AN: Hello friends! Long time no see :)) I can't it's been about 2 years since I've touched this story? I should probably tell you guys that I probably won't be able to update very often (as you can see) but now that I have rediscovered this, I might decide to update more in the near future! Anyways.. here I am with a new chapter, however this one is different. This chapter has a bit of crack in it. I guess I'm just trying something new but I should probably put one of these on this chapter:
SLIGHT CRACK AND OOC WARNING
And some of these:
DRUNK CHARACTER WARNING
EXPLICIT LANGUAGE WARNING
I have no idea why I decided to do this, but it just popped in my mind. So if this isn't something you think you would like or be interested in, feel free to skip this chapter! But all in all, I hope you enjoy!
Itachi: age 21
Sasuke: age 16
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
"How many times have I told you to never act rashly on your own?" Fugaku's irritated voice echoed through the house. "You made not only yourself, but everyone else on your team look like fools because of that decision you made. Itachi would have never made that sort of mistake during a mission."
There it was. The inevitable comparison to his brother.
You would think Sasuke had gotten used to the comparisons by now, considering how he's been compared to Itachi his whole life, but he still feels the same heartbreak everytime he hears them.
And luckily for him, comparisons to Itachi are his father's favourite weapon to use whenever he lectures him.
Sasuke could slowly feel his mood deteriorate as he continued listening to his father talk, resisting the overwhelming urge to roll his eyes to the back of his head.
There goes his mood for tonight.
"I have to cut this short since your mother and I have to be somewhere tonight." Fugaku suddenly said as he stood up. "But don't forget what I've told you. We'll talk more about this later."
And with that, Fugaku left the room leaving Sasuke still kneeling on the floor.
The young Uchiha let an irritated sigh escape his lips as he stood up. It seemed like no matter what he does, he will never be as good as his brother. He was just always so much farther ahead. And because of that, his father barely spared him a glance.
But even though, Sasuke could never bring himself to hate Itachi. He may be jealous, yes, but never hateful.
Itachi is so good to him all the time, it wouldn't be fair to return his kindness with hate.
He'll just have to work harder so that one day he'll be strong enough to surpass his older brother and force his father to acknowledge him.
Sasuke stepped out into the hallway and looked up at the sunset. He felt the sudden urge to go and train so he could get rid of his bad mood, but he had another mission later tonight that he had to get ready for.
Instead, he decided to seek out his brother and bug him before having to prepare. Maybe talking to Itachi for a bit will improve his depressed mood their father had caused.
The teen Uchiha headed to his brother's room, only to see Itachi come walking down the hall.
"Hi otouto." Itachi said as he put a quick hand on Sasuke's head before passing him.
Sasuke followed him to the front door. "Are you going somewhere?"
The older Uchiha began putting on his shoes, not bothering to look back at his brother. "Yeah, Shisui wanted to train for a little bit. I would ask you to come, but you have a mission, correct?"
The younger Uchiha nodded as he voiced a short "Yeah."
"Did you need anything?" Itachi asked.
"I uh-" Sasuke was about to say what was on his mind, but decided against it. His brother seemed like he was in a hurry anyway. "No, just bored."
"Okay then, I'll see you when you get back. Be careful." Itachi finally turned around and gave Sasuke a small wave. "Do your best."
The prodigy walked out the door before Sasuke got the chance to say goodbye, leaving him standing there.
The young Uchiha soon felt annoyance explode in his chest. However, most of it wasn't towards Itachi.
Most of it was towards his stupid cousin.
Of course he had to take Itachi when he needed him. That damn jerk, he always does that.
Sasuke couldn't help but let out an incredulous sigh before walking to his room to prepare for his mission.
So much for improving his mood…
Sasuke had just finished preparing his things for the mission and was making sure he had everything he needed.
His parents had left a while ago, leaving him home alone. Even though he was alone, his irritated mood hadn't gotten any better.
He can only hope that the rush of this mission will let him forget today's events. It made Sasuke feel somewhat better knowing that this was going to be a solo mission, meaning that he wouldn't have to deal with anyone bothering him or getting in his way.
The mission was simple. He was ordered to infiltrate a building near the village and retrieve something that had been stolen. However, the building was heavily guarded with experienced bandits, so Sasuke would have to be extra cautious if he wanted to go in undetected.
The young Uchiha was just about ready when he heard tapping on his window.
He looked over and saw a scroll outside, most likely a message from the Hokage.
Walked to his window and grabbed the scroll, opening it as he began reading.
It took a moment before Sasuke closed the scroll and violently threw it to the ground causing a loud thump to echo through the empty house. He was lucky no one was home or he probably would've been yelled at again.
A rush of negative emotions flocked his brain as anger coursed through his veins. He couldn't believe this.
The scroll had contained a message from the Hokage saying that they decided on a better suitor to go on his mission. However, that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was that they decided to give Naruto the mission instead of him.
That idiot could barely count up to three, how the hell was he a "better suitor"?
Livid, Sasuke stormed out of his room and followed his feet to wherever they would take him. He soon found himself in the kitchen and dropped onto the floor where the kitchen table was.
He rested his elbows on top of the table and laced his fingers together on his forehead as he tried to compose himself. But the more he tried to calm down, the more fiercer his anger grew.
Why did they have to replace him? Was he not good enough? Was he so weak that he had to be replaced by a numbskull?
Sasuke gritted his teeth as he slammed his fist on the table.
His mind raced and he couldn't think straight as rage clouded his judgement. He hated feeling like this, feeling worthless and giving in to his temper.
Sasuke knew he needed to calm down, especially before anyone got home.
He looked around the kitchen and spotted a bottle of sake his father probably left out, but quickly dismissed it. His whole family would kill him if they found him drinking, considering the fact that he's way below drinking age and the youngest in the family.
He tried thinking of other ways he could calm down and forget, but nothing good came to him. All his ideas would probably lead him to end up fighting someone or very nearly getting in a fight.
His gaze then slowly went back to the bottle of sake.
Sasuke knew this was stupid, but he couldn't think of anything else. If his family came back to his tantrum, he would never hear the end of it, especially from his father.
In a blind rage, the young Uchiha reached for the bottle without hesitation and poured some sake in a cup.
A couple shots wouldn't hurt, right?
It wasn't too late in the evening when Itachi had returned. He knew his family wouldn't be home so he expected to be alone for most of the night.
He had even invited Shisui over to keep him company while he waited for everyone to return. The body flicker had to do a quick last minute errand before coming, but Itachi expected him to arrive any minute.
The prodigy proceeded to take off his shoes before his sharp senses heard footsteps coming from upstairs. Was someone home?
"'eeeyy nii-san!" Sasuke called out as he clumsily made his way down the stairs.
Itachi was surprised to see Sasuke still home. Wasn't he supposed to be on a mission?
He was about to voice his question before he saw his brother beginning to fall forward. The prodigy was sure his little brother would've broken something if he hadn't lunged forward and caught him as quickly as he did.
"Wooow, that was so fast. You're like a ninja or somethin'." Sasuke mumbled incredulously, completely in awe. His whole body was leaned up against his brother as his head dangled from his shoulder.
Itachi's eyes widened as he froze. Was it him, or did his baby brother reek of alcohol?
To answer his question, the prodigy leaned in close to his brother's face and almost had some sort of a heart attack when the scent of alcohol attacked his senses.
He pulled back and frantically studied his brother's face with wide eyes. And sure enough, Sasuke's face was completely flushed and a dazed look took over all his features.
The young Uchiha put both his hands on Itachi's face and grinned. "And you're strong too! Look at you, you could prob'ly kill a cow with one punch!."
The older Uchiha was horrified as he couldn't stop staring at his brother.
"Otouto," Itachi said slowly. "Are you drunk?"
Sasuke's expression changed as if his older brother had asked the dumbest thing in this entire world. "No," Sasuke replied bluntly. "I'm Sasuke."
Itachi's blood turned to ice when reality finally hit him.
His little brother, his tiny baby brother, was drunk.
How could this happen? He knew fully well that Sasuke could be dense at times, but Itachi would never in a million years think his brother would do something this stupid.
"Yo."
Both brothers turned their attention towards the front door where Shisui stood, having just entered the house. His gaze darted between the two younger boys as he tried to understand what was happening.
"Heeyyy, it's a uhmm…?" Sasuke blurted out as his face went into a thinking expression, trying hard to remember Shisui's name.
"Shisui?" the body flicker offered. "Come on punk. I know you're probably annoyed that I took your brother again today, but you don't have to pretend like you forgot my name."
"Shisui?" Sasuke shook his head, the same thinking expression never leaving his face. "Nahh, that's not it…"
The body flicker raised an eyebrow. "Did I miss something?" Shisui asked as he looked over at Itachi in confusion. "I thought he had a mission?"
And as if he suddenly remembered, Sasuke pulled himself out of his brother's grip and carelessly clambered to his feet. "Whaoh yeah. It was nice seeing you guys, but I gotta go." Sasuke turned his attention to his brother and gave him a dazed grin. "Thanks for not lettin' me die."
The young Uchiha managed to take a single step before Itachi caught him by the collar of his shirt, causing a choking sound to erupt from him.
"You're not going anywhere." Itachi said firmly.
Shisui was beyond confused. "What's wrong with him? Why is he acting drunk?"
The body flicker had obviously meant it as a joke, but when he looked over at Itachi and saw the stressed look on his face, everything clicked.
Shisui's eyes went wide as a sound of disbelief left his lips. "Holy crap. This loser is actually drunk." He couldn't help but snicker.
Itachi gave his friend a grim look as he wrapped both his arms around Sasuke's torso since the teen kept attempting to walk towards the front door.
"This is serious Shisui." The prodigy said. "If our parents find out about this, who knows what they'll do to him."
"Okay, okay." Shisui replied as he wiped the small grin off his face. "How did this even happen?"
Itachi let out a stressed sigh. "I have no idea. I just found him like this."
"Nii-san, let me go!" Sasuke whined as he kept charging forward. However, Itachi's position remained unmoved.
Having enough of his brother's fussiness, the prodigy turned Sasuke around and bent down, easily draping the teen over his shoulder.
"Oh my god." The young Uchiha cried out as Itachi began making his way through the house, Shisui following closely behind. "I can flyyy!"
The prodigy then gently placed Sasuke down in the living room and promptly sighed when he saw the state his little brother was in.
Shisui put a hand on Itachi's shoulder. "Don't worry about it too much Itachi. People get drunk all the time."
The prodigy gave his cousin a look. "He's sixteen Shisui. He shouldn't be drinking sake." He replied, concern evident in his voice. "His body is still developing so alcohol is basically poison to him. What if he gets sick?"
Both of them looked down at the teen sprawled out on the ground.
"Tea should help." Shisui suggested. "Especially since his body isn't used to the alcohol. He's probably going to be throwing up all night."
Itachi sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think we ran out today." He said, instantly regretting that cup of tea he had that morning. "I"ll go get some. You can stay here and watch Sasuke."
Shisui turned his head so fast that Itachi swore he had gotten whiplashed. "Woah, woah, wait. You want me to stay here with Sasuke? Alone?" He gasped out. "Do you hate me?"
The prodigy gave the body flicker a look that left no room for compromises. "I won't be long." He replied. "But I trust you'll make sure that he doesn't break the house, or himself."
The two older Uchihas looked down at Sasuke once again, who had managed to sit up and promptly fell back on the ground, losing all sense of steadiness.
Shisui ran a hand through his curly hair and sighed. "Fine. I'll watch the little brat."
And with that, Itachi began to take his leave.
"Don't be too long!" the body flicker called after him.
When he heard the front door close, he turned his attention to Sasuke.
Only to see him gone.
"Shoot." Shisui muttered.
He bursted out of the living room and began frantically looking for his pain in the ass little cousin.
"Sasuke!" He called out. "Where are you, you stupid punk!"
Shisui was about to check upstairs before he heard running water coming from the kitchen.
He ran into the kitchen and found where Sasuke had run off to.
Along with four large pots of boiling water.
"What the hell are you doing?" Shisui asked, his eyes wide with confusion.
Sasuke lazily glanced at his cousin, his pink face awfully noticeable. "It's annoying havin' t' boil water every time I cook food, so I'm just goin' to boil it all together and freeze it."
Shisui almost face palmed as he was sure he had just lost some brain cells listening to that sentence.
This was going to be a long night.
"Sasuke, come back here you little shit!"
Shisui was chasing after the drunk teen who donned nothing but boxers. The young Uchiha had earlier complained of being too hot and had begun stripping. And Shisui, being the caring older cousin he was, had firmly told him to keep his clothes on so he wouldn't catch a cold. Thus resulting in the younger throwing off his shirt and chucking it at his cousin's head, successfully irking the elder.
However, the body flicker had pushed down his bubbling annoyance and calmly asked Sasuke to put his shirt back on. Shisui had thought that him asking nicely would result with a positive response. But instead, he promptly got hit in the face with Sasuke's shorts.
This, with no doubt, had riled up the body flicker and led to the situation at hand.
"When I catch you, you better pray on your drunk ass that Itachi is back 'cause I'm gonna kill you!" Shisui called out as his grip around Sasuke's clothes tightened.
He couldn't believe it's only been five minutes since Itachi had left.
Shisui maneuvered his way around the house as he tried to catch the younger Uchiha. For someone who was drunk, Sasuke had amazing coordination.
"Itachi! Aniki!" Sasuke called out as he continued running, stumbling and bumping into stuff more times than he would like. "This idiot is trying to kill me!"
Shisui gritted his teeth as he quickly picked up a table that was knocked over by the drunk teen.
"Who the hell are you even talking to?" He asked incredulously. "Itachi isn't home."
As if the information was new news to him, Sasuke briefly turned his head to Shisui in confusion. However, the small movement had disoriented him and caused him to smack right into the wall before he could ask any questions.
Shisui clicked his tongue in disapproval and watched as the teen fell to the ground, cries of pain escaping his lips.
The body flicker rushed over to his cousin. "That's what you get for trying run when your drunk, you stupid brat. Did you hurt yourself?"
Shisui reached out to take a better look at the teen, only to have him struggle in return.
"Where's Itachi?" Sasuke demanded as he slapped the elder's hands away.
The older Uchiha pursed his lips in annoyance and rolled his eyes.
"You're kidding me, right?" Shisui asked sharply as he was completely done with the situation. "He's out buying tea."
Sasuke glared at the body flicker from the ground.
"You're a big fat liar." He replied with a sneer as he used his foot to give Shisui a shove.
Shisui felt one of his veins pop out of his forehead, but quickly took a deep breath to try and compose himself so he wouldn't do anything he would regret.
"Listen punk," He said slowly. "Stop being a pain in the ass, and put your damn clothes back on. That's all I'm asking."
Sasuke glared at him defiantly.
"Make me, old man."
Shisui gritted his teeth. "You know what-!"
Having had enough of this, Shisui grabbed on to the teen as he put him in a grappling hold and began trying to forcibly pull Sasuke's shirt over his head.
Both of them began struggling, and it wasn't until Shisui managed to pull one of Sasuke's arms through his shirt when the younger suddenly stopped as his face grew grim.
The body flicker immediately noticed and stopped what he was doing.
"Oi what's wrong?" He asked, concern in his voice. "What's with your face?"
As much as the brat deserved it, the older Uchiha was worried that he might have accidentally hurt the younger since they were struggling against each other.
He checked his grip thinking that he might've been holding on too tight, but it was so light that Shisui was certain Sasuke would have been able to easily escape it if he wasn't drunk.
"I don't feel good." The teen muttered as his breathing became shallow.
Shisui's eyes grew wide as he quickly untangled the shirt from Sasuke's limbs and tossed it aside.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no. Hold it in, hold it in, hold it in!" Shisui panicked as he began undoing himself from the grip he had on his cousin. "I swear if you puke on me, I'll beat you up so hard!"
The body flicker quickly stood up and was about to pick up the younger, but felt himself being kicked away.
The older Uchiha's gaze quickly moved to his cousin's face and saw nothing but a shiteating grin.
Sasuke stuck his tongue out childishly. "Idiot! You're dumber than I thought!"
A shadow loomed over Shisui's face as a dark aura suddenly surrounded him.
It took a moment for Sasuke's impaired senses to realize his mistake, but when he did, it was too late to make a run for it.
He promptly felt his body folding in on itself as Shisui put him in another grappling position and vaguely noticed that it wasn't natural for his body to twist like that.
The young Uchiha also heard words coming out of the body flicker's mouth in an angry pattern, but his muddled brain didn't bother processing them. He just continued to struggle against his cousin, screaming things at him every now and then.
Honestly, everything seemed like a blur to him.
"What's going on in here?"
Both Sasuke and Shisui stopped to look up and saw Itachi standing by the doorway to the living room with a plastic bag in his hand.
Shisui scowled. "Your brother is a pig."
The young Uchiha jerked his body in response, trying to get out of his grasp. "If I'm a pig, then you're a cow."
The body flicker gritted his teeth.
"Watch it punk, don't forget I'm older than you." He said as he tightened his grip. "Show some respect."
Sasuke winced as a glare appeared on his face. "Just wait till I'm older."
Both the older boys stared at the teen incredulously for a second as they tried to process the senseless comment.
"Okay, that's enough." Itachi interrupted as he put down the bag and walked farther in the room. "Shisui get off of him."
The body flicker released the younger and childishly stuck his tongue out at him as the teen returned the gesture.
The prodigy took in the image of his brother and couldn't help but sigh. "Shisui, why is my brother basically naked?"
Shisui sighed inwardly as he ran a hand through his hair. "Don't even get me started on that." He replied. "Seriously Itachi, how do you even put up with him?"
Itachi crouched down beside his brother as he helped him sit up. "For starters, he usually isn't drunk."
The body flicker let something between a laugh and a sigh escape his lips.
"When this loser becomes sober again, I'm gonna give him a really good punch in the face."
Both the older Uchihas stared at the younger who seemed to be in his own world, thinking of who knows what. His eyes glazed over as he stared into nothingness.
"I have no idea why he would do this and that's what's bothering me." Itachi said as he looked up at Shisui.
The body flicker simply shrugged. "You've got me." He replied. "I'd love to stick around and help out Itachi, but I have a mission tomorrow morning that I have to prepare for. I'll come back tomorrow to check in though."
The prodigy nodded and was about to send him off before he got interrupted.
"Holy crap." Sasuke suddenly said, catching the attention of both older boys. "There are no red foods."
Shisui left after briefly filling Itachi in on what had happened when he was gone.
The two brothers were now in the kitchen as the elder tried to get Sasuke to drink the tea he had made for him.
"Drink the tea otouto." Itachi coaxed as he nudged the cup towards his brother.
The teen's head was rested lazily on the table as sweat dripped down his flushed face.
The prodigy had convinced - or more like forced - his brother to put his clothes back on so he wouldn't catch a cold. Now the young Uchiha had to experience a suffocating heat that he has never felt before.
Sasuke looked up at his older brother with pleading, half-lidded eyes. "It's too hot for tea nii-san." He replied as he nudged the cup back towards Itachi. "Please don't make me drink it."
The older Uchiha stared at his brother and couldn't help but feel some sort of overwhelming worry and guilt. He should've known something was up when Sasuke came to him earlier.
Something must've happened that made him do this to himself, although it wouldn't be an excuse for him drinking.
So many things could go wrong when drinking at such an early age. Itachi couldn't help but worry for his little brother.
"You need more fluids otouto." The prodigy stated as he pushed the cup towards Sasuke again. "I don't want you to be dehydrated."
"I have to pee like every five seconds, I'm perfectly hydrated." Sasuke lifted his head and stared at his brother. "Don't you love me aniki?"
Itachi rolled his eyes. "Don't pull that on me Sasuke." He said as he gave the teen a look. "Drink the tea, it will make you feel better."
The young Uchiha's eyes narrowed as he stood up and crossed his arms, stumbling slightly.
"I feel fine." Sasuke stated defiantly as he turned his head to the side.
The prodigy sighed just in time to see all the colour drain from his brother's face as his expression grew bleak.
Itachi swiftly stood up upon instinct and rushed the younger Uchiha to the bathroom where the teen promptly vomited everything in his digestive system, the older Uchiha pushing back his bangs and proceeding to rub his back soothingly.
It took a few minutes before the violent heaving stopped. The young Uchiha sat on the ground and leaned himself up on his brother's leg, his glazed eyes staring off into space.
The prodigy filled a cup with water and crouched down to coax the younger to drink it.
Itachi ran a hand through his brother's hair. "How are you feeling, otouto?"
Sasuke pulled away from the cup that was now half empty, his expression still as if he were in a trance.
"Nii-san, I don't remember eating that much food." He muttered incredulously, completely freaked out by his realization. "Like seriously, do I still have my stomach? 'Cause I don't think-"
The young Uchiha's rambling was cut off as the elder put a hand on his mouth. The teen stared up at his brother in confusion before he heard the quiet sound of the front door opening and a familiar voice calling out.
"We're home."
It was their parents.
The prodigy made a disapproving sound before hauling Sasuke on his back and making his way around the house silently, his hand still clasped on his brother's mouth.
Itachi didn't expect his parents to come home this early. His ears picked up the voices of his parents as he carefully maneuvered through the house and heard his name come up in conversation.
His parents most likely knew he was home and were probably going to look for him since the prodigy didn't greet them at the door. He was lucky that their house was big enough for him to easily avoid them.
Before his parents got the chance to start looking for him, the older Uchiha quickly entered his room as he silently turned on the lights and approached his bed.
He pulled back the covers and placed Sasuke on the bed. Itachi was about to tug the blanket over his brother to hide him somewhat, only to have the younger struggle in response.
"It's hot. It's too hot nii-san." Sasuke complained, sweat pouring down his red face. "Please aniki, imma 'bout to die of a heat stroke."
The prodigy sighed inwardly before quickly pulling his brother's shirt off.
The young Uchiha let out a sigh of relief as he felt the air start cooling his body.
"Okay, listen to me otouto," Itachi started quickly as he looked directly into his little brother's half-lidded eyes. "I'll let you keep your shirt off if you promise me that you will stay under the blankets and keep completely silent. Under no circumstances are you allowed to make any noise until I say, understand?"
Sasuke gave his brother a dazed grin as he nodded and put his thumbs up.
The older Uchiha quickly smiled back at him with gratitude before pulling the covers over the teen.
Itachi then quickly, but silently, grabbed a scroll from one of his drawers and sat on the bed beside Sasuke as he pretended like he'd been there for a while now, reading in his room.
A moment later the prodigy heard a quiet knock on his door.
"Itachi?" He heard his mother call out.
She opened his door as her eyes fell on her oldest son, but soon trailed to the lump beside him.
A confused look took over Mikoto's face before the prodigy nonchalantly looked up from his scroll.
"Welcome home kaa-san." Itachi said, his voice completely calm and steady.
His mother's confused look still remained on her face. "Thank you honey. I just wanted to let you know that we were home." She paused. "Who's that beside you?"
"It's Sasuke." Itachi replied as he looked down at his scroll once again, as if this were a completely normal situation.
Mikoto's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Sasuke? Didn't he have a mission tonight?"
The prodigy simply continued skimming through his scroll as he replied. "He told me he wasn't feeling well so he had someone fill in for him." His eyes trailed over to his brother as the teen shifted under the covers. "He didn't want to be alone so I'm letting him sleep here tonight."
A worried look took over his mother's face. "Is he okay? It must be serious if he cancelled a mission."
"He's been throwing up and has a slight fever, so I think he might have caught the stomach flu." Itachi lied easily as he unraveled more of his scroll. "But I gave him some medicine earlier. He should be fine for now."
Mikoto continued staring at her youngest son before sighing. "Well, I don't want to wake him up." She said as she backed away from the door frame. "I trust you will take care of him."
The prodigy looked up from his scroll and gave his mother a reassuring smile.
She returned the smile. "Don't try catching whatever he has."
"Hai." Itachi drawled as he watched his mother shut the door behind her.
He waited until he heard her go inside his parent's bedroom before looking over at Sasuke.
His flushed face was relaxed as snores came out of his wide open mouth. He must have fallen asleep.
The older Uchiha chuckled slightly as he took in the image of his brother. The last time he'd seen Sasuke sleep like this was when he had a really bad head cold when he was seven.
Itachi moved his little brother's bangs away from his face as his mind drifted to tonight's events.
He couldn't believe Sasuke would do something like this. The more he thought about it, the more the prodigy wanted to berate him until he understood what he did was wrong.
He just didn't want to see his brother suffer the consequences of doing something like this, as much as he deserved it. Itachi can only hope that Sasuke's hangover tomorrow won't hit him too hard. But considering how young he is, his body won't be happy with him.
The older Uchiha sighed.
Even though Sasuke was asleep now, Itachi knew he still had a long night ahead of him.
Sasuke struggled to open his eyes as his head felt like it was on the verge of imploding. He tried shifting his body, but even the most minuscule of movements caused an overwhelming wave of nausea to crash over him.
A groan left his lips and he immediately winced as it sounded like a giant explosion.
What happened?
As much as his head throbbed, Sasuke's mind raced as he tried to think why he felt like death itself.
Did he catch some sort of terrible illness?
Did he get badly injured on his mission last night?
He desperately tried to remember what had happened, but his head was blank.
The young Uchiha continued searching his foggy mind until it finally hit him.
The lecturing. The cancelled mission. The frustration and anger. The sake.
Sasuke shot up and instantly regretted doing such an action as death trampled over him. It took everything in him not to throw up everywhere.
"You shouldn't do that. It will just make your headache worse."
Startled by the unusually loud voice, Sasuke jerked his head to the side and immediately winced in pain. He has to stop doing that.
He opened his eyes to find Itachi sitting on the ground, reading some scrolls.
"Nii-san." Sasuke whispered, his own voice booming in his ears. He was vaguely aware that he was in his brother's room sporting nothing but boxers and a t-shirt as his hair pointed in all different directions. The teen clutched his head as a wave of pain and nausea attacked him. "I don't feel good."
"I know you don't." The prodigy replied, not even sparing his brother a glance. He pointed to the nightstand where a glass of water and a pitcher was. "Drink some water, it will help you feel better."
Sasuke slowly fixed his gaze on the nightstand and grimaced as he realized that in order to get to it he would have to move.
He would rather die of dehydration than attempt to move his body again.
Most likely having sensed this problem, the young Uchiha watched as his brother got up and handed him the glass.
He accepted it gratefully but not a single word passed between the two of them. Sasuke couldn't help but feel that Itachi was somewhat angry with him, which was rare.
He must have found out what happened last night.
The teen took two small sips of the water before stopping. He was about to give the glass back to his brother before he saw a look on his face that clearly said that if he didn't finish all the water in that glass, he would literally shove it down his throat.
It was either that, or his brother really was angry with him. Probably both.
Not wanting to deal with anything, especially an overbearing Itachi, the young Uchiha drank all the water despite his unsettled stomach and handed the empty cup to the elder.
The silence continued to stretch and Sasuke could literally cut the tension in the air with a knife.
He knew Itachi had something to say, but he didn't want to hear it. Especially not when he felt like he was dying. He could deal with the uncomfortable silence.
Sasuke moved to lie down, albeit slowly, when he finally heard a sigh that sounded like an explosion in his ears.
"Sasuke-" Itachi began.
"Stop." The young Uchiha interrupted, wincing as he settled against the pillows and draped an arm over his eyes. "I know what you're gonna say. I don't want to talk about it."
"I don't care. We're talking about it."
It was Sasuke's turn to sigh, wincing afterward as his head throbbed.
"There's nothing to talk about."
"No, there's plenty." Itachi said as he placed down the cup he was still holding. "Like for instance, the reason why you would do something so foolish?"
Sasuke's mind drifted to the night before and he recalled his anger. How he stupidly acted on his emotions and grabbed the sake bottle without thinking.
Thinking about it hurt his head, and thinking about explaining it to Itachi made it hurt even more. So he did the only logical thing; lie.
"I did it 'cause I felt like it." He replied, sounding like the angsty teen he knew he could be sometimes. "To loosen up before my mission."
He was already in trouble, so what's a little more?
"Is that so?" Itachi dawled. Sasuke didn't like the tone of his brother's voice. He knew that tone. It was the tone he used whenever he was able to see right through him. Itachi continued. "That's funny, because I actually happened to find something quite interesting this morning. I thought I'd share it with you." The young Uchiha heard the ruffling of paper boom in his ears, and if the light didn't burn his eyes, he would've risked a look at what his brother was up to. But he remained unmoved, trying not to worsen his extreme nausea.
That thought, however, was forgotten when he heard the words that left Itachi's lips.
"Notice of cancellation issued for Sasuke Uchiha. Receiver of this notice is hereby released from upcoming duty. Due to certain circumstances, the position has been passed on to Nar-"
Sasuke shot up and blindly reached in front of him, wanting to rip the horrid document from his brother's clutches, but the paper was easily moved out of reach. He would've aimed a glare at Itachi if a wave of nausea didn't hit him like a truck. His hand flew to his mouth as he suppressed the bile that threatened to travel up his throat, although he briefly debated throwing up all over Itachi's sheets to get back at him for harassing the sick and dying.
"You're horrible, you know that?" Sasuke spat after his nausea subsided somewhat.
"Well, that's what you get for lying." Itachi shot back. There was a moment of silence before the older Uchiha sighed. "I pieced together the general gist of what might have happened, but I want to hear it from you."
If Sasuke's ears weren't so damn sensitive, he would've let out the exasperated sigh that was lodged in his chest.
The young Uchiha wasn't in the mood (and definitely not in the right physical state) to talk about the moment of weakness and stupidity he went through, but apparently his brother was completely blind to this.
Sasuke slowly turned his head toward Itachi, refusing to let the concerned expression on his face affect him.
"Let it go, Itachi." He said, his voice seething. He hates that they're fighting over this. Of course, Sasuke knows it's his own fault that they're arguing, but he doesn't care. All he wants to do is sleep and forget that this whole thing ever happened.
"No. We need to talk about this Sasuke." Itachi replied, his own voice sharper than usual.
"No we don't." The young Uchiha could feel his anger bubbling to the surface. Gods, why was his brother so damn prying?
"Do you know how bad things could have gotten because of what you did?"
"No, and I won't know because we're not going to talk about it."
"Yes, we are."
"Itachi."
"Sasuke."
"Fine!" The young Uchiha winced as his own voice boomed in his head. He didn't mean to yell, but he couldn't take this anymore. "I was angry, okay? And it wasn't just because of the cancelled mission. There were other reasons for why I was angry and I ended up making a stupid decision." He stiffly settled back against the bed, trying his best to look unbothered. "There, are you happy now?"
There was a moment after where Itachi didn't say anything, probably piecing together the whole situation.
"Did father lecture you again?" The older Uchiha finally asked, his tone unreadable.
Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek, feeling the frustration from the night before resurfacing. He didn't feel like answering the question.
Nevertheless, his silence was enough of an answer for his brother as he hummed out slightly.
"We both know how father is," Itachi began. Sasuke would have rolled his eyes at the statement if he could do so without worsening his headache. "But you shouldn't have resorted to drinking, otouto."
"I know." Sasuke drawled, not feeling like being lectured about something irrelevant. "I told you, it was a stupid decison. I don't plan on ever doing it again."
"Good." Came the older Uchiha's reply, trusting his brother's words. "But you need to learn to take better care of that anger of yours, Sasuke. You can always try talking to someone instead of lashing out, you know."
The young Uchiha let out a huff. "I did. It didn't seem to work out for me though."
He had mumbled part of the last part, but it was obvious that he was referring to when he had approached his brother that night. He didn't mean to sound so passive aggressive, but he couldn't think properly.
Sasuke watched as his brother's face shifted from realization to guilt in a second, and he wanted to immediately take back what he said.
"I see." Itachi said quietly, and Sasuke wanted to punch himself because now he knows his brother is blaming himself for what happened. "I should've realized the situation when you came to me yesterday. Forgive me, Sasuke-"
"Don't apologize." The young Uchiha interrupted. Facing his brother's guilt was too much. "Everything that happened is my fault. I was stupid and didn't say anything, so it's my fault that things got this bad." He sighed. "I promise next time I'll properly come to you if I need you. Just don't blame yourself, okay? I'll be angry if you do. I've already thought about puking all over your sheets."
There was a moment before Sasuke saw a slight smile grace his brother's features, followed by a small huff of amusement.
"How very considerate of you." Itachi quipped, causing a small smile to also tug on the young Uchiha's lips. "Fine. Let's just put this whole thing behind us for now so you can get some rest."
"Finally." Sasuke replied, trying his best to get comfortable without jostling his entire being too much. "Do you know how excruciating-"
"Wakey, wakey punk!" came a loud voice followed by the very loud noises of someone aggressively opening a door.
A pained cry left the young Uchiha's lips as the sound assaulted his sensitive eardrums. He cracked open an eye only to see Shisui standing by the door.
Sasuke wanted to scream.
"I hope you know you're paying for any damages you caused to my door." came Itcahi's calm reply.
However, the body flicker ignored his cousin's statement, and began sauntering over to Sasuke's side who decided to bury his head under a pillow.
"Yo!" Shisui yelled in his ear. Sasuke felt his soul leave his body as he violently flinched.
"Go away."
The young Uchiha heard a cheeky snicker and felt the overwhelming urge to burn his assailant to ash with a fire jutsu.
"What's wrong, punk? Not feelin' well?" The body flicker asked, sounding completely amused.
"Nii-san, tell this thing you call a friend to leave the house." Sasuke snapped, feeling the pain in his head grow worse.
"I'm hurt. You know how much shit you put me through taking care of you last night? I expect at least a 'thank you'-"
"Nii-san." Sasuke begged, his entire person screaming in pain.
"Shisui-" Itachi began.
"Com'on, let me have my fun, Itachi. I know a bunch of ways to get rid of a hangover." Shisui reasoned, a smile still evident in his voice. "I promise I'm here to help, it's just much more fun to do it this way."
When Sasuke didn't hear a reply come from his brother, he knew he was doomed. He peeked out from under his pillow and shot a glare at his cousin.
"I hate you." He snarled.
Shisui grinned.
"Glad to hear it!" The body flicker said with a wink, completely unbothered as he pulled back the blankets that had covered Sasuke's form. "Now look alive! If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure exercise is a fantastic way to get rid of a hangover."
Mind screaming,it was at this moment that Sasuke vowed to never consume a single drop of alcohol ever again.
AN: Haha, even after 2 years, I still suck at writing endings. Regardless, I hope you guys enjoyed! This chapter was definitely a weird one, but I found it unfinished in my drafts and I just had to finish it. Like I said before, I'm not sure how frequently I will update this, or if I will even update it at all, but I have a few ideas I want to write out so there's a big chance I'll update it at some point. Until next time, friends! :))
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