Author's Notes:

Thank you for reviewing, Blood Drenched Scorpion! You'll find out the answer in the first sentence~

Translation:

*Gomen(-nasai)= sorry

*Obaa-sama/ (name)-baa-sama/obaa-san/obaa-chan=grandma

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 6: Poison

Thankfully the poison wasn't so lethal (Juukiri must have been an idiot in everything he did). With immediate help from Chiyo-baa-sama and Aneue who went to get the herbs, Sasori-nii-san's life was saved. But he looked the same. Cheeks dusted with a tinge of pink, heavy breathing, half-lidded eyes… He was still in pain.

Because of me.

"He will get better overnight, Itsumi-chan. You should get some sleep." I wouldn't. I couldn't. Not until he truly got better. He was in this state because of me. It was my fault. Partly his for rashly assaulting Juukiri, but still…

"You…are seriously…hearing-impaired," he muttered between huffs of breath. "Baa-sama…told you…to sleep." Chiyo-baa-sama was about to scold him when her name was called, leaving her no choice but going downstairs to confront the guess. She reluctantly left. She was a busy woman, after all.

"And I said I don't want to…" I whispered, not trusting to speak in my normal volume, afraid that my voice would break. That, and there was something about darkness that always make me lower my voice. Sasori-nii-san had never shown his weakness. Sasori-nii-san was strong. It upset me to see him in this condition.

"Stubborn." He flicked my forehead and smirked. How he managed to make such an expression in his current condition was beyond me.

"C'mere," He patted the empty side of his bed with his good arm, motioning me to climb up. I hesitated, shaking my head, careful to keep my eyes closed.

"Gomen-nasai," I would probably hate myself for this, but that was a problem for later. My concern and guilt were genuine. This wasn't something I made up. "Gomen-nasai, Onii-san… Gomen," My words were slurred in between sobs.

Stupid. He is the one that's suffering! Why am I crying?However the tears wouldn't stop no matter how many times I got rid of them. I despised it, this side of me. I knew that I wasn't suppose to act all strong and mighty as he told me and I would probably receive a good scolding from him for even thinking so, but… I didn't want him to think that I was weak…

"Gomen-nasai," Yet for now, all I could do was repeat the words like a broken tape.

"Itsumi…" I opened my eyes, certainly not proud that my attempt to contain the droplets failed. Once more he opened his arm, jerking to it slowly with his chin. I lay my head on the length of it.

"Gomen, Onii-san," He erased the wet tracks on my cheeks ever so gently and I placed my hand on his cheek. His temperature wasn't going up- but it wasn't going down either.

"Shh," His fingers twirled my locks- Puppet-boy wasn't used to being still when he was conscious. "It's…all right. Don't…blame…yourself. It was…my recklessness. Now…stop…apologizing…already! I can't…forgive you. You've done…nothing wrong" I shook my head once more. I knew I was to blame. At least I managed to stop the apologies.

"A-Are you s-sure y-you're okay?" Facing me, his lids shut, words almost below a whisper, he answered.

"I…will be. Now…rest" And I did.

3rd Person POV

The little girl fell asleep fast, her slowed and steady breathing proving the statement. There were dark rings below her eyes and they were still puffy from the night before.

These are not events a child should deal with, thought the older boy whilst brushing her soft and silky hair with his fingers. The action calmed him.

Poison. That was what she was to him. Very much alike with the poison that was currently in his system. She was from time to time infuriating, yes, and had a foul mouth too. Both charades to prevent her real emotions from surfacing. She always struggled so hard to keep her feelings from overflowing and stopped crying altogether when she was merely three- yet the barrier was getting thinner. It was high time it shattered due to the unfortunate incidences that had occurred. He didn't even assume that it would last so long. He let out a breathy sigh.

You're strong, Itsumi, he rid her face of her bangs, but now, just forget the world for a while.His lips brushed her forehead briefly- a sign of affection he could not help doing- and surrendered to the fatigue that had clawed its way to his mind and dominated it.

Itsumi's POV

The sheets- I wasn't aware of using them- were tangled in my legs when the sun arrived and greeted me through the window with its rays. I stretched to relieve the morning cramps before heading to the bathroom to do my routine and going downstairs. I had stayed here for two nights straight- not something I normally did.

"Ohayou, sleeping beast" He said while holding a pill in one hand and a glass on the other, casually gulping it down like candy. His bed-tousled spikes made little difference- much less an improvement - to his usual appearance. I beamed mentally.

"Ohayou, Pinocchio" Yes, Sasori-nii-san was back.

End Notes:

Terribly short... And I think I killed Sasori _