He stared into the empty space in front of him, silent, with the look of coldness and penetrating in his eyes. Winds swept past him, delighted and joyful, yet when they reached him, they became fierce. How long has it been, he wondered, still not coming to himself. Years past within a second, like a rushing hourglass that always seems to have enough sand.

flashback

"Mom! Dad! I'm home! …Oh, brother, where is mom and dad?"

The innocent look on his brother's face seemed just like an angel, except without the wings. Sasuke had always been like that, with only a mist of smartness that passed down through the Uchiha clan. But this time, the face won't last, he thought. Bad news always makes him grouchy, and I'm not sure if he's ready for this.

"Come on brother, where is mom and dad?"

He hesitated, and then said, "Fine, go in and look for yourself."

Sasuke stepped inside the house, eagerly looking for his mother and father. And then, the silence came.

Silence that signaled the shocking truth, the hatred that will come; everything was bound to change that night: fate, life, and the bond between the brothers.

"What happened? Tell me, what happened!" The tone of anger was inevitable, as Sasuke's face looked dark and gloomy.

He took a deep breath, and then said in the easiest tone he could manage:

"If you want to know… I killed them."

"How… How could you?" Sasuke screamed at the top of his lungs. "I'll kill you!"

Sasuke tried to hurt him, but the attempt was useless. He stopped it without moving much, and then said the hardest words of all.

"Foolish little brother. If you want to kill me, then hate, spite, and survive pathetically."

And then Itachi left his brother Sasuke there crying without even looking back.

flashback ends

"Hey! Are you going to do anything?"

It was Kisame, Itachi's comrade. He was rude and bossy, but still he was a good ninja (if you count killing a lot of people as a good ninja). Still, Itachi would have glared at him if it weren't for his realizing what day today was. Instead, he just smiled weakly.

"First you're daydreaming, and now you're smiling. Tell me we don't have to contact a docter." Kisame sounded a little frustrated, but it was just a joke.

"No, you don't need to call one of Akatsuki's medical men. They'll just make matters worse."

"Well, too bad, since there's one of them coming…"

It was true, one of Akatsuki's men was running down an open path, not caring whether he was seen or not. He panted and gasped for air, then spotted Itachi and Kisame. He made a sudden stop, almost falling over.

"You…you're on a…a mission…" He barely finished his sentence, then fell on his knees, leaning on a nearby tree for support.

"I wonder what mission it could be? It's gotta be fun!" Kisame's excited voice did not match the poor guy that was still panting.

"So, what kind of mission is it?" Itachi asked, hoping it wouldn't be too much trouble. Not that he really couldn't face it off; he was a S-ranked criminal, and even Orochimaru feared him.

"You're supposed to get Naruto—you know who he is, the one with the fox demon sealed inside him—and then you'll know what will come next."

Naruto? Itachi thought. Wasn't he in the hidden village of leaf? Then… Sasuke will be there too. He shook the idea off his mind and nodded his head.

"Aww… but I wanted something more fun. Getting a twelve year old brat is just annoying!" Kisame complained for about the thousandth time on their way to the village.

"Shut up, Kisame. Your complaints are even worse." Itachi replied, not in a good mood.

"What, as if a twelve year old brat can't be more annoying than I am? Come on! Naruto's like the biggest brat I've ever seen!" Kisame yawned, stretching like a cat.

"You talk as if you really know him. Which, in fact, you don't."

That made Kisame shut up. The sparrows chirping above their heads flew cheerfully and carefree.

They stepped inside the village, feeling the excited air rush past them with the meaning of a simple yet delicious greeting. Ramen was the only thing that could do that, but they didn't have time to stop and eat. Besides, they'll have enough trouble later getting bored to ramen when they get hold of Naruto.

Kisame looked around at their surroundings, and then tapped Itachi on the shoulder.

"Looks like we've got company."