Chapter Text
Their father’s words ring in Itachi’s mind. Take care of Sasuke. Sasuke stirs on the futon, covered in bandages from the wounds he had inflicted upon him. All of his careful planning became nothing the moment Sasuke uttered those words. Itachi doesn’t doubt him. He knows in his bones Sasuke would have taken his own life just like Sasuke knew he was lying.
Itachi is torn. He’s not sure if he’s overwhelmed with love and pride or worry over Sasuke’s actions. Sasuke had taken his bleeding heart, put it on a pedestal and claimed it for himself.
Itachi had not been prepared.
Sasuke groans in his sleep. He must be reliving the nightmare Itachi had made him see. Itachi was careless when he put him in the Tsukuyomi, wanting nothing other than Sasuke to hate him.
Itachi shifts closer when Sasuke groans again. His face is covered in sweat. He puts his hand on Sasuke’s forehead, it’s too warm. Itachi prays to Amaterasu as he cards his fingers through Sasuke’s hairs. He sighs. “Nii-san…” Even when asleep, hurt and in pain, Sasuke calls for him.
“It’s ok, otouto. I am right here.”
Sasuke opens his eyes and gasps. He sits up on the futon as Itachi supports his back. “Careful.” Sasuke’s eyes are hazy and when they land on Itachi, he flinches.
“I won’t hurt you,” Itachi says quickly.
Sasuke’s bottom lip quivers and his eyes fill with tears. “Mother, father…why nii-san?”
Itachi is speechless in front of the pain on Sasuke’s face. He knows Sasuke deserves answers—deserves the truth. “To avoid a war,” he says in the end.
“War?”
Itachi leans back on his chair deciding the best way to say it. “Our clan was planning a coup. Father was leading it.”
Sasuke’s eyes widen. “What?”
“Talking and compromise didn’t work. And Shisui…he gave up everything. He put his trust in me, Sasuke—to stop this war. And that’s what I did.”
Sasuke cradles his arm. “So you just decided to kill everyone?”
“Yes.”
“That’s bullshit,” Sasuke spits, his eyes wild.
“Don’t use language like that.”
Sasuke’s laugh is bitter. “You are worried about language, nii-san?”
“If I didn’t do it, the Uchiha name would have stained and we would have become nothing more than traitors. Not to mention we would be wiped out.”
Sasuke’s eyes narrow at him. “I would rather be wiped out!”
Itachi exhales loudly. This is the anger he wanted from Sasuke last night. His brother’s words are reminiscent of what he told Itachi before. I would rather be a fool who loves you.
“I deserve your anger and your contempt. I would take any punishment you deem—”
Sasuke bunches his fist into his shirt and tugs him closer. “Who made you do it?”
“No-one.”
“Tell me, Itachi!”
Itachi tries to pull Sasuke’s hands off him. “No-one made me do it.”
“You are a filthy liar,” Sasuke says, his eyes red with sharingan and a single tomoe which he seems unaware of. Sasuke frowns. “Why did father plan a coup? What was the need?”
Itachi stays silent. His brother was too young to see how their clan was treated, how they were banished to the outskirts of the village. His otouto doesn’t need to know that.
“What else, Sasuke? But power.”
“Father just wanted power?”
“Power can be a strong motivator. Don’t underestimate it.”
Sasuke shoulders slump. “Father, he wouldn’t…”
“But he did.”
Sasuke looks at him. “Why did you kill everyone?”
“I told you—”
“You didn’t have to kill everyone! And if you did, why didn’t you kill me?”
Sasuke looks at him with doe eyes, pleading and Itachi is weak against it. He chuckles. “I tried to leave you.”
“Why didn’t you kill me?” Sasuke asks again. His brother was so insistent—so stubborn.
“You are my otouto,” Itachi whispers.
Sasuke shifts on the bed, sliding closer to him. He brings his bandaged hand to cup Itachi’s face. “Stop lying to me now, please.”
“I did everything to protect the village, everything I am doing is to protect the village and everything I am going to do will also be to protect the village. That is the truth.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“You don’t have to worry. I will do everything to keep you and our village safe.”
“You don’t have to do it alone,” Sasuke’s hand on his cheek trembles. “You could have told me what you were going through. I would have helped you. I could have helped shoulder your burden. Do you not think me capable enough? Do you think I am just a child to be protected?”
“It is my duty to protect you.”
“What about my duty, nii-san? What about what I think and what I want?” Sasuke’s teeth grind and his jaw is tight. “Do I not have a right to know? Do I not have the right to get a say to my fate?”
“Sasuke—”
“No,” Sasuke says, eyes set hard. “This changes today. I may be your otouto and you may be my nii-san. But I don’t deserve to be kept in the dark. You don’t get to decide for me. You don’t get to do everything on your own and shoulder every burden. You don’t get to lie. That is my punishment for you. Accept it or lose me. Decide, nii-san.”
Itachi purses his lips. This is the second time Sasuke had given him an ultimatum. A little part of Itachi’s mind says that perhaps…perhaps Sasuke is right. Regardless, he wasn’t offered a choice.
“You know my answer already, don’t you, otouto?”
“I want to hear you say it. I want you to promise.”
Itachi contemplates Sasuke’s words. He sealed his fate when he took Sasuke with him last night. His mind knew it will come to this. All of his sins, all of his secrets will be exposed to his little brother. Itachi is a wound and Sasuke’s presence a cool ice and his love is Itachi’s damning and his nectar.
“I won’t lie to you, Sasuke. I won’t hide the truth. I will stand by your side and keep you by mine.” Itachi’s heart fills when he finally utters those words. He wanted to say that for so long. Sasuke’s smile is sweet and his heart cannot possibly fill up more, but Sasuke takes all the space effortlessly.
“Now that I have said that, little brother, there is a truth I want to embark upon you,” Itachi says, reaching for Sasuke’s head and twisting his fingers through his hairs, “no matter what you do from here on out, no matter what path you choose,” Itachi brings his forehead to Sasuke’s, “just remember this—I will love you always.”
*
Itachi tells him everything. About Madara and his grudge against the clan and the village. About Danzo and his orders. About Shisui. Their father’s last words and the honourable way he died.
Sasuke cries and Itachi holds him. He can tell his little brother is seething with anger and hatred. And he is in so much pain. Itachi can hear it in his sobs and feel it in the tight grip of his fingers. He learns quickly that even though Sasuke is a child, he’s not stupid. He understands the complexities of their world at least on a surface level. He understands, it is enough to make Itachi cry.
“I will kill Danzo and the village elders. I will kill them for what they did to us.”
“Sasuke…”
But Sasuke doesn’t listen. He questions why Itachi loves the village, why he still stands with them. It is difficult for him to explain but Itachi knows that if he keeps standing by Sasuke’s side, he can erase the darkness festering in him. And one day his brother will be able to see in Itachi’s heart and why he loves the village and why he wants to protect it.
They are Itachi and Sasuke of the Hidden Leaf after all.