Possession 11
Rain, rain, rain. Cold and wet tingled his burning skin. Burning...white-hot pain...so painful...spreading all over his wounded skin. Large splashes of the grey rain showering down on him hurt badly yet it helped cool down the burning heat. His senses were dulled and numb yet even if it was just vaguely, he still registered being held so tight and protective in somebody's arms. It felt strangely secured and yet familiar...
But why did it feel so familiar?
Even if his sub-conscious part knew the reason oh-so-clearly, at this state of head-spinning fever, he didn't want to dare think.
...Were he to open his eyes now, would he see the one and only person he wished and longed for? Or would he meet with those eyes of emptiness that was his nightmare for many nights?
Those strong arms gently put him down. He could feel the blemished skin of his back, through the thin fabric of his robe, press against the solid tree trunk. The earth beneath him was soft, almost liquidized and slippery. Usually the footprints would be easily tracked with the muddy earth but with the rain that seemed to never stop, the traces were washed away no matter how many times they were made. And here, he was. Alone in the darkness behind his eyelids yet if he were to open his eyes...would he still be alone with the same emptiness in his heart?
If he opened his eyes, would he be able to accept another reality after another dream he had just woken up? Or would he still dream the illusion he had lost himself in? So many dreams to wake from. So many lies that seemed so real. But...after everything that happened...what was the worst he could fear?
And slowly...the raven haired-boy cracked his eyes open...
The world he saw was spinning, his entire body still convulsing from the pain from the curse seal. There, in front of him, was an image of a dark silhouette standing tall in stark of the white-lightning sky. Sasuke squinted his eyes, trying to make out the face and other details of that image. Through his glazed obsidian orbs everything he saw was soft and blurry yet he still recognized it. That face... How could he forget?
It was his older brother. Yet it wasn't the twenty-one-year-old cruel criminal of the now that he loathed...
The trace of emotionless mask and harshness of years all faded from that handsomely sculpted face, leaving only the familiar sight of a long-gone premature face with eyes no longer the shade of bloody crimson but the blackness of midnight obsidian. The face of the one long-gone, the one long-dead... The one he so longed for.
The face of his 13-year-old big brother. The kind one who would never hurt him.
His already glazed eyes burnt with fresh tears, feeling the gentle touch of that beautiful hand on his cool cheek. The hand was cold--as cold as the rain currently pouring--yet at least...
It felt real.
Slowly, the younger one's hand began to move, finding its way up, seeking desperately for that one single hand of his beloved brother as if fearing that it would disappear like afternoon mist. Weak, shaking fingers clumsily bounded themselves around the other's as they found them, pleading their silence plea for this person to stay.
"Nii-san..."
A ghostly whisper escaped the boy's dainty lips--so feeble like a sigh of weakening breath. For once he wasn't ashamed of crying openly. He needed this. He wanted this. He longed for this. So many days of pretending, so many nights of weeping. Illusion or not, he didn't care. He didn't want to care. And that moment, the icy facade of the proud lion fell, crumbling into thousand shards of tiny bits. Crystal tears fell down his stinging cheeks, falling and falling as if it couldn't be stopped anymore. All the pain once restrained there, all the sorrow once hidden behind those eyes...all were pouring out.
Sasuke held onto his brother's hand like there was no tomorrow. He didn't believe in tomorrow. Not anymore. So many lies...so many pains...
"Tomorrow, Sasuke."
Those words and a usual poke on his forehead. He used to believe it. Every time. He wanted to believe it even though he knew it already that Itachi never kept his promise.
Never.
Crying and crying, his tears fell--glistering like magnificent gems in this stormy night of chaos. Lightning flashed from time to time, along with the almighty roars of thunder over the sound of broken sobbing.
A young raven haired-boy cried and cried, sitting alone on the silent swing. He cried so hard, his voice became croaked and dry and no more tear coming out of his reddened eyes. Where was his brother when he needed him? "Nii-san, where're you?" A small sob escaped the young boy's quivering lips but even waiting and waiting there until night fell...and tiredness and slumber claimed him...the boy was still alone. Waiting and waiting...he waited...until dawn came...but his brother wasn't there yet.
How could he be there? How could he be there for him when the one drying his tears was the same one that made him cry?
Behind the veil of the poor boy's self-induced illusion, Itachi's red eyes widened at the unexpected sight. His proud brother was crying openly--crying and sobbing and trembling--like a helpless little child he had been. ...Do I need to grind these fallen pieces into dust?
That slender hand clinging onto his...those tears staining those pale cheeks...those lips slightly quivering...how many years that had cruelly passed, it was his little brother all the same.
"You look as if you were going to cry."
Liar. Liar. Liar.
'So what, brother? So what if I do cry?'
Hate. Hate. Hate.
'Do you even care if I cry?'
Stop playing games. So tired of pretending.
"Nii-san, I love you."
"...While I waste my time lying to you all these years, you're still bad at lying, Sasuke." Itachi voiced softly, crouching down in front of his little brother. His free hand moved up to tuck the grey rope Sasuke wore open to have a better look at the curse seal. It spread its ugly pattern all over Sasuke's skin and was swallowing him bit by bit, draining his life energy. Yet...
"Nii-san...nii-san..." The boy mumbled feverishly, squeezing the hand he held tight and brought it up to his wet face. Tears didn't stop falling from those eyes of his and some of the clear droplets fell on to Itachi's backhand. "..." Just like those old times, as if it was his instinct, the older Uchiha reached out and wiped those warm tears away from his brother's face. Only to pause a moment later to stare in surprise at the blasted pattern that faded away where he had touched.
Even myself can't deny it. I do still care for you, little brother.
"...Whatever I do, little brother, you seem to never hate me enough, do you?"
More crystal rivulets of tears joined the rain in a muddy puddle on the soft earth--each droplet with an almost inaudible sound of splashing. Yet their owner had only vague idea of them as the thin robe he wore was being tucked open, revealing his bare skin to the raining world. But what was so different? With or without that robe, it was still cold all the same. Sasuke's skin was cool like that of the tombstone yet underneath the boy was being burnt alive with the unbearable hotness of the curse seal. Cold yet hot at the same time. His body tensed and trembling like mad.
Finishing with undressing his brother, the older Uchiha gently pulled the lithe form into his arms. His clothes might be wet but it was a lot better than what Sasuke had. And slowly but firmly, his free hand start to roam his brother's naked form, feeling every bit of that porcelain skin. Every single cut, every single bruise--some he caused by himself, some Sasuke had from his fight before--he didn't miss. Soon those ugly patterns started to fade from Sasuke's skin as if they had never been there before wherever it was touched.
Curse seal...the symbol of hatred. Hatred caused by the unforgivable sin that hand had committed. Yet...that same hand...it was now doing the healing. The same hand.
The killing hand, the healing hand.
As he did this, unable to deny the old caring big brother inside him that was stirred awake again, Itachi couldn't help feeling a twinge of forbidden desire rushing through him again...with every touch...every stroke...feeling everything that was his brother.
In response to those touches, a subtle moan, almost like a cat mewling, escaped Sasuke's lips. Even with his pleasant dream of a loving brother he so wished for, he still couldn't stop himself from responding to those sinful touches that meant more than just brotherly he had experienced as of late. He mewed again, feeling Itachi's gentle hand slide languidly down his thigh, chasing away the foul mark. And the younger Uchiha pressed himself closer to the warm body embracing him, resting his head on the other's well-built chest, listening to the heartbeat inside to ensure himself of this reality. His other arm sneaked itself around his older brother's waist and stayed there.
Sasuke gasped as Itachi's hand ran pass his sensitive spot. It sent sparks of sudden lust surging through his body and he couldn't stop it anymore. Despite the weak state his body was in, he quickly brought his brother hand, which he was cradling, up to his lips. Pink tongue darted out to give a small but effective lick, which made the older Uchiha jerk in surprise. Yet Itachi recovered a milli-second later and crushed their lips together in a deep, long-lasting kiss. Their tongues danced and entwined together in a battle of dominance until the younger one was forced to surrender, letting his brother tongue slip inside his intoxicating mouth.
With their lips still locked in their passionate kiss, Sasuke slid down the tree trunk he was leaning against. His arm, the one that used to be around Itachi's waist, slid up to grab one of his brother's strong shoulders and pulled him down on top of him.
"Stay with me."
.......................................................................................................................................
"I told you to just go there and rescue Sasuke back not to fight a war but you didn't listen, do you, Naruto?" Tsunade scowled at the young teen sitting on a wooden chair in front of her, leaning back and forth.
"Shh. Not so loud, old hag! Your voice will wake him up!" Naruto retorted. Of all the people going on the mission and had a real fight, the blond boy seemed to be the one least hurt thanks to the Kyuubi.
"Oh, so you're doing a good job keeping your voice low?" She asked, still scowling, her voice lower its volume a bit, though. "And who're you calling an old hag?" Naruto stuck his tongue out at her but she pretended that she didn't see it and went on with her rant: "With their hideout discovered and partly destroyed, thanks to your handiwork, the Akatsuki will surely move to a new place and it will be even more complicated to detect them...You really did a bad job, Naruto."
Naruto pouted.
Tsunade sighed. "Still, there was someone who had enough responsibility and brain. We still have some information of the people connected with them left thanks to Neji and his team." On hearing Neji's name, it suddenly hit Naruto. "How is Neji? He didn't get it that bad, did he?"
"Unfortunately, he did." The fifth hokage sighed again. "Getting nasty cuts all over with some specially made string-like weapon. With the weapon user's chakra still remained in the wounds, it interferes my healing..."
Baby blue eyes widened as he heard that. "Sure you will be able to heal him, right, baba? Right?"
"..."
"Tsunade-baba, y-" Before Naruto could speak his whole sentence, Tsunade quickly interrupted. "Hey, since when is there any wound that I can't heal?" Godaime gave him her reassuring smile of confidence before she crouched down from her standing position to the blond boy's eyes level. "Stop acting like some mother hens." She said, resting a finger on his nose. "What!?"
"I already have so many work and now you're making me do twice more." Her eyes darted toward the sleeping raven haired-boy on the bed. That one finger of hers started to poke Naruto there again and again. "If you want to play a mother hen, then lend me a helping hand and take care of one of your lovely chicks, ok?" And with one last not so gently poke on his nose, she left the room, leaving a red nosed-Naruto, who hadn't finished processing the words she had said yet behind.
"......................."
And it was some time after the honorable fifth hokage had left that, a loud yell could be heard. "What do you mean my chicks!? Damn you, old hag!"
But alas, Tsunade wasn't there to hear him anymore.
"...Uhn..." The sound coming from the bed caught Naruto's attention. He sat back on his chair and turned to see his teammate's obsidian eyes flutter open.
"..." The young Uchiha blinked a few times at the bright light of the room before his eyes finally adjusted to it and took in the surrounding. Here, he remembered, was the Konoha hospital. He was on the bed...Naruto was on the chair beside him...but there was no sign of his brother...
He shut his eyes again. Images of what had happened some time before flashed in his mind...
I ask you to stay but you never do, do you, brother?
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