𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 | itachi/sasuke uchiha

chapter twenty four

"... you're joking!"

Sasuke's voice breaks Itachi out of his haze, making him jump a little.

"Hmm? No, I'm not, but seriously, this is an actual mission. Try not to get killed. We have to get this right."

He walks away, leaving Sasuke with a vein popping on his forehead.

"(Name)!"

With the two brothers finally done with whatever talk they'd been having, the three of you make your way down to the village gates, where a cart would be transporting you to a coastal sea side resort over the course of two days.

"You know, I don't see why we couldn't just walk," you say as you hop into the litter-like cart, driven by a man wearing a wide brimmed hat leading two horses.

"What kind of a holiday would that be now," scoffed Itachi lightly, following you in. When Sasuke gets in, he shuts the door behind him, and takes a seat opposite you and Itachi. It's pretty roomy in here for a cart: decent leg space even with all your bags scattered around, a pretty interior design, good windows that weren't actually windows because there was no glass but did a good job nonetheless. You shrug to yourself as you feel the horses pick up and amble away from the village.

Eh. Maybe this vacation won't be as bad as I thought.

"... so what are we actually doing?" you ask, leaning with your head out of the glass-less window. You close your eyes, feeling the gentle breeze caress your face.

"Well, for today, we'll just be in here until we get to an inn to spend the night at. Then we set off in the mor-"

"I meant, what are we gonna actually do when we get there," you say dully, cutting off Itachi's bright voice. Sasuke snickers, and his older brother sends him a look of death before answering your question.

"Well, spend a week or so at the resort, then catch a ferry to the nearby Land of Storms! Doesn't that sound fun? I've heard they've got great sights to see!"

You tilt your head to the side with a small "Tch," making Itachi sweatdrop and Sasuke smirk even more.

"Oh, please, enlighten me on this great land," you say, rolling your closed eyes.

"I can start with the fact that they have some of the best kenjutsu users in the world," says Itachi in an enticing voice. You open your (eye colour) eye and look at him lazily.

"How about the history?" you ask curiously. You were secretly a history geek at heart, and found yourself absolutely fascinated with all the different Lands and Villages and their traditional customs and practises. Itachi smiles, and continues.

"Well, for starters, the actual royal family were the Hayate family," he begins. "About sixteen years ago there was a rebellion, and the ruler at the time was a man named Arashi Hayate. Then, I think, a few years later, there was another revolt lead by the same members of the last one, and this time they succeeded. They wiped out Arashi, his son, and his entire clan, basically. The leader of the coup d'état was a man named Ikari."

You whistle lowly under your breath. Wow. So much fighting.

"But do you know what the interesting thing was, (name)?" asks Itachi, his voice now quiet. Sasuke gives his brother a questioning look, while you continue staring out the window, not able to care any less.

"What was it?"

Itachi chuckles.

"Well, for starters... let's just say that as soon as the royal family were wiped out, something happened. No one can actually recall what it was: all they know is that on the same night Arashi's bloodline was wiped out, so were Ikari and all his faithfuls."

You turn to look at Itachi.

"So you mean they all killed each other and no one won?" you ask, brow furrowed. Itachi gives you another sly smile and shakes his head.

"No. The royals were definitely wiped out before Ikari's men were," he says, oddly too cheerful to be talking about such a tragic thing.

"So what? They rose from the dead and slaughtered them? Is that what you're implying?" you say waspishly, turning your attention back to the scenery outside.

"No. They say that one of the clan escaped, and completely vanquished the perpetrators of the coup," says Itachi a bit too happily. You're taken aback.

"So if this member escaped, why couldn't they destroy their enemies before their family was slaughtered?"

Itachi shrugs, still smiling.

"I take it this escapee rules the Land now?" you ask, looking skeptically at the older Uchiha brother. He shakes his head with a vigorous smile.

"Nope! It's ruled by a government now, but the sole survivor of the clan seems to have simply vanished at the scene of the battle!"

"Interesting..." you murmur, thinking of all the possible things that could have happened to this survivor. Did they get killed avenging their family? Did they make a run for it? Did they leave the Land of Storms altogether? Did they just die somewhere in the wilderness, and no one found their body?

"Who was this survivor, anyway?" you ask. Itachi shrugs.

"No clue! No one knows if there even was a survivor!" he beams. You roll your eyes.

"Very helpful Itachi. Thanks."

As your gaze shifts out the window yet again, Sasuke gives Itachi a shocked look, and his eyes seem to ask "Do you mean she's...?"

Itachi gives him a small, curt nod.

Sasuke's eyes lay on you, unable to think of you as anything else other than the rightful heir to the throne for the Land of Storms. He imagined you living in a grand palace wearing grand clothing and eating grand foods from all over the world. The funny thing is, you fit perfectly into that fantasy. You had the perfect ideals of being a ruler- that was one thing he could be sure of. Strict but caring, hated injustice, always eager to make others happy- that was you.

It was even funnier because he had known you for more than half of his life and he knew absolutely none of this up until this moment.

Holy shit, he thinks. My best friend is a princess.