Summary: In honor of Uchiha Itachi's birthday, take this one shot that showcases Itachi's childhood and relationship with his family.

Age: it changes a lot.

Category: angst, fluff. Is very sad, but it's our baby Itachi's birthday, so.

Note: This is a very long one shot, but worth it. Happy birthday, Itachi my love ❤️ not a day goes by that I don't miss him, so I put in some extra effort for this one shot. I hope you all love it!!

-

"Will you tell me a story?"

"Little one, it is far past your bedtime."

"Please, Mother? The one with the two brothers?"

"... hm. Alright, my darling. Sit down. Long ago, far before you or I, there were two brothers. They were alone, and traveled a lot, but loved each other very much."

"Like how you love me, Mother?"

"No, my dear. Their parents were gone, and all they had was each other. The brothers loved each other fiercely, and in a way that is much different than the gentle way I love you."

"Haha."

"One day, one brother went astray. He followed the wrong path, and it lead him away from his brother. Far away. The loss devastated the first brother, because they had been so close that being without the other was borderline painful. The lost brother suffered just as much, but out of stubbornness, continued down the path he had chosen. The first brother heard stories of the other's deeds, and was disappointed to find them actions their parents would not be proud of. He decided that he on his own would find his brother, and drag him back to the right path."

"And did he, Mother?"

"He and the lost brother fought, my dear, as siblings often do. They spent days and days and days fighting, before one day, they lost all of their energy. Both just stopped, and stared at each other. They sat down on the floor where they had been standing, and for the first time listened to the wind whistle through the trees. They smelled the fresh air, and shivered at the teasing touch of the wind. The bird's song, and the wolf's howl, and the stomping of deer in the forest became suddenly the most beautiful sounds ever. And the brothers looked at each other and they realized that they hadn't really stopped to appreciate such things until they were reunited."

"Then, what did they do, Mother?"

"They stopped fighting, and talked things out rationally. And eventually, the first brother convinced the second brother to return to the right path. Both returned happily, and followed the right paths for a long as they possibly could. That wasn't to say there wasn't trials or temptation, but each brother kept the other in check."

"What would've happened if the first brother brought the lost brother back by force, mother?"

"Neither of them would be happy, my dear. This way, they avoided the heartache, and reunited happily. If the two of them had continued fighting, they would've gotten nowhere. In time, the two of them would grow to hate each other and to hate being around each other."

"Brothers shouldn't hate each other."

"Yes. My dear. Brothers shouldn't hate each other. But those who fight, do. These brothers did not hate each other in the end, and they got to continue forward in peace."

"Peace?"

<>

When Itachi was young, he had terrible nights. If he wanted to climb into his parents' bed, his father didn't allow him to, saying that he needed to stick it out and become a man. This often left the toddler alone in his room, sobbing silently as the lightning crashed overhead and rain pounded mercilessly on the roof. The darkness terrified Itachi- not necessarily because he couldn't see, but more because he was afraid of the things lurking in the dark. When he was older, he plunged head first into the darkness to defend the light, but as a child, he never thought he'd do so.

His mother was the only one who brought him relief from the darkness. Itachi was often tormented by horrible nightmares. Mikoto sung him lullabies until he became so accustomed to the sound of her beautiful voice fighting off his nightmares that he could fight them off for himself.

Itachi was smart- far too smart. He was aware of things before he was supposed to be. Before his father knew this, before his clan knew this, before the village knew this, Mikoto Uchiha knew. She told him stories, early on, about peace. She taught him early the way he should go. She described the feeling of peace to him when he was five, right after Itachi killed his first enemy. Itachi listened, and he imagined what it was like. That feeling that she described to him once, true peace, became what he worked toward eternally. Mikoto taught him early on to never underestimate women. She also taught him the value in respecting his elders.

His father was never around to teach him such things.

It was because Itachi saw his mother so much so early in his life that he realized early on that his mother was sad.

Mikoto would stop and stare off into space occasionally, like she needed something to fill it. She sometimes dropped sentences, and had to restart them. Something was missing. Something fundamental, and it was messing with his mother. Itachi wanted desperately to know what it was. To be able to help her- his mother, who loved him and helped him through everything. Itachi wanted to know how to make her feel better.

"Mother, Mother," Little Itachi said, his four year old self still cheerful and curious. His little hands held a flower.

Mikoto looked up from her gardening, and her eyes widened. She smiled at her beloved child, and her eyes followed his hands to see what he was holding out. Her expression changed almost instantaneously. She looked like she didn't want to jump, or scream, or do something else that might scare her child, but she did not like the sight of that flower. Itachi handed her the flower with a childish beam, not realizing what the flower was doing. "Thank you, darling." Mikoto flinched, holding the flower gingerly in her hands.

Itachi didn't understand what her reaction was about- he had seen another little boy give one of those to his mother, and she had seemed overjoyed. But Itachi's mother seemed... sad.

"What is it, Mother?"

"A lily, dear." Mikoto told him, even though that wasn't quite his question. "It is a flower of peace and tranquility. These also mean..." her face paled, and she closed her eyes. "That the soul of a dead person has returned to a state of innocence."

Itachi watched his mother, and felt a sudden pain in his chest. He recognized it as guilt. He resolved never to give his mother a lily again.

Sasuke was a surprise. A pleasant surprise, but a surprise nonetheless. His mother's pregnancy with the child that was soon to be his little brother -Not a sister, mother. I know it's going to be a brother- was fairly easy, but his mother spent a lot of time in her room. She didn't often look happy, though Itachi's father told him that she was just a little more emotional right now.

Itachi did not know what she was doing in there, but one day his curiosity got the best of him. He snuck in when she was out of the house. He rooted around the room for a little bit, before finally opening his mother and father's closet. It was freakishly organized except for one imperfection that Itachi could spot startlingly easily in the folding of his mother's clothes. Buried in his mother's side was a recently opened box that contained only one picture.

The picture was horrible as far as art went. Itachi's child self was able to recognize that right away. Very childish and unrealistic. The proportions were all off, and the colors were also clearly chosen by a child. It was also old. Decades old, by the looks of it. Itachi's eyes picked out little details on the drawing in the dim lighting of the closet, so he backed out and held the picture up to the light.

There was a picture of a little girl with long black hair, holding the hand of a little boy that looked younger than the little girl. His hair was short and black, and he wore a wide grin. There were words written over it, in a childish scrawl.

"Onee-chan," Itachi read out loud. "And me."

His eyes widened a little when he realized who the Onee-chan was supposed to be. His own mother, though several years younger, was obviously the intended audience of his drawing.

"Itachi!"

Itachi jumped, turning around to seek the owner of the voice. His very round mother was standing at the doorway, face pale in horror. "What are you doing?!" She bustled across the room, taking the picture from Itachi's hands forcibly, but delicately. "What have I told you about going through other people's things?" She scolded him, putting the picture back in the box and tucking it far away in the closet. Mikoto had called it intrusive, and rude. Itachi felt guilty immediately.

Itachi bowed his head in apology. "I'm sorry, Mother."

Mikoto looked at the closet for a few moments, her face completely drained of emotion entirely. She looked absolutely horrified, and the sadness was once again haunting the room.

Itachi's brows furrowed. In his effort to understand, he had only succeeded in making things worse. "I'm sorry, Mother." He repeated, because it appeared that she hadn't heard him the first time.

Mikoto blinked, coming back to reality. "Come, Itachi, I will make you lunch." She steered him out of her room by the shoulders, and that was the last time they spoke of the picture in the closet. Itachi refused to ask her about it, for fear of hurting her, and Mikoto never offered the information willingly, but neither of them forgot about it.

When Itachi's little brother was born, he immediately felt an innate sense of protectiveness for him. His cute little chubby cheeks and hands were Itachi's to take care of forever. Sasuke was a confirmation that there was a such thing as a pure life. He had become the purpose that Itachi had been searching for.

"Itachi," Mikoto's soft voice broke through the young child's thoughts one day. Itachi was laying on the floor, watching his little brother sleep, his finger teasing the baby's chubby cheeks. A small smile had graced his lips when the baby let out a cute little sneeze.

"Yes, Mother?"

"You must always, always protect Sasuke." Mikoto looked at her youngest child with that same horrified expression- like she was seeing a ghost. "Swear to me, Itachi, that you'll protect your younger brother." Mother, why are you looking at him like that? Mothers shouldn't be scared of their children.

"Always, mother. I swear." Itachi's mind went back to the picture in his mother's closet, and Itachi resisted the urge to ask her about it. His mother would never be at peace with whatever the picture meant. That was a hopeless thought that Itachi resented, but couldn't do much about. He shoved the thought deep into him and wished he could forget it entirely.

As Sasuke grew up, Mikoto devoted more and more of her attention to taking care of him. Itachi didn't mind this, though he did miss having his mother's sole attention. Itachi got busy with the academy, and worked and worked to become a strong ninja. He worked with his father, while his mother became Sasuke's whole world. He missed being around her, but he had a larger goal that he couldn't accomplish without work. Mother wants peace again. I want Mother to find peace again.

Sasuke was beginning to crawl around when Itachi realized it-

His mother was afraid of fire.

Ridiculous, he thought to himself. What kind of Uchiha is afraid of fire? Mother isn't afraid of anything. I must be seeing things.

It was not obvious at all- well contained. Mikoto was obviously so used to hiding it, it made Itachi curious as to why this realization had stuck out to him so quickly. Itachi doubted anyone else even noticed it. Even her own husband was so absent that he didn't see her flinch every time a ceremonial fireball was performed. Itachi was the only one. He didn't know if he should ask her about it or not. He decided not to.

Mikoto and Itachi very rarely had alone time together, so whenever his mother would come into his room at night and just look at him, and Itachi could see her shoulders shaking gently with the light in the hallway, it was all he could do to keep his composure.

Itachi was not very emotionally oriented. He was also not what one might call sympathetic. In fact, he saw no point in his own tears, or sadness. Sometimes, this applied to other people. There was no improvement to come from wallowing, he decided. But there was something fundamentally wrong about his strong, beloved mother breaking down and shedding tears when she thought no one was looking.

Mikoto came in and sat on the foot of his bed when he thought he was asleep, sometimes, her eyes scrunched tightly. She would run her fingers through his hair, with one hand on her face. Itachi let her, in silence, because he felt like she needed it.

Sasuke knew all her secrets. She sang him songs, and taught him rhymes and riddles about the rain and the scarecrow in the backyard. Sasuke toddled behind their mother as she went through her routine and watered the plants in her garden.

Sasuke was young enough to enjoy it. Itachi was old enough to miss it- to yearn for a close relationship with his mother.

But he could never be like that again, and both he and his mother knew that. There would never be a blissful peace between the two of them like there was between her and Sasuke, and sometimes it was heartbreaking. Itachi was grown up, now. A tool for the clan, a ninja for the village. He was more than just Mikoto's son, and it hurt both of them sometimes.

Mentally, Sasuke was the right age. He hadn't killed anyone or witnessed the brutalities of war before he turned five. He hadn't tried to hurl himself off a cliff because of utter hopelessness (because what is the point of living if we're all just going to die in the end anyway?). Sasuke was just a child.

Sasuke was the child Mikoto had wanted- he was the child she had deserved. Itachi had always been more mature, less of a kid and of a baby than Sasuke was. He was carefree and happy. It was charming. Beautiful. Innocent. It made sense that his mother would prefer to be around and dote on the younger, more sensitive child. Not her emotionless machine of an eldest son.

It was moments like this where Itachi wondered what sort of monster he was becoming.

Watching Sasuke grow up reminded Itachi of the lilies his mother so hated- Sasuke was in the state of innocence.

And as jealous as he could get of his brother's innocence, Sasuke adored him, and Itachi adored Sasuke. Itachi would frankly die for Sasuke.

Itachi was surprisingly not irritated at all at how slow Sasuke was progressing compared to Itachi. In fact, he was pleased. His brother would not go through half the things that Itachi would, and Itachi was just so relieved. Sasuke was a little rascal who deserved the whole world, a childhood being the least of those things, the bare minimum. Sasuke was very much like Itachi, though, in demeanor as well as his potential.

<>

Sasuke may not be a prodigy, but was a quick learner, except for when it came to grace. He was clumsy- he ran everywhere, and always managed to get hurt somehow. Itachi always ended up carrying him. It was... cute, Itachi had decided a long time ago. He hadn't used the word for anything else before. His little brother was cute.

But one time, when they were both very young, the adorable little toddler's clumsiness got them both into trouble.

The two of them were playing in their little playhouse, and Itachi had brought a lantern out since it was getting dark. They sat down, and Itachi told Sasuke stories about the constellations that his friend Shisui had told him. Sasuke listened with wide, shimmering black eyes. He soaked everything in and categorized it in his young brain. Itachi watched him do so with interest, wondering how much of this he would remember in the future.

The little boy jumped up quickly, reaching for the stars in a moment of excitement, and Itachi's eyes went wide as the lantern fell down from the abrupt movement.

The glass of the lantern broke, and the fire roared out of control, climbing along the wood floors and up the walls of the treehouse. Sasuke screamed, backing out of Itachi's reach to avoid the flames, his terror easily replacing his excitement. The flames grew and grew. For a moment, Itachi could not see Sasuke behind the fire, and he was flooded with panic. He didn't want to think about how it would feel to lose his baby brother in a fire.

"Sasuke!" Itachi yelled, reaching for his brother desperately.

"'Tachi!" Sasuke's tiny voice sobbed from behind the licks of heat. The fire was climbing up the walls. Itachi's heart was beating a million miles per minute, and he lunged forward, leaping over the fire and cuddling his brother close to him. The smoke was smothering, so Itachi put his hand over Sasuke's face. He could barely breathe, but he needed to. For both his sake, and Sasuke's. His adorable baby brother needed to make it. If Itachi had to die for him to make it, so be it.

Itachi's arm stung immediately from the jump, though it didn't hurt too much right away in the heat of the moment. He wrapped around Sasuke, so his brother would avoid the worst of the fire, surveilling his surroundings. The way he'd came was closest to the door, but too dangerous to cross over again. The flames had gotten far too high. If Itachi caught fire, it might hurt Sasuke, and that was unacceptable. There was a window a little bit away from him. Itachi would only have a few seconds before the fire crawling down the wooden wall got to the window. Itachi launched forward, still holding Sasuke tightly to his chest.

Like a cannon ball, Itachi shot through the window, holding his brother out of the way so that the glass wouldn't catch him. He fell back first for 6 feet, and a shock went up his spine when he landed on the grass. Sasuke was crying, but his fall had been stopped by Itachi's stomach and tight grip. Itachi breathed heavily for a few moments to recover from the situation. He'd gotten the wind effectively knocked out of him.

"Sasuke!" Mikoto ran outside, wiping her hands on her apron. She looked at the treehouse, and her face crumpled in despair. "Itachi, where is Sasuke?" She shouted to him. Itachi turned to face her, holding his baby brother. She had tears in her voice, and Itachi had never seen his mother so afraid.

Mother is afraid of fire. Itachi remembered, sitting up, hugging his little brother tightly. Sasuke buried his face in Itachi's chest, and Itachi shushed him, rocking back and forth. Once Mikoto saw Sasuke, her face steeled, and she turned to the burning treehouse. Her fingers made handsigns, and a majestic water dragon jutsu appeared out of nowhere, drenching the treehouse and ridding them of fire with one fell swoop.

When the fire was gone, Mikoto stalked forward, grabbing Sasuke out of Itachi's arms, and cradling him to her with all the love of a mother. She stared off into space once she held him, the horrible look of absolute terror on her face not leaving. She gave Itachi a once over, her face hard as stone, before standing up and grabbing Itachi's hand.

Mikoto dragged them inside, and set Sasuke on the counter. She listened to him cry, and tell her about the fire with an indulgent, loving and relieved look. She mended the glass cuts on baby Sasuke, before healing the burn on Itachi.

"What happened?" She asked, voice hard. Her entire demeanor had shifted once the person she was addressing changed.

Itachi almost did not understand what had just happened enough to tell his mother, so he went with what he did know. "Sasuke just got a little too excited, jumped up and knocked the lantern over." He stared briefly, like it was a mission report.

"You should know better than to have a lantern in a wood treehouse." Mother told him. It wasn't scolding, it was harder than that. Like this whole incident was his fault. She wasn't even lecturing him like she expected him to do better. Like she cared. This was an accusation, with no feeling behind it. Somehow, this felt so much worse than a lecture ever could be. "Your brother almost died."

Itachi bit his lip. That hurt him. He didn't think his mother realized what she was saying, so he didn't respond to the comment. "I'm sorry, mother." He said, as his mother wrapped his arm mechanically, like a robot. (Do you hate me, Mother?)

(I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'mSorryI-)

Mikoto didn't respond. She appeared to be in her own world. Her eyes had gotten dull and blank again, like they would sometimes.

"I'm sorry, Mother." He repeated, because it didn't appear that she had heard him the first time.

Mikoto was brought back to reality right away by the sound of his voice, and blinked quickly. She thought about it for a moment, then seemed to see something in Itachi. She leaned forward, and rested her forehead against Itachi's for a few seconds, closing her eyes. All the pain that had been building up in Itachi was soothed by this simple gesture. Mother didn't hate him. Mother would never hate him. When she opened her eyes, she was back to normal. She backed away from Itachi with a meaningful look, and returned to caring for Sasuke.

(Mother... why do you look at me like that...? Like I should know something I don't. It makes me feel like I disappoint you by not knowing. You and your secrets.)

<>

Itachi went to school without making a single friend aside from Shisui and maybe Izumi. He graduated early and joined a Genin team. One of his teammates died. Itachi got the Sharingan.

His father asked him about his Sharingan, talking to him about the weapon, the tool. Not the innocent boy who had been killed to get this tool.

For the first time in a long time, Itachi was truly angry with his father. With the clan. He decided that if the Sharingan was all that life was about- gaining power, moving up in the world-, then what was the point of being a part of a clan? A village holds more value than a single clan.

Innocent lives, each one of them completely different, were more important to Itachi than power, and he would've been squashed by the shinobi world if he didn't have power to back himself up. Itachi knew it he would be put in danger by his philosophy, but at the end of the day, Itachi didn't care.

Itachi sat outside on the porch, and his beautiful little baby brother played beside him. He was innocent, and he was pure. But not even he was enough to wipe away the evil thing Itachi had seen earlier- his friend, murdered in cold blood by a man in a mask. The man had disappeared- no justice had been served for the poor boy. Justice. That was what the Uchiha police were about, right? So then why did Fugaku ask him for more details on the Sharingan than the murder that his son had witnessed? The moonlight shone down on Itachi, and he blinked away his tears.

Itachi felt a presence walking around inside, closer and closer to him, and eventually his mother slid the door open. Mikoto came outside and took a seat beside him, after Sasuke had fallen asleep in Itachi's lap, and she threaded her fingers through Itachi's hand. The young boy let tears slide down his cheeks, and Mikoto wrapped her arms around him. Itachi melted into her embrace, feeling safe for the first time in years and years. Mikoto just held him.

"He's gone, Mother. And all Father cares about is the Sharingan."

"I'm sorry, dear." Something heavy about Mikoto told him that she understood exactly what Itachi was talking about.

Itachi felt like he'd been thrown in the ocean without being able to swim and was expected to get to the shore.

Mikoto and Itachi sat in silence for around twenty minutes, Mikoto running her fingers through his hair, rubbing his scalp with her nails soothingly.

"Mother?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Do you trust me?" Itachi asked her. He was once again reminded that his place was taken by Sasuke. Sasuke was the child that Mikoto spent the most time with, and probably her favorite. That was just the way it went, and Itachi didn't hate Sasuke for it, in fact, he loved the kid more than anything in the world. But he did want to become his mother's confidante. He suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to be close to his mother. Would you tell me your secrets?

"Of course I trust you, dear one." Mikoto said, squeezing him tighter.

"Who was the boy in the picture?" Itachi asked the one question that had been plaguing him for so long.

Mikoto's fingers stopped moving in his hair, and she hummed quietly. Her voice shook. Itachi prepared himself for whatever answer she would give. "He was my otouto, Masaru."

Itachi didn't want to ask it, because he could feel his mother already shutting down at the question, but his curiosity overwhelmed him. "What happened to him?" Itachi asked, and Mikoto tensed. Itachi shifted to look at her, and saw that Mikoto wasn't even looking at him anymore.

She was staring off into space, once again, and Itachi once again got the feeling that something was missing- something vital that would be important in his quest to bring his mother peace. "Perhaps I'll tell you, one day." She looked at him, and Itachi felt pinned down by the naked pain in her eyes. Obviously whatever happened was still fresh- though it had to have happened ages ago, or Itachi would've heard something.

Itachi was disappointed that his mother had avoided the question, but he didn't ask anymore. Just enjoying the rare quiet time with his mother for a few more hours until he fell asleep as well. Her presence was just as soothing as it used to be when he was a child. Itachi woke up in his own bed, unsure if that had really happened or not. Maybe it had all been a dream.

"Masaru." He murmured, testing the name on his tongue. Itachi didn't think of him as an uncle. Masaru was his mother's otouto in Itachi's head. It occurred to him a bit after the discovery that not once had it registered that this person was his uncle. Itachi put Masaru-jii in the same category that he subconsciously put Sasuke in- Masaru was his mother's otouto, so by extension he was a little brother.

Thinking about him made a more important question rise up. It was one that he almost didn't want to know the answer to.

Why does Mother never talk about him?

<>

Mikoto's garden was looking beautiful, Itachi noticed, sitting himself down on the porch, watching the beautiful plants grow. His brother was playing out in the fields beyond the house, and Itachi could just hear the sounds of his laughing and running around. Mikoto was kneeling before a bed of flowers, weeding the garden. Itachi joined her silently.

He was twelve, now, and he'd just made the impressive accomplishment of joining the ANBU. He had never felt more estranged from his parents.

Sasuke, being the innocent, beautiful, carefree child he was, hadn't felt the tension in the house recently. The Uchiha insisted that Itachi must spy on the village from the inside, and report back to the clan the happenings of the ANBU. Itachi was conflicted, and his loyalty to the village was becoming more and more strong. His fidelity towards his clan was deteriorating at an incredible rate. Shisui told him that something was coming- something big. And Itachi felt it too- something had changed.

Sasuke's laughter, clear as a bell, shot through the air, making Itachi jump. Mikoto looked up from her work, watching as the little kid ran through the gates.

Itachi smiled at the joyful expression on his brother's face before he realized what was in Sasuke's hands. He shunshinned in front of Sasuke before the little boy got to their mother.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke crossed his arms, pouting.

"What have you got there?" Itachi asked, an indulgent smile on his face.

"Flowers for Mother," Sasuke said in a childish singsong voice.

"Otouto, I don't kno-"

"Let him come, Itachi." Mikoto said, her voice strained, like she was gathering her strength. "Come here, my baby boy. What have you got?" She looked at him and Itachi watched her swallow a sigh. She gave Sasuke a brilliant smile.

Sasuke sidestepped his older brother, before dramatically presenting his mother with the flower. Mikoto gave Sasuke the fakest smile Itachi had ever seen (not that Sasuke could tell the difference), before picking the lilies out of her youngest son's hands. "Thank you, my darling, these are beautiful."

His mother hated lilies. But she was good at loving people. So for Sasuke's sake, Mikoto stood up, walked inside, and filled a vase with water. Sasuke and Itachi followed her inside like lost puppies, listening as Sasuke filled the tense silence (not that anyone but Mikoto and Itachi noticed it) with stories of his day at the Academy and people he'd seen.

Mikoto had done this when Itachi had given her lilies as well, though she had avoided the part of the house that the lilies had been located, until they died and rotted away. This time, however, Mikoto set Sasuke's lilies on the dining table where the family gathered every night, not meeting Itachi's eyes.

When Sasuke left the room to wash up before Mikoto made dinner, Itachi finally asked her what changed.

"We must always face our fears, Itachi." Mikoto told him quietly, washing vegetables before beginning to cut them up. "No matter how big the fear." Are flowers that big of a fear? Itachi asked himself, even though he already knew the answer. For Mother they are.

"Yes, Mother." Itachi said compliantly, giving Sasuke's lilies a glare, wishing they would wither on sight. His mother's hatred for the flower had extended to her eldest son as well.

<>

At thirteen years old, Itachi had never felt more alone. His clan was planning a coup d'état. His arguments with his clansmen and his father were getting more and more out of control. Councilman Danzo was pressing Itachi and his best friend Shisui to come up with a nonviolent plan. The Hokage just sat there and smoked his pipe and gave him sympathetic looks, obviously not sure what he could do to help.

Itachi was angry, and there was little that could quell that anger. Sasuke was one way- the most effective way- for Itachi to calm down. After a day of watching Sasuke play with his ANBU armor, Itachi felt more relaxed.

Having dinner with his family was tense. Sasuke blabbed about his school day, and Itachi found himself wishing he could pay attention to that instead of his brooding father.

His mother had looked at him like she understood that he was alone in the ocean. She knew he was drowning, but so far, no floats had been thrown to help him survive. She just watched as her son floundered, waiting for him to come closer to her so she could save him. She watched him kick and struggle, with tears streaming down her face, but she was too far away to get him. She kept urging him to come closer so she could help. Not that he could help him. Itachi was meant to journey this path alone.

Itachi's lips thinned, so he zoned into Sasuke's lilting voice, listening to him tell his tale. A knock on the door made Fugaku stand up, a frown on his face. "Clansmen," he said, sighing. "I must take care of this business."

"Of course, husband." Mikoto said respectfully. After Fugaku left, Sasuke kept talking, and Mikoto pulled out her sewing kit and a clothing item she was working on.

"Mother, I was going through your room the other day, and found the strangest thing in your drawer."

Itachi tensed immediately, eyes flitting up to look at his mother and survey her reactions to his otouto's declaration. Mikoto didn't even look up from her sewing. "Is that so, little one?"

"Yes. It is a drawing; one of a boy and a girl. It was kinda bad, so I don't really know why you're keeping it." Sasuke said in his childish bluntness, pushing his  vegetables around on his plate.

"I'm keeping it because it is important to me, my love." Mikoto said gently, focusing on her work. Itachi leaned forward, waiting for Sasuke's reply. Maybe she would finally tell them the story.

"Why, Mama? I could draw you a better one." Sasuke asked, shoveling a chopstick full of food into his mouth and chewing slowly. Itachi smiled at Sasuke's protest, though he wasn't sure about that.

"I'm sure you could, my dear." Mikoto said indulgently, looking up from her work and placing one of her long, thin fingers on Sasuke's nose. He beamed and his eyes looked at it. "Do you know your dinosaur plushie, love?"

"Yes, mama."

"That is important to you, yes?"

"Yes, Mama." Sasuke swallowed more food, before leaning his elbows on the table and looking forward at Mikoto. Itachi hid his smile behind a cup of water.

"'My picture is also very important to me. A person very dear to me gave it to me a long time ago."

Itachi had a sneaking suspicion of who gave it to her, but he didn't want to assume anything.

"I see." Sasuke smiled. "So what are you gonna do with it? Just leave it in your drawer?" Mikoto looked up at Sasuke in wonder. "If it's important to you, don't you wanna look at it a lot, Mother?" Sasuke asked innocently.

Itachi's eyes widened incrementally, and Mikoto nodded. "You're right, Sasuke-chan." She stood up, and retrieved a picture frame from a drawer, before disappearing into her room and returning with the childishly drawn picture. She tucked the picture into the frame, and hung it up right next to a picture of their family.

Itachi smiled once again, remaining quiet. Oh how he missed interactions with his family.

He looked at the picture frame, memorizing it, before turning back to his food.

<>

"I want you to kill the Uchiha clan."

I can't, Itachi thought, staring at his lap blankly. I could never. But he knew, deep down, that he could. He could do this, if it meant Sasuke would be safe. He was cold, and he was rigid, and was not going to break under pressure, no matter how much he wanted to. What a thing to order a child to do. He knew that Shisui would be rolling in his grave, but Itachi wanted to stop them before they did something unforgivable so that they could know eternal peace.

Even if that meant that Itachi would have to face hellfire for affording them that peace, he would accept it for his brother and his parents.

"What are you thinking so hard about so late at night, my dear," speak of the devil, his mother took a seat beside him on the edge of the porch. Itachi glances at her, before tilting his head up towards the sky.

He wanted advice, but he couldn't tell his mother anything. "Mother, what would you do if you were stuck in between a rock and a hard place?"

"Elaborate, my love." Mikoto chided him gently.

"In one situation, you did nothing, everyone would be in trouble, and in the other, you had to do something absolutely unforgivable, but could save your little brother." Itachi asked, looking at his mother and waiting for her response.

Mikoto clicked her tongue, before sighing. She pondered it for a moment. "I don't suppose you could tell me what the unforgivable thing is?"

"It's hypothetical, Mother, I haven't thought of an unforgivable thing for that situation." Itachi replies, keeping his voice smooth and even, and not giving any signs of a lie at all, because Mikoto could weed out lies faster than anyone Itachi knew. Except, maybe Kakashi-taichou.

"Hmm." Mikoto said, thinking some more. Itachi could tell that Mikoto was running theories around through her brilliant brain. "I would always go with the situation that allows you to save your brother." Mikoto informed him, shifting so that she could cross her legs.

"Even if you had to do an unforgivable thing?" Itachi asked, dread making his stomach dropping through him slowly.

"Always save yourself and your brother. Always. Sasuke is the only thing you have in this world. Your Otou-san and I will die, our clan could disperse and vanish, this village could fall and it's people be scattered. Your friends could betray you and your superiors could fall prey to temptation. People will always disappoint you. But keep the ones you love close, and you will always be happy. Sasuke is important, Itachi. I don't think you realize it, yet, but Sasuke is the most important thing to you in the world." Mikoto told him quietly, obviously thinking of something else. She was full of conviction for this idea. Mikoto sat back, shrugging nonchalantly as if she wasn't encouraging her son to become a mass murderer.

I already know he is the most important person to me. I will do anything to keep him safe, mother, I swear.

"But the unforgivable thing..."

"The way I see it... everyone is screwed if you don't do anything, anyway, so what difference would an unforgivable thing make?" Mikoto asked.

It would make me a murderer, Mother. A family killer.

It would make me a monster.

Itachi just nodded. He didn't know what he had been hoping for. He was pleased that his mother's advice supported what he was already thinking, but he was also kind of hoping his mother would provide him with ideas to get out of the hard place and rock without having to chose one or the other. It wasn't her fault her son was faced with the most horrible choice.

Oh wait, maybe it was a little bit her fault. If she had spoken up against a coup, this wouldn't be happening. But Itachi couldn't hate her for it. Mikoto's job was to be the loyal wife. It was what was expected of her, so she performed accordingly. Itachi's mother was nothing if not a good actress.

<>

Entry 6- XX/XX/XX

I wonder, sometimes, what it's like to be an inanimate object. To be in the same position for days on end, until some human moved me or gave me orders. A shoji piece, manipulated across the board. To be considered nothing but a pawn of temporary use. To be incapable of any emotion, or even thoughts of my own. To have a job, and once I was incapable of doing said job, to be disposed of.

Then, I realize that I am, basically, an inanimate object.

Constantly waiting for orders from a higher up, with no opinions or feelings of my own. Used and manipulated by the people I work for, even by my own family. And once I am thought of as without use, by anyone... well, someone will be sent to get rid of me.

<>

Itachi was still reeling at the realization of what exactly it was that he had just done. For some reason, it hadn't registered in his head what he was supposed to do until he actually did it. He'd killed before- and it was scarily effortless.

But this... it was harder than he had ever imagined. His parents' bodies lay before him, and his hands shook, the sword clattering with it. It was necessary, he repeated to himself over and over, as if that would justify the slaughtering of some children- the only innocent individuals. His clan wasn't innocent, they were planning a coup that would've killed hundreds and left the village defenseless to attack from outside powers.

That logic didn't make it hurt any less.

His brother slid through the door, and Itachi put him in a genjutsu. He didn't want to- but then, when had he ever gotten what he'd wanted? He choked back a sob as he slipped out of the room, looking once more over the house that was no longer his home. Mother said she knew. She understood. She probably remembered the conversation we had. Father told me to take care of Sasuke.

Everything in him protested leaving Sasuke behind right now. He wanted to throw his brother over his shoulders and walk out with him. Wherever Itachi went, Sasuke went with him.

But, like the brother from the story his mother had told him so long ago, Itachi had to walk the lost path alone, and wait for Sasuke to come and drag him back. Sasuke would have to kill him. Itachi's death would be the equivalent of him ending up on the right path once again. Itachi would be rid of this guilt and sorrow and pain that he knew would plague him for the rest of his life. Sasuke would be free to return with him to the right path.

Itachi dismissed more tears, before his eyes caught his mother's picture- the one that had been drawn badly. His mother, and his uncle Masaru. Without realizing it, he went forward, and he took the frame off the wall, breaking it against the floor.

Itachi pulled the picture out, folding it and tucking it into his pocket. Of all the things Itachi could've stolen, he'd chosen her picture. Not his mother's perfume, that he could've used to keep the memory. Not her favorite needle. Not her steel kunai that had come from her days as an elite jonin. Not her favorite necklace that Sasuke had always liked running his hands over when he was a child, holding it up to the light and watching the diamonds sparkle. Not her beautiful smile, or her soothing hugs, or her strong eyes and heart.

No, Itachi was responsible for killing her. So he'd shoulder her burden as well as his own. He took the picture.

The funeral for the clan was massive- everyone from the village came to mourn the loss of one of the strongest clans in the village. Itachi watched from the shadows, in a tree, skillfully avoiding the ANBU that had been summoned to watch over the proceedings.

Sasuke wasn't there. Of course Sasuke wasn't there, Itachi reasoned. Sasuke was in a hospital, asleep. The nurses had put sedatives in him, so he could sleep off the worst of shock and trauma and ease into the anger and sadness. Sasuke was not resting peacefully. Itachi had checked on him first, before he left the village. Sasuke would've wanted to be at the funeral- to say goodbye to his parents and clansmen. It was a crying shame that the Hokage had ordered the survivor to be the only one absent.

Actually, he wasn't the only survivor, Itachi thought, with a bitter laugh. But had Itachi really survived, if he didn't feel alive?

He took out the picture and looked at it as the entire village bowed their heads in respectful silence for the dead. The entire village had forgotten their previous animosity towards his clan in favor of custom and sadness for them. The clan's memory and the village were suddenly united in their rage towards the monster that slayed the entire Uchiha family. This was what Itachi wanted. His clan's name would be preserved, like he had promised Shisui. People are horrible. Itachi thought for a moment. But worth saving. He reminded himself. Otherwise, all this was for nothing.

The guilt was suffocating. If he had been drowning before, at least he'd been trying to fight it. Right now, Itachi gave up and sunk, watching with heavy eyes as the surface and oxygen further and further away, and he was enveloped in swampy darkness.

Sasuke was his last ray of sun before he was finally swallowed up by the deep- now he'd have to fight the monsters hidden in the unexplored depths before he was finally sent to the heavenly nothingness of death.

He turned his eyes back to the picture. He watched his mother and her little brother. Itachi activated his Sharingan, and stared at it, before he spotted a tiny chakra vigil above the word onee-chan on the paper.

Itachi activated it using his Sharingan, and suddenly his head was flooded with memories. Not his own- they were his mother's.

<>

"Sorry Sasuke, this is the last time."

Finally, Itachi thought, letting out a sigh of relief. He fell face forward, and he couldn't even feel his forehead crashing into the stone. His body collapsed beside Sasuke's, and there, watching his otouto, Itachi took his last breaths. Sasuke had gotten his revenge, and everything had worked out just the way Itachi had wanted it to. He could die with a smile on his face.

Itachi was ready to die. Beyond ready. The pain of living had gotten old. The pain of being away from Sasuke was worse. He felt comforted by Sasuke's presence even in death.

Such a shame, he thought, that I'm going to die as a child that grew up too quickly, but was barely able to make it to an adult before being ready to quit. Mother, Father... I'm sorry I didn't do my job as a brother. Your last wishes were for me to protect Sasuke, and I didn't. I'm sorry I'm such a failure.

Sasuke.

The teenager's face was utterly blank, as if he still wasn't sure what was happening. Itachi felt a moment of regret in his euphoria, that maybe things could've turned out differently, and Sasuke didn't have to grow up as fast as Itachi had. As Itachi's spirit floated upwards, he got one last glimpse of his brother in.

I love you, child.

<>

Itachi was elated to see Sasuke again. He was scared for his brother, and sad for him, because Sasuke had deep bags under his eyes and pain in his aura. Whatever had occurred after Itachi's death had broken his younger brother. Itachi hadn't wanted it to go like this.

First, they dealt with Kabuto together, like two brothers who had come back to the same right path and were finally sure of themselves again. Sasuke had improved phenomenally from how he used to be, and Itachi couldn't have possibly been prouder. He just wished he had been there to watch his kid brother's progress.

After the fighting stopped, Itachi showed Sasuke all of his memories. He showed his brother all his regrets and sadness, and the occasional joy. Everything.

Then Itachi pulled his brother out of it. He only had a few more moments before he was to be taken back to the Pure Land to be with his family. He put Sasuke back in a genjutsu, and pulled the memories out of the metaphorical file in his brain, his Sharingan spinning to take Sasuke through them.

"I'm afraid that we didn't get to talk about many personal things before I died, and I'm sorry for that." Itachi told him. "But I feel like you should know... I took Mother's picture."

"Picture?" Sasuke wiped his eyes, before looking up at Itachi blearily.

"The one she hated to look at." Itachi sighed. "No one ever told you the truth about that, and you deserve it."

"The truth about what?" Sasuke asked, blinking as if something had completely gone over his head.

"Mother had a little brother."

"Will you tell us a story?"

"Little one, it's far past your bedtime."

"Please, Mother? The one with the two brothers?"

The one with the two brothers. Itachi smiled, one small tear making its way down his face as he watched his grandmother tell his small mother and her younger brother the story of the two brothers. That story had been passed down verbally for generations, and the familiar words were a bit painful to listen to when one understood the message.

"Don't worry, Mama, I won't ever let Onee-chan go get lost!" The younger one shouted with vigor, standing up and taking a hero pose.

Itachi and Sasuke's grandmother smiled. "Of course you won't. And Mikoto will take good care of you, won't she?"

"Yes, Mother." Mikoto said, prim and proper. She hugged her little brother close to her. The little boy protested at first before allowing Mikoto to hold him. "I'll always protect Masaru."

Itachi and his younger brother watched through Mikoto's memories as the two of them played and Mikoto promised Masaru over and over again that she would take care of him. Mikoto was a good big sister- she played with her brother and hung out with him no matter how busy she got. Itachi felt a pang of regret as he looked at his own younger brother and acknowledged that he was quite possibly the worst brother ever.

When Mikoto was thirteen, a teenager already, her otouto was around nine- a little older than Sasuke, but just as cute and funny as Itachi's otouto, Mikoto brought Masaru a sparkler from one of her missions as a genin. The new invention fascinated Masaru so much, that he started waving around the sparking stick. Mikoto's eyes widened and she yelled as their playhouse in the backyard caught fire.

It was smaller than Itachi's treehouse, and harder to leave. Mikoto got separated from Masaru, and in her memories, it was like a claustrophobic nightmare. She searched and searched for her brother, but couldn't find him. She got burned badly on her back, but still kept looking. She just heard his horrifying screams of pain and fear. Sasuke was shocked to listen to the boy's heartbroken cries through Mikoto's memories as she desperately called out for her brother, sobbing as she tried so hard to find him. It was enough to make Sasuke start shaking at the pure horror of this scene.

Mikoto was carried out by her father, and they eventually found her otouto, but lack of air and his severe burns had...

Masaru Uchiha had been buried at age nine, killed by a fire. Everyone lay the lily flower on his grave for his birthday every year, and Mikoto Uchiha slowly grew to hate lilies with a passion, because they reminded her of her own failure.

Mikoto hadn't been the same carefree, happy girl since. And it was understandable- the echoing sounds of Masaru's screaming as he was burned alive and Mikoto couldn't get to him were enough to make sure Sasuke wouldn't be sleeping in days. Sasuke's eyes filled with tears at the sight of his younger mother slowly breaking down from the pain of it all.

"It's not your fault, Mikoto."

"He was just too far gone."

Of course it's my fault. I should never have given him a sparkler- the fire was my fault. I couldn't find him. It's my fault.

Mikoto had lost her otouto to a fire. That was why she reacted the way she did when Itachi and Sasuke had been in a fire.

"Oh." Sasuke murmured, the memories of his own close call with a fire returning.

Then, Mikoto's memories fast forwarded. When it came to a stop, Mikoto sat herself down in front of a mirror, and gave Itachi the prettiest smile as if she knew he was there- in her memories. This memory-recording looked more recent than the others- the window and clothes in the background telling Itachi that this had happened around a month before Itachi killed his clan. Her Sharingan was activated, and to Sasuke's shock, she had the Mangekyo. Sasuke had thought that the only way to get the Mangekyo would be to kill the one you loved most....

Oh. Mikoto blamed herself for her otouto's death, and that gave her the Mangekyo.

"Kami," Mikoto prayed solemnly into the mirror. "Please protect my sons. Keep them on the same path." Sasuke's eyes widened as Mikoto opened her eyes and stared at herself seriously. "I wasn't ready to tell you both about what happened to my otouto, because I thought you were too young to understand. Though I see now, it was only my weakness. You have always been old enough to understand, that was just the excuse I used to nurse my wounds."

Sasuke's mouth opened to argue with her, before he remembered that this was a memory, and Mikoto couldn't hear him. A pang of despair hit him in waves. His mother died believing she was weak because she didn't want to relive a traumatic event in her life.

Itachi looked resigned. He'd seen this memory before.

"Always take care of each other, when your parents are gone. One day, Itachi, Sasuke will be strong enough to protect you, too. I encouraged you to always be his protector, and I fear I might have isolated you by placing too much responsibility on your shoulders. Sasuke loves you more than you could ever know- he would protect you until the end as well." A few tears dropped down Sasuke's face. He'd failed to protect his aniki, but it was heartening that his mother thought he could. His mother had believed in him from the beginning. "You are alone in this world and have only each other."

The memory stopped, and after a few moments in knowing silence, Itachi looked at Sasuke, giving him a bittersweet smile. "I'm sorry I was such a horrible brother to you- I used you to end my life because I felt guilty for my actions. That was incredibly selfish of me, and entirely against what mother would have wanted."

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, before closing it again. He was in shock, and didn't know what to say for the first time in a long, long time.

"Mother was right, you know. You and I only have each other. Right now, I can't be here physically with you, but I will always, always be looking after you. I will make up for failing you a thousand times over. You have to live for both of us, my dear otouto. See beautiful things. Get married. Have kids. Be happy. I was alive, but my life was nothing but one failure after another. I wasn't living, I was waiting for it to end. I don't want that to be the case with you."

You never failed me nii-san... I just went down the wrong path.

"Keep mother's picture. It's yours as much as it is mine. It was selfish of me to take it from you. Before I died, I sent Kisame to deliver it to our old compound." Itachi informed Sasuke. His form started glowing, and little pieces of it began to float away. His brother was crumbling right in front of him.

"You don't ever have to forgive me." The genjutsu faded away and Sasuke and Itachi were back in the cave with the psycho in an illusion not five feet away from them. "No matter what you do from here on out, I will love you always."

No aniki don't leave I don't know what to do- come back please come back I-

I love you too.

Itachi gave him one last smile- a smile so pure and happy and completely genuine that Sasuke's heart wrenched. His big brother hadn't been this happy since Sasuke was a toddler. He had given Sasuke small smiles of pure affection, but they were always tired and sad. How had he not noticed the strain his elder brother was under? Now Sasuke would never get to see that smile ever again.

Sasuke watched his brother leave, and knew that a part of him was being taken with Itachi. He clenched his hand over his chest, scrunching the shirt over his heart together in an attempt to soothe the ache. He closed his eyes, basking in what little remainders of Itachi's presence that were left. Then he was gone, and Sasuke was alone again.

Sasuke sighed, glaring at Kabuto, before he turned around and left. Their momentary time pocket had popped, and there was still a war going on. Sasuke knew that Itachi had done everything out of love for the village. Sasuke needed to think before he took the side of his old teammates, but he knew what Itachi would've wanted him to do. He couldn't help but think, as he dragged Anko's body across the cave floor to a more secure location, that he was on the right path again.

<>

"Hey, Papa, what's this?" Sarada asked, holding up a picture. "I found it in a trunk in the closet."

Sasuke's eyebrows raised as he looked at it. He held it, a fond smile growing on his face as he looked at the small children on the picture. "This is a picture of your grandmother and her otouto, Sarada." He was impressed that Sakura had kept it in such good shape while he was gone- Sasuke had left it with her before he left the village as a seventeen year old. This was just another reminder of how much he didn't deserve his wife. Sakura was at work, now, but Sasuke would have to drop by later and somehow say thank you.

"Wow!" Sarada looked at it with wide eyes. "This is what Grandma Mikoto and her otouto looked like?"

"No, kiddo, your great grand-uncle drew that when he was just your age. It's not how they really looked- it's just how he depicted them." Sasuke said, handing the paper back to her.

Sarada blinked her huge black eyes innocently. "It's kinda bad, isn't it?" She asked her Papa, looking a little sheepish.

Sasuke laughed quietly. "Yes. Artistically, it's a very bad drawing."

"Inojin could draw better."

"You think?" Sasuke asked curiously, recalling Sai and Ino's son.

"Yep."

"Well, that is nice, but this is kind of a family heirloom, so we have to keep it." Sasuke smirked at her, pressing his lips to his daughter's cheek. "Sorry, kiddo."

Sarada pouted for a moment, shrugging. "Well, I guess it's kinda cute, in an ugly way." She commented, tilting her head pensively so her black hair fell to the side and framed her face.

Sasuke laughed loudly, rubbing Sarada's hair.

Four years earlier:

"Papa!" Sarada giggled, jumping on Sasuke's back and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Sasuke chuckled, dropping his scroll and pulling his daughter around him and into his lap. Sarada was five, and as she looked up at him with massive black eyes, Sasuke couldn't help but lean forward and plant a kiss on her nose. "What do you need, princess?" He asked, tickling the girl.

Sarada giggled, writhing in his lap. Her tiny feet shoved and kicked at him, but Sasuke couldn't bother to care. "Papa, Mama says I hafta go to bed soon." She pouted, her big eyes widening and her bottom lip sticking out.

Little Sarada Uchiha had quickly figured out that she could get whatever she wanted from her father by making a sad face. Sadly, Papa tended to agree with Mama about Sarada's wellbeing.

"Sorry, kiddo. Mama's right, it's past your bedtime." Sasuke looked up at Sakura, who was leaning against the doorframe with a fond smile on her tired face. "You've been driving Mama crazy, she needs a break." Sasuke poked Sarada's nose, and she giggled again, glancing at her mother like Sasuke had just told her a secret.

Sakura raised her eyebrows, but nodded.

"Papa, can you tell me a story??" Sarada's voice dropped, like, five volumes, and she whispered this into Sasuke's ear.

Sasuke looked meaningfully at his wife as he listened to his daughter try to weasel more time. "Sure, princess." He stood up, lifting the girl and swinging her over his shoulder. Sakura walked forward and planted a kiss on Sarada's cheek. The little girl giggled again, before resting her head in Sasuke's neck.

"'Night Mama!" Sarada shouted, waving as Sasuke carried her down to her room.

"Goodnight, baby. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yes, Mama!" Sarada shouted back as Sasuke opened the door to her room. Sasuke pushed back the covers on her bed, lay her down, and covered her up again to her chin. Sasuke took a seat beside her on the bed, poking her forehead.

"Alright, princess, what story do you want to hear?" He asked, smiling. "I'm not the best storyteller like Mama is."

"No... I wanna hear the one about the two brothers, Papa!" Sarada pouted, her eyes growing even bigger somehow.

Sasuke shook his head. Someone had taught his child how to manipulate him, and Sasuke had a strong suspicion that it was either Sakura or Kakashi. Both knew that he had a weakness for Sakura's huge eyes, and his daughter's were almost harder to say no to, somehow. Her smile so exactly like Uchiha Mikoto's smile that it was painful.

"... hm. Alright, Sarada. Long ago, far before you or I, there were two brothers. They were alone, and traveled a lot, but loved each other very much."

"Like how you love me, Papa?"

"No, honey. Their parents were gone, and all they had was each other. The brothers loved each other fiercely, very violently, and in a way that is much different than the gentle way I love you."

"Awww. You're so cute, Papa."

"One day, the second brother went astray. He followed the wrong path, and it lead him away from his brother. Far away. The loss was horrible for the first brother, because they had been so close that being without the other was painful. The lost brother suffered just as much, but out of stubbornness, continued down the path he had chosen." Sasuke recalled the way his mother used to tell him this story- and her mother before her. Now he was passing it on to Sarada. Sasuke strongly believed that this story was like a prophecy about Sasuke and Naruto from generations ago. If not about Sasuke and Naruto, then Indra and Ashura. That was more likely.

"The first brother heard stories of the other's deeds, and was disappointed to find them actions their parents would not be proud of. He decided that he on his own would find his brother, and drag him back to the right path."

"Did he?"

"He and the lost brother fought, kiddo, as siblings often do. They spent days and days and days fighting, before one day, they both just stopped. They sat down on the floor where they had been standing, and for the first time listened to the wind whistle through the trees. They smelled the fresh air, and shivered at the teasing touch of the wind. The bird's song, and the wolf's howl, and the stomping of deer in the forest became suddenly the most beautiful sounds ever. And the brothers looked at each other and they realized that they hadn't really stopped to appreciate such things until they were reunited."

"Then, what did they do, Papa?"

"They stopped fighting, and talked things out rationally. And eventually, the first brother convinced the second brother to return to the right path. Both returned happily, and followed the right paths for a long as they possibly could. That wasn't to say there wasn't trials or temptation, but each brother kept the other in check."

Sarada's huge eyes were blown wide. "So what happened to the brothers, Papa?"

"They settled down together. They each got married to a powerful woman, and had crazy kids. The lost brother had a pretty little girl with huge eyes and a spunky personality that she got from her mom."

"Papa! I am not spunky!"

"Do you want to know something, kiddo?" Sasuke asked, thinking hard about whether or not he wanted his princess to know this.

"What?"

"In one version of the story, the brother who pulled the other back to the right path died saving him." Sasuke said, an image of his aniki flashing before his eyes. Sarada's wide grin disappeared, and her brows furrowed. She had obviously sensed the genuine sadness in Sasuke's attitude, because she was extremely empathetic and smart. "It was the lost brother's fault, and he regretted it every day for the rest of his life. But then he settled down with his beautiful wife, and had a pretty daughter with big eyes, and the lost one knew that his brother would watch over his daughter forever."

"What was his name?" Sarada asked curiously, somehow easily seeing where Sasuke was going with this. She was often way smarter than she should be.

"Itachi." Sasuke said, smiling. "His name was Itachi."