With All His Foolish Hope

There were no signs. No hints. Nothing to betray that Sasuke had snapped. There were no clues that he'd suddenly turn into a serial killer. Possesive? Yes. Jealous? Yes. Overly Protective? Sure, but not to the point of murdering anyone who upset Naruto.

If anything the last few months had Sasuke coming out of his shell a bit more. He had attened partys with Naruto, held hands and kissed in public, would smile and even occasionally laugh at someone who wasnt his boyfriend.

It was as if he was melting the icy exterior tiny piece by tiny piece, slowly being fixed by Naruto, his own personal sun.

He had his bad days sure, when he'd shut down completely, even to Naruto, but they always occured after he'd spoken to or seen his brother.

Ahh, Sasukes brother...

Itachi Uchiha was the splitting image of his baby brother, same sharp handsome features and breathtaking black eyes full of intelligence, never missing a trick.

The brothers were seperated by six years and a very different oppinion on style, Sasuke was born to rebel the white collar life of his bloodline whilst Itachi was all for designer suits worth more than Naruto made a year.

He came across somehow warmer then the youngest Uchiha, more approachable, more human. He smiled, quite often infact, he remembered details of others lives, he always seemed genuinely interested and would always inquire after a sick realitive or a collage course.

He had a beautiful wife, a devoted daughter, a pet husky named Crystal; he ran the family buisness perfectly, his employees loved him whilst the competition coward in fear.

He was brilliant, friendly, untouchable.

And every word of it was a lie.

Itachi Uchiha was a monster, every silken inch of him, from the imaculate suits that dressed his lean frame to the squidgy marrow in his bones, he was the main person who'd tortured Sasuke growing up. Itachi Uchiha was pure sadistic evil.

It was always there and Naruto had always been able to see it in a way that Sasuke had never hinted at, underneath the surface it was obvious to Naruto that his boyfriend seemed to feel everything but had always been taught to lock it up, hide it away, Itachi on the other hand though, well, Itachi's eyes were as dead as a shark's, he put up a good front but Naruto wasnt easily fooled, he knew men liked Itachi, he'd been raised on the streets by men like him, the so called 'family man', screwing around with people because he could, messing up peoples lives for something to do, murdering people because seeing the light go out of someones eyes made him feel something, at least for a second.

It was obvious in the gentle rise and fall of his voice as he'd 'light heartedly' chast the baby Uchiha, it was there in the false tilt of his lips as he studied Naruto, it was clear in the way Sasuke would fall into an almost coma once Itachi left their flat; scared and confused and lost in memories of whatever had broken him in the first place.

It was obvious Itachi was a bad man, a killer.

Naruto had never so much as seen Sasuke kill a fly and now there were three dead bodies in his living room.

xXx

Naruto remembers a story Sasuke had told him one night when they'd been curled up in their sheets, Sasukes nimble fingers tracing Naruto's tattoo gently, pressing kisses to his bare skin, he'd called the story 'the Uchiha curse'. Naruto had once thought it was just that, a story, but now, well now he wasnt so sure.

Sasuke had said that the first Uchiha, a humble minor named Madara, had made a deal with The Devil himself to become a great man, a man who had money, and power and control. Madara had been granted his wish but it had come with one simple catch; when The Devil decided he needed Madara's soul he would come without argument, without fuss and without hesitation or there would be grave consequences. Madara had agreed without thought, he was only in his early twenties, thought himself invinsible.

Madara Uchiha beccame a name to be reckoned with, a whole village on their knees, he was feared and admired and a good leader, he married a western princess fourteen years after he made the deal and they had three sons who would eventually contiune his empire.

The Devil waited twenty years before he came for him and of course Madara put up a fight, arguing that it wasnt enough time and that he's been tricked, The Devil put him down in a blaze of fury and as punishment for his insolence cursed every Uchiha hence forward to a life of insanity.

Naruto had thought it to be a bit of a morbid story to pass through the generations, he hadnt realized it was actually a warning, hadnt realized it wasnt just a superstious legend to make the Uchihas feel more important, more powerful, helped along by the Devil himself.

Sasuke had believed it when he'd told Naruto, he realized that now, Sasukes eyes had been wide and honest and scared. Naruto had laughed it off and complained that he didnt know anything about his family, complained that Uzumaki wasnt even his real last name. Sasuke had smiled as if the entire conversation hadnt happened, had promised to make him an Uchiha one day.

He never brought up the Uchiha Curse again.

Naruto would have believed it if Itachi told him, but Sasuke was damaged not deranged like his brother.

Yet there were now three dead bodies on their living room floor.

What the hell was Naruto going to do?