The cool night air whipped through my hair at a speed of seventy miles per hour as I sped down the interstate. My body hugged the frame of my black Kawasaki ninja, an investment I still do not regret. Being on the back of this bike brought me a sense of freedom, something I had lost long ago when my parents left me.

Tonight was different though. My thoughts were not on the paved road laid before me like they usually were, but instead on a certain pink-haired girl. Ever since the end of last school year, my mind had fixated on one thing and one thing alone, getting Sakura back. It could be that she's with Inuzuka or that I realized I had done something I now regretted. No matter which it was the fact was still the same, I wanted her back and would do anything it took to achieve that.

Only thing was, nothing was going the way I had imagined it because of one miscalculation. Sakura's feelings for me had completely vanished and there was no trace left behind. My whole strategy rode on there being even a glimmer of admiration left for me somewhere in her heart, but there wasn't and I only had myself to blame.

Now that I was up shit creek without a paddle I had to regroup and come up with a new approach. Only thing was, I was at a complete loss at what to do. I had alienated myself without even realizing it, digging my grave deeper than it was only months ago. To make matters worse Naruto wasn't speaking to me anymore after the move I pulled on Halloween, so there was no one I could turn to for advice. It was time to admit to myself that I probably deserved the hand that I held, even though my heart was not ready to accept it.

Without realizing it I glided into the driveway. The light on the front porch was on and my once tangled thoughts cleared away to make way for a more prominent one, my brother.

After our parents had passed away Itachi left for college. He sent funds to me every month, making sure that I was able to get by and continue to attend school with my friends. That was the only thing he had done since that resembled the big brother I had grown up with. He would visit once a year to check up on school but never about my personal life and because of that, I held more resentment than I should towards him.

With a heavy sigh, I punched in the code allowing the garage to open and parked my bike within. Between the noise of the engine and the creaking of the garage door my chances of slipping in and avoiding Itachi were slim. Even so, I attempted it anyway.

My level of stealth wasn't up to par though and as soon as the door clicked shut I heard my brother enter the vacant kitchen. "We need to have a chat Sasuke," Itachi stated, his voice the same level of bored it usually was.

His words annoyed me for two reasons, it's not the first time this phrase has passed through his lips, and I had more important things to deal with. This didn't stop the unnerving feeling that trickled throughout my body though. Conversations with my brother never ended well and for him to continue to pursue this particular one meant he was serious about it.

I decided to feign interest in his request with hopes that it may throw him off guard and the conversation might be shorter. "What about?" I asked, opening the fridge and extract a cold can of coke before facing my brother with a cocked eyebrow.

I could feel his eyes watching me, burning holes in my body as he studied me. I knew he was sizing me up, gauging my reaction so that he could counter with one of his own. Though his response didn't cut right to the point and instead he decided to poke at me in an attempt to rial me up. "You have been avoiding me, little brother. I'm curious to know why that is," he pondered out loud, half questioning, half musing to himself.

As expected the statement throws me off as my mind raced through all the responses I could throw back in his face. Like, why do you care all the sudden or the more truthful one being I take no joy from our conversations so why would I partake in them. Instead, I shrugged and met his cold stare with an icy one of my own, "Been busy." I retorted deciding that humoring him is no longer something I care to do.

Itachi scoffed at me, "Chasing a girl that wants nothing more than for you to disappear? Riveting."

The sarcasm in his voice is enough to set my blood to boil but it's the fact that he mocks me that gets under my skin. "It really isn't any of your business what I do with my time now is it?"I grumbled under my breath.

The atmosphere began to change as our eyes continued to lock, morphing into a tense overbearing sense of seriousness like a weighted blanket fell on the room. "Actually Sasuke, it is. You are an Uchiha and thus have a legacy that is awaiting you. It's time that you stepped into it and became part of our family business."

And there it is, the phrase that I had been anticipating that feeds the fire of anger Itachi had already set ablaze. This wasn't the first time he had mentioned this so-called family business. There were countless times in the past he had mentioned it in passing but never actually elaborated on the subject. "The family business was nothing more than an insurance company that declared bankruptcy several years after father and mother died. There is no family business, at least not anymore." I grumbled, making my way towards the kitchen exit. This conversation was now over and it was time to go to bed, I'd had enough of his delusional ramblings.

The look on Itachi's face darkened and his pupils narrow into a point directed straight to the deepest part of me. "Foolish little brother. The time has come for you to learn what the true family business entails."

A chill raced through my body causing me to stop all movement at his words as select memories flood back into my mind from years long since past. Those of late nights spent at home sitting with our mother who was racked with worry as we watched the news in silence. Unfamiliar men coming and leaving the house that we weren't allowed to speak to but would always sneak a peek. None of it ever added up, even in the mind of a child, and looking back now it was clear that nothing made clear sense in my childhood.

I must have broken eye contact with Itachi during my epiphany, yet I can still feel the sickly smirk on his face when I looked back up. "Seems like you have finally figured out how foolish you have been." Itachi taunted, still not satisfied that every thought I am contemplating is reflected on my face.

My glare turns violent and I'm pissed that I couldn't manage composure for our brief conversation. "I actually don't and even if I did I want nothing to do with whatever dealings dad decided to take part in," I responded, even though the bad feeling in my gut told me everything I needed I was already aware of. I knew exactly what he'd referred to and wanted no part of something like that.

I was unaware that the tension in the room could get worse than it already had, but as Itachi's posture changed and the bored bully aura faded away, a menacing man was all I could see. One that I would have avoided even in broad daylight, a side I had never seen in him that shook me to the core. "This isn't a request Sasuke. This is your birthright and you will claim it."

Even though I knew it was a poor choice to engage in a battle of wills against Itachi the words still slipped through my lips. He was well aware of my standing when it came to the Uchiha name and I  was tired of having to remind him. "I told you, I want nothing to do with my birthright," I hissed, my anger finally bubbling to the surface after burring it this whole conversation.

Within a matter of seconds, Itachi had me pinned to the cool kitchen wall, his forearm pressed down on my throat with more than enough force to cause pain to erupt underneath. With his lips mere millimeters from my ear, he uttered the very words I dreaded hearing. "Let me make this abundantly clear, you don't have a choice. You never did."   

I closed my eyes and for the first time in years, I prayed. I prayed that his words are untrue, that he would disappear from my life and I could live a normal life like everyone else my age. But the nauseating feeling in the pit of my stomach knew better than my childish prayer did. I knew the words he spoke were nothing short of the truth, I wouldn't have any choice in this matter. Even so, I found the will to utter the words I wanted to somehow be possible. "You can't make me."   

Itachi stepped back, releasing me from his hold and in a split second his face slipped back into the mask that he let the rest of the world see, friendly and charismatic. They are only two words but they fell like led in the silence between us and I knew at that moment I should have kept my thoughts to myself. "Watch me."   

|Authors note|

Once again my updates on this story are sporadic at best but I hope to change that this month. This quite literally took forever to get to y'all and was revised idk how many times to capture the moment. Check out the song above!