Monday, June 12, 2006

An AU Fanfic in the Making?
"There's something I've been meaning to tell you. It's about... Itachi." Sasuke's eyes snapped over to her, and Sakura continued to stare at the ground, avoiding his gaze. "He's different, Sasuke."

"And?" His voice had suddenly become frigid, like bits of ice prickling her skin.

"And, well, he scares people sometimes. He has such cold, frightening eyes, and aside from you, he rarely speaks to anyone, not even his own parents. Even the adults seem like they're afraid of him--as if he were some kind of monster." Sakura shielded herself and waited for Sasuke to respond, but he remained silent. His bangs shielded his face from Sakura's view.

"He's your brother, so I could understand why you can be defensive of him," her voice trembled slightly, and she gulped nervously, trying to make it stop, "But you're so fiercely loyal to him. You're like a completely different person whenever he's around, and you're so willing to do whatever he tells you. And sometimes, after talking to him, you look at us with the same cold eyes he does, and it worries me that one day you might-" The grass rustled beside her as Sasuke stood up, but Sakura clung to his hand before he could attempt to leave. "Sasuke, I-"

"Shut up." Sasuke jerked his hand from her grasp. Sakura felt tears well up in her eyes, blurring the image of Sasuke's retreating figure. But she didn't dare say a word.

---

Hm. This is turning out interesting.

EDIT: A scene that takes place a little later...

Sasuke watched Sakura walk away until she was a dot against the horizon. He turned away from the door, but froze once he heard a voice ask, "Do you love her?"

Sasuke recognized the speaker immediately--and he knew of only one person who could casually ask such a bold, invasive question.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Don't avoid the question."

Sasuke turned towards his brother, visibly annoyed, and snappily responded, "Of course not, she's just a friend."

"You can still love a friend, little brother."

For a moment, Sasuke was genuinely surprised at the seriousness of his brother's tone, and before the boy could stop himself, he asked, "How would you know?"

Itachi didn't respond. Minutes passed by in total silence, and Sasuke quickly begun to feel anxious under the scrutiny of his brother's intense gaze. As a child, Sasuke learned that even without the Sharingan, Itachi's eyes could see everything, and he was the dissected lab rat, his deepest thoughts exposed for the whole world to see.

Eventually, Itachi's gaze softened, and he gently pushed himself off the wall, but not before adding, "Be careful with whom you choose to care for. Friendship can be a very dangerous thing."

---

Good Christ, why did that take so long to write? *writer's angst*
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