Disclaimer: Seeing as I don't have enough money to pay for a decent lawyer, I will be a good little author and state that Naruto isn't mine…

So much for Tenipuri. Song has wandered into the realm of ninjas and their obviously impossible moves (gravity not being an issue). My physics teacher would despair if he knew about this…

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Dominance

He leaned against the cracked stone wall circumventing an old building, one almost never used anymore. The chill night air blew over his exposed arms and toyed with his dark tresses; it was duly ignored as Sasuke listened, concentrating only on the sound of a distinct footstep hitting the leaves.

He never heard it. His body was slammed against the wall by a silent adversary, and a pair of blazing ruby orbs glared down at him. "You came, after all."

"Don't I always?" Sasuke hissed, struggling to loosen Itachi's grasp on his windpipe. His brother made no comment, letting the younger boy fall to the ground after sufficient air had been choked out of him. Itachi raised an eyebrow at the ensuing curses slipping from Sasuke's lips.

Pretending nothing had transpired, Itachi lifted Sasuke from the ground and pushed him against the stone again. He ran a finger over his brother's smooth cheek and paused, tracing a thin, red line extending from Sasuke's mouth to his chin. "What's this? I thought I warned you before that I'm the only one allowed to hurt you."

He heard the rate of Sasuke's breathing increase and smiled. The younger boy attempted to gasp out an excuse, but Itachi cut him off. "How sad. I suppose I'll have to teach you another lesson." One hand drew out a kunai, its tip glittering coldly in the moonlight. The other jerked Sasuke's arm straight.

Surprisingly enough, Sasuke held out rather well – better than expected, at least. It took the sixth cut to bring a slight whimper from the coral lips, and the tenth was when he started screaming. Itachi swallowed the screams in a violent kiss that sent the younger boy to his knees, and made the last slash as he pulled away.

Crimson stains made an intricate pattern on white skin. Itachi licked some of the blood away, reveling in the coppery taste, and straightened. Sasuke slumped in his arms, eyes half-closed, the wounds dripping dark liquid onto the grass beneath him.

The exile's grin turned feral. "Do wake up, Sasuke. Your punishment isn't over yet." His fingers tugged gently on the waistband of the younger boy's pants.

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Sasuke regained consciousness long after Itachi had vanished. His legs were sore – horribly so – and his arm hurt like hell.

Speaking of his arm, it had been wrapped in a long length of dark cloth, presumably from Itachi's robes. He pulled it away and gazed at the cuts. Nothing too serious; it would fade in a fortnight, but probably stay a pale red for the rest of his life.

He stood, bracing himself against the wall, and turned his head towards the sky. The sun had almost completely appeared; day would arrive soon, and with it, curious questions about his rather dilapidated state.

He wasn't sure why he kept coming back to Itachi. Perhaps it was the thrill of being dominated by someone he loathed above all else. Perhaps it was the motivation it gave him, a promise to repay every single wound Itachi inflicted upon him. Perhaps he was simply masochistic.

He pulled open the door to the complex that belonged solely to him, due to the absence of any other members of his clan. Changing out of his soiled outfit, he washed his arm under the sink, gritting his teeth at the stinging pain. He could hear Naruto's voice outside, which probably meant he was going to be late for the meeting with the rest of Team Seven.

As predicted, the others – including Kakashi – were there when he arrived, limping slightly. Sasuke pulled his armband down to completely conceal the wounds on his arm and tried to look completely unaware of the way Kakashi was eying the bruises on his legs skeptically.

He only heard part of what Kakashi said about their mission. Following Sakura and Naruto, he began to cross the bridge, but Kakashi grabbed his arm, and he flinched involuntarily.

There was a pause, during which his sensei regarded him calmly. Then the armband was drawn up, revealing Itachi's name carved in bold cuts into his skin.

Kakashi said nothing, but let the cloth fall again, and walked away. Sasuke watched his path, then sighed, following.

He realized, now, why he always sought out Itachi. For someone with his past and feelings, it was tantalizing.

The promise of death.