I know, I know, technically Sasuke is a few months old by the time Kyuubi attacks (according to Wikipedia). But I'm making this AU, so really, it's more of a 'what if' than 'let's fill in the canon blanks'.
Title: Bad Moon Rising
Author: desolate butterfly
Genre: Gen/Horror
Pairings: Implied Shisui/Itachi, Kyuubi/Itachi
Rating: PG 13
Summary: On the night Kyuubi attacks Konoha, a young Itachi finds himself in a dangerous situation.
--
When Itachi woke it was to darkness.
He blinked and touched a hand to his face, wondering if he'd gone blind. But a few seconds of adjustment showed that he hadn't lost his sight, he'd just fallen asleep under the bridge waiting for Shisui.
Itachi edged out from underneath the wooden structure and peered curiously at the moon. It was late. Shisui should have been here by now. What was keeping him?
Sighing, the boy hunched down, cross-legged, head in his hands. He had barely managed to escape that day, as mother had wanted him around the house more often. She was very pregnant and unable to bend down these days, due to the immense girth of her stomach. Itachi spent most of his days helping her to move around the house, and making sure she ate while his father was away at the Police Station.
The pregnancy had been difficult, but this was a good sign. It meant that the baby would have a good chance of inheriting the Sharingan technique, if it and the mother managed to live through the birthing. Itachi remembers his mother telling tales of his own birth. Apparently she had almost died from the amount of charka Itachi had leeched from her during her nine and a half months of pregnancy.
Itachi wasn't sure what this meant, except that it made him strong. Strong enough to be top of his class at the academy. Strong enough to master fire jutsu at age five. Strong enough, his father thought, to begin learning the Sharingan technique at age seven. Even Shisui, the strongest of the Uchiha clan, and his adored older cousin, had not begun his Sharingan training until he was eleven.
This made Itachi special, and his father never stopped reminding him of that.
Which was partly why Itachi was under this bridge waiting for Shisui. It was funny how the older boy never seemed to pressure Itachi about becoming stronger, as the rest of the clan did. Shisui seemed content to allow Itachi to spend hours doing absolutely nothing: sitting close while he counted clouds or swished his feet in the cold waters of the Nakano River.
They never talked. Not really. But Itachi had the feeling that if he did talk Shisui would listen. It was what kept Itachi coming to him, even at the risk of being caught sneaking out by his father.
Itachi sighed and drew a small circle in the dirt at his feet.
'I should go home,' he thought. 'They'll be worried about me, and I'll get in trouble.'
But it just seemed wrong to leave, when he told Shisui he'd be here, that he'd wait for him to be done his training with the rest of the Chuunin.
A sudden flash of light in the distance made Itachi stiffen. Were they searching for him?
The boy stepped carefully up onto the bridge, looking back towards the main village road. Smoke rose steadily, clouding the moon, and Itachi's eyes widened.
"Mother," he whispered, taking a few quick steps towards the burning ruins of the village.
Then a sudden heaviness filled the air, crackling with electricity, like a storm about to hit. Itachi stumbled and fell to his knees, retching. The burning sting of charka danced across his flesh and pushed itself into his nose and mouth, making him cough. Gasping for air, Itachi scrambled onto his back and stared with amazement at the beast in front of him.
"Kyuubi," he breathed, disbelieving. The creature of legends. Impossible that it should be here, in Konoha, but…
Ah, the creature spoke inside Itachi's head, the voice resonating loudly, a morsel barely big enough to be a snack. Kitling, you waste my time.
Itachi rose slowly to his feet, hands gripping a sharpened kunai. The creature watched him, amused.
What are you planning to do with that, little one, it chortled, the laughter pounding painfully in Itachi's ears. He gripped the kunai harder.
"I'm not afraid," he said, surprised to find that he meant it. It was, after all, quite likely that he would die here, devoured or destroyed by an angry Nine Tails. But Itachi found that he wasn't all that scared of death. He wanted to know if he could hurt a legendary beast.
Aren't you? the Kyuubi scoffed. How strange. Come closer boy.
Itachi stayed where he was, kunai clutched tight in his small fingers. The beast seemed to roll its eyes and then it stepped closer, leaning down to sniff at him curiously. The breath smelt of fire and corpses and a dozen other unpleasant things Itachi didn't want to think about. He held still.
Finally the Kyuubi pulled back, teeth bared in a strange animal grin.
An Uchiha, I might have known. You have his scent…Uchiha Madara.
Itachi frowned, confused. He'd never heard of this Uchiha Madara before, and he had learned, by heart, his entire family tree by the time he was four.
"What do you mean?" he asked, grip on the kunai loosening.
The grin widened, dangerously.
I see. They haven't told you.
"Told me what?"
The Truth. About your clan. About what you are.
Itachi's shoulders hunched as Kyuubi's tongue extended to lap at the chakra surrounding Itachi like a bubble.
You stink of it. The madness of the tsukiyomi….It'll only be a matter of time. I wonder if they realize what they're setting you up for.
Confused, Itachi took a step back. A clawed paw blocked his path and stroked a line across his back. Itachi gasped as his tunic was smoothly cut from him, exposing his naked chest to the night air.
I wonder if I should eat you now, the Kyuubi mused. It might be more humane. Granted your blood would taste foul, but your bones…they might crunch nicely.
Shuddering, Itachi crossed his arms over his bare chest.
'What do you know?' he wanted to scream. 'What do you know about me?'
"Itachi!"
A warm presence was suddenly by his side, and Itachi blinked in surprise as he was suddenly gathered into the arms of his cousin before they flicker out of focus and Shisui is setting him down, a few meters away, thrusting him behind his body.
"Run," Shisui hissed, spreading his feet wide, fingers folding into a katon pattern that Itachi knew full well wouldn't work on a demon fox.
"Shisui," Itachi pleaded, pulling a bit on the boy's sleeve.
The Kyuubi only laughed and sniffed the air.
Another Uchiha brat, how nice. But I think I'll pass on the snack. I'm after bigger prey than you.
Shisui was gripping Itachi's shoulder so hard, he thought that the bones might break. Itachi squirmed against the hold and was shaken roughly into stillness.
Kyuubi snorted and then released an enormous amount of chakra, bringing both Itachi and Shishui to their knees. A wave of nausea hit, and Itachi retched into the grass, dizzy and sickened.
Remember brat, the demon whispered in Itachi's head as it walked away towards the burning sector of the village, it's only a matter of time. Choose wisely what you want to protect.
"I don't understand," Itachi whispered, burying his face in Shisui's chest. The older boy embraced him, hoisting him up in his arms.
"Come on," Shisui said. "The Hokage has ordered an evacuation. Your mother is safe, and so is the baby."
"Baby?" Itachi questioned, and Shisui's eyes softened.
"Yes. She had him this afternoon; your new baby brother, Sasuke."
"Sasuke…"
As Shisui carried Itachi into the mountains, the boy thought about what the fox had said. Itachi decided that after he had suitably welcomed his new brother into the world, he would ask his father about Uchiha Madara. Kyuubi had probably been lying but…
It's only a matter of time.
Shivering, Itachi clutched at Shisui's robes. He missed the concerned look the other boy was giving him, and the hand creeping up to stroke his hip.
Raising his chin, Itachi saw only the moon. Full, round.
And red.
--
fin.
Commentary is appreciated.