My Brother's Keeper
KibaSin
Summary: Itachi's shadow had haunted him ever since his betrayal. At the very end of it all, though, Sasuke knew that it had really been Kagome who had been hurt the most… because they both had. [Itachi x Kagome] [Kagome x Sasuke]
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Inuyasha or Naruto. All characters depicted belong to their respective owners.
Genre: Angst/Drama
Rating: M
Note that I've adjusted the ages of the Uchiha boys for this particular piece of work due to the nature of it, so they'll be listed at the start of each of the three chapters.
Current Ages:
Kagome - 16 Itachi - 15 Sasuke - 9
"Sasuke… I…"
The quiet, desperate plea of her voice finally drew his dead eyed stare, though the young, traumatized nine year old did little more than look through her as if she were not there. He just wanted her to go away, to leave him alone in his sorrow. He could not understand why she even cared so much, why she had insisted on staying with him until he woke up, when it was… when she only ever…
"I…" Her dark colored eyes would have looked so much like home if only they were not so blue, and he found his vision focusing upon that tiny detail when the first line of moisture streaked down her alabaster cheek.
Stop crying around me. What kind of shinobi are you? He wanted to yell suddenly, scream at the top of his lungs, as his fist tightened within the sheets tucked around him in his hospital bed. You have no right. What were you except…!
Except...
She looked so much like an Uchiha that it hurt.
Turning his head back the other way, he physically bit his lip at the sudden rage that bubbled up with the rapidly changing thoughts. That haunting Mangekyou Sharingan stare mocked him even with his eyes wide open, and he tasted iron in his mouth. He quickly swallowed down the hatred, the resentment and the blood, however, knowing that it was not entirely her fault that she reminded him too much of…
...of the clan he now knew was gone.
And his… his…
"Just go away," he whispered harshly. "I don't want you here."
"I know," she sniffled, "but…"
"Leave," he cut her off, his voice a little louder. Why did she not understand that he just wanted to be left alone? So what if she…? If she… He swallowed again, shuttering his eyes as he felt the numbness begin to ebb, and knowing that it would not be long before she turned him into a whimpering, trembling mess all over again with her damned empathy.
Why could she not see that he had to be strong, damn it?!
He had to… to…
She sucked in a gasping breath, and he almost wanted to hate her for it when it pulled his attention back in her direction. Her hand over her mouth, she slowly wrapped her other securely around her stomach as she bent in the middle and allowed a new onslaught of tears to fall upon the floor. "I'm… I'm…" her breath became uneven, "Sasuke…"
The rage bubbled back up, as he spat, "Don't tell me you're sorry! You weren't…! You hadn't been…!"
"No." Her voice was so small it sounded broken. "That's not..."
"Then what?" He felt like the walls were caving in around them, and he just wanted to go back to that numb, empty feeling she had pulled him out of for no goddamn reason. His throat was on fire within seconds, as if he had stumbled through his clan's fire technique and choked on it when he snarled at the older girl. "What is it you want, Kagome? Why won't you just leave me alone?"
The dark haired Higurashi shook her head, finally meeting his furrowed, scrunched up expression as she whispered, "...I'm pregnant."
The fire was gone in an instant. The young shinobi in training felt his eyes begin to tremble at the admission, and he almost could not bring himself to breathe in that moment. He felt his mouth fall open, certain that he had heard her wrong, as he silently watched her fall apart all over again in front of him. "...what?"
"I don't know what to do, Sasuke," she cried. "What am I supposed to do without…?" She shuddered all over, all too aware of the consequences of her actions, as she curled herself into a tighter ball within the chair beside his bed by drawing her feet up onto the seat. "I can't… it's my child, too..."
Oh god…
Sasuke sucked in a gasp, unable to look away from her even when chaotic, splintered images of blood and torment began to flash behind his eyes at the thought that his… that… that he might come back to kill his own child if he knew. That that monster might kill her, too, and take away the only thing he had left that reminded him of when… of when…
How had this happened…?
They were not supposed to have any children… not until after…
How was he supposed to… to protect her and his br… that...?
He felt himself spiraling, his body beginning to shake, as he heard the distant echo of a familiar voice telling him to cling to his miserable life because he was not worth killing. He felt like he was drowning within that endless nightmare of a genjutsu all over again, and it only got worse when he heard her finally break the silence between them with that wretched, horrible question he had been asking himself ever since he had screamed it at… at…
"Why…?"
...his own brother.
"...Itachi?"
And then the dam broke, as the first quiet, echoing set of sobs forced itself out from between his clenched teeth.
His fingers clenched around the handle to the hospital room, the young Uchiha scowled at the faint voices beyond the barrier separating him from the older girl and her newborn child. The nearly inaudible, hiccuping gasps that echoed into the hallway a moment later made him grit his teeth in frustration. There was little he could do for her given the circumstances, and he was well aware that this was an argument she had been having with her mother ever since her budding pregnancy became too obvious to conceal any longer.
"That thing is a traitor's child, Kagome dear." Her mother's voice rose a little, the words carrying through the door and clearly upset at her own daughter's need for rebellion in this instant. "I have already found you a new husband, a respectable one, but you cannot, you will not, take that child into your marriage once you turn eighteen. Why do you not understand? Why are you fighting me on this? Why do you believe you can keep that child?"
Sasuke felt his hand begin to shake, his eyes narrowing into a familiar, hateful glare that he had pinned on the Higurashi clan matriarch countless times before over the last few months. It was Kagome's child, and the legacy of the Uchiha clan. It was not… not… that monster. Even if its father was… even if... Kagome was still the child's mother, and she should have some damned respect given to her for wanting to continue the nearly extinct clan.
Kagome's voice was harsh and heavy, rising in challenge toward her mother once the stage had been set for such confrontation. She swallowed all those hiccuping gasps with ease, and spoke in a clear, steady tone that marked her as Sasuke's own mother's disciple throughout her youth. "Then I won't marry," she hissed, "because he's my child, regardless of what you have to say. I won't let you take him from me."
"Do you know what you're saying?" Her mother was nearly yelling now, and Sasuke found himself slowly sneering at the words that reached him. "I know that you loved Itachi, dear, I know you did. But that doesn't change what he did to this village, what he did to you. The elders will never acknowledge that child. They will never allow you to keep the Higurashi name if you insist upon this." She was becoming desperate, it seemed, as her voice began to fall apart. "Is that what you want? To be disowned?"
There was no hesitation, though.
No longing for the clan that would not accept her child.
"Then disown me and get out."
She spat in the face of the tradition she had been raised to adhere to all her life with that simple statement, and Sasuke found himself holding his breath with the knowledge that the older girl had chosen the Uchiha over her own family. That she had chosen her child, that she would always choose her child, and by extension… that meant she would always choose him, too. She would always be there for them, because at her core she had been raised to one day become the next Uchiha matriarch.
And with no Uchiha left… Sasuke knew she may as well have been anyway.
The thought alone made his hand quiver anew, his face flush, as the nine year old bit his lip at the possessive spark that flared within his chest. Even if she was not born Uchiha, the older Higurashi girl was all the family he had left, and Sasuke knew that he would never give her back if her clan truly disowned her and her child.
She belonged with the Uchiha… with him.
"Kagome!"
"Didn't you hear me?" There were no tears now, as Kagome's voice gained more of an edge. "I said, get out."
"Kagome, you can't…! You need to let Itachi go, for your own sake!"
"Get out!"
Her mother released a frightened, breathless sound then, as the faint whistle of a senbon cut through the air and abruptly ended when it hit the wooden hospital door. The young Uchiha tore his hand away in surprise, his eyes wide when the door frame shook with the weight of Kagome's mother falling against it out of fear. She sounded near tears on the other side, as she asked, "...why, Kagome?"
"I don't answer to you." Kagome's voice was cold, and for a moment it reminded him of when his father and his… his… when all the suspicion surrounding Uchiha Shisui's death had fallen upon their home. "Or did you forget all of a sudden? You're disowning me, remember? I'm no longer Higurashi." There was a long, drawn out pause, as if she was allowing the words to sink in and take root. Then her voice bit through the silence, sounding as harsh and as deadly as the weapon she had thrown a moment before. "Now get out. I don't want to see you around me or my son."
The Higurashi matriarch sobbed in response, throwing the hospital door open and pausing when she noticed him standing on the other side.
Sasuke scowled, narrowing his eyes.
Her head raised with dignity, she managed to give a small, tense nod in his direction, as she quickly swallowed all the wayward tears that she had started to shed. Quietly, she said, "Uchiha-san."
"Tch," the dark haired Uchiha responded.
Her lip twisting at the blatant disrespect, it was obvious that it took almost everything she had not to reprimand the young boy that looked so much like the monster that had stolen her daughter from her. The one last remaining link to the clan Kagome had ultimately chosen over her own, and all for a traitor's bastard child. Her hand shook at her side when she stepped away from the doorway, only looking back at him for a moment to say, "My congratulations on your new nephew, Uchiha-san."
Sasuke would have gladly continued to glare at her all the way down the long stretch of hallway had it not been for the soft call of his name from within the room. He immediately slanted his onyx colored eyes back toward the doorway and beyond, watching as the older girl smiled slightly at his narrowed gaze and matching scowl. She made a clear motion for him to come sit with her, and he sighed a little, his expression melting away, as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him to do just that.
"I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to be able to find you and tell you the news," she teased him, adjusting the tiny bundle she had picked up from the bedside bassinet into the crook of her arm. Her smile only became brighter when he paused at the end of the hospital bed, clearly unsure, as she asked, "Were you dragging your feet all the way here, Sasuke?"
Huffing, the young Uchiha looked away from her and said, "No."
"Well, I promise he won't bite if you're scared," she whispered lightheartedly, "and I won't tell anyone if you are."
Looking at her from the corner of his eye, Sasuke frowned at the lines of fatigue beneath her eyes that smiled back at him with her attempt to make him comfortable. He clenched his fist, knowing that those lines were more than just the time she had spent in the hospital bringing her newborn child into the world and her mother's unwanted visit.
They were probably questioning her again about… about… the massacre, and he had little doubt that they had not wasted any time once they learned she had finally given birth. Without the concern of her having a miscarriage, the whole hospital had probably been swarming with ANBU Black Ops within hours. The Hokage. The elder council. He would not have been surprised if he would have been barred from seeing her that very morning if he had arrived earlier, considering they were all probably crowded around her bedside then and demanding to know if she had any more information pertaining to her… her… to that monster's madness.
Shifting his gaze back to the floor, the young Uchiha found himself scowling again the longer he looked at her. Those lines on her face reminded him so much of… of…
"Sasuke?"
"It's nothing," he told her. "Don't worry about it."
Her brows creased a bit along the edge, obviously not believing him entirely, and it made those soft lines beneath her dark blue gaze that much more prominent in her features. Pulling a little at the blanket swaddled around her son to loosen it more, she moved him into a more comfortable position so that the other Uchiha might be able to see him a bit better with the distance he seemed determined to maintain. Softly, clearly concerned still, she asked, "Do you want to see him?"
"What's his name?" Sasuke swallowed, feeling like his throat was in his stomach all of a sudden when he spotted the dark locks peeking out from the blue blanket. The lack of his mother's natural blue highlights made Sasuke scrunch up his nose, immediately concerned if his new nephew was a spitting image of… of…
His heart picking up, he suddenly wondered if he could handle it if the child looked like… like Itachi.
He was supposed to hate him, he did, so how…
...how could he deal with seeing him everyday in someone else's face?
Beginning to smile in that fond, motherly way, Kagome looked down at her son as she whispered, "His name is Kosuke." She tenderly ran her fingers across his chubby cheek, giving a little snort of a laugh when the baby grumbled in response and blinked angrily up at her after a moment in a way that made her turn her smile upon his equally as scowly uncle. "He reminds me of you, so I thought it was appropriate."
Feeling like she had physically knocked the wind out of him, Sasuke muttered, "K-Ko… suke?" and wondered if she was trying to make some kind of joke.
Was she really planning to name her child… rising sun?
"Mmhm," she nodded. Her dark colored eyes softened around the edges, noticing the way he was beginning to edge around the side of the hospital bed and move closer to them now that his curiosity had peaked. Putting out her free hand for him to take, she squeezed his fingers lightly once he took the offering and smiled a little brighter. "He's the new dawn of the Uchiha clan, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure he brings honor to that name even if he can't officially use it. Do you like it, Sasuke?"
Sasuke could only nod in response, feeling himself beginning to flush the longer she held him captive within those glittering blue orbs. They were the only feature that would have truly marked her as an outsider within the Uchiha clan, that did not feel like home every time he looked at her, and yet… in that moment, he desperately wanted Kosuke to have them too.
Her gaze flickered, obviously trying to encourage him.
Hesitantly, trying to prepare himself, the young Uchiha allowed his gaze to finally shift toward the grumbling, half-asleep child beginning to fuss. His mouth set into a firm line instantly upon spotting the dark onyx colored eyes blinking up at him, and he could not help but feel cheated by the Uchiha coloration he had been so proud to share with his clansmen throughout his youth. The look slowly began to melt away the longer he looked down upon the newest Uchiha, though, because despite the obvious features that had come from… from… him… Kosuke looked just like Kagome. Perhaps even a little bit like her own brother, Higurashi Souta, and the rest of her clansmen.
It was obvious he was her son.
Not… not…
Squeezing her hand back, Sasuke finally admitted in a small voice, "I like it," as he shut his eyes and held in a sniffle that threatened to overwhelm him when he thought about what she had said.
A new dawn for the near extinct clan…
Uchiha Kosuke.
...his brother's son.
Note: Now I'm going to admit that I worked on 90% of chapter three and have only done about 45% of chapter two so far, but we'll get there! No worries. lol -Kiba
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