Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or Naruto itself.

I will be changing the rating to "M" later on. See the comments after the story...

And I know that in the morning I will wake up
In the shivering cold

And the spider man is always hungry...

~The Cure

Sasuke felt like drowning in his shower. It had to have been a dream, Sasuke thought as the water cascaded down his back. Itachi is dead. The teen had been repeating this thought for the last twenty minutes of his long, lukewarm shower.

Sasuke felt too hot, but if he kept the shower cold, it would remind him of Itachi's dead hands. Hands. Sasuke scrubbed more soap underneath his fingernails at the thought. He'd washed them until they were raw and red and stinging, yet it still felt like there was skin and blood underneath his nails.

Sasuke toyed with the thought of ripping out his nails to clean his fingers properly.

He heard distant pounding on the door of his room and his heart leapt from his pale chest. Sasuke wrenched the faucet off. The metal rings holding up the shower curtain scrapped along as he pulled it aside and stepped out. The dull thump on his door was louder now that the white noise of the shower was silenced.

"Yeah," he called out.

It was Karin. She wanted to know what he'd like for breakfast, but he had no interest in eating. Sasuke still felt sick to his stomach from his nightmare. Karin had confirmed he wasn't hallucinating, though. Karin had asked about his bruise.

Sasuke was confused beyond belief. His head was pounding with that same thought. Itachi is dead. Itachi is dead. Over and over for hours, he couldn't stop, like an angry record skipping over the same crackling line. Sasuke found it difficult to focus on anything other than Itachi is dead throughout the entire day. Karin and Jūgo seemed concerned at Sasuke's inattentiveness though Suigetsu thought he was just as distant as usual.

Sasuke's breathing was slow and even: the breath of sleep, though it had taken him longer than usual to slip into it. His slumber was uncomfortable, thanks to the night before.

Sasuke's nose twitched and he rolled over beneath the covers. Itachi grinned at him. Tonight he didn't want to fool around. He wanted to make his brother smile.

The man stretched out a death-grey hand and stroked his brother's warm cheek gently. Sasuke shivered in his sleep and a lock of hair swept down over his eyes. Itachi's chilly hand tucked it back. He leaned down closer to his brother and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

The frigid kiss brought Sasuke's eyelids fluttering open. His dark eyes met those of his older brother. A sick feeling crept into his intestines. He choked back a terrified moan. Itachi smiled the same smile that Sasuke remembered seeing the last time his elder brother tapped his forehead. This served as another reminder that his dead brother was in the room with him. For emphasis, Itachi touched two fingers to his little brother's forehead where he'd kissed him moments ago.

"How are you this evening, brother," Itachi didn't anticipate a response and Sasuke didn't make a sound. His older brother stroked the boy's raven hair. It was soft beneath his ghostly touch. His hand moved down to stroke Sasuke's face again, this time even gentler, sending cold prickles along the boy's skin.

Sasuke's breath hitched in his throat as Itachi trailed a finger along his windpipe.

"Something to say, Sasuke..?" Itachi drawled, amusement dancing in his glassy eyes. Sasuke met them indignantly with his own black eyes.

I won't be scared into submission, he thought. When he spoke, his voice shook much more than he wanted. "W-what are you here for?"

Itachi chuckled, a raspy mechanical ringing. "You," he replied steadily, "I want to make you smile."

This is wrong, Sasuke thought frantically. His heart pounded quicker and louder in his ears. Itachi's voice made Sasuke suspicious; it was both kind and menacing. His spine felt much colder than the rest of his body and he could feel goose-bumps rise on his skin.

The mattress creaked as Itachi set his knee on it to join Sasuke on the bed, one foot on the floor. "Dear brother," he started, making Sasuke shudder. "Why don't you smile anymore? The way you used to…" Itachi leaned down to whisper in his ear, "and I don't mean a smirk."

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut. Why won't I move!

Itachi kissed below Sasuke's ear, pushing the boy's hair aside and tasting the hot flesh beneath. "Sasuke," he breathed slowly. The boy squirmed under the cold touch, feeling Itachi's hand wrap around the other side of his neck. The man's spidery fingers entwined in his hair and pulled his head to the side, giving him more neck under his teeth. Itachi bit gently, but it ached furiously because of the bruise from last night.

Sasuke hissed and brought his hands up to pull Itachi's head away from him, tugging on his elder brother's long hair. Itachi glared down at him darkly, instant regret washed over Sasuke as he peered into the man's bloodshot eyes. They were humorless and angry. Itachi wrenched on Sasuke's hair harder this time and bit down on the boy's neck with savagery. Sasuke cried out with pain. His bruise was torn open by Itachi's teeth; blood began to soak into Sasuke's pillow, matting his hair.

"I'm s...sorry," Sasuke sobbed, fear shaking his body. He covered his eyes with his hands, trying to stop the tears spilling from his eyes. "Please st-stop…" he begged as Itachi climbed over him. The man set himself down on top of the boy, straddling him and grabbing Sasuke's wrists. Itachi pulled Sasuke's hands away from his face so he could see his brother's face.

"Don't cry, little brother," Sasuke whimpered, turning his face away. Itachi gripped the boy's wrists with one hand and grabbed Sasuke's chin with the other. The man turned his face and ordered Sasuke to look at him. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. "That's better," Itachi breathed silkily.

I apologize for ending this chapter so abruptly, but I will be making the third chapter as a more or less standalone one so that people can easily skip the non-con/rape scene if they so wish. I will change the rating to "M" as soon as I upload the third chapter (which I have yet to write).

Reviews are appreciated, but not necessary. I shall update soon.