Take Me Away

  “Where are we going?” Itachi asked his mother as he looked out of the car window, watching the houses go past.

  “I was talking to Mito-chan again yesterday and she invited me over to her home,” Mikoto explained.  “This is the right way, isn’t it?”

  Itachi nodded.  “When were you talking to Mito, kaa-san?”

  “While you were sleeping last night.  Sasuke is my son, too.”

  “…” Itachi was silent.

  No more words were spoken until Mikoto pulled up out the front of Mito’s home and she wasn’t surprised to see that no one else was home.  The door was unlocked but a black dog was sleeping by the stairwell, and as soon as it saw her, it started barking, running towards her.

  “Kage, no!” Itachi said sternly. 

  The dog stopped immediately at Itachi’s voice and began wagging its tail, licking Mikoto’s hand.  Itachi smiled and pet the dog’s head, and Mikoto wasn’t too sure what to think.

  “Is this dog safe, Itachi?” Mikoto asked, not sure if she should move.

  Itachi nodded.  “She’s just protective is all.  Now that she knows you’re with me she won’t hurt you.  Her name is Kage.  She’s Sasuke’s dog.  She used to be partly Tobi’s, too, but…”

  Itachi trailed off with a sigh.  Nothing good had come out of what had happened to Tobi, and it looked like things would never get better.  Mikoto frowned and looked away; she missed Tobi just as much as everyone else.

  “…Anyway,” Itachi said softly, trying to change the subject, “Mito will be home shortly with Sasuke so just make yourself at home, kaa-san.  I want to go and have a sleep.”

  Mikoto nodded.  “Okay, Itachi.”

  Itachi walked up to his room slowly, and he crawled underneath the covers, closing his eyes and falling to a deep, restless sleep.

  --LINEBREAK--  

  Izuna wiped at his wet eyes as he sat in his hospital bed.  He was still in a lot of pain, but that wasn’t all; he just couldn’t get over what his own brother had done.  Not only that, but he was so lonely; no one had come to see him ever since he was admitted into the hospital, and it was a few weeks since then.

  Izuna hissed in pain as he moved to reach over and grab his glass of water, and he held his stomach, willing the pain to go away.  He wasn’t surprised when blood began to seep through the bandages, and he sighed, taking a sip of his water and putting the glass back down, reaching over to hit the button on the wall; he needed someone to come and have a look at his stomach.

  It didn't take long before Izuna’s nurse arrived, and after a careful check-up of Izuna’s general health, he was finally told the news he had been waiting to hear for so long; he could finally go home.  He was handed some pills, but after that, he was free to leave.

  He was worried, though; how was he supposed to get home?  The hospital was a fair way’s walk home, and it hurt enough moving slightly, let alone walking for so long.  He took very slow steps, holding onto the wall, heading towards a phone booth.  He dialled the Senju residence’s number, but to his dismay, no one answered.  Izuna cursed being unable to remember any of the mobile numbers, and he knew he was going to have to take the bus.

  He was glad that there was a bus stop right outside of the hospital, and the next one should be arriving any minute.  He knew that none passed directly by his home, but it was better to walk for only fifteen minutes than for over an hour.  He would’ve called a taxi, but he didn't trust taxi drivers; he had once been in a taxi where the male driver not only had attempted to flirt with Madara, but had even tried to seduce him.  He remembered that he had been so glad when Madara demanded that the taxi be pulled over right away and him pulling Izuna from the taxi and storming away.

  Izuna walked slowly to the bus stop, and he was just in time to board it.  He took a seat right up the front, next to an old lady, and he was anxious for the bus to hurry up and get to his stop; he didn't like public transportation, either; he had been with Tobirama on a bus not long ago where the Senju had gotten into a punch-on.

  Izuna sighed at his memories, and the old lady next to him looked over at him.

  “What’s wrong, dear?” she asked, a look of concern on her face.

  Izuna smiled weakly at the lady.  “No, ma’am…  Just thinking…”

  The old lady smiled back.  “Why does such a pretty thing like you look so unhappy for?”

  Izuna felt his cheeks redden slightly as he was called pretty; he knew the old lady didn't mean it in a sexual way, and he was glad for that.

  “…I just got out of hospital…” Izuna explained, gesturing to his stomach.

  “Oh, you poor child,” the lady said sadly.  “You look so young, too!  What a shame.”

  “…I-I’m twenty-seven, ma’am…”

  “You’re such a shy little child, too.  Tell me, dearie; why were you in hospital?  Accident?”

  “…I…  My brother got a little too angry…” Izuna whispered, his eyes tearing up at the mere thought.  “…I don't even know why he got angry…  He just did…”

  “Your brother put you in hospital!” the lady gasped.  “That’s terrible!  What a cruel person he must be!  To put his own brother in hospital!  I hope he gets what he deserves!”

  “…I don't…” Izuna whispered, wiping at the tears that were falling down his cheeks.  “…I don't know how I feel about my brother, but…  I do know that he just doesn't have a genuine nasty bone in his body…  Sure, he’ll get into fights, but only to protect me or my nephews!  He wouldn’t harm a fly, otherwise…”

  The old lady shook her head.  “Honey, I hope things get better for you, soon.  This is my stop here.  I’ll see you around.  Good day.”

  “Bye, ma’am.”  Izuna sighed and sat back, staring at his stomach.  He wasn’t lying when he said those things about his brother.

  Madara wouldn’t harm anything unless it was a threat to someone important to him!  He was too kind to want to harm something on purpose, and he certainly didn't believe in harming people in the ways he had harmed Izuna, so Izuna could only ponder what had happened to his brother.  Madara had looked so peaceful at breakfast that day…