This one-shot has the possibility of becoming a full story, read the A/N at the end, for more info., once you're done reading!
"And then some day… when you have the same eyes as I do, come and find me." Itachi says, flashing his Mangekyou Sharingan at his eight-year-old brother, Sasuke. Itachi turns away from his younger brother, no longer looking at him over his shoulder. Sasuke falls to his knees; the pressure of Itachi's stare no longer there to keep him standing.
The younger clutches his throbbing left arm, as tears escape his eyes and slide down his cheeks. It was all too much for the young boy. Before, all Sasuke wanted was to please his father and catch up to his older brother, whom he admired and loved with all his heart. Now, his father was dead. And his older brother… His beloved older brother was telling him to hate him. Itachi was telling him to turn his hatred into strength. Strength to kill his older brother. Then one day, when Sasuke had the same eyes as Itachi he was to find Itachi and try to kill him. All of this for to test Itachi's strength. Apparently, their entire clan, and their own mother and father, hadn't been enough for his older brother.
And then where would that leave Sasuke? He didn't have any more family, except for the one person standing right in front of him. He never felt he needed friends, so he didn't have any. He'd be one lone Uchiha living in a ghost town of what use to be a happy place. The last remaining tie he had to his dead clan, besides a desolate compound, was his older brother. His older brother who is about to leave him for good. The next time he sees Itachi, he's going to have to kill him. And after that, he'd truly be alone.
More tears slid down the younger's face as he reached out to his older brother, refusing to fall onto the dirt beneath him and give up. His small fist clutched the soft material of his brother's shirt. He was shaking. His tears coming faster and faster as he moved his knees across the dirt to inch closer to his now turned traitorous brother.
Itachi looked down at Sasuke. Unbeknownst to Itachi, he was also crying. Even the always composed Itachi, couldn't keep a straight face while watching his little brother scrape his knees across the rocks in the sand in an effort to stop his older brother. Though Itachi wasn't sure what for. Probably to try and kill him again, but Sasuke was out of kunai now. Besides, Sasuke should know he can't kill Itachi with brute force alone. He could have a kunai hidden somewhere, but for some reason, Itachi didn't think so.
"Please. You're all I have left now. I don't want to kill you. Please don't leave me here, big brother." Sasuke asks of him. He buries his face in Itachi's shirt, soaking it with his tears. Itachi looks down at the younger in shock. He hadn't expected Sasuke to act like this. He expected him to hate him for what he did to their clan. But instead, he was clinging to him, begging him not to go.
"Sasuke," Itachi prods gently. "Don't you hate me for what I've done?" Itachi asks. Sasuke looks up at his older brother, but his vision is blurry from his tears, and he's unable to make out his face very well. Itachi's hand reaches out toward Sasuke. Sasuke clenches his eyes shut, fearful of being smacked away. But instead, Itachi uses the hand to wipe away Sasuke's tears. "Why would you want to come with me?"
But Sasuke just shakes his head, refusing to answer the question. Itachi lowers himself, so that he is eye level with Sasuke. Sasuke takes it as an invitation to embrace him, but Itachi pushes him away with a heavy heart. "Sasuke I killed mother and father, and I killed everyone else too. Why would you want to come with me still?"
Sasuke opens his eyes to look at Itachi. His vision is a little clearer now, thanks to Itachi. But with his consistent flow of tears, it won't be long before it goes back to being blurry again. "You're all I have left. If you leave me, I'll be all alone." Sasuke says, because he has to say something. He's lost contact with Itachi, since he pushed him away. He's feeling anxious now, since he doesn't have a hold on him anymore. Itachi is much more advanced than him. Itachi could just leave if he wanted. At least if he's holding onto him, Sasuke would have a better chance at stopping him from leaving with another, 'Forgive me, Sasuke'. But he doesn't have a hold on him, so he's forced to try and use words to get Itachi to stay. But words have never worked before, and they most likely won't work now.
"I'm the one who made you lose everyone else. You need to see reason, Sasuke. I'm the bad guy here, not your loving older brother who will protect you. That was all a lie. I've already told you that, and I'm losing my patience." Itachi tells him. He can't afford to keep being kind to Sasuke here. He needs his little brother to hate him. It's better that way. He'll grow strong and defeat him. Then he can give him his eyes, and he can protect the Leaf and bring about peace with the eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.
Sasuke doesn't say anything. Itachi nods, standing up, thinking Sasuke must get it now since he is no longer arguing with him. He turns to leave again, but Sasuke standing up now and his hand shoots out, grabbing Itachi's wrist. "Don't-" Sasuke pleads, but Itachi cuts him off. "If you don't let go of these idiotic feelings you have towards me, I'm going to be forced to kill you as well. If you do not hate me, there is no way you can be of any use to me." Itachi tells him. It's an empty threat, one that tears at Itachi's heart, but it makes Sasuke's hand fall from his wrist. Itachi turns around to face his younger brother once again. Because he needs a confirmation, that he can entrust that Sasuke will grow strong with his hatred towards him, "Well?"
Sasuke shakes his head softly. "At least then I'll be with mother and father, I won't be all alone. I won't be like that loser." Sasuke tells his brother shakily. Itachi doesn't need Sasuke to clarify that he's talking about Naruto, Sasuke's new rival ever since he started the academy. Sasuke describes him as a loud mouth with no talent, yet he never seems to stop talking about the blonde boy. Itachi can tell he has a close bond with him, because every time he talks about the way Naruto is treated he deems it as "uncalled for" or "just stupid". He even went as far as saying, sometimes he was a little meaner to some of the kids in his class who picked on Naruto the most to show them how it felt. Apparently, the boy had no parents, no friends, and no relatives. He was completely alone, and Sasuke was fearful of becoming like him.
Itachi had felt bad for Naruto, and he even liked the boy from what Sasuke had said about him. He didn't seem too bad of a kid, but now Itachi was beginning to loathe him. It was because of Naruto that Sasuke was wanting him to stay so badly. It was because of Naruto that Sasuke was fighting to bring back his caring older brother. It was because of Naruto Sasuke refused to hate him. And it was because of Naruto that Itachi's resolve was breaking.
Itachi knelt down, so that he was once again at Sasuke's level. "You're sure, you don't hate me?" Itachi asked. Sasuke looked up at his older brother again, hope shinning in his eyes. He quickly nodded his head in confirmation of Itachi's question. "Not even a little bit?" Itachi asked smiling guiltily. Sasuke wrapped his arms around his older brother as he shook his head no. Itachi sighed, his resolve fully broken; he wrapped his arms around his younger brother.
Itachi holds Sasuke until the younger stops crying. He isn't sure how long it takes, but it's enough time that he realizes he is crying too. Itachi wipes away his own tears, wondering if for once in his life, his eyes betrayed him and let his brother know that the murderous Itachi was only an act.
Itachi looked down at his now only sniveling brother. "You know I can't stay here Sasuke. Are you sure you want to come with me?" Itachi asks his brother once again. Sasuke nods his head. He releases Itachi, so that he can smile up at him. Itachi looks down at him worriedly. Was it possible that his brother didn't even care about their clan or parents, only him? He didn't think so. But how could his brother smile after seeing their parents dead only an hour or so ago? "Aren't you even a little mad?"
Sasuke frowns. "Of course, I am. I feel a lot of anger towards you, but I'm glad you're going to stay with me. You're all I have left, Itachi. I may be eight years old, but even I can see, you have always loved me more than you have anyone else. Although, Shisui and I were neck and neck for a moment there." Itachi gives a small laugh at this, causing Sasuke's to smile a little. "I don't know why you did what you did or if you even had a real reason, but I know when you're lying, even if I don't always call you out on it." Sasuke tells him. "Either way, I'd rather just forget about it all for right now. So, can we just go now?"
Itachi nods. He turns around and crouches down in front of Sasuke. "Here, get on. We're going to be going far, and I know you're already exhausted." Itachi tells him. Sasuke nods and obediently climbs onto Itachi's back. "Do you have anything you want to get before we go?" Itachi asks his little brother.
Sasuke's about to shake his head no, but his mind wanders back to a certain blonde who's all alone still. "How about someone?" Sasuke questions. Itachi looks back at him confused. "Naruto." Sasuke clarifies. He can see his brother already looks hesitant about the idea of taking another child along. "Please, Itachi. The loser is all alone, and everyone hates him. Trust me when I say, no one is going to miss him." Sasuke tells his brother.
Itachi starts walking along the path out of the Uchiha compound. Naruto coming along would mean more weight on his back while he's trying to make a quick escape, and Sasuke already said he has no skill as a ninja. That means traveling with him could be hassle, and he would be little to no help, if not a handicap, in an actual battle. And since he was a rogue ninja now, the village would probably consider what he's doing kidnapping. There will probably be a lot more effort put into finding him than with just he and Sasuke. That's because with only Sasuke he would only be altering his deal with the Leaf a little bit. Whereas with Naruto, he would be stepping into dangerous territory.
But, Naruto is the one who caused Sasuke to keep pushing until he dropped his act. So essentially, he's the reason he will be able to keep his brother in his life, despite having done what he had to. Itachi owed Naruto, a lot. So, at the very least, he could take the boy far away from the hate-filled villagers of the Hidden Leaf, and he could give him a loving home with he and Sasuke. And after taking everyone away from his little brother, the least he could do was let him keep his only friend. So, Itachi nodded, "Alright, we'll go get Naruto first. Then we'll leave right after."
So, here it is. This is what I did with my snow day, lol. I hope you guys liked it. I was thinking about making this into an actual story, but I don't know yet. I'd have to figure out what I want to do with it and if people would actually want to read it. Please make sure you review if you want it to be a story. Also, follow this fic if you'd be interested in reading a full story, because if I make it a story I'll post another chapter to this fic to let you know it's up!
***Sorry about any spelling errors. If you see any spelling errors, please point them out to me, so I can fix it. If you have the paragraph number or a quote when you do it, that would make it a lot easier to fix for me.