"So that's the truth about Itachi, boy," Said Madara, seating himself on the little desk. Sasuke sat on the little bed, head down, staring at the floor. Itachi was good? It didn't seem too hard to believe. Now that I think about it, thought Sasuke, I can remember some really great times…
"Nii-san!" (Means Brother) cried Sasuke, running up to the door of the home they shared. Itachi sat on the front steps, slipping on his shoes.
"What is it, Sasuke?" Itachi asked, holding the shoulders of the little boy as Sasuke struggled to breathe, on the verge of crying.
"S-somebody stole my shuriken!" Sasuke choked, face twisted in pain. "The set Dad gave me! Wah!"
"Dad gave you a set of shuriken? He never gave me any." His face was thoughtful. "Who?"
Sasuke shook his head. "I don't know!"
So Itachi scouted the entire town, head to toe, in the course of a day.
Sasuke walked down the road by the pond, pouting. "Nii-chan went to great measures to get my shuriken back," he said to himself. "He must really love me! I wonder where he is now?"
Something caught his eye. Down the hill stood Itachi, at the end of the dock, pouring a bucket of custom-made shuriken into the murky depths of the water.
"Nii-san!" Sasuke cried, racing down the hill to the dock. "Those were my shuriken! Why did you throw them all away?"
"They were sticky with chocolate goo," Itachi said, setting the bucket down. "Some idiot ate chocolate while playing with it, Sasuke. Sorry."
Sasuke whimpered.
"Well, who cares?" Itachi said, trying to cheer him up. "It was just a cheap present from Father!"
Another time, it was Sasuke's 6th birthday, and at the dinner table, Mother produced a gift wrapped in golden giftwrap.
"Wa! Ka-san!" (Means Mother) Sasuke exclaimed, grabbing at the present. Ripping it open, Sasuke revealed the most beautiful shirt he'd ever seen, hand-knit by his mother. It had the Uchiha symbol, but stitched with lace and many decorations.
"Wa! Ka-san! Thank you!" Sasuke cried, jumping across the table to hug his mother.
"Hey! Get down, Sasuke!" grumbled Father, clenching his fists.
"Mother," asked Itachi calmly, "Could I receive one as well on my birthday?"
"Sure, Itachi, we'll see."
Itachi's 11th birthday. No shirt.
Yet another time, Sasuke was playing this his stuffed dinosaur collection when one unexpectedly ripped.
"Wah! Ka-san! Fix it!" he cried, running to his mother. Mother took it tenderly from Sasuke's little hand and nodded. "Sure."
"Nah, just get him a new one!" complained Father, rumpling his newpaper.
The next day, Mother presented him a beautifully stitched dinosaur, as good as new. Sasuke was about to yelp with joy when Father, stepping out from behind her, produced a giant purple Stegosaurus, the most recent of the dinosaur series.
"Wah! Do-san!" (Means Father) cried Sasuke, "Ka-san! Thank you! I love them!"
Itachi watched from the sidelines, saying nothing. His own stuffed dog collection hadn't seen a new arrival in months.
Sasuke and Itachi sat outside the house, staring at the little pond. "Mother and Father only like you, Sasuke." Said Itachi quietly.
"What?" asked Sasuke, looking up.
"You're always getting new toys. They always like to spoil you."
"You sound angry. Nii-san, are you angry?"
Itachi was silent a moment, then looked up with a smile. "A little bit! But it's not like I'd be angry enough to kill anyone or anything!"
Sasuke laughed. "Ha, ha! Yeah!"
Back to the present, Sasuke continued to stare at the ground.
"Yup, you must be telling the truth," said Sasuke. "There's no way Itachi would ever hurt Do-san or Ka-san except if forced to!"