...Sasuke couldn’t say anything, because he succumbed to that fatal sharingan just after he heard his brother’s words, his eyes fluttering closed, looking more willing to dream than the boy probably really was. If this had been a game of cat and mouse, then he would have just fallen; Unsuspecting prey to a deranged and depraved predator...

DON’T PLAY WITH ME II

..Our games are at an end..

I’ve no time to plead and pine

I’ve no time to wheedle

Kiss me quick and then I’m gone

Pop goes the weasel

It was all broken up; Reoccurring unconscious images, dappled darkness, only outlined in the most vague coat of silver. The arrangement of the room was unmistakable, even for all the obscurity; Itachi’s old room, back so many years ago. It felt as if it had been hundreds.

The figures were difficult to make out, though it was easily assumed that the larger was Itachi and the smaller was Sasuke. It looked less like real human beings, and more like a demon hunched over a child, gobbling up his flesh, warding off whatever onlooker was dreaming this scene up with flaring red eyes.

The actions only flickered into visibility momentarily, little close ups of secretive acts committed between one conscious predator, and one unconscious victim. This scene couldn’t have been real, but rather, it was some nonsense dreamt up by a confused adolescent; This had no real manifestation in its creators memory banks.

It was merely a nightmare.

And like a silent, black-and-white movie it played out; The larger form looking down upon the smaller, hesitant, but unable to resist this temptation. The smaller was subdued, but reacted, muttering little inaudible responses every now and then. The larger form tried again and again to pull himself away, but unrelenting insanity denied him this, getting off on the guilt that would eat at him later.

And what could be seen were only slight moments of disgusting contact- A tip of a tongue moving slowly across some bit of pale flesh, red eyes glittering, disturbed, beneath a mess of raven bangs, fingers brushing over an exposed shoulder, one body moving to hover over another, and a neck twisting, turning to the side as a face contorted from unknown sensations and unconscious shame, cheeks flushing red, but porcelain skin powdery white otherwise, though it was connected at every inch with some cut figure, covered in a more creamy colored flesh.

“...nnn...Nii-san...”

Dark eyes forced themselves open, flickering around their surroundings desperately at first as the boy they belonged to took a deep breath. He felt as if he had just been held under water; Had he really stopped breathing during that nightmare? He sat up slowly, his body feeling unusually sore, and his eyelids still heavy, pleading for peaceful sleep with would never come.

Sasuke just sat there like that for a while, gazing down at the plain white sheets that had been draped around him, holding in precious body heat as he allowed his bodies functions to slow, and he submerged himself into the drowning pool of dreadful nightmares. He had always had bad dreams, and at first they consisted of bloody slaughters, namely that of his family, and those dreams came in many equally unpleasant variations. He would swear that he had seen the fallen Uchiha die in every way possible. Other times his dreams evolved, and it was other people that died, but those were rare. In the better dreams Sasuke saw his brother die, and when it was depicted as having been by his hand, that made it even better.

The fact that he always woke from the dreams of Itachi’s death with half-dry streaks of tears down his cheeks was alien to him. He could not understand his sleeping actions one bit.

Now, however, the images he saw within his head as he slept tended to be much worse than the gore-ridden ones. He believed it had all started when he hit puberty; The dreams that involved sexual contact. Thankfully they had always been vague, but now, with Sasuke utterly close to finally tracking down his brother, things had become disturbingly obvious. After all that tracking, and work, Sasuke should have been beside himself at the fact that he could run across Itachi at any time, and yet he had only began to wish this process could be at an end.

That last dream; They had always been silent- This was the first time Sasuke had been able to hear anything, and of course, it had to be his own immature voice making sounds of unsure pleasure, and muttering ‘Nii-san’. The thought made him sick at his stomach.

The still-exhausted teen groaned miserably, and pulled himself from his bed. He would guess it was about that time. A few days prior he had received information about a suspicious pair of men that commonly came in to a nearby teahouse in town at a specific time, and that hour had grown near. These certain men matched the correct description. Black robes bearing clouds; one man with long, dark hair, who always had a neutral expression, and talked very little; The other, a taller man who was very strange looking and had skin that was a blueish coloration, carried a large sword, and was a bit more on the chatty side. Sasuke would put money on it being Itachi and his Akatsuki partner.

The last few nights he had sat waiting in that teahouse, expecting the meet eye-to-eye with his brother, but there had yet to be any movement, and he was growing impatient. On top of that he hadn’t been able to sleep at all, and if he went on much longer like this he would end up with dark lines on his face, just like his elder brother. The thought of having to see Itachi staring back at him in the mirror; How repulsive, it was almost vulgar.

The lone Uchiha brother stretched as he padded across the room to collect his discarded clothes, and put them back on, covering his pale skin from his only onlooker, the encroaching darkness. Looping his sash tightly in a knot he reached out for his sword, and laced it between the purple wrapping so that it would stay put and be right within his reach, should the time come to use it; Sasuke desperately hoped it would come, tonight. He slid on his shoes, trying to multitask, and hop on one foot while one sandal was being put on, and because of this he came stumbling oh-so-gracefully into the small room tucked away for his washing needs. He was glad nobody was here to see him. Once he was steady again he looked up into his mirror, greeted by a cold and seemingly lifeless reflection. One might begin to wonder if things would ever change after Itachi’s death, but such thoughts, for Sasuke, were pushed away. He didn’t try to analyze things to that extent, he merely knew what had to be done. Lazily he combed his fingers through his long bangs, pleased that they weren’t all that messy after his terrible napping, though he had a horrific-looking flat spot amongst the rest of his spiky locks directly at the back of his head. He wet his hands, and rubbed the water through his hair, dampening it enough so that the flattened area would spike out again, then dry just as quickly.

His only purpose may have been to kill his brother, but it would be terribly shameful to look utterly unkept. He couldn’t allow Itachi the pleasure of thinking he caused his brother to obsess to the point that he neglected his own grooming. That would be ridiculous.

So, with a patient sort of saunter, Sasuke made his way out into the dim, musty hallways of the hotel, and walked the short distance to the world just outside of the cave-like dwelling. It was dusk, movement along the streets was beginning to slow for now, and it was likely that it wouldn’t pick up again until a few hours into full-nightfall. For now there was a farmer or two lolling by pulling a cart, a few small groups of rampant children, rebellious enough to stay out til dusk, but not bold enough to face the night, and other lone figures, going about their daily lives without much purpose other than to waste oxygen with their breathing. Sasuke questioned such thoughts- That had been something his brother would say, right? The young Uchiha didn’t want to admit it, but somewhere deep inside he believed he had turned into Itachi.

Maybe Itachi meant it that way? The only way Sasuke could ever fully kill Itachi’s imprint would be to kill himself. So long as Sasuke went on living, so did Itachi. The young teen had known better than to keep those little shards of his brothers inner-self he had received so long ago. They had dug into his skin, and rooted themselves there, growing into his veins, and the very inner workings of every part of him. Itachi had constricted Sasuke from the inside - Out.

Sasuke shook his head; That meant nothing, and only his brother would value something so whimsical it was practically pointless. Sasuke sought to rid this world of Itachi’s physical and mental being; his twisted mind, and the flesh it controlled, and beyond that all else was meaningless.

Nonchalant, and not paying too much attention, Sasuke made his way into the teahouse with soft, meandering steps, and he glanced around just enough to find himself a table that was a bit more out of the way, and separate from the rest of the crowd. He thought ‘crowd’ wasn’t really an appropriate term, but nonetheless there was a fair amount of bodies littering the public area, just sipping their tea, and oblivious to anything else. The teen was instantly greeted upon sitting, and he gave the gleeful blonde server his order with an impassive expression on his face the entire time. The girl lingered a bit longer than Sasuke wanted, speaking encouraging little words, and trying to force a smile from her customer; It was her job to be warm and welcoming to anybody who came in, so Sasuke simply humored her, nodding to her words, his lips curved just slightly into a smile, and he thanked her, hoping she would be on her way, and fetch his order.

He couldn’t ignore her joyous blushing as she finally retreated to get what had been asked of her. Okay, it was her job to please, but the teen would guess she was going just a bit out of her way for him. Women always tended to act that way about him; He supposed things would never change.

At last he was allowed to fully scan the room, and as he did he met eyes with somebody most interesting; It was a dark pair of eyes he found to be looking back at him; Dark eyes placed on a creamy-pale face that was framed with choppy black bangs. Regretfully, though this person’s description would have sounded very much like Itachi’s, this person was very obviously a woman. She had a frail, and delicate appearance, and a neutral, melancholy expression, very mannerly gestures, and Sasuke noticed, long black eyelashes. It was most obvious as her eyes darted away once she was noticed, and as they were downcast her lashes grazed her cheeks in a most breakably beautiful way.

She had been watching Sasuke, though, and it made the teen curious. The way she looked back up at him, she wasn’t looking with the typical interest Sasuke was met with. She was interested in what she saw, but for a different reason. Sasuke studied her just as she was doing to him at the exact same time. She was dressed in the finest kimono, though her sleeves told without question she was taken. If that wasn’t a loud enough sign, then the rather large belly that protruded beneath her dark silks spoke quite clearly.

A mother-to-be. In a strange way she reminded Sasuke of his own mother when he was a young child. Frail, and pretty, but sometimes very outwardly mysterious. Much like her first-born son, but still different in a way. In any case, this woman had the appearance of an Uchiha; It was her eyes.

Sasuke had to curse himself however; He looked up at his blonde server for just a moment as she brought him what he had asked for, but once he directed his attention back to the young pregnant lady she had been joined by an even more interesting guest. There, seated just next to her was that hulky, sword carrying, blue-skinned man who had been seen with Itachi. Sasuke’s surprise probably was somewhat obvious, and he was just lucky that they didn’t seem to be paying attention to him. Rather, the frail looking woman was now trying her best to shrink as politely away from the missing-nin as possible, while he was just returning her lack of interest in him with a toothy grin, and undoubtably some rather crude comments. She never got up to walk away from him, however, and Sasuke sipped his tea, edgy, but watching the pair patiently enough. She was flustered by this shinobi, but still somewhat comfortable in his very close presence. Slowly Sasuke began to lose interest in this scene, however, because it lacked the very thing he had been looking for in the first place, Itachi. Where was Itachi? There sat his partner going about his business as if there was nothing greater to be doing, and yet Itachi was nowhere to be seen. It made Sasuke very suspicious.

And as if things weren’t bothersome, and confusing enough, the woman and that shark-like shinobi got up, and prepared to leave together. Sasuke’s eyes watched them, desperate not to lose sight of them, but not sure if he should follow them. This may have been his last chance at finding his brother. Once the couple were at the door he placed his money down on the table, and got up with his Dango still in hand. He would have to act quickly if he wanted to keep sight of the Akatsuki member, and that woman, but he might have been a bit hasty, because as soon as he jumped out of his seat he bumped into another person. He didn’t have time to apologize, but apparently whoever he had ran into had taken the mishap quite offensively. He glared as an arm wrapped around him securely, and just as he was about to spit out a bitter ‘back off’ to the figure just behind him, a voice cut him off.

“What’s your hurry, Sasuke..?”

Whether it was the surprise of that familiar, though slightly different timbre, or the moist breath that rushed across the skin of his neck, Sasuke shivered, breathless. His mind was still quick to react, as every well-trained shinobi should, and as he was released from the grip of the offender, he moved to draw a kunai, though his wrists were captured before he even had the chance to spin around. His hand that held the sharp weapon was redirected so that the blade’s tip pressed against the tense muscles of his abdomen just beneath his white haori, and he groaned in agitation. This sneak attack was low, even for the one who had taken such unfair advantage. His face contorted into an enraged scowl as he heard the slightest sound of a snicker.

Obviously he didn’t take being a toy for amusement lightly. He was just glad that nobody had taken much notice of this silent struggle.

The hand that held his sweet dumplings was redirected a moment later while his own kunai was still pressed threateningly against his gut. He watched as the rounded things colored pink and white and green were lifted, and held just over his shoulder, and the offender moved forward slightly so that the first dumpling on the stick was slipped into his mouth. The response that formed on Sasuke’s lips would have been pleasantly reminiscent if it hadn’t come out in such a cold, threatening tone.

“Still a dango thief, I see.. It is rather petty.”

The teen was rewarded for his impudence with shove back toward the table, though this time he spun around, facing his opponent at last. There stood his brother, seeming unchanged, and ageless, and just as impassive as ever as he stared back at Sasuke with glimmering crimson orbs. Defiantly, Sasuke glared right into that red stare with one that was just as fierce; His held more intent, however, and Itachi only proved that fact with his next words.

“If it is a fight your looking for, Sasuke... You might want to save it for later.. Unless you really want all the innocent people present caught in the crossfire.”

Funny how Itachi used this fact to his advantage. Sasuke knew better than to think Itachi really cared for innocent people, and the past was proof of that fact; He was only mentioning this now in order to dodge the inevitable clash. Sasuke retorted rather smartly because of this, however, his voice hateful. “As if you really care.”

His elder brother just shrugged, his face remaining ever the same, and he allowed the challenging words to roll off of him as if they had never been said at all. “Your right.. I don’t.. Though I expected you might have, and I reminded you of the fact so you could be spared the guilt of it later.”

It made Sasuke sick how Itachi obviously thought he was the most clever thing in existence; Still, his comment was not without its weak points, and Sasuke struck back, refusing to lose in the verbal warfare they had dropped true combat for. “I think you just don’t want all these people to see me take you down... It would be very shameful for you, would it not?”

The younger brother had won the word-war, obviously, but he was never allowed the pleasure of celebrating his victory. That worthless scum, Itachi, always managed to get into his head at the deepest level, and screw with him. Sasuke wouldn’t allow his agitation to show, though, as his brother walked forward, their shoulders brushing together just barely, and Itachi sat down at Sasuke’s table, exposing his back openly to the teen who’s clear intent was to see him dead. This action was more challenging than the younger boy’s words, because it said silently ‘You think I’m afraid of you? Think again.’

“Why don’t you finish with your food, Sasuke?” Those words were spoken quite simply. He hadn’t asked in a demanding way, and yet at the same time Sasuke felt he was taking orders from his most hated enemy as he sat next to him complying with his words. And how very awkward did this feel? He was sitting next to the person he wanted dead, nibbling at his sweets as if this could be the most peaceful picture. What possessed Itachi to do this? Why did he all of a sudden have such a desire to sit next to his little brother that he betrayed so long ago, and just waste time?

Sasuke still didn’t understand this man. It didn’t really matter anymore; It was just that Sasuke would always be curious about Itachi, he couldn’t help it.

“Don’t think that just because you’ve delayed it that I’m not going to kill you... You will die, Itachi, and you can be very sure of it.” The younger boy spoke in a venomous tone, still glaring at his unreadable brother with deadly red eyes. Itachi gave him no response, he just stared back at him as if he had said nothing at all, seemingly vacant ruby reds scanning the younger boy up and down. It made Sasuke utterly uncomfortable.

“You’ve gotten much taller since I saw you last... You seem very gaunt, however. Perhaps it is best that I decided to let you finish your food.”

“Tch.” Sasuke didn’t bother looking up from his dumplings after his brother’s comment. What did he mean in speaking of Sasuke as if he cared, and as if he was fond of his company? He ignored most of what Itachi said, and just used it to bring up the past. “Of course I’ve gotten taller.. You haven’t seen me since I was just a kid.”

There was a pause, and Sasuke grew only that much more uncomfortable, because even though he wasn’t looking at Itachi he could tell Itachi was still staring at him. If the boy thought he could just turn around and stab his brother to death without resistance, then he wouldn’t hesitate for a moment. Sitting here with Itachi was getting him more edgy than he liked to be. And just to add to Sasuke's anxiety, Itachi spoke up, a delayed response to what Sasuke had said just a moment ago.

“Your wrong, Sasuke...” The elders words were so soft they were barely audible. Still Sasuke caught them, and looked up, curious but still thirsty for his brother’s blood. “What?”

It was only then that Itachi turned his own eyes away, and he stared out over the crowd as he took a moment to collect his inner thoughts before he gave Sasuke an answer. The younger boy studied his expression, hoping to find something locked within; Either he wasn’t as good at it as he had been when he was a child, or Itachi was being more adamant about keeping it hidden. “It has been a few years since I saw you last, mind you... But that night was not the last time... I came back every once in a while to check on you, just to see what had become of you...” Sasuke’s eyes might have been playing tricks on him, but he swore that Itachi’s lips curled upwards just a bit. “..It is amusing really.. You’ve wanted to find me for so long, and yet... There were many times I had been right under your nose, and you didn’t even notice... That much hasn’t changed either. The last few nights you sat here waiting on me to show up.. I had already been here watching you, and you never saw me... If I hadn’t revealed myself to you tonight, then you would have been chasing your way to a dead end.. Yet again.”

These words had a profound effect on the younger Uchiha. Not only did his brother admit to keeping an eye on him over the years, but he had been coy enough to play games with him as well. He allowed his focus to break for a moment, and Itachi undoubtably caught a good view of this, but Sasuke slipped back into his challenging state of coldness quite easily. “What a caring brother you are... So I suppose all those times I was fighting for my life, it was actually you who stepped in and saved my ass to, right?” Sasuke easily could have taken Itachi’s words as some vague show of sentimentality, but his sarcasm was without fail.

Typical- Itachi gave no response. He merely seemed to ignore Sasuke’s cold words, yet again. Because of this the brothers sat in silence for a few more minutes. Sasuke had no clue what was going through Itachi’s mind, but he, himself, was thinking back since obviously he would have some time to question Itachi concerning some things.

“Itachi... That day I followed you into the woods. You remember it, don’t you?”

Sasuke looked over at his stoic, silent brother, and Itachi just nodded without even fully turning his attention back to Sasuke. This made Sasuke glare at him momentarily, because even now Itachi was still treating him like an annoying younger brother. He had no right to do so anymore. Still, Sasuke continued. “What had really happened that night..? The masks never threw me off, I noticed there was something off about that meeting, even when I was a kid, I just didn’t question it, because I had been foolish enough to trust you back then.”

Slowly, the elder turned his flaring red eyes back to look at his brother, though he seemed utterly disinterested, and he simply shrugged as if this were a question that needed no answer at all. “What happened that night is exactly what you have most likely figured out yourself by now... It was a meeting concerning my initiation into the Akatsuki. It was the night I was instructed to kill Shisui in order to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan, and to kill the rest of the clan..”

He had been right, Sasuke had come to expect this was the case. It was entirely obvious since Itachi had told him that night he was going on a ‘mission’ to acquire mangekyou sharingan, and later explained how it was that he got this. Still, Sasuke had wanted to hear it from Itachi. It led quite easily to his next question, which Itachi had answered, in a sense, before, but Sasuke never believed any of that nonsense Itachi had rambled on about. His voice was unfeeling, though it was less cold than it had been. “So... Tell the truth, Itachi... Why did you leave me alive... Really?”

Itachi just closed his eyes as he rested his chin against his hand, and he let out a soft sigh, seemingly bored or frustrated with this exchange. “You already know the answer to that to, Sasuke... Would you cease the foolish questions. You quiz just as naively as you did when you were a child..”

Sasuke just growled out a quick response, clearly offended. “Answer the question, Itachi. It isn’t like you have anything to do beyond this moment other than dying, so it shouldn’t matter.”

Just as before, these threats had no effect on the elder brother. He always seemed to just sit as if he never heard them. However, this time he at least responded verbally. “You seem very sure of yourself, Sasuke...” The younger brother glared, clearly challenged though his brother was indifferent as always. He continued where he had cut himself off, though, and Sasuke was forced to listen patiently. “..If you insist on having me answer you... Then you must do something for me.”

Sasuke was both amused, and equally offended by this remark- Honestly, what did Itachi think this was? Was he threatened so little by Sasuke right now? Did he not believe that Sasuke could just kill him where he sat? And did he honestly believe his younger brother would ever do anything to aide him? He must have grown even more deranged over the years. Sasuke’s response made it quite clear that he not only didn’t intend to do whatever task Itachi had in mind, but just the mention of the old game they used to play had been utterly ridiculous on Itachi’s part.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Itachi, our relationship is a bit deteriorated, so I’m fairly certain that I no longer have any interest in playing your little game.”

Sasuke really thought he had made a clear, and indisputable point; Itachi’s eyes quickly flickered over to look at him, and Sasuke just smiled defiantly. A moment passed as each of them held eye contact, then at last Itachi looked away.

“Fine... Don’t do as I tell you.. But considering your lack of any ability to find me until I wish to be found, I believe this will be the last time we meet for a long time..” The way Itachi spoke- It pissed Sasuke off in unbelievable ways. He was being addressed by Itachi as if he were still some untrained child, and Itachi was the omniscient older brother. “You think you really could just walk away from me that easily?”

The elder was unrelenting in his persistence; He continued to stare at his resistant little brother, though now he narrowed his eyes just a bit. “If I needed to lose you, Sasuke.. Yes, it would be quite easy for me.. But I think you will reconsider my offer. I’m being quite generous, considering I have good reason to kill you, just as you wish to do to me.”

Sasuke was surprised by Itachi’s words; He hadn’t really thought Itachi ever had any real plans to kill him, other than what it might come down to once they seriously fought. Sasuke really shouldn’t have been so taken back, he had grown accustomed to the fact that Itachi never had cared, and that was a long time ago, but now to hear his brother actually threaten him, it was strange. He didn’t allow it to waver his convictions, however. He was still determined to kill Itachi tonight. “If you think you can do me in, then why put it off, Itachi?”

Sasuke looked up, expecting some kind of attempt at a blow from his brother as Itachi stood, but the elder still had his peaceful disposition for the moment. Actually, it wasn’t just peaceful, but for some reason, despite the friction between the brothers, Itachi was looking down at Sasuke almost admiringly as he boldly moved his hand out to touch the younger brother. If Sasuke had been a dog, he would have been content to snap at his brother’s hand, but for whatever reason he kept his reserve as Itachi gently pressed two fingertips to his forehead.

“Do as I say, Otouto.. Go back to Konoha. Fight the Kyuubi kid, Naruto.. Bring him back incapacitated, but alive.. And three days from now I will come to that ratty little hotel you have been staying in.. And then I will answer your question.”

If Sasuke hadn’t been so dumbfounded by a piece contained within Itachi’s words, then he wouldn’t have hesitated to reach up and break off his brothers fingers as he moved them across his temples, and down over his cheek. Through it all, Sasuke had at least taken in what Itachi said to him. Still, he couldn’t resist letting his most obvious shock show.

“You know where I have been staying?” He was disbelieving in his words, but his brother merely nodded to him, apathetic; His tone matched as he spoke a response. “Unlike you-to-me, Sasuke... I will always know where you are, and how to find you.. So don’t look so surprised.”

The younger boy glared, both indignant, and simply angry. He was getting increasingly tired of Itachi both looking down on him, and seeming to treat him as if they were still brothers with a relationship. Sasuke scoffed, then spoke up a moment later, his tone not exactly fiery, but still challenging. “You're so full of yourself, and yet, you can’t manage to capture that idiotic Naruto on your own..? There is something amiss about that, Itachi, don’t you agree?”

The elder brother turned his back, and Sasuke stood, following the elder as he began to walk away. He didn’t like being ignored each and every time he thought he had Itachi backed into a corner, but this time he actually was not being intentionally ignored. Rather, Itachi slowed his pace enough to allow Sasuke to walk at his side, and Sasuke stared at him, wary and distrusting. Itachi finally rewarded him with an answer, though, so he loosened up just a bit. Not very much, however.

“I could get him myself... But I want you to be responsible for what will happen to him once he is in my hands... Understand?” Itachi explained himself calmly, and simply, and Sasuke just nodded. As diabolical as it was, he did understand; It wasn’t exactly a peaceful understanding, but he accepted this, nonetheless. “So it will be done, then?”

Sasuke’s mask of apathy broke, and he allowed a moment of emotion to show on his face. He did not like this agreement; He didn’t completely like the thought of being the one to deliver Naruto to Itachi’s hands.

But though he wouldn’t admit it, something about the way his brother promised to return to him, it made him feel very strange.

“Yeah. I’ll do it.”

Itachi gifted Sasuke’s compliance with the slightest smile, though his ruby eyes still held some sort of deviousness about them. “Good... And try to get some sleep, Sasuke. It would make me feel guilty if I had to fight you with you looking so exhausted.”

The younger brother glanced up at his older sibling hatefully as Itachi turned his back, and sauntered away looking as if he hadn’t a care in the world; looking as if he weren’t an S-class criminal, murderous, traitorous, despicable, Akatsuki member. Damn him.

‘Do as I say, Otouto.. And three days from now I will come to that ratty little hotel you have been staying in.. And then I will answer your question.’

For some reason or another Sasuke felt sick to his stomach, as if something inside him were dying. He hoped it hadn’t been something important.

What was more troublesome was the fact that Sasuke knew it would only be harder to sleep now. Not just because he had ran into his brother, spoken with him, then allowed him to walk away, but rather because now he had to live with the fact that Itachi knew where he would be while he was sleeping.

He didn’t want to think about what would happen if he woke from his reoccurring nightmares to his brother’s fingertips against his forehead, drawing lines across his temples, and over his cheeks, and whispering promises to always find him, and always return to him.

The thought was so dreadfully nostalgic it was almost morbid.

TO BE CONTINUED