Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto

Then I see your face; I know I'm finally yours. I find everything I lost before. You call my name. I come to you in pieces, so you can make me whole. — Red

"What do you mean you can't go?" Suigetsu whined, catching Sasuke outside Itachi's apartment building. Sasuke frowned at his purple-eyed friend.

"I'm taking care of my brother." Sasuke said as he leaned against the building. He rolled his eyes, before popping another tic-tac into his mouth.

"Why are you taking care of your brother?" Suigetsu asked, clearly not in the loop. "Did he break his leg or something?"

Sasuke frowned. "Yeah," he drawled, "he did."

"Oh, can't you just dump him at his girlfriend's house? You promised me you'll come and watch my first film! I worked my ass off doing this!" Suigetsu said, squeezing the straps of his backpack.

"Fine," Sasuke sighed. "I'll see if I can make it." Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Awesome! Before you know it, I'll be a famous director!" Suigetsu grinned.

"Sure."

"Hey, Uchiha!" Kiba shouted. Sasuke sighed and looked at Kiba who was stalking towards him, looking pissed as hell.

"What is it Ki—"

Kiba punched Sasuke in the jaw.

"Your bastard of a brother has gone and broke my sister's heart!" Kiba shouted.

"Not my fault! She was the one that came to the apartment to see him!" Sasuke shouted, tackling Kiba.

"Fucking bastard!" Kiba punched Sasuke in the gut. Sasuke tumbled to the ground taking Kiba with him. Naruto pulled up into the parallel parking spot. He got and stared at the two.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Naruto, betcha Sasuke wins! Fight!" Suigets shouted. Naruto rolled his eyes and tried to break Sasuke and Kiba up, which got him nowhere.

"Bastard!" Sasuke shouted, pushing against Kiba with his foot as he struggled to get the other boy off him. Sasuke was eventually to push Kiba off him and he squared his shoulders, as Kiba growled and tackled him again. Sasuke snarled as he saw the crowd of curious people around them, some chanting along with Suigetsu. "Damn it!" Sasuke ground out. Kiba punched Sasuke in the gut and then the jaw.

Sasuke snarled, upset that his friends weren't helping him, when suddenly someone pulled them apart. "Juugo!" Sasuke asked.

"You shouldn't fight," Juugo said.

"Hn." Sasuke touched his bleeding lip. "Don't expect me to show up, Suigetsu." Sasuke said as he wiped blood away from his bleeding lip and entered the apartment building.

Itachi groaned softly. It had been such a long time since his body didn't hurt. His fever broke a few days ago and the pain had only stopped yesterday. He sniffed as he slowly propped himself up as he opened his eyes. He saw a flash of brown hair and the back of a woman. "Hana?" he blinked trying to think straight. Hana was here? His fuzzy brain computed. He groaned before passing out.

Karin moaned softly as she slowly bucked her hips. Sasuke echoed the sound at the sensation that ran up his nerves. It felt so good to be buried deep in Karin's warm wet heat. She was spending the night with him, since Itachi was out of it, and it was boring as hell. They decided to have a little fun. His back was against the soft cushions of his brother's couch and his girlfriend was riding him with tantalizing slowness. Their clothes had somehow been removed, but neither one remembered taking them off.

"Sa-Sasuke…" Karin moaned when he jerked his hips up into her. They were taking it slowly, because Karin wanted it slow.

"I love it when you say my name like that," he purred, bucking his hips again. She moaned, her mouth forming a perfect little O of surprise. She returned the favor by grinding down on him and rolling his hips forward. That got a hiss from him. He sat up a bit, and bit the top of her breast. "Like that?" he asked, a smoldering look in his coal dark eyes.

"Yesssss….." Karin hissed, and tossed her head, so her blood red tresses fell around her face. It was a blood red hood of hair, and had that sharp tangy scent of her shampoo. He pressed his lips against her, nibbling at her lip and tracing her teeth with his tongue.

She does such wicked things with her tongue. He thought, moaning into her mouth when she jerked her hips again. And her hips. "Naughty girl," he breathed against her mouth and gave her firm buttocks a squeeze. "My naughty, naughty girl."

Karin gave a little giggle, the blush on her cheeks deepening. "You are such a bad, bad boy, though." Karin growled, while she ground down on him. She threaded her fingers of one hand through his ink black hair and gave a sharp tug. He gasped, enjoying the sharp pain and sighed when her warm mouth found his neck. She bit and suck, her other hand going to his hip to pull him closer to her when he thrust.

She's close. She's getting more demanding, he thought as he picked up his pace. He tugged at her hair and scratched at her back, sometimes tracing an old scar.

"Mmm…. Sasuke… Sasuke…" Karin moaned, her breathing getting heavier and her vocalization getting higher. She was close, he knew, and so was he. "Bite me… Sasuke… bite me!" she ordered. He was very happy to comply; his rapid thrusts were causing the couch springs to squeak.

"Love you," he breathed, before kissing a recently made bite mark.

"Mmmm…" Karin ran her hands through his hair, tugging at the ends sharply. "Love you too," she replied. Sasuke smirked, held her hips down, bit her shoulder and thrust up into her with one powerful motion. "Aaah… Sasuke… Sasuke… Sasuke!" Karin screamed as she climaxed. He groaned, coming seconds after her.

Karin flopped forward and he wiggled out of her. "That was fun," she giggled breathily. She kissed his bear shoulder as he pulled the slimy condom off his member. He placed it on the wrapper that was on the floor.

"Yeah, it was." He pulled the blanket over their naked bodies and snuggled closer to her. "Maybe later we can do it again."

Karin giggled, adjusted her glasses and said, "I'd like that."

"I rather you two not fuck again on my couch," a voice said. Karin and Sasuke both jumped, any post-orgasm warm fuzzies melting away as they looked up. Towering over them was Itachi. Gaunt, pale, with sunken eyes and cheeks, looking more like a bag of skin and bones than a person. "I sit on that couch. I don't want your baby-making goop all over it." Itachi swayed and caught himself on the back of the couch. "And pick up that used condom Sasuke. It's gross and looks like a nasty dead jellyfish."

"Itachi!" Sasuke shouted, scrambling to sit up and keep the blanket covering him and Karin. Karin hugged her boyfriend's back shyly. "What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

"I live here." Itachi frowned. "And why are you two fucking on my couch?" he asked, only to sway slightly again, and this time steadying himself on the armrest of the couch.

"Uh… " Sasuke drew a blank and instead opted into giving Itachi a big fat grin.

"Cause you were using the bed, dumbass," Karin grumbled, a pout on her lips. "Where else were we gonna fuck? On the floor."

"I heard you two," Itachi replied. His expression was a mix between horror and mortification. Sasuke hung his head, fidgeting with his fingers. Itachi groaned, his free arm wrapping around his middle and his grip on the armrest tightening, until his knuckles were white.

"Itachi!" Sasuke got up and went to his brother's side.

"For fuck's sake…" Itachi gasped. "Put some clothes on, Sasuke!" Itachi weakly pushed his younger brother away and hobbled off towards the bathroom to puke.

"Do you want something to eat?" Karin called out. "I can make pancakes." Sasuke gave his girlfriend a look, which she returned; Sasuke broke eye contact and went looking for his clothes. He found them in a heap with Karin. He picked his way through the clothes, showing Karin her underwear and bra. "Gimme those!" Karin shouted, jumping up and down on the couch. Sasuke snickered and tossed them to her before pulling his own clothes on and going to his brother. "Should I make pancakes?" Karin asked.

"Might as well," Sasuke said with a shrug as he cleaned up the mess. He looked at the used condom. It did look like a jellyfish.

"Throw that away," Itachi said, having reappeared from his trip in the bathroom. He avoided the couch like the plague and instead sat in the recliner. He moaned softly. "I feel like shit.

"You look like shit," Sasuke agreed. This earned a glare from his brother. Karin finished dressing and began to busy herself in the kitchen with making pancakes.

"I'm so tired, but I can't sleep," Itachi muttered.

"Lingering effects of the withdrawal." Sasuke nodded. Itachi groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"I just hope all of this is worth it," Itachi muttered.

"Of course it is!" Sasuke pointed out.

"Kiba and Sasuke got into a fight because of you," Karin quipped from the kitchen.

"Who told you?" Sasuke asked.

"Naruto," Karin said. "Every last gritty detail." She gave him a wicked grin.

"Figures," Sasuke grumbled.

"I just want Hana, and then this nightmare can end," Itachi sighed.

"Why don't you call her?" Karin asked.

Itachi stiffened. "I just went through withdrawal, I can barely stand! I've lost weight, I… I don't think I can face her," Itachi said. Karin began cooking the pancakes. The silence that filled the apartment was only broken by Karin's humming and the sizzle of cooking pancake batter. She came into the living room with three plates of pancakes. She handed one to Sasuke, the other to Itachi and kept the third for herself. With her task complete, she plopped down next to her boyfriend, and tucked her legs up under her.

"You're a coward," Karin said, direct as ever. Sasuke scowled at her, but the effect was ruin due to the fact he had a fork in his mouth.

"Excuse me?" Itachi looked up at the bespectacled redhead.

"You heard me. You've been making excuses for every thing since Shisui died. Subconsciously, mind you. You were in so much pain you needed heroin, you couldn't quit because you didn't want the pain, now that you are clean, you blame your now weaken body on why you can't give the woman you love a simple phone call." Karin tossed some of her red tresses over her shoulder. "You're a coward Uchiha Itachi."

Itachi looked at his pancakes before nibbling on one. "This is really good," Itachi said.

"Thank you, Sasuke never compliments my cooking." Karin beamed.

"I do to! I love your chicken stir fry!" Sasuke replied indignantly.

"Geez, learn to take a joke," Karin grumbled. Sasuke huffed, but pressed his thigh up against hers.

"But… you're right." Itachi looked at his pancake. It wasn't gooey but it was fluffy and buttery. For some reason this kinda reminded him of that double cheeseburger he bought Hana. "I am a coward," he muttered.

"What? No, you're not! You're brave, Niisan!" Sasuke said. "You're the bravest person I know!"

"Don't kid yourself, Sasuke," Itachi growled. "Karin's right. I am a coward."

Karin smirked, before resting a hand on Itachi's shoulder. "But its okay, we are all cowards when it comes to matters of the heart, just take me for example. It took a lot for me to fess up to Sasuke that I loved him." Karin looked down at her food, a blush coloring her cheeks. Sasuke pointedly looked away from his girlfriend, though inched closer to her to let her know he was still there.

"I had the best thing right in front of me all along and I just pushed her away like it didn't even matter," Itachi sighed.

"Hana came by again, a day and a half ago," Sasuke said.

"Really? So I didn't imagine it," Itachi whispered.

"Yeah. But you were only semi-conscious and she didn't stay long. She told you something, whatever it was made her really upset and she left shortly after," Sasuke said.

"I'm going to see her tonight." Itachi looked at Sasuke and Karin. "I'll tell her I'm clean and that I love her and I want her in my life," Itachi said.

"Don't you think you should regain some more of your strength? You've been on an IV drip for a week and a half!" Karin said.

"How did I eat?" Itachi asked. Sasuke blushed, looking away and Karin pouted.

"I sorta chewed the food and uhm…fed it to you…by uhm…mouth-to-mouth," Sasuke muttered, his face turning beet red. Itachi choked on his food.

"You kissed me!" Itachi shouted.

"You were delirious!" Karin interjected.

"But still! My brother kissed me!"

"No… not exactly… it wasn't kissing," Sasuke insisted.

"Whatever," Itachi grumbled.

"Well, I gotta get home, bye Itachi." Karin stood up and pulled something out of her pocket. "Here Itachi, its Hana's address." She grinned at him before she sashayed out of the apartment's door. Sasuke got up, grabbed their coats and met her there.

"How did she get Hana's address?" Itachi asked before the two teens could leave.

"Karin has her ways," Sasuke said. Itachi stared at the loopy writing. "Oh, and before I forgot Mom wants to meet Hana," Sasuke said.

"Huh? Oh… they… they don't know, do they?" Itachi asked softly.

"Nope, and I'm not going to tell them. As far as they know, you broke your leg. You can thank Suigetsu for that excuse," Sasuke smirked.

"I… I'm not sure if I should see Hana now," Itachi muttered.

"Itachi, you want to see her. Hell, you were screaming for her. You want to see her, I know it," Sasuke said.

"But I… I ruined our relationship." Itachi hung his head. "She probably hates me," he muttered.

"Nah, I told you, she was really worried about you." Sasuke smiled. "Hana really does care about you. This is your tabula rasa," Sasuke said.

"Sasuke, we need to get going," Karin growled.

"My what?" Itachi blinked stupidly.

"Tabula rasa. Clean slate, second chance, irunno, some psychology shit Ino likes to spout from time to time." Sasuke shrugged.

"Oh." Itachi nodded.

"Wait a few days, get some color back into your cheeks." Sasuke opened the door. "Meat on your bones, that stuff; then go see Hana," he said. "Anyways, I hafta go, see ya." He waved to his brother and left. Itachi gave a weak smile before sighing.

"Hana," he whispered and glanced at the scars on his wrists and arms. "I don't deserve this."

Itachi tugged at his shirt. It was his only clean shirt he had; he really needed to do his laundry, as he stared at the door to Hana's apartment. He gulped and knocked, before glancing at the flowers, he had bought: tiger lilies. "Last time I'm taking Shisui's advice on women," Itachi grumbled. Dead or not, his cousin was an idiot when it came to the opposite sex.

"He—Itachi?" Hana blinked, looking the Uchiha up and down.

"Hi, Hana, uhm… I got you some uhm… flowers," he held up the colorful bouquet of tiger lilies. Hana furrowed her brow as she frowned.

"Go away," she growled.

"What?" Itachi blinked, lowering the flowers.

"You heard me, I said go away," she began to close the door.

"Hana, wait!" He wedged his foot into the door to jam it. "Hana, please just listen to me." He forced his way into the apartment. "I'm clean! You told me to come find you when I'm clean!" Itachi said.

"I don't care! You fucked up!" Hana shouted. Itachi frowned.

"Hana, I know I fucked up, but you can't just…" he ran a hand through his black hair, "give up on me!" Itachi gasped.

"I think I can! I've never been so relieved these past few days!" Hana snapped. Itachi frowned.

"Sasuke said you were worried about me," Itachi muttered holding her gaze with his enigmatic black orbs. "That you came and tried to tell me something, but I was only semi-conscious and… whatever it was you were really upset about it."

If only you knew, Itachi. If only you knew."Well, he was wrong," Hana said.

Itachi bit his lip, wondering why this was so difficult, and why Hana was lying about visiting him. Though the latter didn't really matter as much as the former. "I love you," he said and looked at her. "I got clean because of you! After you left, whenever I got high, I saw your face! But I was so… fucked up I didn't know how to help myself! Sasuke told me I screamed your name as I was getting clean!" Itachi said.

"Just go…" Hana paused. She bit her lip and sniffed, rubbing at her eyes. "Just go Itachi, I want nothin g more to do with you," Hana said. Itachi frowned, setting the flowers down. He pinned her again the wall, a playful smirk on his lips.

"Hana, I love you." He kissed her gently yet passionately. He sighed happily. It felt wonderful to have Hana's body pressed up against his, her lips against his; they were perfect together. His brief happy moment came undone when Hana slapped him and she glowered hatefully at him.

"Get out!" she growled.

"Hana, I…" He began. Again, last time he was taking Shisui's advice.

"I don't want to hear it! Get out or I'm calling the cops!" Hana growled. Itachi sighed, taking his flowers with him. He looked sadly at Hana.

"I love you," he whispered brokenly, before exiting her apartment. Hana screamed before she tossed the vase that her mother gave her against the door. She fell to her knees, not caring if the broken shards of glass cut her hands, she would welcome any pain, so long as it made the pain in her heart go away.

Itachi angrily tossed the flowers into the dumpster, before ramming his hands into his pockets, marching back to his apartment in a foul mood. The autumn wind was biting against the skin of his face, and then he heard the click-clack of something following him. He turned to see a lost Akita pup, about eleven months old. The puppy sat down and stared at Itachi with ice blue eyes. "Go home," he growled, before continuing on his journey. The puppy followed him. Itachi looked over his shoulder and glared at the puppy. "I said get!" he shouted, stomping towards the dog.

The puppy yipped before scampering off behind an alley. Itachi snorted and continued on his way, unaware of the puppy watching him.

Itachi ran a hand through his hair, when he heard a yip. He turned and saw the puppy. "Fucking dog." He was about to chase the Akita pup off again when he noticed the flowers the puppy had placed at his feet. "You promise to be good?" he asked. The puppy cocked his head before giving a soft yip. "Okay, I guess you can come home with me." He scooped up the dog and sneakily entered his apartment complex.

"Mmmm… Hana," Itachi muttered in his sleep, kissing back. He got a mouthful of tongue, it wasn't like a human tongue and this caused Itachi's fuzzy brain to wake up. He opened his eyes to see the puppy, which he named Yuki, licking him. "Ack! Yuki! Bad dog! Off th bed!" Itachi grabbed Yuki's black color and half pushed half threw Yuki off the bed. Yuki landed with a soft yip, tumbling over himself, before getting up and shaking his body. He sat down and stared at Itachi before jumping up on the bed again, wedging himself between Itachi's legs.

Itachi sighed; it had been two weeks since he rescued the dog. "What am I going to do with you?" he muttered, rubbing the pup's head, smiling warmly at him. Yuki yipped softly, got up and began licking Itachi's face. "Stop it," Itachi muttered, pushing Yuki away.

"Yo, Itachi! Open up!" a voice shouted. Itachi froze.

"Deidara?" he slipped out of bed and pulled on some clothes before heading to the door. He yanked it open to see the blond artist.

"Hey, Ita-chi!" Deidara stepped in, only to get tackled by the puppy. Yuki looked at Deidara, sniffed him before licking his face.

"Yuki!" Itachi pulled the dog away.

"When did you get a dog?" Deidara asked.

"Since I decided to get a dog," Itachi growled cryptically.

"Hn." Deidara blinked. "Anyway, I got the new shipment." Deidara wandered over to the couch and flopped down on the fluffy cushions. Yuki bounded up and stared at Deidara, his tail wagging. "And I was wondering why you haven't been by to pick up your share." Deidara looked at Itachi.

"I'm clean," Itachi said. Deidara laughed.

"That's what they all say, Itachi!" Deidara snickered.

"No, seriously, I'm clean. Almost been a week. Now go," he said.

"You're fucking serious!" Deidara said.

"Correct, now go," Itachi said.

"Why?" Deidara asked.

"Just get out of my apartment!" Itachi pointed to the door and Yuki growled.

"Why get clean? Life's boring without drugs!" Deidara said.

Itachi frowned, his black eyes flashing. Yuki sensed the danger, hopped off the couch, grabbed one of Itachi's slippers and hid under the table, whining softly as he glanced at his master. "Because I lost everything! I lost my family! My brother! My life! My girlfriend!" Itachi snarled.

"Like you can get them back, shoot up." Deidara tossed Itachi a needle and he caught it, only to set it down.

"Get out now!" he grabbed Deidara by the collar of his shirt, dragging him to the door and tossed him out of his apartment. "And stay out!" he growled. Deidara looked at him before leaving.

Itachi glanced at the needle. It was so tempting to just forget everything and shoot up. Yuki whined looking at Itachi, the slipper in his mouth. Itachi stared at the dog then back at the needle. "You're right," he tossed the needle into the trash. "I don't need it, I have you and Hana, as soon as I get her back." He smiled, sitting on the couch. Yuki jumped onto the couch, laying across Itachi's lap. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too," Itachi sighed. Itachi pulled Yuki into his lap as if the dog was an over grown child. He rubbed Yuki's belly and kissed the dog's head. "You are a good boy," Itachi whispered. Yuki yipped softly. "I can't believe I'm talking to a dog. I need to get back to work."

The phone rang. "Hello? Sasuke… Shisui's funeral is tomorrow… okay. I'll be there." he nodded. "And why is Mom squealing?" he asked. "Oh, Karin is over." Itachi smirked. "Condoms cost less than babies," Itachi said and hung up before Sasuke could processes what he said.

The sky was dark steel grey, rain poured down in thick silver sheets and Itachi stared numbly off into space, his black umbrella keeping the rain off him. He didn't really pay attention to the priest's blabbering; his eyes were fixed on the glowering woman across from him. Both he and she knew that it would be rude to leave during this, so they stayed and settled for staring at each other. Well, Itachi was doing the staring while Hana was glaring at him.

Hana was in a lovely black dress, now soaking wet and showing off every curve her cute body possessed. Itachi was in his ceremonial police uniform with his umbrella, Yuki, chewing on his bright red leash, was at his side.

Taps began to play as the coffin containing his brother's dissected body was slowly lowered into the ground. Itachi vaguely wondered if Shisui was afraid to be in the ground, in a box and eventually end up as worm food. Itachi wondered what it would be like to die, but the unnerving thought made him shutter and he shook it off. Yuki snorted and gave a sharp tug on his leash. Itachi looked at the puppy, which stopped playing with his leash and settled down. The sound of dirt hitting the coffin was one of those sounds Itachi would never forget, right along with the sound of the gun that killed Shisui.

The funeral ended, it was raining heavily now almost as if the sky was crying for Shisui and for those that refuse to shed tears. There wasn't much fanfare and Itachi followed Hana slowly from behind, partly because Yuki still wasn't leash trained.

"Hana, wait!" he called.

"What now, Uchiha?" she growled.

"I'm sorry, for everything," he said.

"Sorry doesn't begin to fix the fact you broke my heart." Hana choked on her tears.

"Damn it, Hana! I'm hurting too! I regret I did anything to drive you away! To hurt you! Hana, please, I love you." He took a breath before pulling Yuki into the spotlight. Hana looked down at the puppy and smiled, kneeling down to rub the puppy's head. "He followed me home," Itachi muttered and held the umbrella over Hana's head. "Please, all I'm asking for is a second chance," he whispered. Hana looked at the puppy then at Itachi, before sighing.

"Okay," she said with a smile and he smiled back. Hana cupped Itachi's cheek and he habitually leaned into her touch. Hana leaned closer and pecked his lips. "Just one date," she said. Itachi grinned, a mysterious glint in his eyes.

"That's all I ask," he breathed and he kissed her.

And so ends Act VIII and Tabula Rasa.

Completed Originally: Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 22:17

Revamp Completed: Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 22:29

Well, it is done. All four chapters have been converted into all the new eight chapters, (you even got SK smut.) Now, I'm off to study for a math test tomorrow, wash my ass-crack and get to bed.

For any fanfiction from me in the future, keep an eye out for a new chapters to Kitsune no Tengu (MadaMitoHashi), Samurai no Kitsun (SasuKarin), Chances (SasuKarin AU, the prequel to this fic), as well as random oneshots.

Thank you so much for reading this fic. I hope you enjoyed it as depressing as it was at times. I would greatly appreciate a kind review on your thoughts of this story.

Save an author; leave a review.

Cheers!

-Nemo