Brothers Then, Brothers Now
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, any of its characters, and anything and everything in between.
Sasuke gathered his things. He didn't care how much that snake tried to hole him in Oto anymore, he was going back home, to Konoha. He winced as he thought of how he had treated his old comrades the last time he saw them, especially Naruto and Sakura. He had put the chidori through his best friend's chest and said one of the meanest things he could think of to the girl who loved him.
The Uchiha sighed and slung the bag over his shoulders, looking around the room with disgust. Orochimaru had done everything in his power to make him comfortable, but the more he tried to 'help' the prodigy, the more Sasuke felt sick every time he walked through the door.
Making sure he had everything he cared to bring, he silently crept out of the fortress. I hate this place; I can't wait to hear about it being burned to down once I get back to Konoha. He smirked at the thought as he dodged past some guards and ran through the surrounding forest. Good-bye, you bastards; I'll be sure to give your regards to Tsunade-sama, as well as your current location.
The Uchiha sat at the bar in some village he didn't bather to get the name of; it was on the way home and that was all that mattered.
He took a sip of sake, trying to ignore all the lust-filled glances cast his way by the female population gathered in the room. His eyes shot open and he nearly chocked as a voice rang through the air, however.
"Ite! Sakura-chan, what was that for?!" He glanced behind him to see bright orange and black beside red and pink.
"Baka!" Sasuke laid some money on the bar before standing up and approaching the pair Konoha nin, famous smirk in place.
"Get yourself into trouble again, dope?" He watched in amusement as the blonde's eyes widened and he began pointing his finger at him.
"You! What are you doing here, teme?!" Though he was yelling in a semi-aggressive manner, Sasuke could see the corners of Naruto's lips being tugged up slightly. "Are you ready to come home yet?"
Sasuke truly smiled then, part in amusement, part in relief for still being accepted by them, and nodded his head before turning to Sakura. They started at each other for a moment before the kunoichi smiled brightly. "What? No 'Hi, how are you, Sakura?'"
The Uchiha smirked again and decided to humor her. "Hello, Sakura, how are you?"
The three of them laughed, not feeling as if three years had passed, earning them several odd looks from the people around them. "Ne, teme." Sasuke sobered, still chuckling slightly, and turned to give his blonde teammate his attention, though part of his mind was firmly fixed on the kunoichi at his side. "What made you come back all of a sudden?"
A small smile crept over the Uchiha's face as he answered. "I don't have any reason for revenge anymore."
Sakura gasped slightly. "Itachi is dead?" The Kyuubi container just blinked in surprise then gaped in open shock as Sasuke laughed. Both of his former teammates glanced at each other, not sure if they should smile at his change, or back away in alarm.
Sasuke sobered, though he was amused at their reactions. "No, Nii-san isn't dead." Seeing the quizzical expressions, he rolled his eyes and explained. "I got a letter, delivered by one of Deidara's clay birds, explaining what happened, all those years ago." A distant, closed look come to the Uchiha's eyes, letting his companions know that the topic wasn't up for discussion.
Sakura smiled again. "Why don't we head back home instead of standing around here being stared at?" Naruto turned to glare at whoever met his eyes before clapping a hand on his best friend's shoulder, bringing him out of his stupor.
Sasuke smirked again. "Aa; let's go."
That night, the three camped out in the wilderness, just like when they were genins, minus Kakashi. Sasuke stood watch, determined to keep his friends safe from now on. Sensing nothing for several miles, he took a scroll out of his bag and sat by the fire.
Opening it, he smiled at the familiar handwriting that he had memorized years before.
Sasuke,
Gomen nazai. The clan had planned to kill you in order to fulfill some prophecy that was made at your birth, so I did… that to protect you.
As for why I left after saying those things to you, if was because I had to discourage you from wanting to follow me, and I had to make you grow stronger some how. I did not wish to drive you to a monster that wishes to destroy you.
If you continue to wish to kill me, your best chance at getting strong enough to do so would be to return to Konoha to train with Naruto and other powerful ninja there; Orochimaru never was nor ever will be strong enough to come close to defeating me.
Whether you choose to believe me what I have told you or not is your choice, but I will continue to watch over you.
Farewell for now, Sasuke.
The letter revealed the man Sasuke remembered from before the massacre, and this was the person he would always believe; Naruto and Sakura were just below the missing-nin in Sasuke's trust, but now many others would ever come close.
Sasuke rolled the scroll up and put it in his bag. It was now his most precious possession, and the fore-head protector that he hoped to receive would follow shortly after.
Watching his companions sleep, he smiled again. (AN: He's doing that a lot; I guess the happy child within him is starting to surface now that he isn't bent on revenge and hate.)
I'm not making that mistake again; I'll protect the people around me with my life. He looked to the sky. Including you, Itachi-nii-san.
Three men wearing plain black cloaks stood on a hill a short distance away, being extremely careful to mask their chakres. One had ebony hair pulled back in a low ponytail, another had long blonde hair, most of it up in a high ponytail while the rest fell over his face, and the last had short red hair.
"I know you want to watch over your kid brother, Itachi, but we need to move, yeah." The blonde looked to their apparent leader, while Itachi just stared in the direction of the three Konoha nins, and sighed.
"I agree with Deidara, Itachi; Akatsuki will be after us soon, after all, we did kill Kisame and abandon the organization." The red head glanced at the Sharingan-user, slightly afraid of the ex-ANBU, even if they were working together.
"Calm yourself, Sasori; we will be leaving shortly." After another minute, Itachi turned and walked in the opposite direction of the young nin, knowing that the other two would follow.
Hopefully, one day, we will be able to rebuild the clan into something better that what our ancestors made it. Until then, otouto.
AN: Sorry for the vague descriptions, I don't know the Akatsuki very well.
I wrote this after I watched a really sad AMV for Sasuke, and I just wanted to come up with some reason for Itachi's actions, well… other than the obvious.
I hope this isn't too bad. Review with your thoughts please!