A/N: Sorry for the long period with no update. My vision has been messing up (double vision, whoa) so being on the computer is kind of a hassle but I updated with more than one chapter to make up for it!

&& since this story is getting closer and closer to its end with every chapter, thanks =) to everybody who's reviewed, added this to their faves/alerts, and also to those people who have added ME to their faves/alerts. And for those who haven't done any of that yet … thanks anyway for reading because it's just as awesome getting more views.

NOTE: I ask you to forgive me in advance for any spelling and grammar errors. Since my left eye is all fucked up lately, it's hard to catch things like that (can't wait to go to the freakin' doctors).

"Baka" Is what just so happened to be the first thing that shot out of Sasuke's mouth upon unlocking the door to their hotel room.

Itachi frowned, silently calling dibs by tossing his bag on the twin bed closet to the window. "I understand why you're angry but it's your fault, not mine."

"No, it's your fault. You did it on purpose." He accused. He had stayed quiet and hadn't uttered a single word while traveling to Kumogakure since the 'Sasuke's Chakra Incident' - as Itachi oh so graciously dubbed it - back at the camping grounds meaning he had been absolutely silent for two whole days.

/ Flashback

"If I lose any skin off my forehead, I'm gonna kill you."

"I'm sure." Itachi replied and sat on the ground once he finished packing up his things. Morning seemed to come within seconds of them falling asleep. "The seal isn't going to rip your skin off." Before he knew it, they were awake, packed and ready to leave the campsite before the sun even came out. But prior to leaving, they had to remove the chakra seal which was why they were currently on the ground with Sasuke leaned up against a tree and Itachi sitting no less than a foot or two in front of him.

"How do you know?"

"I just do. Trust me on this."

Sasuke scoffed. "You just do?"

Itachi frowned. They didn't have time for this. They were already behind schedule and had been through a lot as it was. "We can do it together or I'll go first then you second." Itachi offered, eyes narrowing the slightest bit. It seemed the only way Sasuke ever listened was when he was stern. "Pick one."

"Together"

/End Flashback

"I wouldn't do that."

"Ah, well then explain this to me. Why do I have a big burn mark on my forehead and you don't?"

Itachi shrugged with questioning eyes as he studied the white bandages wrapped firmly around said teen's forehead across from him. "Ask Tsunade-sama or Kakashi-sempai when we get back to the village."

"Liar."

"No, I told you not to focus all your chakra but you didn't listen. You were being pigheaded as usual."

Sasuke took in a breath. He hated those 'I-told-you-so' moments more than anything –especially when they came from Itachi of all people because he always managed to make him feel like a complete fucking idiot.

His angry glare softened as he looked passed Itachi and out the window. Ever since he was little he had always been called stubborn. However, this stubbornness seemed to worsen whenever it came down to Itachi. Maybe 'pigheaded' was listed in the job description for being a younger brother or something. Sasuke studied the night sky and bright stars, his reflection in the window staring back at him. From outside, he could hear the muffled voices of people young and old mingling, working, playing and relaxing with the occasional unnecessary muffled shout of, "Hey, are you coming?!" or "See you later!" that seemed to pass right through the glass.

Looking out at the sky always proved to be therapeutic whenever he found himself troubled or pissed off. When he was younger he would sometimes catch his father in a rare moment of tranquility staring out at the sky as well while reading the daily newspaper. Sasuke blinked at the memory and idly toyed with his bandages. Perhaps this served as a double edged sword. It seemed that every miniscule habit he developed at an early age brought back painful memories. Itachi, although not a habit, brought back memories too; mostly because Itachi was a memory. He was a memory of everything that was and everything that wasn't. He was a walking, talking, breathing memory.

Sasuke switched his gaze from the window to Itachi who was no longer looking at him but sitting on the bed taking out his packed belongings. Maybe he should start on that too. Itachi never failed to get things done faster than him. The younger Uchiha continued to study the male, watching as Itachi frowned a bit upon peering in his bag. A few seconds later he retrieved a few items covered in a thick substance that Sasuke immediately recognized as shampoo once the fumes infiltrated his nostrils. The plastic bottle must have uncapped without the other realizing it. The younger raven looked on with curiosity at the now slightly troubled look on the prodigy's face when Itachi single-handedly toyed the simplistic, cheap looking necklace gracing his collarbone and began the task of putting his clothes in the small dresser drawers while sorting through which miscellaneous items were free of shampoo and what unfortunately wasn't and would have to be rinsed off. He had never seen Itachi touch his necklace like that before.

"I'm going to get some food. Are you coming?" Sasuke asked after feeling his stomach growl. Thankfully it served as a temporary distraction from his thinking.

"Hn" Itachi said while he finished putting away the last bit of his travel items. "No, sorry Sasuke, I'm not hungry at the moment. Maybe next time otouto."

Sasuke inhaled softly at the memorable phrase.

Maybe next time otouto

Itachi always had some lame excuse when they were younger followed by a 'Sorry Sasuke, maybe next time.' but this time that half assed apology wasn't accompanied with a small smile and a poke to the forehead like all the other moments.

"Yeah" He replied and was about to make an exit for the door when he abruptly stopped. He wasn't sure what caused him to halt in his actions or say the next sentence that soon formed in his mouth. "Come with me." It was like his mouth had a mind of its own. The very moment he saw the upraised brows of his older brother, Sasuke felt his cheeks heat up. "What the hell did I just say?" And immediately he wished he had been bestowed with an ability that would somehow enable him to freeze sound. That way, he would have been able to capture his voice before it could even get the chance to reach his brother.

For a long while, both men were silent and Sasuke struggled to figure out what on earth the long haired male could possibly be thinking. It wasn't until the awkward stillness weighing down on them became nearly unbearable did Itachi finally offer a single nod and slipped on his sneakers after grabbing his wallet off the nightstand and again did that annoying thing with his jewelry piece. The action was so simple and quick that even Sasuke himself didn't have a clue as to why it got on his nerves so much but it did. Something about the way Itachi ran his fingers over each of the three silver pieces reminded him of a nervous habit. Sasuke opened his mouth to say something but shockingly enough, no words came out as Itachi walked up and sidestepped him.

"Well, are you coming?" Itachi asked lightly as he held the door open.

"Hn"

It didn't take too long before they were outside of the hotel building and squinting against the bright rays of sunlight that bounced off the rooftops. It seemed to burn into every bare part of their bodies which in this case happened to be their lowers arms and calves.

"It's so hot out today…" Sasuke voiced needlessly in his head as he flapped his t-shirt in a useless attempt to bring in any cool air to his overheated torso. The air was not only hot but sticky and already he could feel sweat forming in tiny beads behind his neck as the cotton of his shirt soaked up bits of moisture from his underarms. This was undoubtedly the hottest day so far. God, he hated really hot days. It made him irritated and gave him nausea and headaches from time to time depending on how hot it happened to be on that day. The occasional bump to the arm he received every couple minutes or so by a speed walking passerby didn't exactly help either.

"Do you have anything in particular you're in the mood for?"

He stopped his silent ranting as the familiar deep voice that obviously belonged to Itachi suddenly spoke. "Barbeque" Sasuke responded and pointed to a restaurant building with an oddly large sign that read Isakawa's BBQ in big, gigantic orange lettering. Normally, he wouldn't choose to eat at a barbeque joint but it had been more than a few days since he or Itachi had a real meal.

As they came closer to the inviting building and kept walking forward, the smell of well seasoned meat had begun to fill his nostrils and make his mouth water.

"Welcome!" A tall man with tanned skin and a big belly greeted them once they stepped in. "Table for two, right?" He then asked and stepped behind the front desk. "And what is the name?"'

Sasuke took a moment to relish in the wonderful feeling of having a heavily air-conditioned room push cold air to his body; cooling the sweat forming right at his hairline and the nape of his neck. "Yes, and it'll be under Nowaki." Sasuke answered for both of them.

Nowaki was the alias that he and his brother used to check in the hotel with. It was pretty amazing actually how both of them could even use fake names and get away with it after all the shit that they've done in the past. He wondered how most people outside Konohagakure - and of course Sunagakure - failed to recognize them without their family crest.

"Oh, that's excellent. A very strong, solid name you boys got there! Follow me!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. The guy was too damn loud. People like that almost always rubbed him the wrong way even if they were 'nice'. That's one of the reasons him and Naruto bickered so much. Sakura was no exception to that little fact either. She wasn't as loud as the blonde but she ran a close second when pissed off. It didn't necessarily mean he hated them though. He would be lying right through his teeth if he ever said he did.

"Here you are, gentlemen." The hearty man said as he waited for them to take their seats at a cozy booth and set out their menus. "And these are your menus. Want anything to drink?"

"Water" Sasuke answered and then looked at Itachi who was sitting across from him with his elbows on the table.

"A water for me too, please." Itachi politely voiced. "Do you know what you want?" He asked and steadied his dark eyes on his younger brother.

Sasuke tried to relax under Itachi's penetrating gaze and let his back lean against the booth. "I'll have whatever's good."

"Alrighty then …" The man acknowledged - who once Sasuke finally bothered to take a peek at the black and white name tag, discovered his name to be Suzuki – with a scribble of his ballpoint pen on a tablet. "And you?" He asked, drawing his attention to Itachi.

"No thank you. I'm not hungry."

"Are you sure you don't want anything? We really do have some spectacular dishes today." Suzuki pressed on, pen poised and ready to jot down anything the male wanted but sighed when he was answered with a simple shake of the head. "No problem. I'll give you the same thing as your brother – I presume he is – on the house for both of ya! No excuses! You look as if you haven't had nothin' but a bite to eat in decades! It'll take a couple minutes and I'll be sure someone comes back in a jiffy with your meals. If you need anything just flag one of the waiters or waitresses down."

After he watched the kind yet oddly annoying man leave and disappear through the steadily thickening crowds in the small barbeque place, Sasuke used the time given to take in the physical condition of his brother – the earlier remark Suzuki made, sticking and weighing on his brain like cement. After all, Itachi had been eating the same amount of food as he had since the mission started so there wasn't any reason why Itachi would look too hungry; tired maybe but not unhealthy or starved. He then found himself noticing a lot of small things about his brother's appearance that he had not noticed before like the darkening circles under his dull eyes, pale complexion and all around tired disposition. Just because he noticed those things though, didn't mean that he looked half-starved. Suzuki was obviously exaggerating. Sasuke wondered if he looked as worn down as Itachi did. If he did, then the guy wasn't saying anything.

Fifteen to twenty minutes later, their food was in front of them. The steam and heavenly aroma wafted off the appealing barbequed meat dishes and right into their faces.

He's eating. Sasuke mentally observed with the slightest feeling of relief as they dug in to their meals."Why did you say you weren't hungry when that guy asked you what you wanted to eat?" He asked as he stuck some more slabs of meat on the grill with his chopsticks.

Itachi scrunched up his face and for a moment Sasuke thought it was directed at him until the older male held up his index finger, stuck his face in his crook of his elbow and let out a dry sneeze then proceeded to stick a thin slice of meat in his mouth "I didn't realize how hungry I actually was at that particular moment."

"Hn, bullshit …" Sasuke muttered quietly – which went unnoticed by the other Uchiha because of the heightened background noise – while taking his now fully cooked steak off the off the grill and set it on his plate. Sasuke sighed "I have another question then." As brothers they were supposed to care about each other right? They couldn't help but care which is why Sasuke cried so much after Itachi's 'death' and wanted to kill off every breathing thing in the Leaf Village; a small part of him still did. It's also why Itachi always tried his best to help him out, had his back and kept his patience with him. Itachi didn't kill him on the night of the massacre or during their final battle. The short haired teen frowned. He hated to admit it but Itachi did a lot. So perhaps asking the damn question was the least he could do. Besides, he really wanted to know.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Aniki" He said and tried to look as busy with his almost completely finished meal as possible.

"Yes?" Itachi asked.

"You've been acting funny ever since we left camp." Sasuke stated and didn't fail to notice the barely noticeable flicker of emotion flash across his eyes.

Itachi looked into those eyes that were nearly identical to his own. "Is that so otouto?" He asked while retrieving a few bills for the tip out of his wallet. "We should be getting back to the hotel." Itachi then said and slid out of the booth.

Sasuke growled in irritation as he stood up and walked along side his brother straight out of the restaurant. This was one of Itachi's more subtle ways of blowing someone off. "Don't change the subject." He barked and shivered at the cold gust of wind that blew against his skin.

It was already getting late and the only thing that they had managed to get done was grabbing something to eat. Honestly, Sasuke had never been on a serious undercover mission before so he really hadn't known what to expect. He immaturely thought that'd once they got here all they would have to do is go around, ask some questions, spy a bit and then be the hell out of this village within the week but the more he thought about it, the more he began to realize that missions like these were not that simple and would require both of them to actually blend in with the rest of the villagers. They would have to get some measly jobs soon too. Not only because they were running low on money – a problem that wouldn't have occurred had those guards back in the prison not stolen practically all of it – but also because then that they would have a better chance of obtaining some good information on Akatsuki that way. He remembered Tsunade-sama mentioning some time ago that there's reason to believe that Akatsuki has ties with the small time shipping companies here. And if that was the case, it'd be a hassle trying to find anything out from those companies unless they worked there. Also, he doubted that they'd quickly get any information about the village's connection with Akatsuki without coming off as oddly suspicious and having their cover blown to Madara or any of the other members if they caught word of, 'two males with black hair going around the village and asking about Akatsuki.' It wouldn't take a genius to figure out who those two males are. So yeah, maybe that's why Itachi seemed pretty relaxed about not rushing out to dig up whatever they could on their first day of being here. Maybe that was the reason behind Tsunade-sama giving them an entire month. However, because of the previous incident, a time extension may just be in order.

Sasuke released a breath and looked towards the freshly polished floor as they walked through the hotel doors and made their way to their room, watching how his stride was slightly longer than Itachi's and at that moment he realized that he, at nineteen years of age, was actually an inch or two taller than his older brother who was now twenty-six years old. Itachi hadn't changed much at all with his age, Sasuke noted as he studied the raven with his peripheral vision. In fact, he looked better. The heavy stress lines that were once prominent amongst Itachi's face were fading; fading back to how they were originally when he was younger. Even through the fatigue, his skin and hair looked healthier and his eyes appeared brighter. It never ceased to amaze Sasuke how removing just one or two major stressors could physically and mentally benefit a person.

"I'm going to take a shower." Itachi said as reached in his back pocket. Pulling out their swipe card key he unlocked the door and stepped in the room.

Sasuke shrugged and slipped off his shoes, setting them by the door. "Don't take too long." He told him and dumped the contents of his bag on the bed. He had said earlier that he needed to start taking out his things as well. "I need to get in the shower too." Sasuke tiredly ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his eyes after seeing the bathroom door close. He was exhausted. Not sleeping in a bed for two to three weeks can do that though. I wonder if I'll be able to sleep in late. The raven thought idly while refolding a pair of wrinkled khaki shorts and sitting various items on his nightstand.

It was weird. As usual, he didn't want to admit it – really, really didn't want to admit this one – but he and Itachi were starting to get along a lot better, especially since the mission. Or was it that he was starting to get along a lot better with Itachi?

Now that he thought about, he couldn't recall a single time Itachi initiated a fight of any kind with him. Sasuke clenched his jaw. That little known fact kind of made him feel like a jerk. I'm not a jerk. I'm abrasive and … aggressive. He reassured himself and tossed his emptied pack into a nearby corner with more force than necessary. There was nothing wrong with being those two things as long as he wasn't a jerk, right? Sasuke shook his head and flopped down on his stomach, enjoying the familiar comfort of hitting a soft mattress and fresh sheets instead of stone, branches and dirt.

"Itachi" Sasuke called out just loud enough for his voice to carry over into the bathroom. "Hurry up!" He shouted this time and pinched the bridge of his nose. He planned on at least brushing his teeth before he could get too tired.

Just then, Itachi appeared in the bathroom doorway and strode out with one towel wrapped firmly around his slim waist and another tossed half-hazardly over his head. "I left some hot water."

Sasuke mentally grimaced at the raised reddish-purple scars that donned his brother's back and reached to the left side of his ribcage. The scars were healing at their own rates; some much faster than the others and a lot much slower. Particularly, it was the bigger and deeper lacerations that seemed to keep reopening, and excreting pus but nevertheless they were healing. Suddenly he found himself wondering what being in Itachi's shoes at that particular moment – in the exact moment that it happened – would feel like. Would he have been able to handle that kind of thing? How badly had the pain been? Did it still hurt? Would he have come out strong in the end too? Now that he had actually begun to think about it, it seemed impossible. It seemed like just 'getting back to business' after such a horrendous ordeal would be a near impossible feat to accomplish but Itachi didn't say anything about not being okay. Itachi said … Sasuke paused. Itachi didn't say anything. Itachi never talked about it and Sasuke really wasn't sure if bringing it up would answer his questions.

It seemed like he was the only one who had all the questions and none of the answers for anything. All the answers that he thought he had to situations had been so wrong in the past. He couldn't even really be sure of himself anymore. But it would be okay, right? If he asked his brother whom he'd started rekindling a bond with only four years ago, if he was alright? When he was still an academy student, Iruka-sensei had once told the class that asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers. When he was younger he didn't know what the hell that meant and for the most part didn't really give a rat's ass. But now there was, seven years later and for the first time he began to understand what Iruka-sensei was trying to say. Asking the right questions to someone who may have a problem was increasingly harder than throwing around a couple right answers to someone asking for advice.

Sasuke sighed as he stepped in the bathroom, closed the door behind him and peeled off his clothes then proceeded to turn on the water. Immediately upon stepping under the showerhead, he began to feel once all too tight muscles relax and the achiness in his legs, arms, back neck and seemingly everywhere else started to ebb away as the almost searing hot water pelted at his taut skin. The air was still moist from its usage prior making him feel hotter than he should have been feeling at that moment. Turning the cold water up just enough for him to be able to put his head fully under without burning his scalp, he started the process of washing his hair. He hadn't thought to bring shampoo and conditioner along with them on their mission like Itachi had so he ended up using his older brother's instead. It smelled good at least; smelled warm like peppermint oil, ginseng and rosemary mixed together which surprisingly enough to Sasuke wasn't very feminine all. After shampooing, he applied the conditioner to his flattened hair and began to wash his body, watching with minor irritation as the lathered soap cleaned and rinsed away whatever little bit was left of the dry blood caked on his thigh, arm, chest and shoulder.

He hadn't been injured nearly as bad as Itachi had so his wounds healed rather quickly with antiseptic, a few stitches and not even a complete roll of bandage tape. His dislocated shoulder was able to be reset and although he couldn't use it to its fullest capabilities, it too was well on its way to being completely healed up mainly because Itachi had assisted him in rotating and moving the joint around for ten to fifteen minutes a day as a kind of amateur therapy so it never stiffened and the muscles surrounding the area had begun to strengthen again.

Once completely rinsed off, Sasuke turned off the showerhead and stepped out the shower, tied a towel around his waist and went on to brush his teeth and wash his face before leaving the now unbearably humid bathroom. Tiny beads of water ran down the white walls and some of it was beginning to form on the ceiling so when he finally opened the door and stepped out, he couldn't help but pant as a huge wall of cold air hit him square in the face.

Upon collecting himself, Sasuke frowned when he noticed Itachi was already in the bed asleep. Sure it was dark out, but it was still only eight o' clock. Maybe Itachi had been just as tired as he was after all. There wasn't anything wrong with it though since this was the day they were supposed to take to relax and recuperate before continuing after further with their mission.

Quickly, he dried himself off and no more than a few minutes later he was in fresh boxers and a clean shirt that by the way, had never felt so much like heaven after days of bathing in random waterways – not all of which were clean ones – and having to double the time they would normally spend wearing the same articles of clothing, boxers included. Sasuke was in the midst of drying off his thick locks of hair but froze in his tracks when he heard something that sounded close to a whimper come from across the room.

"Oh God …"

Sasuke dropped his towel on the carpet and stared at the figure lying stilly under a mass of comforter. Was Itachi talking in his sleep or was he just hearing things?

"Don't … Don't let them know."

"Itachi" The jonin said unsurely and walked forward until his knees bumped against the mattress. He did the exact same thing when he went to check in on Itachi after the older male attempted to take away his own life. No one would ever get him to label his brother's past actions as suicide. Not ever.

"Don't show them." Itachi mumbled in his sleep. "… out …"

"Itachi" He called out again, louder this time and reached a hand out to touch his arm but swiftly drew away, startled when Itachi suddenly gritted his teeth; his black bangs sticking to his clammy skin.

"Wake up." The raven begged and grabbed the sleeping male's firm shoulders. "Itachi!" He tried again for the thousandth time albeit a bit louder than before.

Itachi struggled against Sasuke's strong grip, eyes still wrenched tightly together. "Hurts" He uttered between heavy gasps. "It hurts."

"What are you talking about? What hurts?" Sasuke let go momentarily to turn on the light near Itachi's bed. "Just wake the hell up already." He demanded and restrained a startled jump when the long haired male suddenly bolted upright covered in a thin sheen of sweat with wide onyx orbs.

Itachi breathed heavily as he looked around and laid a bewildered set of eyes on Sasuke and reverted his gaze to the blanket covering his legs.

"What were you dreaming about?"

"Past occurrences."

Sasuke stared at Itachi's hung head, tightly clenched fists and stiff shoulders. He knew what the occurrence was. He didn't need Itachi to tell him which was probably a good thing because it at the moment it seemed as if his brother was not intending to go any further than that. "It's in our regulations that a ninja must not ever shed a tear. However," The raven took a breath as he forced himself to finish what he started. "If I can cry in front of you and my friends … then … then you can cry in front of me at least if no one else." Sasuke sighed. "Like you did the night of the massacre. I think it's impossible for someone to live out their whole life and never cry. That's why I can't even count on my fingers how many ninja I've seen do it. Besides," Sasuke said and against his pride, put a comforting – or as comforting as he could manage – hand on the slouched shoulder of his brother. "…it's only us here."

Itachi broke into a small, bitter smile. "Perhaps" He answered. "Maybe next time, Sasuke."

TBC

Ah yeah, you're probably wanting to know what happens afterwards. Well … I just decided to leave it up everyone's imagination. It'll be like some big aggravating mystery lol.

A/N: Wow, 25 chapters and counting?! How amazing! I never thought it would be this long, jeez. Oh, and see? I told you all that I'd make up for the long time without an update. The next chapter is going to be pretty damn amazing. I got all kinds of inspiration and ideas for that one.