DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT HAVE THE GREAT FORTUNE TO OWN NARUTO, ITACHI, OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THE NARUTO SERIES. I DO HOWEVER OWN ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

So basically this fan fic is based on the speculation 'What if'?

What if Sasuke had actually died when Deidara blew himself up?

If you have been keeping up with the manga over the internet (not the manga they are way too slowly releasing in America) then you know where this is coming from... sort of. Happy reading, everyone! 8D


Itachi heaved a sigh, his insides shuddering under the invisible weight that rested upon his weary shoulders. His heart quivered painfully as he painstackingly thought of how his beloved little brother died by the hands, or rather the blasts, of Deidara. He turned to his side and sat down, putting his face in his hands, elbows on knees. The inside of his chest burned powerfully with the strong emotions of loss and hopelessness.

Twin trails of tears scorched through his hands and scoured paths down his arms. He tried in vain to repress a shudder, but his whole body shook slightly as he exhaled.

Dead...

His throat constricted, tightened.

Sasuke.... is dead....

Itachi's broken heart rose in his throat.

He was supposed to kill me... All in vain.... It was all in vain.

The second-to-last Uchiha's hands dropped from his face and his head hung low. His hair hung limply in front of his face. Memories of his little brother flashed through his mind from when they were younger.

"Look, Itachi!" Sasuke held up a small leaf between two fingers, his face beeming. The top part was burnt away. The young Uchiha boy's face simply beemed with pride.

"See? Can you see what I did?"

Itachi bent over to get a better look, his eyes glowing warmly. The corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly in a smile.

"Did you do that, little man?" He asked, reaching for the burnt leaf. Taking it in his fingers, he twirled it slowly.

"Uh-huh!" His grin was so huge Itachi thought his face would split.

A low chuckle escaped Itachi's throat, and he placed a hand on Sasuke's head and ruffled his hair.

"That is quite an achievment, Sasuke. You will be a grand shinobi one day; I know it."

Sasuke giggled happily and took the leaf back from Itachi.

"Itachi, will you teach me to be as good as you one day?" Sasuke asked earnestly, his face suddenly serious.

"Huh?" Itachi blinked a few times, his mouth hanging open slightly. The tiniest blush of joy crept over Itachi's face. After a few heartbeats, he smiled and chuckled again.

"I would love to, Sasuke."

The powerful shinobi resisted the urge to hug himself. He didn't know what to do with his arms. Itachi felt like his heart had fallen out of his chest and shattered upon the cold floor. It was his first real time alone from other Akatsuki members since he heard that Sasuke died. He couldn't think clearly, but he felt that he had kept his true emotions hidden long enough. What could it hurt, to briefly express what was in his heart?

A candle momentarily flickered in the corner of the room, casting a dancing shadow on the stool it rested on. A centipede crawled up the wall in front of Itachi, but he didn't notice it. It was too dark, and his eyes too close to blindness.

"Pointless to have a candle... It doesn't give off enough light to fill the room. And I'm nearly blind." He half smiled, as two more tears eased over his eyelids and slid hotly down his cheeks, blazing a salty trail. He chuckled again, a little more loudly this time. Another slipped from his throat. Before it completely escaped his mouth, an intense wave of sadness crashed over him, flooding his senses, and without even realizing it his chuckle turned into a sob.

His sobs grew louder, echoing around the empty room, completely giving into his grief. He closed his eyes and relaxed all his muscles completely. With that, he fell to the floor with a heavy thud, his head bouncing on the hard floor. The wave of grief pounded his insides, tearing at his internal organs, wreaking havoc on his mind.

"S-sasuke!' He softly moaned his deceased brothers name, clenching his eyes shut as tight as he could. Slowly at first, then with quickening speed, Itachi's conscienceness slipped away from him...

In the mists of his unconsciencesness, images began to flit across Itachi Uchiha's mind. At first, just flickering images. Then they began to grow, and became steady images in his mind. It was a scene from his childhood that he hadn't thought about in a long time.

"Would you like to hold him, Itachi-kun?" A woman in a bed holding an infant asked a young Itachi.

"Huh?" Itachi spluttered, looking up at the woman round-eyed as a puppy. "You mean I could... in my arms?" Asked the little boy.

"Uh-huh." She smiled at him sofly, offering the babe to Itachi. "He is your brother, after all. So you can hold him as much as you like, son."

"Um, o-h, okay, mom." Itachi reached up and held out his arms as his mother gently placed the infant in Itachi's outstretched arms.

The young boy looked into the face of his baby brother unsmiling. Itachi clutched him to his chest and started to gently rock his brother back and forth.

"Whats his name, mother?" He asked, stopping briefly to look up at his mom, his face openly curious.

"Sasuke. His name is Uchiha Sasuke." She replied.

"Sasuke." Itachi said, his gaze turned back to the new born. An unknown feeling welled up within Itachi and he knew immediatly that he and Sasuke would become great friends. The older brother realized with surprise that he was already feeling protective of his new little brother.

Sasuke. Don't worry, Sasuke. I won't let anything happen to you. I will protect you no matter what.' He thought fiercly to himself. Impulsively, he put his cheek next to Sasuke's and nezzled his cheek next to Sasuke's.

"Awwwe, isn't that precious?" Itachi and Sasuke's mother crooned at her two sons.

The image faded and there was nothing but blackness in Itachis world. He knew not how much time had passed when he came to, but he knew what he was going to do.

The youngest Uchiha in Akatsuki realized that he was in a bed, his head bandaged.

"Don't move too much, Itachi, your head isn't healed all the way yet." Konan said to Itachi, placing a hand on his shoulder to gently press him back.

Itachi sighed inwardly. "It's fine, don't worry about it." He said, but didn't have the heart to resist her. A lot had gone out of him when he had discovered the death of his younger brother.

That night when Konan wasn't in the room, he got out of bed and went in search of someone. When he found him, he simply said, "Pein, I'm leaving. I won't be coming back."

Konan was in the room, and she looked questiongly at Pein, but Itachi noticed no more as he left the room and made his way out of the Akatsuki hideout. No one tried to stop him. He dropped his Akatsuki robe at the exit of their hideout.

I feel like I could have made this emotional first chapter more... emotional. I was trying to go for the "gut-wrenching" feel/emotion, but it doesn't feel like I pulled it off. :'(

Anywho... I love comments! Good, bad, give me your comments, thoughts, opinions, likes/dislikes, whatever! :P Just gimme! ....... And I'll share my cookies. ;)