest in similar subjects before."

"I was just curious, I guess."

Sasuke glanced down at Itachi who seemed to listen intently.

"Really? I thought that perhaps you noticed something on a vampire that made you ask me. You do remember that you have to report anything uncommon that happened or that you saw during a hunt."

Sakura had her arms crossed and a stern look on her face. Sasuke had to refrain from rolling his eyes.

"Sakura, it was just something that popped up on my mind on a boring day. You know I would tell if something happened."

An hour later they were parting. Sakura driving back home alone, Suigetsu and Karin having decided to watch a DVD together and Sasuke walking back with Itachi in tow. Back in the apartment Sasuke went to the shower right away leaving Itachi in the living room.

As he got out of the bathroom Itachi waited for him leaning on the couch, arms crossed.

"So…is there any specific reason you asked Miss Haruno about a vampires healing abilities, specifically scars?"

Sasuke looked away. Itachi sighed and walked around the couch sitting down and motioning for Sasuke to follow him. Sasuke sat beside him.

"Sasuke, you know you can ask me anything. Yes, telling you about my past isn't part of our deal. That doesn't mean I would tell you nothing. I think we're friends long enough now, aren't we? I might not answer all your questions and tell you everything right away, but I'll be listening and I won't be angry."

Sasuke looked up at Itachi. He felt like a child caught stealing cookies but Itachis eyes were twinkling with amusement. He knew why Sasuke had asked Sakura and he wasn't angry.

"If you feel better about it, you could also tell me things of your past."

Sasuke threw Itachi a pointed look, who simply smiled at him.

"Alright, how come you still have those scars? I didn't know purebloods could get everlasting scars."

"How do you even know they're still there? You saw them only this one time in the shower."

"I just know. Would you please just answer my question and stop making questions yourself."

Sasuke was blushing slightly, Itachi smiled but didn't prod any further. Instead he was debating on how much to tell the younger. He obviously wanted to know more about him, which the older understood. His smile vanished.

"Vampires can get everlasting scars, as you already noticed. From the academy you should know that wounds are healed with the life energy provided from the vampires body. If a vampire is injured badly the energy is first used to keep him alive and heal the serious wounds. Smaller wounds would scar first but these scars are healed later as soon as the body recovered and has enough energy. Only if the wounds are continuously reopened or new wounds are added and the body isn't able to recover everlasting scars develop. Because the life energy can't be used to heal those wounds without killing the vampire they heal just like a humans. After a certain point of healing, the scars will stay."

Itachi paused looking at Sasuke and then at the ground. Sasuke looked thoughtful. He really wanted to know how Itachi got these scars. It must have been a horrible experience for him. It seemed Itachi knew exactly what the younger was debating about.

"Please don't ask how exactly I obtained my scars. That, I can not tell you."