To steal a boy's heart

A/N: I have tried a little harder with this chapter. The last one... well, I am aware of the yuri-scene and all it's not-very-goodness, but that chapter was a bit forced. I didn't really want to write that one, but I needed Sakura to be with Ino. You'll see in the end why... Meanwhile, please enjoy this new chapter. And feel free to give me constructive criticism, so I might become better in the future!

The winds were gathering, the rain froze into harsh snow and the sun was not to be seen at all on the mellow sky. It was a safe sign that winter would come early this year, and that Sasuke and his fellow butler were closing in to the earl’s castle. They had already seen glimpses of the dark towers in the distance as they had rolled up on a high hill. The view was not pretty. It was a barren and desolate landscape they had come to, and Sasuke started to wonder why an earl would have a castle in such a place. When he read ‘Paris’ in the invitation he had imagined something more like the Versailles in all it’s glory. As the castle got more and more into view between the forests of dead trees, Sasuke got less and less impressed by what he saw.

The walls were covered in dark-green ranks and various wild plants, some of the windows were smashed or completely missing, there was no grass surrounding the building but only mud and overall the place had not seemed alive for decades. Sasuke started to doubt that Jiraya was such a great business companion. At least the road had been entertained for the last two or three years.

Kabuto and Sasuke both thought the same thing as the wagon was pulled into the gates by the two horses: They must have come to the wrong place. They had both heard of a new gang of bandits roaming the country, claiming castles and mansions as their own just to let them collapse in time. There was a possibility that they had
attacked Jiraya, heard of Sasuke’s coming and now were waiting for him in an ambush.

Kabuto looked through a small window near the roof of the wagon, in which he could see the driver. The gray-haired man had half his face covered, but Kabuto could see he was as gloomy as ever and showed no trace of anxiety. And the driver had been there before, so he couldn’t have taken the wrong way anywhere.

Letting his gaze wander from tip to toe on Sasuke, Kabuto came to the conclusion that Sasuke wasn’t worried a bit either. He himself, on the other hand, was just waiting to hear a battle-cry from a group of men armed with swords or a searing arrow flying into the wall. He started cracking his finger in the agony of being so exposed to all the windows on the inner yard. Sasuke wasn’t the only one who had an appointment in there, but Kabuto’s meeting wasn’t a matter of business.

The carriage suddenly stopped on the yard. They jiggled on the spot for a short moment, and then all went quiet. The horses stomped their hooves out in the cold. Sasuke kept his mask as the silence got tenser, and all happening was the night closing in upon them, covering them in the darkness and shades.

Kabuto wanted to ask his lord if they should arm themselves in some way, but Sasuke hushed him with a finger and pressed his ear against the wall. As Kabuto sharpened his hearing he could hear careful steps out on the dust-field. His heartbeat got faster and his mouth went dry.

As the person stopped outside, Sasuke violently kicked his door open. He was surprised by what he saw. It was a blue-haired girl with the clothes of a maid. As her blank eyes fell on Sasuke’s grinning face, she shrieked and stumbled around to thump down by the tire of the wagon. Kabuto jumped out as quickly as possible to help her up, but three other persons were already moving with a quick pace through the biting wind to do so. Sasuke identified them through their clothes as Jiraya’s service-people. The girl who he had scared was a maid, and the man who now had arrived with the two women was most surly his butler. The women, he thought, must serve some other kind of service for the earl. Their beauty told him that what they did only took place behind locked doors at night.

Prostitutes, how he lowed them. The fact that they greeted him with both hugs and kisses didn’t change his opinion. He hated them. They introduced themselves as Okyou and Emi; both had black hair and a chest-size over average. But he didn’t care to remember who was who; he wanted to stay away from them and just answered their greetings with a short “Enchanté”.

The man had helped the maid up on her feet, and where now helping her to dust her back rid of the snow. He patted her on the shoulder in a fatherly gesture and walked over to Sasuke.

“Welcome to earl Jiraya’s humble home. I am Iruka, the butler, and I will guide you to the dining-hall” he said and grabbed Sasuke by the hand, showing a smile that stretched from one ear to another. Iruka was chocked by the coldness of Sasuke’s fingers, but he thought that it must have been cold in the carriage. He then gave the new-arrivals a wet kiss on each cheek and they introduced themselves as well. After Sasuke had said his full name he just starred at the man's stupid smile. If Iruka had asked if he wanted to punch him in the face Sasuke wouldn't have hesitated.

Kabuto’s body was shivering in the cold. He believed he would freeze to death if he didn’t come in soon. When Iruka finely begged them to come into the castle-building Kabuto actually got a little angry.

‘Couldn’t he have waited with the introductions till we had gotten inside?’ he thought with his arms wrapped around himself, still shaking as the main gate opened with a loud noise. He wished he had taken his long, warm cloak with him.

A wall of warmth rolled over the party as they took their first steps on a red rug covering the stone floor. Sasuke had been in many rich people’s homes before and wasn’t amazed, but Kabuto got big eyes when he saw the portraits, the statues on pedestals and armors hanging on the walls. Despite the outside it was a bit fancier then their own home, they had to admit. Sasuke was just curious of why the outside looked as jagged as it did.

Iruka told them to follow, and after passing through a few halls with valuable paintings made by recognized artists they got into the great hall. Almost directly to their left was a big table, filled with steaming hot food and lit candles. Both Kabuto’s and Sasuke’s eyes first fell over a chubby and white-haired man sitting in the middle of the long side of the table furthest away from them, happily eating from his plate. They both immediately knew that it was their host Jiraya. Ever since Sasuke’s grandfather had his family been working together with the earl Jiraya in buying and selling different kinds of goods they managed to get their hands on. They discussed with each other about the deals and how profitable it would be. They had worked in that way for many, many years, and it still paid off. It had become like a tradition for the Uchiha-family, and Sasuke had kept the tradition alive ever since his parents died.

Kabuto let his gaze sweep over the many dishes set up with a faint smile on his lips and a hunger in both his eyes and belly, but Sasuke’s eyes were locked on a target next to their host. Kabuto was smiling as Jiraya told them all to take a seat and so they did, except for Sasuke who didn’t move from the spot he stood on. Kabuto gave him a questioning look, but Sasuke didn't notice and kept looking on the occupied seat on the right of Jiraya with intensifying hatred. Someone sat there. Someone with long black hair, tired eyes, an air of might and power and the same pale skin as Sasuke himself. There was no mistaking it. It was indeed Sasuke's bigger brother, Itachi. When their eyes met Sasuke was suddenly taken back in time to the days he was nothing but a mere kid with no control over his emotions and actions. From the innocent child he then transformed into a fierce animal with a hunger to kill. He wanted to tear Itachi into small pieces, bit by bit, until only his head remained on the floor before him. He would then stomp it beyond recognition and spit on it. But the animal inside him told him that there was some things he had to do to get there. He needed to take his brother down first, render him defenseless, then he could make his inner wished real.

“What in God’s name is that… that slithering snake doing here?!” he roared as the animal he had become. But Itachi didn’t react. He kept his focus on his dinner, which enraged Sasuke even more. Before anyone understood what had happened, Sasuke had grabbed a knife stuck in a turkey and hurried towards his brother with it high over hi head. Adrenalin was pumping through his muscles, his heart was beating faster by the second and his eyes were turning red in madness. He had dreamed of killing Itachi for such a long time that he thought he would never get to do it. The second he saw his brother the images of his dead relatives came back to him from deep inside of his unconsciousness to torment him once again. Ever since it happened Sasuke had been trying to suppress the memories of those months. In the blink of an eye a sequence flashed before his eyes...

*Flashback*
He was in the dark forest by their castle, and even though there was a lot of people around him he was alone in ever way. The ones around him was his family, the only people who had cared about him. He was still alone, since they were all dead. They were laying in piles that Sasuke had formed, and his hands were dirty and aching from digging a hole big enough to carry all the corpses.

He had rolled them down as carefully as possible, but the hole wasn't big enough. One body to bury. His mother's dead eyes looked on him from the grass as he began digging a new hole with tears flowing down his cheeks. He wanted to kiss, or at least hug his mother once more before he threw her down into the pit. But he knew he would get the plague if he did thus facing the same destiny.

He dragged her in the arms to the deep, dark hole and dropped her down. Thump. Tears was still flowing freely on his face as he picked up the shovel and began to fill the grave. It was dark, the sun had set several hours ago, but he could still see his mothers terrified and pale face in the moonlight. His body began to shake and his knees felt weaker. He couldn't stand it anymore, and collapsed on the cold and wet ground. He cried and called his mothers name. She was just a few feet away from him, but he knew it wasn't his mother anymore. It was nothing but a body that would be eaten by the wolves if it wasn't properly buried. Still shaking, he got up and kept on shoveling down the dirt, covering his mother's face...
*End of flashback*

He blamed his brother for it all. If he just had someone there to support him and who shared the pain with him he would probably not be so cold-hearted. He also suffered when he treated people like dirt, but he couldn't do anything about it. But now the reason for all the pain and suffering sat there, not twelve feet away from him, eating it's dinner. If his mind had been clear enough to think he would probably be smiling right now when he had got the chance to claim revenge. Such sweet sensation to finely fulfill his wishes!

But before Sasuke had reached his brother, Jiraya had gotten to his feet to stand in their way. Itachi had jumped up as well, but he stood in a casual and relaxed way. Sasuke took it as an insult, and tried to push Jiraya away, but he was too big and it showed no result. Jiraya grabbed him by the arms and forced him down in the chair next to him and took the knife away.

“Please Sasuke! You are behaving like a lunatic! What has gotten into you?”

His mind was slowly getting clearer, but he still wanted to kill his brother. Jiraya realized that, and grabbed his neck with his left arm and pressed him into the chair so he could not get out, in a way reminding of keeping a dog down to tell him it has done something bad. Sasuke wondered about just how much Jiraya knew of Itachi's past. Of the things he had done. How he had gotten hold on his money. How he had abandoned his brother!

Itachi got back to his seat and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

“You have to listen to your brother, Sasuke!”

“Why should I listen to him?” he yelled in return. “He robbed my family and left me to bury my own parents! He must die, or it will be a disgrace to my family-name!”

Itachi glanced at him with his head bent down over a piece of meat.

“We carry the same family-name, little brother. Killing me won’t make a difference” he said as if they were discussing the weather. “Besides, I need your help right now.”

Sasuke was still struggling to get out of Jiraya’s grip, but when he heard the last part of what his brother said he got a bit calmer. His mind got even clearer, and he realized that if his brother needed his help he could make him pay dearly for it. Maybe this was for his advantage?

“Tell him Itachi.”

Finely Itachi straightened up a little and faced his brother directly over the table and plates. He didn’t seem to be scared or bracing for anything, which made Sasuke curious of what it was he needed help with.

“I need your help, as said. I am currently under a death-threat by a powerful band of bandits, and they have ceased my castle in the north. I need somewhere to stay until they think I am gone or they all have died, either one that goes first. Meanwhile… may I stay in your castle, baby-brother?”

Sasuke was almost amused by the request. For his own brother, who had taught and trained him when they were nothing but kids, to ask such a question after what he had done. It was cheer stupidity! If it was something
Itachi had taught him it was to never forget or forgive.

“First of all” Sasuke replied, “do not call me ‘brother’. Second, do you know what it will cost you to stay at my castle? Do you have any idea?” he asked, almost laughing at the end. But the smile that was about to grow from his face perished when Jiraya took word.

“It won’t cost Itachi anything at all to stay in your home” he said. “But it will cost you everything you own if you refuse him to enter. If you do not take him in, and protect him from the bandits, I will stop all deals going on between the two of us!”

Sasuke got stunned. What he thought would bring him revenge on his brother instead turned around and bit him in the hand. Was he forced to take care of Itachi? For how long? And what was the connection between Jiraya and Itachi that made Jiraya take Itachi’s party?

In pure anger Sasuke grabbed a fork lying in front of him on the table and jammed it into Jiraya’s arm holding him down. Jiraya immediately let go of Sasuke’s neck and held the wound with his other hand while screaming of pain. His blood sprayed up on the table and over the food, but it was not any greater amount that he lost. The blue-haired girl, who sat on the short end of the table next to Itachi, hurried to tie her napkin around her master’s arm. The white cloth instantly became dark-red.

“Shall I go get a doctor monsieur?” Itachi asked with his calm voice.

“No, it’s just a small wound. It will heal in a matter of days.”

Itachi glared angrily at his brother. Sasuke hadn’t seen his brother that mad before, but for him it didn’t matter. Trying to improve their relationship would just be a waste of time, since he would try to kill his brother soon anyway; he just needed a way to take his life without a possibility to be tied to it. Jiraya was not to know about it, or Sasuke’s fortunes would disappear. He already knew that killing his brother would be a difficult task.

Jiraya coughed loudly and sat down heavily in his stuffed chair that creaked softly when he did.

“Let… let us try to forget old quarrels, okay? You two are brothers after all, and should behave more like it!
Now I want us all to sit down and talk like adults. Can you do that?” Jiraya asked as he looked at the two brothers. Mostly on Sasuke of course.

Itachi answered quietly and politely to his host, but Sasuke took a second before he said yes. He decided it would be for the best not to make them suspect him hating them, so he kept a friendly face. But in his eyes he now had two great enemies in this world, and they were both close to him: His own brother and his business companion. He was glad that his butler stayed at his side at least. Without him he would be lost.

The talk started, slow at first, but after going through a couple of topics everybody were talking. They talked about how poorly maintained the outside of Jiraya’s castle were, and he told the guests that it was to fool burglars and bandits passing by to believe he was very poor and not worth robbing. Quickly the topic changed, thanks to Kabuto, and suddenly they were discussing Le Petite Amies, and how Sasuke had been keeping his guards at bay because of them. Jiraya, Itachi and Iruka all laughed at Sasuke. He didn’t really understand why, but Iruka explained it too him.

“Just a week ago the sheriff captured Le Petit Amies, and they were executed three days ago in the city. Their heads are still on display on the market square if you wish to see them?” he said.

“No thanks” Sasuke replied. “I believe your word.”

So this meeting had brought something good to Sasuke after all! He now had to take care of his hated brother, but one of his problems was now out of the way, and soon his brother would be too. He had already come up with a plan on how to take Itachi’s life without being blamed for it. They just had to get back home. It had been prepared before he even left the castle.

“I hope you can take care of your brother better then you get your hands on news, Sasuke!” Jiraya said in a joking manor. “Or else you won’t know of the bandits coming before they are knocking on your door!”

Everyone around the table chuckled to Jiraya’s joke, but Itachi seemed to be the one who enjoyed it the most; He even spilled his wine over his clothes as he laughed.

“Mon dieu, Itachi!” Jiraya shouted when he heard the wine-glass clang against the floor. “You must clean that up post haste or your clothes will be ruined!”

“It’s nothing to worry about” he said in reply. “Now when I am under my brother’s custody I believe I have the right to borrow his butler?”

They both looked on Sasuke smiling, or what looked like a smile coming from Itachi. Sasuke had his mouth full of food for the moment, and just waved his hand to tell them to go. Itachi and Kabuto pushed their chairs away and hurried up the big stairs in a hall they had passed when Kabuto and Sasuke first arrived, with their steps echoing through out the halls after they were out of sight. Jiraya looked after them holding his own wine-glass high in his hand.

“What a shame to ruin such a nice dinner-costume. Really…”

The evening passed without anything of importance happening. Sasuke and Jiraya discussed about whether to buy or not to buy a ship-load of merchandise from across the sea that they could then sell for a small profit, but nothing got settled. Sasuke tried to exchange a few words with the blue-haired girl he had scared before. He apologised for the incident earlier, but she didn’t seem to be too bothered by what happened. She then hurried out to the kitchen and wasn’t seen for the rest of the night.

Around midnight Sasuke started to feel tired, and wished to go to bed. As he stretched himself he realized that Kabuto hadn’t returned with his brother yet. If Itachi still was the same as when he was little, he was probably trying to persuade Kabuto into working for him instead of Sasuke since he had a small fixation in getting more people under him, and thus more power. Sasuke didn’t worry about it, since he knew Kabuto was loyal to him and would never leave him. He wished Jiraya a good night. Just for show of course, he still hated him and wished to see him dead.

Jiraya gave Sasuke instructions on how to find his room on the floor above, and he was not late to follow them.

It was a bit cold and windy in the corridor on the second floor, as expected when the windows are missing. Despite the many doors everywhere that all looked alike, Sasuke managed to find the one assigned to him. Kabuto and Itachi had the rooms next to his, and he thought that it was nothing wrong with it. But as he passed Itachi’s door, he suddenly stopped. It could have been his imagination, but he swore he heard a noise from the other side of the door.

He pressed his ear to the wood to get it confirmed: Itachi was in there with Kabuto. Was Itachi really trying to convince Kabuto to join him?

‘That bastard!’ he thought. He then tried to see them by looking into the key-hole. He regretted that he did. It would even have been better if Itachi really had been trying to steal Kabuto away from him. Anything would have been better. Anything but this!

The inside of the room was covered in clothes thrown everywhere. On a chair, on the floor, on the desk… And on the bed they were. Sasuke looked on the two with a strange feeling in his heart. He first thought it was the feeling of being betrayed, but he soon realized it wasn’t. He was just very curious. Curious, and exited. He watched as Kabuto bounced up and down on Itachi, who laid flat on his back enjoying the pleasure. Kabuto moaned softly and Itachi smirked with his teeth cleansed. Then they both stopped moving. Kabuto got his head down onto Itachi’s chest, smiling as if he was in heaven and Itachi stroked his blond hair smiling back. Itachi giggled when Kabuto teased him by licking and carefully biting him on his nipples, which was something new for Sasuke who had never even seen Itachi make a real smile.

“I have missed this so much” Kabuto whispered dreamy and rubbed his head on Itachi's chest like a kitten. Itachi bent his head down and kissed Kabuto softly on his lips, making a wet sound.

“I have too” Itachi said not as dreamy, but still happily. “We are lucky that my brother doesn’t know about us. He would kill you.”

“Maybe we should tell him one day? It’s not good to keep secrets of this kind. If this came out the wrong way, God knows what might happen! There is a possibility that he might really kill me.”

Itachi sighed and gave Kabuto a kiss on his head as he stroked him softly. Kabuto pulled himself up a little on Itachi's body so they could embrace each other better.

“He will probably not find out. And if he does, we will just kill him before he kills us.”

“But I don’t want him to die! He is my master!” Kabuto protested. He didn't want to think of having to kill Sasuke, he really liked him. As a master. He nudged Itachi's chin with his mouth and licked him passionately.

“We’ll see what happens… Maybe he won’t give us any other choice” Itachi said, and apparently went to sleep. Kabuto dragged the cover over their bodies and went to sleep too.

Sasuke was trembling in anger. This was not betrayal. This was far beyond betrayal! He would certainly kill Itachi now.

In his raging anger Sasuke smashed a vase standing on a pedestal nearby. He shouldn’t have done that, he realized when he heard footsteps coming towards the door. We tried to run to his room, but he wasn’t fast enough and only got two or three steps when the door to Itachi's room opened.

Wrapped in a sheet and holding his glasses in one hand Kabuto starred at Sasuke. He slowly put his glasses back on, and they both looked on each other for what felt like an eternity.