2
Sasuke wakes up in bed the next morning, comfortable, cozy, and warm under the covers. He's unsure how he got here, but it doesn't matter as light pierces his eyelids.
He groans, yet if it's daytime, he should have met with Kabuto at least an hour ago, so he drags open his hazy raven eyes.
Sunlight pours in through the balcony and onto his cream sheets, the blinds half open and welcoming in dusty blue skies over the rippling lake. Sasuke is half-squinting, half-glaring against the shine when a shadow shifts in the corner of his vision. His heart jolts, head snapping left.
Itachi lies on the bed beside him, his eyes open. Sasuke flinches, but before he can look away, he realizes his brother's eyes are normal—right. However, Itachi's legs are perfectly straight, his arms prone, and he's staring at the ceiling, not blinking once.
Sasuke's face flushes with annoyance. "Nii-san," he growls, voice rough from disuse while he sits up.
His sheet slides into his lap as he hisses, "What did I say about keeping your eyes open?"
"That it's creepy," Itachi says flatly, still not blinking.
Sasuke grips his blankets, nails cutting into the cloth. "And yet—" He jerks his hand toward Itachi.
His brother doesn't reply for a moment. Then slowly, his gaze slides over to him. Itachi's expression is as bland as his tone when he asks, "Why should I pretend to sleep? I can't feign breathing—" Sasuke's face twitches— "So wouldn't closing my eyes just make me look more like a corpse?"
"Can't you ever just do what I say!?" Sasuke snaps, glowering.
Itachi seems to mull over the question. Eventually, he takes a deep breath and sighs.
"Someone is cranky."
Sasuke blinks, taken aback until Itachi's lips curve into a smirk. He quickly recognizes Itachi is offering him an out, and he doesn't hesitate to accept it.
Sasuke crosses his arms, huffing, "And someone is being difficult."
"You started it." Itachi shrugs. "I was just lying here and not pretending to sleep."
Sasuke scowls to hide his amusement and reaches back for his pillow, chucking it at Itachi's face. In a blur, his brother chops down the pillow like its enemy kunai and Sasuke rolls his eyes. Always so dramatic.
Itachi sits up, finally blinking, and Sasuke slides his legs over the bedside. He drags away his blankets and stands, muscles protesting.
Yet he ignores it, saying, "I have to get ready."
Itachi hums and Sasuke takes that as permission to leave. He walks past his brother and heads out into the hallway, going to the restroom.
Sasuke comes out half an hour later, hair only slightly damp and dressed in his usual high-collared shirt and black pants. His bed is made-up and Itachi stands out on the balcony, his yukata drifting gently in the breeze and a crow on his shoulder.
"You have a message from the prison," he says neutrally. "There's an urgent request for your help in interrogating a kunoichi of the Shinobi Resistance."
Sasuke's eyes widen. "What? When did this message arrive?"
"Last night."
Sasuke's mouth drops. Yet it closes with a click and his jaw clenches. Itachi always does this, intercepting his messages and not telling him about them until the last minute... It's a quiet rebellion, Sasuke knows, just like the not blinking thing and making his eyes wrong last night. They're all just ways of showing Itachi's discontent with how things are, but one day his brother will understand.
He has to understand.
Sasuke puts on an impassive expression so Itachi doesn't realize his rebelliousness is getting to him and nods, turning to leave. A hand catches his elbow. He pauses, glancing back.
"Nii-san—"
Itachi tosses a knitted black scarf over Sasuke's shoulders, and the teen frowns.
"I don't need—"
"It's chilly in the prison." He starts looping it around Sasuke's neck. "They really ought to raise the temperature to something humane in there."
Sasuke scoffs. "It's not supposed to be a comfortable place."
Itachi doesn't reply as he loops the scarf one more time before pulling back. His gaze rakes over Sasuke, assessing, but halfway down, they stop. Itachi frowns, eyes narrowing, and Sasuke's expression sours. However, he obediently zips up his shirt to just under the scarf.
Itachi smiles, satisfied, and his eyes warm up in a way that brightens the whole room. "Do the clan proud, Sasuke."
A smirk curves Sasuke's lips. "I will."
Itachi's grin twitches, though it stays up. "Do the clan proud," he repeats gentler, and Sasuke knows he's missing something, but he refuses to address it.
So Sasuke turns and Itachi's gaze follows him as he walks out the room, dragging the door shut behind him. His brother will be here waiting for him until he returns.
He always will be.
So, I've decided the only way this story is updating more often than once a year is if I write short chapters like this. Though if you all would prefer longer chapters, please let me know, but be aware that long chapters will mean very long waits. Regardless, please expect updates to still be sporadic, and thanks to those of you who were patient and for all your kind words. I'm glad I'm not the only one who had this idea when Kabuto gave Sasuke a choice, now let's see what happens next!
Next Chapter: Sasuke goes to the interrogation center and sees a familiar face…