Chapter 132 - Bitter Love

There on the lakeshore, Itachi stood above Sasuke, tall and young, water dripping from his hair and his clothes. He was breathing, heavily, though whether he was catching his breath as Sasuke was, or whether he was angry, it was entirely uncertain.

But what was in his eyes was undeniably rage.

Rather than love, or relief, at the sight of him, Sasuke felt absolute terror.

Still, he tried to speak. "And now you're here for me too, is it…?" His voice was hoarse.

Itachi didn't say anything. He just glared.

"Did you save me?" Sasuke continued.

"Of course I saved you," Itachi replied. The sharp familiarity of his voice rang deeply through Sasuke's fragile bones.

Sasuke sighed, and ended up in another coughing fit. "I would have thought you'd let me drown."

It was at that point that Itachi grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him up so that they were standing together, face to face. His eyes burned red, and his breath seethed through his teeth.

"You have no idea what you almost did," Itachi said. His voice was quiet, but intensity pulsed through it like a heartbeat.

"I know exactly what I almost did," Sasuke said.

Itachi pulled him closer with a jerk of his arm, and Sasuke groaned slightly from the tension of his wet clothes against his sore muscles.

"No. You don't. You have no idea, absolutely none at all, how much damage you could have done."

"Damage…?" Sasuke coughed again. "I thought I was doing everyone a favor."

Itachi's face—mouth, eyes, chin—trembled from frustration, before he finally let go of Sasuke. Sasuke's shirt stayed tightly wrinkled where Itachi's hand had once been.

And then the lecture began.

"You pathetic coward."

It was as if the heat wave of a bomb had hit Sasuke directly in the face, and he stumbled backwards a little.

"You thought that by just running away, by removing yourself from everything, that it would solve everything? What were you thinking? That everyone would just have their problems magically solved by you being dead?"

"Itachi, I-"

But Itachi didn't let him continue. "You never think anything through. Your head's so stuck in the past that you can't even comprehend the consequences of your actions. Did you even think anything through before doing this?"

"Well, I…"

"Is abandoning your family really taking care of them?"

"I… well, I declared Hajime the clan head, and-"

"Yes, Sasuke, of course, having your eldest son—who could truly use some guidance right now, since he's going to be a father soon—lead your family in your absence. Because he's absolutely capable of taking care of everyone else's problems when he's got a family of his own to take care of soon."

Sasuke made some sort of noise in his throat, maybe "Uh," or "Um," but it didn't go very far.

"And speaking of your family, Ino could absolutely use your support right now."

Sasuke made a noise like his voice breaking.

"Why don't you apologize to her for all the trouble you've caused? She'sworried sick about you."

"She—she has other people to support her, and-"

"Stop running away. You're her husband, Sasuke. And you're the only one she's got."

"…but she cheated on me."

Itachi sighed, rolling his eyes. "You honestly wonder why? You treat her like she's nothing, Sasuke. And yet she's still with you."

"…she deserves better…"

"You're absolutely right, she deserves better," Itachi said. "But you know what? Killing yourself isn't going to help her. It'll only make things worse."

Sasuke moaned a little, lowering his head.

"And it's not going to help your children, either. If you're not there any more then how are they ever going to move on with their lives, when it comes to you? How do you expect them to let go of their pain?"

"…they can go on hating me for the rest of their lives, I deserve it…"

Itachi shoved him, hard, in the middle of his chest, and Sasuke stumbled further, moaning.

"Stop it. You're being selfish."

"Selfish…?"

"Saying you deserve it is just an excuse. Don't you remember when you were young? When you were Inou's age? You know how destructive that kind of hate can be, especially for a boy his age."

Sasuke lowered his head again, closing his eyes. "Inou can't hate me that much…"

"And how would you know? Do you ever talk to him? Ask him about what he feels?"

Sasuke shut his eyes tighter, moaning.

"And then Hajime, who's scared out of his wits right now, who's alone and would only be more alone if you went through with this stupid plan of yours."

"But he doesn't need me, he's never come to me for anything…"

"It's because when he is with you, you've always terrified him orpushed him away."

"Then why would he ask me for help…"

Itachi sighed again. "He's not supposed to ask you for help. You're supposed to offer him help. Because that's what fathers do."

Sasuke's face loosened slightly. "It's a father's job to protect his children…" he murmured, gently.

"Exactly. I'd say you're learning, but I know better," Itachi said.

Sasuke's head felt even harder to hold up.

"And I'd also say Takeru could use your help, too. Maybe even the most help."

But then Itachi paused, and his voice got very soft and sharp.

"…no, no, the person that needs the most help from you is Nadeshiko."

Sasuke made a short, painful moan. "Please don't bring her up…"

"Ah, so you understand, don't you?"

"I don't want to talk about her…"

Itachi grabbed him by his shirt again.

"If you say something like that to me one more time, then I'm throwing you back in the lake."

"You might as well…"

But Itachi didn't throw him in the lake. Instead, he sighed deeply, let go of Sasuke's shirt, and shook his head. "I can't believe you. Are you really this hopeless?"

"I'm not… going to fight for any lost causes, Itachi…"

Itachi's voice rose very sharply. "Lost causes?"

"You… you talk about Na—about my family as if they care about me. And… and sure, if I'm still alive then maybe I can provide for them or whatever. But they'll never love me. They'll never care. They'll just tolerate me. Just like everyone else." His shoulders rose. "Nobody cares about me."

Itachi was quiet for a while.

"So I went out of my way to get Murasaki-san's help to save you," he eventually said, "just because I felt like it, is that it?"

Sasuke didn't say anything.

"You can whine all you want about how nobody cares about you, like a spoiled child, but whether you like it or not, your family does care about you. And that's part of the reason why they also fear you so much. Why you have to work for this," Itachi said. "It's because they care that they still try to please you."

"That's not true…"

"It's true and you know it," Itachi replied, sternly. "Sasuke, Inou worked himself to the bone for your sake this year, just to pass the chuunin exams. And even when he was victorious, and you rejected that victory, he still wanted your approval, and went along with your demands because he cares. And that's just one example."

Sasuke was beginning to shiver.

"You want more proof?" Itachi continued. "Look who came to your aid when you were at your lowest. Nadeshiko, Inou, and Karai. They stayed by your side, long after I arrived, because they were worried about you. Even—no, especially Nadeshiko."

Sasuke moaned lightly. "Itachi, please, stop, I get it…"

"Look at me when I'm talking to you," Itachi replied.

Sasuke did. Itachi's expression hadn't changed, narrow and terrifying.

"So, have I gotten through to you? Are you going to go home now?"

Sasuke struggled not to look down. "I… no, I can't go home…"

"Why. Not."

"Because—because you honestly expect me to be able to face them, after everything I've done…?"

"Yes."

Sasuke shook his head. "I-I can't. I can't do that, I can't face them…"

"So it's okay for them to hate you from a distance, but not up close?"

"I don't want to cause them any more pain…"

"Stop it, Sasuke. You're being a coward."

"Itachi…"

"No, listen to me. Nothing is going to get better for anyone unless you grow up and face them like an adult."

"But, I—I can't, Itachi."

"WHY CAN'T YOU?"

The anger in Itachi's voice only intensified Sasuke's shivering, no longer just from temperature, but from fear.

"What… what reason do they have to trust me…? And beyond that, no matter what I try, I'll just… I'll just hurt them more…"

"That's just your fear talking. You're going home."

"Itachi, I can't…!"

Itachi's anger, which had been simmering, bubbling with intensity at moments but never peaking, finally boiled over.

"And I thought that you were someone worth saving," he said, coldly.

Sasuke, already weak, felt as if his knees were a light breeze away from giving out.

"Even in your worst times, I always told myself that I hadn't made a mistake in letting you live," Itachi continued. "That, as badly as you treated the people you supposedly cared for, you still had a good heart. Obviously, I was mistaken."

"Itachi-"

"You don't even want to fix things. It's just that much more comfortable for you to make a martyr out of yourself. The tragic tyrant that drove everyone away, mourning his mistakes, cherishing the love he might have received more than the love he could receive if he even tried to fix things."

"Itachi, please-"

"I see how it is, now. It's too much for you to even be near these people any more, because then they might reconcile with you, and you'd have nothing else to feel sorry about." He paused, thinking, and sighed with revelation, shaking his head. "This is just like after I died. No matter what you were told, no matter how much I wanted for you to just live in peace, you used my name to fuel your war and your hatred. It wasn't even about me any more. It was about you."

"Itachi, please, stop…"

"So now we're here. Almost thirty years, Sasuke, and you haven't changed. You're still going off and using the suffering of other people as an excuse for the complete and utter disregard for the consequences of the things you do."

"Itachi-!"

"I'm ashamed to call you my brother."

It was then that Sasuke fell to his knees and began openly sobbing, barely propping himself up with his hands.

"Brother, stop...! Stop it, please…! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…!"

And Itachi stopped. His face smoothed from anger to neutrality.

"Sasuke, get up."

Sasuke shuddered, his breaths hiccupping. "Please, just… just leave me alone…"

"Sasuke. Get up."

Still shivering, tears dripping off of his chin as much as the lake water, Sasuke managed to pull himself to his feet.

And as soon as he had, Itachi clung to him, with the intensity of a desperate child.

"Little brother, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-" he began, but an exhale ate the rest of his words. "I've just been so worried about you, you understand? I don't want you to throw your life away like this…"

Sasuke didn't hug him back, perhaps out of resistance, perhaps out of weakness, or shock.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I said these things to you, but… please, little brother, you have to be strong, now. Not just for me, but for your family…"

Sasuke shook his head, and he felt his plastered-wet hair rustle against Itachi's bangs. "I can't, I can't, I can't face them, I can't do that…"

"Sasuke, you can do it." He felt Itachi's hold on him loosen.

"No, I can't. I can't just… just go back there and pretend nothing's…" He sniffed. "Nothing's wrong. Because it isn't. That's how things used to be, and I can't just…"

"You don't have to pretend that nothing's wrong, little brother," Itachi said.

"And how do I do that," Sasuke said, miserably.

Itachi pulled away from him, but put his hands on Sasuke's shoulders instead. Sasuke could see that his eyes had turned black, and warm. "Just say you're sorry."

"I can't do just that. I told you before, they won't believe me…"

"You don't think they'll believe you when you say you're sorry…?" Sasuke nodded. "Little brother, you're putting far too little trust in your family…"

"For good reason…" Sasuke replied. "And beyond that, I don't… I don't trust myself. I don't want to feel like I'll end up lying just for—for their sake."

Itachi looked back at him, no longer pure sadness but concern in his face. "Little brother, you are capable of repentance."

"You're just saying that…"

Itachi nudged him. "You are," he said again. "Honestly. Even if it takes a while. Bit by bit. You can do it." He smiled, dryly. "Think of it as like training."

"Brother, please, don't bring up training…" Sasuke said, hanging his head.

Itachi must have felt something leave his brother's body, because he leaned forward to gently hug Sasuke again, though only for a few seconds. "You can still do this. Now let's get you home. I'll walk with you."

Sasuke stood there, his head raised slightly, breathing his rough breaths. "…do I really have to go home…"

"Yes, Sasuke. You do."

He winced inwardly. "Can't I take this… slowly? Bit by bit, like you said…"

"How do you mean?"

"I'm just… I don't know if I'm ready yet. I don't know if my heart could—I mean I could…" He sighed. "I'm sorry, brother, I'm just being weak… You can take me home…"

An uncommon softness entered Itachi's face.

(Old memories, like dusty notes from an old piano, drifted across his mind.)

And he reached forward, and with two fingers, he poked Sasuke in the middle of his forehead.

"Maybe a bit later, little brother," he said, with a smile.

The look on Sasuke's face in reply was something like astonishment, or gratefulness.

"Itachi…?"

"As your older brother I'm supposed to look out for you, right?" he continued. "And that includes making sure you don't get in too deep. I… honestly shouldn't have expected someone that just nearly drowned himself to immediately turn around and start reconciling with his family…"

"But you just said…"

"You'll have to go home eventually, Sasuke. But—you'll have to forgive me, I let my anger take control of me… Until you can go home, we can take things slowly, and focus on getting you better. You can't exactly take care of your family when nobody's taking care of you..."

"…that makes no sense, Itachi…" Sasuke rubbed at his leaking eyes with a tightly-clenched fist.

Itachi smiled, kindly. "You're tired. Let's get you somewhere you can dry off and rest." He reached forward with one of his hands.

"Are you serious, who'd take me in...?" Sasuke said. "I don't want to go back to the hospital…"

"I'm not the only brother you have, Sasuke," Itachi replied.

Sasuke looked back at him with exhausted confusion. "What are you talking about…?"

"Just trust me." He motioned with his hand again.

And Sasuke, finally, took it, and they began to leave the compound together, Sasuke's arm slung over Itachi's shoulder for support, as if they were both boys again.

"Promise me one thing, though? Even if we take this slowly," Itachi said, on the way out.

"Mm."

"Please don't try to drown yourself again. It was enough of an effort saving you this time, I barely made it to Murasaki-san in time…"

Sasuke sigh-laughed bitterly. "I promise this will be the last time. You've saved me enough times already."

Itachi smirked, his eyes sliding sideways.

"I mean, saving Inou was enough, but then you went and intervened again when Orochimaru came for me, so…"

Itachi stopped walking. "What do you mean, 'again'?"

Sasuke looked up at him. "When I was… fighting with Inou after the chuunin exams, and you used Murasaki's body to save him."

Itachi shook his head, slowly, his face creasing. "That… wasn't me."

"It… wasn't? But you said… you called me 'little brother'…"

"Sasuke," Itachi said, "that was Father."

Sasuke, whose head had been drifting downward in thought, returned to Itachi quickly. "Father…?"

"There was no way I could have been able to reach Murasaki-san at that time. Mother kept me from her. But Father was able to get to her, and with her he intervened. I… saw the whole thing."

Sasuke's mouth had fallen slightly open. "Then… all those things that you—he said…"

"He told me… after it was over, that he felt if you believed he was me that you'd actually listen to him…"

Sasuke didn't say anything.

"Since he figured you had a higher opinion of me than him," Itachi continued, "and—Sasuke, are you okay…?"

Sasuke had begun crying again, though far more quietly than before. "Unbelievable… Father, you really weren't lying…" He sniffed deeply. "Itachi, I… I saw him. Before you pulled me out, he and I talked, and…" He covered his eyes with one hand, pressing middle finger and thumb against his temples. "I said such horrible things to him, I told him to yell at me, when all he wanted was…"

"You saw Father…?"

"He even told me you were coming for me… He wanted me to take your hand, he told me…"

Itachi stopped walking, and stepped away slightly so that they could face each other. "What did he tell you, little brother…?" he said, quietly.

"…he told me he was proud of me, and…" But Sasuke couldn't say any more, not aloud, not into the air. "Just, all this time, I thought he didn't care…"

After letting Sasuke cry a little longer, Itachi said, "You want to know something?"

"What…?" Sasuke was inhaling deeply and quietly, damming up his tears.

"The day I died—when you and I fought, all those years ago—when I awoke on the other side, do you know who was waiting for me?" He didn't leave time for an answer. "Mother. And everyone that still held a grudge."

"Mother…?"

Itachi nodded. "She really laid into me, and I was still adjusting to my situation, disoriented… not like she cared. And then, one by one, everyone that hadn't passed on that still felt raw about what I did… well, you get the idea…" Itachi's eyes were lowered. "I thought I was in hell. And, of course, I thought I deserved it."

Sasuke swallowed to keep anything else from coming out.

"It went on for a long while. And eventually—I don't know how many hours or days later it was—they lost interest and wandered off to watch what you were doing. That's when Father came to me." Itachi's head bent forward with something that might have been a laugh. "I thought he'd be the most disappointed in me. But you know what he did?" He maybe-laughed again, but this time it was clear that it was the beginnings of tears. "He asked me if I was okay. I was so confused, but he persisted. He asked me if I'd been cared for in his absence, if I felt I'd done a good job looking after you… and he apologized to me."

"He apologized…?"

("Please forgive me.")

Itachi nodded. "For not being able to keep the massacre from happening. He said he wished I could have lived in peace, like he knew I wanted." Itachi wiped at one eye with the palm of one hand. "I was shocked. I told him—I remember telling him—that I thought he wanted for me to be a warrior. And he told me that he'd known since I was five that I never wanted to fight anyone, and that if he had more power he'd have done everything he could to let me live my life how I wanted."

"Are you serious…?"

"I told you, I was shocked," Itachi replied. "I guess I truly 'met' Father on that day, however many years ago. I got to know him for the man he really was."

Sasuke shook his head, though more out of amazement than disbelief. "So all this time…"

"He's been watching over the both of us, no matter where we were. Even during the War, when I was summoned away…" Itachi had to wipe at his eyes again. "When the seal broke, after I said goodbye to you again, he was waiting for me all over again."

"I guess he was waiting for me too," Sasuke said. "Though… he didn't ask me if I was okay. He wanted me to go back."

"Of course he did," Itachi said, eyebrows rising. "Sasuke, of all the people that wanted for you to live happily with your family, Father probably wanted it the most. He was so happy when your children were born, each and every one of them. He wanted for you to be able to love them like he couldn't love us." He lowered his eyes. "Of course, after what happened with Nadeshiko, he… he didn't exactly lose hope for you, but he was… upset."

Sasuke shivered where he stood, intensely, for a second, his face wincing with the movement.

"…of course, Mother was proud of how you handled that situation…" Itachi added, quietly.

"Mother was proud?"

"For… the most part." Itachi's mouth stretched, as if there was bitter poison on his tongue. "Though, she talked on and on about how you should have been stricter with her and brought her back to the house by force… She wouldn't stop—talking about it. Even when I was with Nadeshiko and watching over her, she'd come by just to—I don't know, insult us both…"

"...are you sure you're talking about our mother?" Sasuke said.

Itachi's expression was as still and stiff as porcelain.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about Mother," he said, after a while. "It's probably for the best that we leave her be."

("Everything I did was to protect you, son. I swear.")

Itachi exhaled deeply, removing his frustration from his face, and ran his hands over Sasuke's wrinkled, still-soaked clothes. "Come on, little brother, let's keep going. You're going to catch a cold at this rate."

("From people far crueler than me.")

"…it's just strange," Sasuke said, once they were walking again, "I always remember Mother to have been a kind woman…"

"She can be kind, in her own way," Itachi said, hesitantly. "It's just… when she wants something, she'll manipulate and twist anyone in her way until she gets it."

"Like…?"

"Well, Murasaki-san for example… Mother's kept anyone but our family from getting near her, and that includes me…" Itachi replied, and he sighed deeply, shrugging. "I don't know why, but I think she just takes satisfaction from having the girl under her control. Though that's not so much the case any more."

"And Father?"

Itachi didn't say anything for a while. "You know, when I was a child—before you were born—the Third War came very close to Konoha."

"Yeah?" Sasuke replied, his face wrinkling with confusion.

"So as a result, some of my earliest memories are of war. The wounded, the dead. The… battles. As you can imagine, I was absolutely terrified at that time. I didn't want to go to school, even though I trained well and easily. Some days, I wouldn't come out of my room."

"…Itachi, why are you telling me this…?" Sasuke said.

Itachi paused, seemingly gathering his thoughts. "One day, Mother called me out to talk to me about things with Father. You'd have expected, with a young son obviously suffering from fear and trauma, she'd have comforted me. And she did, again, in her own way. But she also told me I still had to learn how to fight, even though I told her, over and over, that I didn't want to hurt people."

Sasuke felt a tight, uneasy feeling of nostalgia and passive guilt directed at him, and his shoulders rose.

"You know how she finally got me to cooperate? She told me that, if I didn't learn to fight, that nobody would be able to protect the little brother I was going to receive. That's how she told me you were on the way, Sasuke."

Sasuke lifted his head. "Honestly…?"

"Yes," Itachi replied. "Of course, I was so young then, it only made sense to obey. I didn't even think that it was a threat, or how much it would… damage my way of thinking, growing up…"

"How is—telling you that you should learn to fight protect me a threat…?" Sasuke said.

"Because she never said anything about her or Father protecting you, as well. It was as if, if I didn't obey, horrible things would happen to you, and you hadn't even been born yet." Itachi looked down, almost ashamed. "She kept reminding me every time I wanted to be near you, or I faltered in my training."

("Isn't your little brother so small, Itachi? Remember, my sweet darling, if you aren't strong enough to protect him, then who will when bad things happen?")

"Itachi, I had no idea…" Sasuke said.

"It's all right," Itachi replied, softly. "I never really talked about it with anyone, and… besides, she stopped saying things like that to me after the Nine-Tails attacked the village. I guess I had done a good enough job protecting you then to have what she wanted cemented in my mind…"

Sasuke didn't say anything, but the sick feeling in his stomach just grew.

"Of course… I didn't realize that Father was trying to support me then, too. It was only in looking back, knowing what I know now that…" He sighed. "He pulled me aside once or twice, to tell me that he and Mother could protect you and me—since they were our parents, and that was their duty, he said. But the Nine-Tails attack seemed to have stopped that as well. After all, I was home alone with you when it happened, and he wasn't there to protect us, so…"

Sasuke felt Itachi's hand tighten against his back. And he felt he had to say something.

"...brother, uh… I'm here. I'm safe."

Itachi chuckled, and brushed his bangs out of his face. "Thank you, little brother."

"Yeah, don't… mention it…"

They walked in silence for a while, taking the road away from Sasuke's ruined house, staying where it was quiet.

Sasuke, eventually, couldn't help himself.

"Does, uh… Mother still do things like that to you? Making… threats like that?" he said.

Itachi continued walking, his eyes to the ground. "She's given up on being passive-aggressive and is just plain aggressive with me, these days. We don't talk much, though."

"Does she know about Yakata?"

In that moment an almost unrecognizable expression hit Itachi's face.

(Not in that it couldn't be described, but in that Sasuke had never seen such discomfort and awkwardness paired with his brother's features.)

"She, um… well… the boy…" He scratched at his temple with his free hand. "Well, she sort of lost interest quickly because he… well, he's…"

"He's what…?" Sasuke said, almost marveling at how easily Itachi now was stumbling over his words.

"Well, you—you've had more time with the boy, you know how, um… timid he is…" Itachi said, gesturing with his hand. "Maybe if she could actually, uh… interact with him she'd have more interest, but, well… you were doing her job for her, and I suppose she wasn't happy about you… letting him, um… be around Nadeshiko."

The guilt in Sasuke's stomach, lessened a little by his curiosity, returned with full force.

"…she didn't like that, huh," he said.

"Not at all," Itachi said, and cleared his throat. "Thought she was a bad… influence. Of course, I was… well, I was happy they became friends, but…"

"You've been… watching over him, then?" Sasuke said.

"Since the day I… found out he existed," Itachi said, almost shamefully. "Funny, I never… wanted children, but when it comes to him…"

"…are you mad at me for how I treated him?"

Itachi stared at the ground again. "I don't want to go down that path with you, Sasuke."

Sasuke's shoulders tensed. "Ah…"

"I mean…" Itachi continued, skipping back in a bit too quickly, "you've been struggling with a lot of problems lately, little brother. And… hopefully, with time, you'll be able to heal them. It's… a conversation for another time."

"Mm…"

"Though, um, I'm very proud that… you allowed, um… that boy to be around Nadeshiko in the end, though," Itachi said, after a while. "I didn't expect that out of you."

Sasuke laughed bitterly. "You keep calling him 'that boy.'"

"Well, I…" Itachi frowned and cleared his throat again. "I don't actually… know him personally, so it doesn't feel right… using his name, as if I do…"

"Fair enough," Sasuke said. A while passed. "I'm glad you've been looking after him, myself," he said, later. "I don't know why, but it just… feels right."

Itachi wore a kind smirk. "He's… a good boy, I've found. Even if I can't really do anything for him, it's… good knowing he's okay."

"Mm." Sasuke lowered his eyes, and said no more.

Not long after, they entered the residential areas of Konoha, and Sasuke, limping along, began to look increasingly uncomfortable. "Where are we going, exactly…?"

"I told you before: I'm not the only brother you have, little brother," Itachi replied.

Sasuke struggled with the thought as they went along. "You don't mean."

"If there's anyone that'll take you in now, it's him," Itachi said.

Sasuke groaned like a young boy getting his hair brushed. "Come on, please…"

But Itachi still brought the two of them up to Naruto's front door, and knocked.

It was late enough in the evening by then that Naruto was actually home, and he looked appropriately surprised at the sight of Sasuke and an apparently-resurrected Itachi, both soaked through, on his front step.

"Hello, Naruto-san. Is it all right if I leave my idiot brother with you for a while?" Itachi said.

"Uh… Itachi?" Naruto managed.

"I'm just borrowing Murasaki-san for a while; this is a transformation jutsu," Itachi said, and stepped forward with Sasuke anyways. "I figured someone would listen to me more if I actually looked like myself…"

"Uh… okay, just… why are you both wet, y'know?"

"…we got caught in the rain," Sasuke said.

"It was raining?" Naruto stepped out of his door and peered up at the impeccably clear sky.

"Sasuke had to clear his head, and he needs a place to rest, if that's all right," Itachi said, entering Naruto's house with his brother. "Can he stay here for a while?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess—are you two okay?" Naruto re-entered with them.

"I'm fine, but Sasuke needs to be looked after. You have somewhere for him to sleep?"

"Brother, I don't need to sleep…" Sasuke said, quietly.

"Yes you do," Itachi replied, firmly, and Sasuke made a fuss-like noise in reply.

(Naruto had been gauging their chakra, underneath these actions. Itachi had a fine layer of Murasaki's calm about him, and Sasuke felt…)

(…well he wasn't as at peace as he'd seemed before, but he was exhausted, emotionally and physically, and he looked exhausted, more importantly.)

"Um… d'you need some dry clothes?" Naruto said. "I mean, uh… if you need somewhere to sleep I guess you can use my bed, y'know?"

"I'm not sleeping in your bed, dumbass…" Sasuke groaned.

"Okay, okay, the guest room then," Naruto said. "Here, this way, y'know."

Itachi sat Sasuke down on the bed while Naruto went to get some sweatpants and a t-shirt from his room, and carefully helped replace Sasuke's wet clothes. Sasuke's body was limp and somewhat difficult to maneuver, and as soon as they were done, Sasuke pulled himself away from them both to bury himself in the covers.

"Yo, Sasuke, you okay…?" Naruto said.

Sasuke didn't respond, curled into a fetal position, his face smoothed. He'd apparently fallen asleep immediately.

"He'll be fine, now that you're looking after him," Itachi said.

"Uh… sure…" Naruto motioned for the door, Sasuke's wet pants and shirt draped over his arm. "I should get this stuff dried, y'know. You, uh, need some dry clothes too, Itachi-san?"

"Not me, though Murasaki-san might need a change once I leave," Itachi replied, following him down the hallway to the laundry room. "She's almost at her limit, but you at least deserve an explanation."

"Yeah, uh, what exactly happened here?" Naruto said.

So Itachi told him.

"Are you serious? Oh, jeez, uh—shouldn't we bring him to the hospital, y'know?" Naruto replied.

But Itachi shook his head. "He doesn't want to go, right now. But if he wants to talk to someone when he wakes up, I expect you to bring him." Itachi sighed. "He just… needs some time away from his family for the time being, I think. He's got a lot of healing to do." He returned to the doorway of Naruto's guest room, watching his brother sleep through the door frame.

"Healing, huh," Naruto said, standing behind him.

"It might take a while before he… feels he's worth their time, I think," Itachi said. "He doesn't have the best sense of self-worth right now."

"Yeah, I'll say, y'know…" Naruto said. "Well jeez, Itachi-san, thank goodness for you."

"I'm just doing what I can," Itachi replied. "I imagine you'll do way more good for him than I can, though."

"I'll look after him s'best I can, y'know," Naruto said. "Still, I feel like I should tell Ino and Sakura 'bout this."

"You should," Itachi said. "Though… mentioning that he tried to drown himself today might not be wise, especially around Ino."

"Eh…" Naruto's eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head. "You think he'll try it again?"

"Absolutely not," Itachi said, with soft certainty. "He gave me his word."

(And Naruto knew how strong that word was.)

"…well, I'll still tell 'em that he's keepin' his distance and stayin' with me, y'know," Naruto returned. "Until he decides he wants to change things, y'know."

"Thank you." Itachi bowed at him. "I leave him in your care."

"Yeah, 'course…"

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to lie down because Murasaki-san's far outdone herself and I don't want her collapsed on your floor," Itachi continued, calmly.

"Wait, what?"

Itachi was already in Naruto's living room, and had settled on the couch in an absurdly composed manner, his hands folded on his chest.

"Itachi-san, hey-"

There was a puff of smoke, and a moment later it was no longer Itachi lying there but Murasaki, her clothes half-dry and her eyes closed.

Naruto tried to rouse her on the shoulder. "Yo, Itachi-san?"

Murasaki's eyes opened. "…ah, Sensei, what am I doing in your house…?"

"You were kinda Itachi until just a little bit ago, Murasaki," Naruto replied.

She paused for a while, her head lolling sideways. "…Shusuke tells me that Itachi-san was able to save Sasuke-san, and that he brought him to you."

"That's about right," Naruto replied. "You okay?"

Murasaki yawned, and smiled sleepily. "…oh, yes, so long as I was able to help… I'd like to sleep now, if that's all right…"

And before Naruto could do anything, Murasaki had curled up on her side and was sighing contentedly.

Naruto sighed as well, and went to get a blanket for her. He managed to at least remove her heavy outer smock, the most soaked-through with water, before tucking her in, and going to use the phone.

He called Murasaki's parents first, saying she'd come to visit him and would be spending the night. They gossiped for a while after that about her sudden celebrity—word was getting around about her abilities, which brought with it many wanted and unwanted solicitations, which the family was still getting used to—and signed off on comforting notes.

He called Sakura next, saying that Sasuke had expressed a desire to spend some time away from his family to recover better, and that Sasuke would be staying with him until further notice. Sakura, confused at first, managed to understand a little after Naruto threw together a few words about Sasuke wanting time to think about things, and him feeling guilty about his recent behavior. She signed off with an expression of help—that Naruto could bring Sasuke to her staff if he ever needed assistance, and Naruto thanked her, saying he knew.

He called Ino last, first immediately assuring her that Sasuke was fine, and then repeating a lot of what he'd told Sakura, though made smoother by the fact that he'd said it all before. He had to assure Ino afterward that this distance wasn't her fault—it was more that Sasuke wanted to be feeling truly better before returning to his family, and not that he didn't want to be around her because of anything she had done.

"He doesn't want to be a burden on any of you right now, I guess, 'specially with what's going on with Takeru-kun and Hajime-kun, y'know," he concluded. "He feels really bad about how he's behaved lately and is… I dunno, tryin' to figure out how to make it up to you guys."

"…ah, well, I trust you'll take care of him, then," Ino replied, quietly.

Naruto signed off with her saying he was looking after all of them, not just Sasuke, and that she was welcome to come see him at any time.

(Though Ino never did come to visit, after that.)

(Even she couldn't quite articulate the reasons.)

After that, Naruto made himself a big bowl of instant ramen, sighing a lot, and worrying, but resolving to see everything through.

He could take care of Sasuke, and he knew it.

He just hoped that Sasuke would be able to take care of himself, in time.

The next day, Naruto ended up having to call Murasaki's parents, Sakura, and Ino all over again, because Murasaki and Sasuke had both caught aggressive colds. He also called Andou, certainly, to inform him that he'd be staying home to nurse them. Murasaki's parents eventually came by in the afternoon to pick her up, while Sasuke was napping.

Naruto took his work fairly cheerfully, making chicken soup and getting things for Sasuke when he asked for them and when he didn't, and smiling at his friend's mumbled thank-you's in response.

It didn't take him long to think that, maybe, this recovery thing would be easier than he thought.

After all, Sasuke never thanked anyone for anything.