Hey everyone! I got aome good feedback on this story so I'm pretty excited to post the new chapter! So it's been kinda fast for me for an update. Truth be told I have a couple chapters already written, so if for whatever reason I feel like I'm falling to far behind in keeping up, I always have a backup.
Anyways, without further ado, here's the next chapter of Cuts And Bruises!
Sasuke, aged 16, sat in the passenger side of his brother's car, leaning heavily against the door, making sure his back wasn't touching the seat. The bruise he got on his back the night before, was hurting more than he thought it would.
Itachi, aged 24, gave his little brother a confused look at the way he was sitting. As time went on, Sasuke started fidgeting some more, hissing and flinching at times. Itachi turned down the volume of the stereo. "Sasuke?"
Sasuke stopped his movements and calmly, but slowly sat back in the seat, letting out a deep breath when he managed to relax. "Yeah?"
Itachi made a quick glance at the road and smirked when he got an idea in his head. He jerked the wheel enough to the side so that the car ran over a pothole.
Sasuke immediately grunted in pain and jumped forward, grasping onto the dashboard. He glared at his brother, teeth clenched. "What are you doing, asshole?"
Itachi was laughing too hard to answer his question. Sasuke grumbled to himself as he got settled back into his seat.
"You're such a fucking jerk." Sasuke managed to get out once his brother calmed down.
"You just couldn't sit still, I had to take advantage." Itachi gave him an innocent smile before laughing wildly again.
"Of course, take the advantage of the fact that my future girlfriend is in pain causing me to be in pain and you just adding on. I can see why it's so irresistible now." Sasuke's tone was laced with sarcasm as he glared back out the window.
The humor from Itachi was quickly replaced with worry and concern. "I'm sorry Sasuke, I just wanted to-" He was interrupted by the car's stereo beginning to ring, signaling a call.
They both turned to look at it. Itachi sheepishly looked at him. "Its work, so I gotta," he trailed off, feeling guilty.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He went back to looking out the window.
Itachi's call lasted the whole ride to Sasuke's school and he hurriedly said his goodbyes as he dropped him off and speedily drove away.
Sasuke started the walk to his homeroom class and sat in his seat. His two best, and pretty much only friends, Neji Hyuga and Kiba Inuzuka, were sitting in the two seats next to him.
Neji greeted him with a nod, he wasn't one for talking. His long brown hair was styled in a messy bun and he looked bored, probably from the previous one-sided conversation he had with Kiba.
Kiba was the complete opposite of Neji, very talkative and full of energy. His brown hair was shaggy and even with his mouth closed, his canines managed to peek out between his lips. He greeted Sasuke with a large grin.
"Hey Sasuke, you got that homework from last night?" Kiba looked at him hopefully, a blank piece of paper on his desk.
Sasuke rolled his eyes before taking out his folder from his backpack and handing it to Kiba. "I don't know if the last answers are right. I couldn't concentrate at the end and didn't care about double checking."
Kiba waved him off. "Whatever, dude! I don't copy your answers word for word, so getting a few wrong is what I do anyways." He looked at Neji and stuck out his tongue. "At least someone loves me enough to let me copy off of them."
Neji glared at Kiba. "I don't think it's love so much as him not wanting to be annoyed first thing in the morning." Kiba gave a pout but went back to his homework. Neji turned his attention to Sasuke, his look softening. "What happened last night?"
Sasuke sighed and shook his head. "Nothing out of the usual. I have a killer bruise on my back though. And of course Itachi had to be a dick about it."
"Itachi is always a dick."
Sasuke nodded. "I can't argue with you there."
"Hey Sasuke!" A higher pitched voice called out to them. The three teens looked up at each other in fright. Kiba moved his head to see Sakura Haruno, Sasuke's number one "fangirl". She was an over eccentric girl who tried her very best to try and win Sasuke over. Her pink hair was layered and she was wearing a cocktail dress that just barely met the dress code.
Sasuke ignored the girl, keeping his gaze on Neji.
"How are you?" Sakura stood next to him, leaning down to try and get a better look at his face.
Sasuke scrunched up his nose in disgust. The perfume she was wearing wasn't one that was pleasant and she seemed to have gone overboard with it. "What perfume are you wearing?"
"Oh!" She stood up quickly and clapped once. "You like it? I'm so happy you noticed!" She went behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing against his back.
Sasuke hissed in pain and before he realized what he was doing, stood up and pushed her away from him. She stumbled but caught herself on a nearby desk. "What the hell, Sakura?" He shouted, glaring at her.
The whole room was staring at the two of them. Sakura nervously tucked her hair behind her ear but didn't say anything.
Sasuke looked around the room, then back at her. He sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. "Please don't touch me without my consent. I'm sorry for pushing you."
Sakura was silent before smiling. "It's okay! No worries!" She gave him a quick hug before running over to her friends.
"And she still just completely ignores me." Sasuke rolled his eyes before sitting back down.
"She'll get over it one day." Kiba slammed his homework back on his desk.
Alone in the first half of the school day, Sasuke headed to lunch where Kiba and Neji were already sitting at their usual table.
"Sasuke, dude," Kiba looked up at him worriedly, a blank sheet of paper in front of him. "I accidentally handed in the wrong paper for English. I need to copy the homework for History again. Mr. Hanley will kill me if I miss it one more day."
Neji rolled his eyes. "What happened to your English homework?"
Kiba gave him a shrug and waited patiently as Sasuke took out the homework once again. "Thanks buddy!" He patted Sasuke's arm before starting to copy the homework.
Sasuke flinched at the touch and quickly put his arm under the table. He lifted back his sleeve to check his arm. There were multiple cuts along his arm, some new and some old. He gently brushed the newest ones with the tip of his finger.
Neji gave him a skeptical look. "You okay?"
Sasuke quickly pulled down his sleeve and casually leaned on the table. "Yeah, just the usual stuff."
Neji nodded in understanding. "Your soulmate?"
"Something like that."
At the end of the day, Sasuke reluctantly said his goodbyes to his friends and got onto the bus. The 20 minute bus ride was just him and his thoughts. The bruise on his back wasn't hurting him as much and he was thankful for that.
As the bus dropped him off at the end of the street, Sasuke started the walk to his home. As he entered the front door of the two-story house, the house was dark and quiet.
"I'm home." He called out. He got no response, unsurprisingly, for his brother should still be at work and his mother was in her room.
Stopping to his room, he dropped off his school stuff before heading into his mother's room.
The curtains were drawn leaving the room dark. Sasuke and Itachi have tried to open them before but their mother would protest to leave them shut, having an episode. He remembered that was just the beginning of their mother's mental decline.
He looked to the nightstand to see the multiple pill bottles scattered across the surface. He then looked at the bed where his mother was lying, face up, the covers pulled up to her chin. Her hair was starting to gray even at her young age of 44.
He pulled the chair that was at her desk over to the side of the bed. He sat down, looking at her with a frown. "Hey mom. So, school was uneventful today. Though on the ride to school, Itachi was being an ass. He swerved right into a pothole just so I'd hit the bruise I got on my back last night." He paused to study his mother's face. From what he could see, there was no reaction. "I've been thinking though, since I'm finally sixteen, I should get my permit. I was going to ask Itachi about it tonight at dinner. Wish me luck." He stood up from the chair and gently placed a kiss on his mother's forehead.
Sasuke went into his room and started doing his homework. He was nearly finished with his work when there was a knock on his door. He turned to see Itachi standing in the hallway. A container of rice in his hands.
"I just finished giving Mom her dinner. Are you ready to eat? I just got us chinese."
"Sure." He shrugged before standing up and stretching, he hissed when the bruise on his back ached painfully.
"I'm sorry about earlier. Honest."
Sasuke pushed past him, making him nearly drop the container onto the floor. "Whatever."
The two of them sat across from each other at the small round table, a habit they didn't want to end even if neither of their parents would ever sit with them again.
"Itachi," Sasuke set his fork on his finished plate and looked at his brother.
Itachi gave him a quick glance to let him know he was listening before continuing to eat his food.
"I want to get my permit."
Itachi's hand stopped midway to his mouth. He slowly lowered his fork before looking sheepishly away. "As much as I would love too, I don't think now is the right time. Work has been piling up at the office and with Mom sick, I just don't have the time to teach you. Maybe in the summer."
Sasuke glared at him. "You never have time for anyone but yourself." He stood up from his seat and slammed his hands on the table. "And your stupid job that you don't even like anyways."
Itachi gave Sasuke a glare. "I'm sorry that my stupid job pays the bills and puts food on the table. Don't be an ungrateful little brat just because you can't get what you want. I told you in the summer so it's either that or nothing."
The two brothers stared each other down, neither one breaking their intense gaze. Sasuke's eyes started to water and he quickly turned his head so his brother wouldn't see him.
Itachi let out a snort before going back to his dinner. "Don't forget to put the plate in the sink."
"Fuck you." Sasuke snapped. He hurriedly dumped his plate into the sink and went up to his room.
Once he was seated on his bed, he opened the drawer to his nightstand. Inside was a small wooden box. He took it out and opened it to reveal a small razor blade. He rolled up his sleeve and lifted the blade to his arm. Taking in a deep breath, he began to make cuts on his arm. He watched them turn an angry red before blood started to form beads on the cuts.
When he felt satisfied, no longer feeling as angry, he placed the razor and box back into the nightstand. He cleaned up his arm in the bathroom before getting ready for bed.
So, how did you guys like it? I know it was a huge timeskip but everything will be revealed in time! You'll just have to stick around to find out!
As always, favorite and review if you enjoyed it and I will see you for the next update!
~tachiequillsluv