Thread by @KisuruFic

[Whumptober, Day 4, Itachi & Sasuke
Dead on Your Feet - (Hidden Injury)

Not too long after the massacre but after Itachi joins the Akatsuki. A short character study or something?]
#FicThread

Traveling upon a long, harsh path was a journey that could not be thread lightly. Itachi had cast upon himself the burden of such treacherous terrain, but Sasuke, so much younger than his brother and ill-prepared for the fast-paced reality of the outside world, was less prepared.

Blearily, Sasuke peered down at the ground while he followed after the two full-fledged S-ranked Akatsuki members leading the path. He hadn't quite woken up yet after waking up so early, and personally, he preferred that as such; he still didn't want to believe his position.

Running away wasn't a plausible option. He was too weak. He could barely put up the resistance to fight back, and his thoughts were often succumbed in a daze.

Sasuke couldn't look straight at them.

Every time Sasuke had the barest compulsion to face his fears, he blanched.

The pain in Sasuke's heart surmounted everything.

The morning sunlight swayed back and forth in between the hulking figures before him. The sea of black and white-hued red clouds imprinted on their cloaks swam in his mind's eye, making Sasuke's forehead crease involuntarily.

He hated it. Why did it have to be like this?

Why did he have to be here?

Why did he... why did he have to look at that... that...

For Sasuke, speaking his name was too much. Even when he wasn't looking back, the silence was irreproachably calm as if he clearly saw behind him.

/Monster,/ Sasuke finished to himself, hesitatingly, so horrified down to the fiber of his bones that his skin prickled and he shivered. It was the only thing that benefited the inhumane creature who sported the exact facial features and voice of his once cherished older brother.

His pace slowed. Sasuke couldn't leg behind — they had warned him he wasn't allowed to fall behind, forcing them to be off-schedule for their boss's orders to travel to the next town — but he couldn't stop the impulse to altogether flee when he had the slightest of openings.

Kisame adjusted the strap for Samehada on his front. He was used to quiet strolls like this, now; simply walking without making much conversation had minor upsides. While he respected Itachi's standoffish aversion to babbling unnecessary chatter, he didn't mind chipping words in.

With the shift of movement, he spotted the young kid walking the length of a tree trunk behind him. It wasn't much a distance, really, but he did notice his motions weren't nearly as fluid as Itachi's. It hadn't been long since the group of three had formed, but he had learned.

Kisame had seen the bits and pieces of differences between the brothers. He harbored doubts about the younger brother, but out of consideration for Itachi's higher up deal to have him along, he didn't bring it up much — he had been warned to not slow their jobs down, after all.

It was an opportunity nonetheless.

"Hey, kid," Kisame called, grinning, "don't tell me you plan to fall asleep on your feet back there."

Sasuke breathed in sharply, eyes widening. He tried to wipe off the worry on his face but his fear hadn't quite subsided after meeting him.

Sasuke didn't have a fear Kisame so far. He hadn't done anything yet. His fear stemmed from what he could do.

Kisame's teeth looked like they could tear right through his arm, and his aura, unmerciful and brazen for a fight, put Sasuke on edge in a unsettled way Itachi didn't.

/Itachi could have killed me if he wanted to, but this guy... in an instant.../ Sasuke gulped. His presence put his well-meaning instructor back at the Academy to shame.

Again, Sasuke thought of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It had only been mere weeks since they both left.

To join the so-called Akatsuki, Itachi had grabbed him and forced him to tag along.

Sasuke's eyes turned blank. Maybe it would be better to die right there and meet Mother and Father in the afterlife.

He didn't understand death. If it meant seeing his parents again, then...

Kisame's grin fell a bit. He twisted his head to catch a glimpse. Sasuke stared towards him without seeing him, his hands gripping the cloth of his blue shirt absentmindedly.

/So many times, I've seen that,/ Kisame thought. /So many times when they all knew they would die./

Fear out of immediate death wasn't something which rattled Kisame in the slightest, and he had warned the kid to keep his nose clean unless he wanted a little pain.

But words were empty. Actual actions mattered. His warnings had been in line of a greeting for their partnership.

"I..." Sasuke swallowed the lump in his throat. His feet glued to the trail.

The conversation may as well not have been happening in concern with Itachi; he didn't glance back once. Instead, he kept his back faced towards them both at the front.

Kisame chuckled. "Oh, I know."

But Sasuke didn't. He didn't know. He didn't know what he had done to deserve any of this, and he wasn't taking well to being near two people who could slice his head off.

The flash of those shark teeth made him back up, off he trailing, the back of his legs hitting a bush.

The prickles of bush ends cut into the back of his legs through his pants.

Sasuke could make a run for it, but... Even if he wasn't killed right there, he wouldn't be allowed to leave.

So Sasuke didn't look over his shoulder, and his lip jutted out, trembling a little bit.

"Guess you don't mind all those wild animals lurking out ready to chomp down on you," Kisame said. He gestured out to the dark woods and overhanging vibes above them. "Ready to take them all on yourself with that attitude? Need help with that, or can you go out there alone?"

Both Akatsuki members still didn't waste a moment bothering to baby his fears. It wouldn't take much to corral Sasuke back if he refused to move, which his limbs refused to do for the longest of seconds. The numbness in his mind resembled much of the night he couldn't take back.

"Animals?" Sasuke finally asked.

"Bears. Tigers. Other predators... let me think..." Kisame was immediately excited while pondering so many bloodthirsty, unchecked fiends in the wilderness. "Don't get me started on the crawlers hiding where you can't see them in the ground."

Sasuke quickly glanced at the ground next to him.

Itachi's head inclined to the side.

Kisame waved off questions. "Nothing like a little bite to the flesh to keep you going," he said, though there was an under bite of a threat. "How about a big, strong black bear who's hungry?"

Hairs on the back of Sasuke's neck stood up on end. Coming near a bear was the least of his predicament. He never would have come across a wild beast when his life had revolved around family and the Academy.

Whatever lurked in the wilderness... Such thoughts hadn't occurred.

The impulse to evaluate the foliage and darkness behind his back surged in Sasuke's chest. His breathing turned rapid. He clutched his shirt so hard it bunched up in his palm, his mind and body dizzy.

His eyes went blurry.

Why was there nobody there who cared... at all...

The closest thing that came to a person who "cared" flipped Sasuke's world upside-down; he had done away with anyone who could have saved him from this situation.

The tightness clenching his heart was a weak echo of what the Tsukuyomi had been, but all the same...

It hurt.

Itachi spotted Kisame's smug expression. "There are no bears here," he corrected.

"Not so loud," Kisame shrugged, none ashamed, "I'm playing a trick. What doesn't exist won't kill him."

/What good will that do if we make a scene in public?/ Itachi thought. /Now he'll hate you./

Itachi didn't mind Kisame making small talk with Sasuke, but he did have a problem with it if it impeded their cover. Nonetheless, he was well-aware Kisame wouldn't make it that dire, his was more on-point than that — he simply enjoyed a good scare or two. It wasn't much to him.

Not bothering to involve himself, itachi returned to checking the path and set of thatched rooftops in the distance. He, however, was keen on his brother's response to Kisame's brand of teasing.

Sasuke gasped. The vision of the two cloaked men swam in before him paces away.

"So, what will you do?" Kisame asked again. Except this time, he followed Itachi, only glancing over his shoulder at the still-as-a-statue child standing at the edge of the road. "Getting ready to take one on yourself after all? Need tips on how to do it? It won't come cheap!"

Sasuke had resigned not to cry, but he sniffled. It was weak to show pain — Itachi would scoff — but it was the best way to hold up the indigence sprouting within him and taking root at the base of his throat.

Bears should be no problem. He was a shinobi! He couldn't back down!

His time at the Academy had been short. Sasuke wasn't as talented as Itachi, but... He still had masted the Great Fireball Technique not too long ago anyway! Wasn't that right? Wouldn't bears run from fire? Hadn't he seen something like that on TV? Perhaps... he didn't know...

"So, what it'll be?" Kisame prompted. "Are you going to play it safe and wait?"

Frankly, Kisame didn't expect another answer. The kid was shaking in his boots, and he hadn't been receptive to him much throughout the last few weeks. It wasn't a surprise after threatening him.

Nobody crossed Kisame after he threatened them.

Losers who didn't put up a fight were boring nuisances, though.

Even Kisame wanted to see Itachi snap sometimes. Sadly, he wouldn't be rewarded with such a treat for a long time. He was a tough nut to crack. Those needed prying.

No, no, it wasn't he wanted to disrespect Itachi and intentionally bother him. His company was palatable.

Kisame wanted to see Itachi at his peak if they ever had a personal tiff. From what he witnessed of a barely provoked Itachi so far, that might be a regular sparring match.

On the other hand, Itachi's brother was another story.

Young Sasuke wasn't a prodigy compared to his older brother, or he hadn't exhibited instances. Itachi held a pristine, polished aura that couldn't be replicated.

Such was the fate of innocent fools without bloodthirst.

It was the same for Kisame. He had to spring forth from the water and attack. He would be dead otherwise.

No second chances were given to the weak.

The shapes of Itachi and Kisame grew less detailed in the distance. They walked slow and deliberate, not truly leaving him behind.

The unsettling prickle of anxiety swished within Sasuke. The shame. The walls of air in his chest pressed in, constricting his lungs, making him gasp.

Films of water covering his eyes blurred the sight of the emerald tree canopies and mossy branches hovering above the pathway.

Anything could jump out at him.

Any single creature could storm out of its cavern and drop him down a peg or two, or he... he... he could be abandoned by such a brutal situation.

He hadn't lived alone without Mother, Father, or even his walking shell of a brother.

Could he...?

Sasuke's fingernails dug hard into the fabric of his sleeve. The cloth chafed his skin. The end of his nails scratched his skin, making him stiffen.

Loose filaments of chakra twisted in his fingertips. He was ready to fight, though he hadn't learned how to control solid attacks.

Sasuke didn't want to be alone.

He didn't want to be with around anyone, either.

Most of all, he couldn't give up to some dumb bear. Even if it had sharp claws, it... that was...

Itachi's claws were sharper, and he was the monster Sasuke had sworn to take down without failure.

He blinked a few times. A stray tear or two slithered down his cheek and along his jaw. He breathed in through his nose. There was no rhythm to it; he simply allowed the feeling of anger awash him in conviction once more. Weight that outmatched the bulk of a raging bear at heart.

Sasuke had to be stronger and deadlier than a bear.

Itachi spotted the outline of office buildings in the town they would visit for intel. The path only gently steeped down the hill to the main gate, but it was a hindrance. A reminder that there was a toll of work to be done.

His eyes flickered to the side. In a branch tree lengths away, a summon crow perked up.

/In the event he wanders,/ Itachi thought.

If needed, he would engage Sasuke. More than that, he was ready to make the harsh reality of the world, of his eyes never leaving him, be known.

As an Akatsuki member, as who he was — the reality of who he was, of what he represented for Sasuke now — he couldn't make following the duo properly be a choice. Neither could it be that he guided him each step.

Sasuke would guide himself once he constantly remembered his eyes.

That was the life Itachi had signed Sasuke up for. He couldn't be coddled, and he couldn't be smothered.

Red eyes would lead his purpose in due time.

Itachi decided to raise his hand to instruct his crow. The crow would pick up on the subtle hint and herd Sasuke after them.

"Don't need pointers! I'll do it myself!"

Footfalls pounded under the soles of Sasuke's sandals. He caught up with his captors and skidded to a halt at a distance.

He half didn't want to go close and have them shackle him under their shadows, half didn't want to trip on debris.

"My, you've changed your mind," Kisame's attention had almost been lost, but the fierceness of his response woke up his need to see what he could get out of the brat again.

"Yeah!" Sasuke puffed out his chest. The breath tapped in his lungs still hurt. "I'll fight it back."

"Have you thought of how?"

"I learned the Great Fireball Technique from my father," Sasuke explained. Though he assumed he rambled and his voice shook, he wouldn't back down on that. "I perfected it. And I'll burn that stupid, nosy bear to a crisp. It won't know what hit 'em."

Kisame's fangs showed again. "Oh, look at you. Scary," he marveled. "What do you think, Itachi-san?"

Itachi allowed his hand to relax. The crow watched them stealthily without moving, and Itachi mirrored its reaction. "Not enough."

"See, it isn't that effective," KIsame added.

Kisame bored of conversations in which there wasn't much that piqued his interest. Yet he found the push-and-pull relationship with its own flairs. Little ruffled Itachi, but he read the what-ifs in his tone, the possibilities that could be more dangerous and infallible.

Heated, passionate tension boiled beneath the surface of how much Itachi and Sasuke wanted to prove each other wrong. Or impossible.

Sasuke finally reached up and swatted the corner of his eyes with the ball of his shirt sleeve. It was pathetic, but he had to grab his bearings.

"You'll see," Sasuke murmured. "To a crisp. I can make it strong." The chakra that would build and coalesce into fire bounced in his chest, though he was physically drained from exerting so many emotions. But he brushed it off in favor of victory. "It'll scare it right off."

"Whatever you say, brat," Kisame said.

"I'm serious!"

"So am I."

Sasuke glared. He didn't have a retort that amassed his annoyance with his gleeful insistence that his prized technique wouldn't suffice. With a swab, he lifted the film covering his eyelids and upper cheeks.

Proving oneself was not a feat which could be easily obtained. Sasuke spent so long appeasing Father's concerns and highest hopes; he had wanted to be the best when his mastery of the skill confirmed his maturity as an Uchiha.

He didn't care to show Akatsuki members, though.

Sasuke would protect himself. That is all there was to it. He couldn't count on his brother to notice, who hadn't given him a single glance during their whole day trip from town to town. What a waste.

Plenty satisfied, Kisame wrote him off as a mere amusement for the time being.

/He'll be sorry,/ Sasuke thought as he stared at Itachi's back far ahead of him. His eyes were reddened and creased, his legs aching from continuing to walk. /You wouldn't care anyway. That isn't enough for you. But the bear is the start... the appetizer. Until I get to you./

The crow cawed, flapped its wings, and took flight. It soared towards the town that would house the group for the night while business was attended to. It disappeared in the thick gaggle of local birds, becoming one with the scenery to scout out the area for useful attractions.

Itachi's attention towards the crow and anything which could stand in the way were noncommittal. Issues could be handled later, but his thoughts hadn't completely veered towards their boss's orders.

The path out of the forest shortened. He offered the slightest of glimpses back.

Itachi tilted his head to the side. /Proud of that technique, aren't you?/ He hadn't a front row seat to his brother's performance of his Fire Release training. It had happened when he had been busy, always busy when it mattered. /It isn't your only method of attack, however./

He thought back to the no-nonsense archery skill Sasuke had shown him when he sneaked after him on his mission to subdue the boar. He could become a better shot, but the verdict of things was clear.

The place, time, and method might be different. Practice made the difference.

/Once you defeat a boar, bears are the next step,/ Itachi thought. /A dearth of power won't be in the question for threat level. Overcome running away. Should you be as violent as Kisame-san to stab or burn your opponent in whichever proficient technique, I won't have a say./