Saturday, April 14, 2007

Okay, life...boredom...a one shot and the next chapter.
Man, today was weird. My sister and I were working on our projects that we kept putting off for a long time and then our father calls us up...when we come up he suddenly says, "Go get a cone and have some ice cream." What's up with that? I couldn't concentrate with the ice cream so I'm looking up stuff for it as we speak...type...whatever.

Well, this one shot was supposed to be put up on Easter, but I'll just put it up, now.

Happy Easter!

“Nii-san, wake up! Up! Wake up!”

“Ugh, Sasuke, what is it, now?” The ten-year-old Itachi sat up and rubbed the fatigue away from his eyes. The room was dimly lit with a bit of light coming in from the window. Itachi stared at his five-year-old younger brother, Sasuke. He had an Easter egg in his hand, and he seemed to be clutching it tightly. Itachi groaned, still wishing to spend all day resting for the upcoming Chuunin Exams that his sensei kept pestering him about.

“Nii-san, there are a lot of eggs outside! Lots of them! They’re all so colorful!” Sasuke held up the egg in his hand to give proof to his observation. The egg was light blue, but Itachi could see the candy that was lying inside of it. Sasuke still seemed oblivious to that.

Itachi smiled, giving up some time to talk to Sasuke. “You know, there are treats inside of that egg.”

“Treats?” Sasuke’s eyes widened. “How do you get them?” This was probably Sasuke’s first authentic Easter. The last four years Sasuke was too shy to walk up and play with the other kids. Something inside the little boy changed him. This was most likely the reason why Sasuke was so unaware about the customs of Easter.

“You have to open the egg,” Itachi replied, the exhaustion now catching up to him again.

“Open?” Sasuke repeated, staring at the egg. “But, won’t the chick die if it’s opened?”

Itachi sighed, the enthusiasm leaving him quickly. He didn’t desire to go over this to Sasuke. The Chuunin Exams were coming up very soon and he still needed some training. This was one of his only break days that he had until the Exams and he needed the rest. “Why don’t you ask hahaoya and chichioya?” Itachi suggested. “I don’t have any time for this, Sasuke…” the moment those words left his lips he wished that he could take them back. Sasuke hung his head apparently trying to hold back the tears that were coming. It was too late, though, because the older Uchiha could see one teardrop falling to the crumpled blanket. Itachi felt something tug at his stomach. “Ah, okay, Sasuke,” Itachi gave in trying to act passionate again. “No, the chick won’t die, because this is a special egg.” Itachi wouldn’t dare tell his brother that it was just a piece of colored plastic, because that was sure to break Sasuke’s fragile heart.

“And when you open it treats come out!?” Sasuke said, the tears disappearing from his face almost immediately.

Itachi nodded, gently smiling at his younger brother. “Yes.”

Sasuke instantly attempted to try and open the light blue egg, but his small hands were too frail for the task. Sasuke put the egg down on his lap, defeated. Itachi, trying not to let Sasuke down, took the egg and opened it with ease. Inside two pieces of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate lay at the bottom of the egg. “Nii-san, thank you!” Sasuke grinned as he took one piece of chocolate and handed the other to his brother.

Itachi hesitated in taking the chocolate that was being handed to him. He nearly declined but Sasuke dropped in Itachi’s hand, and the older Uchiha couldn’t say no. There was a moment of silence, and Itachi felt that he needed to say something, or else their conversation would be completely blown. “Sasuke, where are these eggs that you found?”

Sasuke knelt on Itachi’s bed as he brought his arms up. “Everywhere! All over Konoha!” Itachi smiled at Sasuke’s zeal. “Can you go help me find some, Nii-san?” Itachi had no yearning for anything of that sort – to be more precise, he didn’t fancy the idea of walking at all today. Itachi knew that it would break Sasuke’s heart completely if he said no.

“Okay, Sasuke, just wait a moment, alright? Are you sure that hahaoya and chichioya will let you?”

Sasuke nodded. “Mm, I asked Kaa-san and she said it would be alright if you came with me. So now we can go Easter Egg Hunting! Yeah!” Sasuke hugged Itachi and then dashed out of the room, into the kitchen. Itachi could hear Sasuke tell Mikoto that Itachi was coming with him. Itachi heard a grunt of disapproval from Fugaku but Mikoto and Sasuke ignored him.

Itachi got changed and walked into the kitchen, Sasuke practically gobbling down his food. He grinned at Sasuke, but he returned to his usual calm composure when he sat down. Immediately he felt Fugaku’s eyes upon him, telling him to tell Sasuke that he had no time to do such childish things. Itachi, like his mother and brother, ignored him completely. Fugaku didn’t like being ignored, so he just stood up and left the room.

Itachi stood at the doorway, waiting for Sasuke to run over and yell, ‘Let’s go!’ Sasuke dashed over and pulled on his shoes. “Let’s go, Nii-san!” Sasuke laughed. Itachi felt his stomach do three somersaults at the sight of Sasuke being so happy. It made him feel happy, too.

“Yeah,” Itachi nodded. Sasuke took his brother’s hand and walked outside with his brother. Both Uchihas were in the crowd of young kids and their parents searching for the many eggs that were hidden throughout Konoha.

~

“Nii-san, that was fun!” Sasuke said. The sun was already setting low into the sky as Sasuke rested on Itachi’s back. They were both heading towards home, and Itachi found the day worthwhile. Much better than just lying in bed all day. Itachi held Sasuke’s bag full of treats as the Uchiha household came into sight. Mikoto welcomed them home, and Itachi saw that Sasuke was fast asleep. Both Uchiha brothers had already eaten dinner, so Itachi took Sasuke and brought him into his room. Itachi tucked him his younger brother in bed. “Nii-san…”

“Hn?” Itachi was surprised that Sasuke was still awake at the moment.

“I love you.”

Itachi was taken by surprise by this. He had no idea what to say, so he just knelt down and kissed Sasuke’s forehead to substitute for the usual poke.

“I love you, too, Sasuke.”

~

Eight years later, Uchiha Sasuke stood at his window, staring down into the crowd of people with their young children, yet again searching for eggs. The day was almost over, and people were just going home. Sasuke thought he could see himself and his brother heading home in the distance, his younger self lying on his brother’s back. Sasuke reached his hand up to his forehead, where Itachi had kissed him that night. “I love you, Nii-san,” Sasuke whispered.

~

Uchiha Itachi stood near Konoha, having just infiltrated it for the Kyuubi. Kisame was snoring loudly behind him, but he could barely hear him through all the noises the crowd was making at Konoha. It was Easter again, that day which he had spent with Sasuke. The crowd was quickly lessening as everyone retreated back into their houses, leaving the streets of Konoha almost empty. Itachi vividly remembered that night, right after he tucked Sasuke into bed. “I love you, Nii-san.” Itachi stared out into the distance, and he could make out the scene in the horizon. “I love you, too, Sasuke,” Itachi smiled.


~

Mmkay. Here's the next part of Separation...

~

Chapter Two – Depression –

I believe that the hardest thing in life is not to be alone, but to be alone and remember the time when you weren’t.

~Coming Home by MoeRikyo


Sasuke was sitting next to a window in the Uchiha house. The academy was closed for the day, because a blizzard was rampaging its way through Konoha. Itachi still had to go on a mission that day and that worried Sasuke deeply. Ever since a few days ago, he spent most of his time alone, isolating himself from the rest of the world just as his older brother did. They were moving somewhere in early March.

Sasuke didn’t bother with the academy anymore – it wasn’t like he was able to become a shinobi since he was moving to just a regular village in the Fire Country. He couldn’t make out what his mother was saying the other day, though. Mikoto was crying for some reason, quietly speaking her reason of moving away from Konoha.

The young Uchiha that wasn’t going to be an Uchiha anymore sighed, watching the snow fall rapidly onto the ground, and then be covered by more snow. Sasuke opened the window with one hand and stuck out the other hand outside. It really was cold out there, and many snowflakes were already resting on the outstretched, seven-year-old hand.

Sasuke pulled away from the window, closing it in the process. The rest of his family was nowhere to be found, so for now Sasuke had the house to himself. It was really boring to him. Usually a young kid like him wouldn’t be left alone in a house, but in the Uchiha standards it was time for him to grow up.

That’s right…I’m not really in ‘The Uchiha Standards’ anyway…

Sasuke heard the entrance door to the house open and close swiftly. The young boy flinched, grabbing a knife from the kitchen.

Why would a thief come? Nii-san shouldn’t be back until later, and mom and dad shouldn’t be back until later, too…

Sasuke kept himself hidden in that area, every part of his body shaking. He was never in such a situation before, really, so it wasn’t surprising that he was scared. The footsteps stared toward where he was hiding.

The footsteps kept getting louder, and louder…and louder.

Sasuke heard that he was about to turn the corner, where he was hiding. When the intruder did, Sasuke jumped in the way, swiftly holding the knife out so that it was touching the burglar's neck. “Got you!” Sasuke whispered, pride welling up in him.

“Sasuke, you did get fast,” the ‘intruder’ said. Sasuke looked up, and he saw his older brother standing there, looking as calm as ever. There were hints of snow on his ANBU clothes. His face was slightly red from the freezing cold weather, and the some of his hair was slightly frozen.

“Nii-san…I’m sorry, I didn’t know that you were coming home so early,” Sasuke shyly mumbled, placing the knife back on the kitchen counter. “Well, why exactly are you home early?”

Itachi shrugged. “Turns out that Hokage-sama didn’t give us any missions…because he said that I should be at home during this kind of weather…” Itachi’s voice trailed off, though Sasuke could still hear some of what his older brother mumbled.

“That senile old man…still is treating me like a kid.”

Sasuke felt angry all of a sudden. “Nii-san, don’t insult Hokage-sama!”

“Oh…omae wa…” Itachi muttered.

“Sumimasen,” Sasuke apologized, the statement just automatically slipping out of his mouth. Itachi shrugged, saying that it was alright. He began walking away, and Sasuke immediately followed his older brother. Itachi looked behind him, conscious that his younger brother was trailing him.

“Sasuke, you’re…lonely, aren’t you?” Itachi quietly said to him after a silence. Sasuke had to admit it – no one paid attention to him anymore, especially since Mikoto filed for the divorce.

“Hai,” Sasuke nodded. Itachi gave him a gentle smile, saying,

“Please don’t speak to me like chichioya.”

Sasuke grinned for the first time in a while at Itachi’s remark. It was now apparent that Itachi didn’t want their relationship to be strained. “So…can I stay with you for a while? The house has been so quiet that I can’t say anything without earning a glare from Tou-san and Kaa-san.” Sasuke said those words slowly; he knew that his brother was going to say no.

“Alright.”

“Nani?”

“I said, alright,” Itachi gave his brother one of his rare, kind stares. Sasuke looked up at his brother with growing happiness, thankful that he actually made time to stay with him. “Just wait a moment, okay?”

“Okay,” Sasuke said with a truly glad expression on his face. Itachi walked into his room, and the younger brother stayed outside, waiting expectantly for his older brother to emerge.

“Sasuke,” Itachi softly muttered to his younger brother after a short silence. Sasuke’s face turned red for some reason. “What is it that you wanted to talk about?”

“Nothing, but I just wanted to talk to you since…you know,” Sasuke nervously mumbled back. Itachi sighed.

“I don’t think that I can do it anymore,” the elder brother said with such an impassive look on his face. Sasuke glanced up at his brother, a questioning look on his face. Itachi looked down on him, knowing that he didn’t understand. “I can’t stay this way for long…you know, as a genius. As a prodigy.” Sasuke’s mouth opened to ask why until his older brother started talking again. “You know…I told you before that having power makes you arrogant and isolated? I’m feeling more and more like that everyday.” Sasuke tried his best not to look to dumbfounded. It was all so confusing that his brother was just suddenly explaining what he was feeling at the moment to him.

“What does that have to do with what’s going on now?” Sasuke quietly asked, now trying not to sound too rude. “I don’t think Tou-san or now even Kaa-san cares about that right now…”

“Sasuke…do you hate me?”

Sasuke flinched at the inquiry. Itachi had been asking that to him a lot lately, but he usually doesn’t say anything, trying to hide the fact that he ultimately adored him and wanted to be like him…He knew that the good thing to do was to say, ‘of course not’ but when he tried, his mouth became so dry that not a single word was able to come out.

“Really, do you hate me?”

It was like he was begging me real answer, the real brotherly feeling that we have toward each other.

Sasuke looked away from his brother, attempting to be inconspicuous, but of course it wouldn’t work, seeing that it was only the two of them in the house.

“Sasuke…please answer me.”

Now he really is begging. What should I say? Should I answer or not?

“Sasuke…”

~

I just want to ask one question before this post ends...

What is Uchiha Itachi's blood type (I know! WOOT!)?

Comments (3)