Blood & Tears

A chilling, eerie scream sounded through the silent night air. Gun shots followed, cutting the bone-chilling screech off.

Uchiha Sasuke sat frozen in his seat at the kitchen table. His eyes widened when his brain registered the scream; unfortunately for him, it belonged to someone he knew like the back of his hand. His mother's.

Sasuke took one glance up at Kakashi, his babysitter, before bolting out of his chair and hurrying out of the manor.

"Sasuke, wait! It's too dangerous!" The light-haired teen hurried after the panicked child, coming to a stop at the end of the hallway and glanced around the corner only to find the door wide open and no Sasuke in sight. Cursing, Kakashi ducked back into the house to call the police and report the gunshots before chasing after the little troublemaker.

Outside, the streets were pitch black, fragments of glass surrounding each light post, signaling that they had been knocked out. The small Uchiha swallowed hard at the awaiting darkness, trembling slightly.

Another round of gunshots echoed through the streets and right into Sasuke's ears, causing him to freeze once more. His trembling became more noticeable, even as he forced his body to continue moving forward. Swallowing once more, his legs finally succumbed to his command and broke into a run, following the sound of a third round of gunshots.

Up ahead, Sasuke spotted beams of light – flashlights – fleeing from one of the alleyways, he guessed, as the sounds of sirens quickly drew closer. Sasuke stopped just out of sight, watching as several men scrambled into a single van. The lights flashed on suddenly, temporarily blinding the small Uchiha, who had stopped in the middle of the street.

"Nnh..." Sasuke flinched, bringing up his arms to shield himself from the intense headlights. A screeching sound then ran through the streets, causing Sasuke's head to snap up and away from his arms. Ebony eyes widened in horror as the van in front of him picked up speed, heading right for him. He stood, frozen, as he waited for his life to be taken from him abruptly.

But, that was not to happen. The van made a sharp turn to the right, speeding down another alleyway to escape. Sasuke fell down to his knees, panting for breath. Slowly, he glanced in the direction from which the men had emerged from before getting onto shaky feet, walking toward the alley.

Hearing the shuffle of feet making their way towards him, he raised his gun and pointed at the corner from which the figure emerged.

"A-Aniki...?" Sasuke took a small step back when he saw the gun pointed directly between his eyes, the flashlight of the body not five feet from the boy providing enough light for him to make out his brother's features.

"Sasuke... Why are you here." The voice was sharp as Itachi lowered his gun, revealing the blood staining his face. Sasuke said nothing and stared at the blood covering Itachi's face, eyes cautiously moving lower to the ground.

There they were. Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha, bloodied and dead, several bullet holes defiling their bodies.

"'Tou-san! 'Kaa-san!" Sasuke rushed toward them, wanting to be with them--

"Don't get any closer, Sasuke!" Itachi snapped, eyes gaining a dark light. Sasuke stopped immediately, eyes widening, not expecting his beloved brother to raise his voice at him nor to give him such an unwanted look.

"Wh-What happened, nii-san...? 'Tou-san and 'kaa-san are..." His voice shook, as did his body, as he stared at the motionless forms of his parents. How he wanted them to open their eyes and assure him that they would be okay; that they would be taken to the hospital and get the best treatment available and be back on their feet in two-to-six weeks. How he longed...

"We were ambushed. They knew which route we were taking to the banquet." Was the simple, matter-of-factly reply given. No emotion leaked into his voice or face. Itachi had witnessed his parents' murders and yet he sat there, completely unaffected by the night's events.

The child shook his head slowly, unable to take in all of the information at once. It was just too much for him. Hearing his mother's scream, the gunshots... and now, being faced with their corpses...

Sasuke feel to his hands and knees, starting to feel feint. The sounds of the sirens that he had heard on his way to the alley grew nearer. The last thing that Sasuke remembered seeing was the alley suddenly becoming bright before blacking out.