Look ! Another story with Itachi as the younger brother ! Huhu, this is purely self-gratification, and entirely tumblr's fault, people, please enjoy !
"Your brother." Fugaku started at him, a crease between his eyebrows, from the looks of it probably nursing a headache. "I don't know what's going on in that head of his anymore."
"The clansmen are talking." He raked his hands through his hair, "How are they supposed to respect me if I can't make my own son follow a simple set of instructions?"
He locked eyes with his eldest son.
"Talk some sense into him."
For a few seconds, the man stayed unmoving, his lips pressed into a tight line, he looked like he wanted to add something, an ominous 'Do it or I am going to do something we will both regret' but instead took his leave.
Sasuke sighed.
Things were not so complicated, when Sasuke was a child, amongst the clan he was known for being a quite vocal ball of energy, occasionally breaking furniture, earning his mother's scolding.
He loved being a shinobi, training himself to exhaustion, always yearning for the best he could achieve, and Fugaku, for all his stern demeanor, would often be the one to pause and say "As expected from my son".
As soon as his little brother was able to walk on his two feet, Sasuke deemed that he was a sparring partner material.
Soon enough, two years old Itachi found a plush kunai buried deep into his belly (Mikoto forbid him from stabbing Itachi with the plastic ones). The toddler blinked and his big black eyes stared up at his big brother who was valiantly holding the toy in place.
"You are dead, otouto." Sasuke declared, then proceeded to show his little brother what it meant to be dead, namely, falling on his butt and lying motionless on the ground.
Satisfied, the seven years-old handed his brother his own set of fake weapons and set his body back into a fighting stance.
Itachi held the toys awkwardly in front of himself and dropped then as soon as Sasuke closed distance between them.
Arms slightly spread so that Sasuke could stab his belly again, he waited for the contact to happen and 'died'.
After five attempts resulting in the same pattern, in which Itachi was happy to just drop dead, Sasuke allowed himself to be a little bit unsettled.
In retrospect, maybe the telltale signs had always been there.
Deeply concerned, Sasuke wrapped the toddler's hands once again around the toy. "You have to try and attack me." He guided the little chubby hands so that the fake weapon hit his flank and let out an agonizing sound.
"Like this."
Black pools followed the hands holding his then settled back onto his brother.
"I don't like this game nii-san."
"What?" But Sasuke was young and had been naive in his belief that his desires were universal and who else better would share this with him if not his little brother.
"Can I just play dead?"
Sasuke shoot Itachi a horrified look.
His little brother was broken.
It turned out that another member of his immediate family found this behavior absolutely normal. Unwilling to let Itachi face his stern father on the matter (as Sasuke was secure in his belief that Itachi needed to be repaired before such an encounter would happen), the boy turned to their mother.
"It's alright." Mikoto smiled, ruffling Itachi's head affectionately, the toddler happily reaching for a hug. "Not everyone can be a ruthless shinobi." she chuckled at Sasuke's frown.
Before long, Fugaku caught on this particular fact.
Itachi's head was buried in books, occasionally scrolls or he was in his mother's kitchen, following her around. Whatever she taught him, it didn't have any incidence in his skills on the battlefield.
Sasuke feared his ninja skills would be catastrophic, but he discarded it whenever Itachi looked at him training with those wide eyes.
"You are awesome, big brother." He would say. "I don't think anyone can beat you." It was uttered in those blindingly trusting tones that seven years-old little brothers managed so well.
Sasuke loved the attention. But as much as Itachi found Sasuke's mastering of shinobi arts 'awesome', he never showed any further interest in them, so Sasuke prompted him to try.
"I won't be able to do it do as well as you." There was a nervous kind of smile on his lips as his eyes were slightly downcast.
"Of course you will! No matter how long it takes, you are my little brother after all."
Mikoto was gone that year.
Where Sasuke would trash things around in his grief, for the longest time, Itachi would stare, unmoving, and avoid doing the slightest thing at all unless requested to do so. He would look as if he had been shifted into a new reality and needed to readapt completely.
It ended when Fugaku got tired and dragged him by his hair out of his room.
At night, when the three of them gathered around the kitchen table, legs nearly folded, besides his chuunin brother, Itachi asked:
"Can I not be a shinobi?"
One could chose not to pursue a shinobi life.
In theory.
In one of the most prestigious shinobi clan, as the son of the head of such clan, it was more delicate.
Mikoto thought it wasn't, but she was gone and with her, the only person who supported Itachi in his ways.
Hands clenched into fists, Fugaku answered, "See yourself out."
"Are you ill Sasuke?" Naruto asked, putting his palm against his best friend's forehead, "For you to be the one proposing me to eat with you and offering to pay. Not that I'm complaining though. I truly overdid myself in that mission." The blonde snickered.
Sasuke practically hissed, swatting the tanned hand away, "Shut up. My little brother will be joining us."
"Uh?"
"I don't want to meet him in the Uchiha compound." He sent the blonde a vicious glare, daring him to inquire further.
"Really? You are quite popular there though. Don't tell me you actually grew some modesty."
As soon as the teen set a foot into the Uchiha compound, the clan head, after a long sigh of relief updated Sasuke about the reason of his recent near nervous breakdown.
Basically something along the lines of:
Your brother.
No stamina.
No sharingan.
You mastered it when you were three years younger.
But he's eleven and he can't do a single thing right.
Then the man went on about the humiliation this brought upon the clan. How everyone was already watching and judging and 'Do something quick.'
But Itachi had the ability to take everything in stride where Sasuke would have simply exploded. Under Fugaku's wrath, he tried to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible which, considering the situation and his father's mood, was arguably the worst choice.
"Nii-san."
Sasuke's head snapped in his direction, he rose to his feet and met his brother halfway and enveloped him in a half-hug with his right arm.
Itachi smiled warmly before noticing Naruto, who was waving his hand at him. He quickly slid out of his brother's hug to offer the blonde a polite bow.
"Naruto-san."
Naruto smiled awkwardly, "Hey, you don't have to …"
His brother forced his back into a straight position.
"Come on, there's no need to inflate his ego." Sasuke whispered harshly.
The younger set a last glance towards the blonde, "Thank you for looking after my brother."
"Itachi! Stop it!"
Naruto laughed. "Hey! What have you been doing since last time I saw you, you were …" He made a motion with his hand, positioning his palm very close to the ground. "… this tall."
"Oh. Nothing … much." Sasuke almost had to strain his ears to hear the response. Itachi's eyes wandered briefly to his brother's face before setting back on his hands folded on his lap.
Sasuke gave his friend a look, "Naruto could you …?"
The addressed young man caught on immediately "Sure! I need to …. ugh, pee.", he scrambled to his feet and was soon out of sight.
Silence settled between the two brothers for a while, with Sasuke assessing the best way to address the situation as delicate conversations were not his forte. Mercifully, it was Itachi who broke the silence.
"Would you want me to be a shinobi?"
Sasuke blinked.
"Well … I'm not going to lie. Yes, it is something I would certainly like, for you to pursue a shinobi life, for father to stop lashing out at you, and the clan …" He trailed out. Itachi shifted, but said nothing. "What is it? You can tell me."
Their eyes met.
"If I had a choice in the matter." Itachi started, voicing his own self-doubts, "You won't ever have to fight, nii-san, not once in your life. But it is not my choice to make, and when you don't have the power … people don't listen, do they?"
Sasuke's eyes softened.
"I won't say I understand you" He rested his on the top of Itachi's head, "But you are my brother, and if you say this is what you want then … you can count on me to have your back."
Itachi's eyes widened, "Are you sure?"
Sasuke nodded enthusiastically, a reassuring smile on his face. When in turn he received a meek nod, he inquired, "Did father say something to you?"
Itachi hang his head, breaking the eye-contact.
"He said … that if your life depended on me, you would be long dead." The younger stiffened, like he caught himself doing something forbidden, and straightened. "But I promise you if it ever happens I-"
"Tsk. You don't ever have to worry about that." Sasuke shrugged, he pointed at himself with a grin on his face, "I'm invincible, remember?"
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