Title: Kokai Saki Ni Tatazu
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Sad, really, but there you have it. I don't own the Akatsuki either, which really makes me want to cry...; ;
Author: Akane Arihyoshi
Itachi Uchiha. The prodigy. The pride of the Uchiha clan. Graduated the academy at the young age of seven, head of ANBU at thirteen. Well known and loved by everyone in the hidden village of Konoha.
He was sick of hearing it.
He was so sick of the fame, so tired of the glory. So ready to stop being worshiped as a genius and just be a normal shinobi, but even as he dreamed, he knew it could never be.
His skills were beyond that of me twice his age. He was brilliant, even he himself could admit it. There seemed to be nothing outside his realm of power. How he loathed it, his brilliance. He longed to be normal, longed for a chance to just be himself.
Everyone was so proud of him. They were all so happy to have such an exceptional shinobi in their midst. Maybe that would deepen their pain. Maybe when it happened, when he finally put his flawless plan into action…
But he mustn't think about that.
Not yet.
""
Itachi stared blankly out the window. Already his mind was far away, but his body remained, stuck in this village, never to leave. He was a shinobi of the village hidden in the leaves, that would never change.
Or was never too strong a word?
He sighed, pulling his thoughts back down to Konoha reluctantly. A second later, the soft patter of a child's footsteps made itself heard throughout the room as Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother, ran through the door.
Sasuke padded over to his older brother and tugged earnestly at his shirt. "Nii-san!" he chirped happily, "D'you think you could help me with my shuriken jutsu after school today?"
Itachi sighed and regarded the small child with emotionless eyes. "No, I can't, I'm busy. Why don't you ask father to help you?"
The happy expression on the child's face faltered, transforming into a scowl. "Aw, c'mon. You're better at the shuriken jutsu than father is! I mean, even I can see that. Why do you always treat me like such a pest?"
The emotionless expression on his face never changing, Itachi reached over and lightly poked Sasuke's forehead. "I'm sorry Sasuke. Some other time, okay?" he said, before standing up and turning his eyes to the floor. "I don't have time for this today."
"You're always doing this to me. You jab me in the forehead and say 'I'm sorry Sasuke.' And you never have time. It's always the same story."
The older boy merely walked off, never noticing the small smile on Sasuke's face as the child's small hand went up to touch the spot on his forehead where Itachi's fingers had rested moments before.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Okay, here's the deal. If I get at least five reviews on this story, I will update it and finish it. I'm not going to spend time updating it if nobody's reading it. So please review! I'm sorry the chapter is short, the other ones might be longer, I dunno. Oh, and as of this point, I wasn't planning on any pairings in this fic. If you have a fave pairing you would like me to add into the story, I can see if I could fit it in. I pretty much love every pairing in Naruto. XD If I get enough reviews, I should update within the next few days.