Inbred

Another difficult chapter to write. The conversation between Itachi and Sasuke. I hope it provides as many answers as it reveals more questions.

--------------
Chapter 45

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" he ground out with forced diplomacy.

What Sasuke really wanted to ask him was what the fuck he wanted but he refused to let Itachi know that just the sound of his voice was enough to send him into a blind rage. He wouldn't give his ex-brother the satisfaction in knowing that, after all these years, he still had that effect over him.

"To offer my condolences, little brother," came the flat reply and Sasuke refused to believe that he heard just the tiniest bit of sincerity in his voice.

"Horse shit!" he spat and Itachi replied with an indifferent 'Hn!'.

Sasuke took a glance over his shoulder and was relieved to find that the boys in the living room hadn't heard his childish outburst from the sanctity, he had once again sought out, of the kitchen. They were still speculating the cause of the disaster and were too wrapped up in their debate to pay him any attention. He sighed inwardly and mentally counted to ten, if he was going to maintain some semblance of a conversation with Itachi then he was going to need to keep a lid on his temper.

"It's unfortunate you don't belive me but I'm telling the truth," the eldest Uchiha replied easily.

"And why the hell should I?" he scoffed. "You killed everyone else in our family so what's it to you if I live or die?"

"I need you alive."

"What the hell for?"

"I already told you," he sighed in his annoyance at having to remind the boy for a second time. "You have to revive our clan."

Sasuke worried the flesh on his bottom lip with even, white teeth in an attempt to keep the string of curses on the tip of his tongue at bay. He hated the way the older man spoke to him as if he expected him to carry out his orders. "Do it your damned self!" he shot back in more childish banter.

Itachi paused. "I can't, even if I wanted to," and before his younger brother could ask him what he meant by that he quickly added. "Besides, you've already made quite a head-start."

Sasuke immediately picked up on the hidden message and his grip on the receiver tightened until he could hear the hard plastic creak beneath the force. "Stay the fuck away from Neji," he growled.

"Calm yourself, brother. I need her just as much as I need you."

"Look, you can play your twisted, little games with me all you want but you leave her out of this."

Itachi was silent again before apologizing for having offended the younger man and his lover. "I'm also sorry about your loss."

"Yeah, so much for your perfect, little plan on the ressurection of our clan, eh?" Sasuke sneered and cradled the receiver in the crook of his shoulder so he could fold his arms across his chest and lean his hip against one kitchen counter.

"I'm not too worried," he replied with dry amusement. "Knowing you two, I'm sure you'll be pregnant again just as soon as she's recovered."

"Hn! I knew you were a murderer but I didn't know you were a filthy pervert too."

Itachi tsked at his brother's indignation but he understood why he felt the way he did. "I admit I've been keeping a close eye on you and while I did notice you seem to have trouble keeping your hands off of her I assure you I allowed you both your privacy as warranted," and Sasuke gritted his teeth as the callous response.

He allowed them their privacy? He allowed them their privacy?

Were he and Neji nothing more than just a couple of sea-monkeys swimming around in a petri-dish that he could gaze at under his micro-scope all day long, as he eagerly awaited them to procreate and spawn a litter of their own?

If his ex-brother had used this 'blue-moon' opportunity to talk to him after all these years just so he could piss him off, then mission accomplished.

"Listen to me and listen good, Itachi," he warned in low voice, brimming with animosity. "If I ever catch you sniffing around Neji then so help me, I swear I'll gouge your eyes out with my bare hands and shove them so far down your throat you'll have to blink with your ass."

The other man tsked again and chastised his younger brother for his filthy language and violent nature.

"You should be the last person to talk about a violent nature," countered the young heir.

Itachi sighed at the implication. "Are you still hoarding that demon?"

He was indifferent and spoke as if his younger brother was being unreasonable for bringing up the event that was lost so far in the past, but Sasuke didn't forget and he never would. He'd always remember the night of his ninth birthday, the lifeless corpses of his parents and the raging fire that consumed their remains and as long as he had breath within his lungs he'd never let Itachi forget that night either.

"Why did you kill my family."

Sasuke purposely disregarded him as a blood relative by referring to it as his family and not their family and although Itachi chose to ignore it, Sasuke still felt a little smug, knowing that no matter what Itachi said or did he had no control over him disowning him as a brother.

"I had to."

That answer wasn't good enough.

"Why did you kill my family?" he repeated a little louder.

"I did it to protect you."

"From what?"

"Becoming like me."

Sasuke pressed his lips into a tight, white line and imagined reaching his hands through the receiver to strangle the man on the other end, but the image didn't satisfy his ire for very long.

Itachi was being vague and he knew that if he interrogated him any further then he'd just send him in circles all morning and Sasuke didn't have the patience to put up with him and his irritating games for much longer so he decided to let it rest.

If he wanted to be a fucking prick, so be it.

"Stop watching us!" He issued that command as he retouched on their previous subject.

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Why the hell not?"

"My goal is to ensure the revival of our clan. You are the only one who can fulfill that duty so I must protect you at all costs."

Realization suddenly dawned on the younger boy. "You were the one that sent me that message last night, weren't you?"

"Yes, it was, and I'm glad you heeded my warning."

"Why didn't you just call to tell me that, why be so secretive?"

"Because then you wouldn't have done as I asked."

And he was right.

Itachi knew him well and he knew that if he had called that night instead of sending the text then Sasuke would have defiantly ignored his request and stayed behind. It annoyed the younger of the two to no end that he was merely a puppet or a pawn in Itachi's schemes and as much as he wanted to rebel against his motives, so far, he'd played exactly into the role his ex-brother had scripted for him.

He'd chosen to live rather than commit suicide after the fire; he had given up seeking revenge and decided to concentrate on living his own life; he'd fallen in love with Neji and was seriously contemplating starting a family together and, ultimately, continuing the Uchiha lineage and now he'd avoided certain death by unknowingly following his orders and evacuating the hospital.

Throughout his entire life, Sasuke had been unwillingly doing exactly what Itachi wanted him to do but the thing that disturbed him the most of all was that, as much as he wanted to deny Itachi, upon further introspect, he couldn't deny that he wanted the exact same things he did.

"So, you just called to make sure I've been following orders like a good, little boy?" he sneered.

"I told you twice already, I called to offer condolences on the loss of your child."

He knew Itachi was annoyed. For as long as he knew him, Itachi was the kind of person that hated to have to repeat himself and right now, Sasuke derived any kind of sordid pleasure he got from making his ex-brother miserable.

"How did you know Neji was pregnant?"

"The same way I knew that the hospital was going to be attacked."

"Hn, so it wasn't you that killed all those people then." Sasuke knew very well that he wasn't responsible for the massacre. All the victims had been shot and Itachi's modi operandi included either gutting or beheading with that katana of his, but Sasuke blatantly made that jab at the infamous title he'd acquired for himself as a cold-blooded murderer.

Itachi was not at all offended by the remark and he replied in that flat, monotonous voice of his. "No, I did not."

"But you know who did," and it wasn't a question it was a statement.

"Yes," was the only response and the finality of his tone revealed that he was not going to share that information.

"Why did they do it?"

"To keep something from getting out."

He was being vague again but instead of trying to force him to disclose what he really knew about the incident at the hospital, Sasuke opted to play twenty questions in hopes that he'd divulge a little more about what he did know.

"Something or someone?"

"Both!"

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and gripped the receiver again with one hand while he rested the other against his forehead, surprised to find it covered with a thin sheen of perspiration. He swallowed hard before he asked the next question, already dreading the answer he knew he was going to get.

"They weren't after me, were they?"

And his estranged brother's response confirmed the growing fear that was swirling in the pit of his stomach.

"No."

He clamped his eyes shut and his heart sank as the floor shifted slightly beneath his feet. He experienced no relief in the knowledge that it wasn't he that had been targeted last night because that only left one other person it could possibly be...

"Neji!" He whispered softly.

"The 'something' they were supposed to eliminate along with the girl was taken care of, so she's safe for now," consoled the older Uchiha and he quickly issued another warning he knew his brother would have no choice but to comply with. "But I'd like you to keep her with you at all times and don't leave her alone until I say you can. It will be easier to keep an eye on you both if you stay together."

Sasuke seethed at, once again, having no choice but to follow the orders of his greatest enemy but although he conceded he refused to admit it out loud to the other man.

"What was the other thing they were looking for?"

"Proof."

The younger Uchiha was glad he hadn't said it was the baby but his one word answer didn't offer much closure either.

"What kind of proof?"

Itachi was silent for a few moments as he contemplated whether he should tell his brother or not. "Whatever it was is destroyed now so there's no need for you to worry about it."

"Dammit Itachi just tell me."

"Hmm, you're really concerned aren't you? You must really care about this girl."

"What's it to you?"

"Don't misunderstand, little brother. I'm really glad for you, maybe even a little envious."

"Oh, really?' he scoffed. Sasuke refused to believe his ex-brother was capable of any emotion, even envy. "But you're changing the subject." He heard him chuckle on the other end and he chose to disregard that too.

"You're very observant."

"You have no idea how much," the younger man sneered. "Now what kind of proof was Hyuga looking for and why is he suddenly after Neji?"

"Hmm, very observant," he mumbled, obviously impressed that his brother had already managed to figure out who had ordered the hit.

"Itachi!" he growled when the other man avoided his question yet again.

"They were looking to destroy any proof that Neji had been hospitalized or involved in the accident but their sudden interest in her is a mystery to me as well. But, you're a smart boy," he drawled. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Aren't you going to investigate this further?"

"The affairs of the Hyuga family do not concern me, my only objective is you, little brother, and besides you've already begun your own investigation, if I'm not mistaken."

Was there anything Sasuke did that Itachi didn't know about?

"Hn."

"You've grown!" His voice was lower than usual and he spoke as if he were talking more to himself so Sasuke barely hear him.

"I'd like to see you sometime too," he grinned maliciously.

Itachi chuckled again before speaking. "What would you do if we were to meet?"

"I'd kill you," he lied and he received another low chuckle.

"You really must exorcize that demon, little brother," but the truth was he already had. Sasuke still hated Itachi, still denied him as blood and still remembered him as the murderer that killed his family but he no longer wanted revenge and he no longer wanted his brother's death at his hands.

Love had exorcized that demon, but he didn't want Itachi to know that because he still hadn't forgiven him for what he'd done.

"Where are you?"

"Close by!" he admitted confidently. "But I won't be for long. There's something I need to take care of so you'll be on your own for the majority of today."

"How will I ever cope?" he scoffed sarcastically.

"I'm sure you'll cope fine," Itachi replied flatly, devoid of all humour. "Just remember to watch over the girl."

"She's safe," Sasuke spat.

"Yes, but I don't know for how long."

Sasuke sighed heavily and his shoulders drooped. Itachi heard his despondency and worked to console the younger man because while he wanted to make his brother aware he didn't want him to worry needlessly.

"As I said before, the affairs of the Hyuga clan do not concern me, but the life of this girl does, and as much as you hate to have to come to terms with it, as long as you keep her with you I promise I won't allow anything to happen to her," and Itachi was right, Sasuke didn't want to come to grips with the knowledge that he was now going to be acting as guardian angel over Neji.

They were both quiet for a prolonged period of time, neither having anything more to say to the other. It was Itachi that said his farewells first and after bidding his younger brother to take care he ended the call.

Sasuke removed the receiver from his ear and just stared blankly at the digital screen. After eleven years his brother had finally made contact with him and he was overcome with a myriad of emotions he had trouble naming. One of them was definitely enmity, but that was a given since he felt nothing towards Itachi but pure hatred but he wondered why he suddenly felt remorse and immediately wrote it off as regret for no longer wanting to avenge his parent's death.

The conversation had also left him very distraught because now he knew that the main branch had made a renewed attempt on Neji's life and while he couldn't say why for sure he knew he couldn't let Neji know the truth.

All he knew for certain was that they had almost been successful in their attempt and if it hadn't been for Itachi then they'd both be dead right now.

Sasuke looked Heavenward before groaning inwardly and his stomach lurched when the sickening truth manifested itself.

He needed Itachi to protect them both.