When Sasuke again regains consciousness, he is first aware that he has been laid out on something soft. The damp mildew smell was gone, replaced with clean linen and a hint of dust.
His eyes open slowly, sticky with sleep, and he finds a traditional room with lacquered paper walls and thin shoji that allow the fading light of the day to slip into the room. He turns on his back and stares at the beams on the ceiling, turning to look at the door on the other side of the room, faint light spilling through the cracks.
He pushes the blankets away as he sits up, feeling out of place. He takes in the futon he was lying on. The tatami floor. There is an alcove on the far side of the room with a few dusty scrolls stacked in its space. A once beautiful scroll of wolves on a snowy mountain hangs on the wall to his right, now faded over the years.
His mind is foggy and out of sorts, but something is wrong. He moves to push the blankets down his legs and stops. Black lines marring the skin of his arms, his legs. He lifts the shirt he's wearing, no longer the same one he wore before he lost consciousness, and sure enough it's on his stomach, on his back.
Seals.
Blocking his chakra.
Etched into his skin, still sore to the touch.
Taming the threat.
Keeping him compliant.
And Sasuke is livid.
He stares at the characters marring his skin and feels the boiling pit of his rage surge. His distaste for Konoha's regulations was bitter on his tongue.
How dare they do this to him.
He hears movement in the hallway and directs his rage at the door as a soft knock comes and the door slowly slides open.
He meets his brother's eyes and the anger fades. Though he tries to hang on to it, it slips away leaving him feeling confused and small in the gaze of his older brother.
"You're awake," Itachi says with a small smile. He slides the door open the rest of the way, letting in the light from the corridor, and steps inside. He's holding a tray with food, a glass of water, and a pot of tea with two cups.
Sasuke's eyes follow him as he makes his way over, and sets the tray down next to the futon and sits beside it.
"I wasn't sure if you would be hungry so I only brought something light." He says as he pours two cups of tea. A bowl that contains apple slices and a few biscuits is placed on the tray. He hands Sasuke one of the cups of tea and retrieves the other for himself.
Sasuke can't stop staring. He can't believe Itachi is right here in front of him, sitting with him, speaking with him.
"Dinner is almost ready so if this isn't enough we can…." Itachi trails off and looks at him surprised. Sasuke had set his cup down, turned, and leaned forward to touch his brother's shoulder. He was solid and warm beneath his fingers. He meets Itachi's eyes and pulls away slowly, apologizing, his voice quiet and small in the dimness of the room.
He lifts his tea and takes a sip, still reeling in the situation.
Itachi smiles and places a hand on his knee for a moment before he too returns to his tea. Sasuke eats a few pieces of the apple, and Itachi eats the biscuits. Sasuke's confusion lingers, but the silence is comfortable, he doesn't wish to break this moment.
When Itachi finishes his tea he sets his cup back on the tray and turns to Sasuke. Takes him in, sitting on the still messy futon nursing his, by now, cold tea. Sasuke can feel Itachi's scrutiny of his skin, the black marks stark against his muted pallor, and turns away to gulp his tea. He grimaces at the taste causing his brother to let out a small laugh, a whisper of breath on the air.
They both turn as movement comes from the hallway and a moment later Mikoto appears in the still open doorway. She smiles at them, and Sasuke looks away. He can't look at her, he tries to ignore the image of her lying on the floor in a pool of blood that his mind supplies him. The growing pit of fear that bubbles just underneath. But it's there, tearing at his heart and leaving him feeling hollow and angry.
"Dinner's ready." She says softly. And breaks him out of his mental torment, shaken and exhausted he continues to stare at the futon beneath him, as after images of his memories fade into its soft blue folds.
He hears Itachi shift beside him. His hand comes to gently lift the cup with the last dregs of tea from his fingers. Hears the ceramic settle on the wood as the cup is placed on the tray.
"Would you like to join us?" Itachi asks. And he can't reply, too numb to find his voice. So he just shakes his head and stares at the soft fabrics beneath him. After a moment Itachi lifts the tray and gets to his feet, shifting slightly towards the door.
"I'll come back later to see how you're doing," He says. "Try to get some rest."
The shifting of the floor beneath him announces his retreat. The soft hush as the door slides closed, leaving him alone in the dim slivers of light left behind. The sun has set in their shared silence, the room is darker now. Shadows play in the corners, creating images of a time long past, his hand's fist in the bedding as his breathing turns shakey.
Why is he here?
He would've preferred prison, left to rot in the depths of the earth somewhere.
At least there the dead don't speak.
His breathing quickens, and he pushes himself to his feet.
He needs fresh air.
He doesn't realize he's shaking as he crosses the floor and reaches out to push the shoji aside, steps out onto the engawa to stare across his mother's garden as he sucks in the cool night air. His bare feet hit gravel as he continues into the garden and stops. Staring out at the trees over the garden wall.
He could just leave.
Leave this nightmare behind, find a way to remove the seal on his chakra, and make his way back to his own dimension.
"Are you planning to leave?" Comes from behind him, as if reading his thoughts.
He turns to look back at his brother, standing in the doorway he had just opened.
"No one will stop you," he continues when Sasuke doesn't answer.
"But I'd like it if you'd stay." He finishes after a moment.
Sasuke sucks in a breath and closes his eyes. Torn between disappearing into the night, and giving in to Itachi's wishes. He doesn't want to be here, in this place that means nothing but death and anguish to him,
clawing at his insides till there's nothing left.
But his brother stands before him asking him to stay because it's what he wants, and how can Sasuke deny him? He could never ignore Itachi, had never wanted to.
And he finds himself crossing the garden once more, to step back up onto the engawa, and stand in front of his brother.
Itachi takes his hand and leads him back inside, he leaves Sasuke standing in the middle of the room as he closes the shoji once more. Before leading him back toward the futon, coaxing him to lay down, the blankets brought up to his chest.
Sasuke stares at the ceiling and allows his brother to handle him. A hand is brought to his cheek and tilts his face to look at Itachi as he leans over him slightly.
"I know this must be a lot to take in... But try to get some rest. I'm just down the hall if you need anything." Itachi's hand retreats as he pulls away. And Sasuke grasps his wrist before he can leave entirely.
"Stay? Please." He rasps out into the quiet of the room.
And Itachi relaxes back down to the floor and nods his head. Making himself more comfortable. Sasuke pulls his hand away, only for it to be grasped lightly. Itachi's fingertips sliding against his palm to gently curl around his fingers.
They sit like this for a while, just listening to the other breathe in the darkness. Before Sasuke allows his eyes to shut and his mind to slowly drift away into nothing.