Authors Note: I'm back with another fluffy story! This story will be based on random moments from Itachi's and Sasuke's childhood, before the massacre. This is pure brotherly fluff/love. No pairings.
Just a quick dictionary in case it's needed: otouto = little brother nii-san = big brother
I hope you enjoy. Please disregard any spelling/ grammar mistakes, this was one of the first stories I wrote here and it's not my first language.
Itachi's Point of view: Sasuke's Birth
Have you ever wished you had a sibling? I did. Not until my little brother, Sasuke, was born I finally understood who I am.
"Itachi," my mother said, smiling. I looked up at her. "Yes, mother?"
Before she could answer, my father interrupted: "Be sure to train more after dinner, you know you have a mission tomorrow."
I nodded. I was sitting together with my parents in the kitchen, listened to my father who fussed over missions and important meetings.
Though I had Shisui, I often felt alone. It was hard to be the only child, always under Fugaku's supervision.
The following day, when I hurried through the kitchen, to leave for the mission, my mother stopped me. Father was waiting outside.
"Itachi," she smiled softly. "You will have a sibling soon."
My eyes widened when I realized - I would soon be six years old but I knew what she meant - and my gaze unconsciously drifted to her belly. It wasn't so big, but I was struck with amazement. A sibling?
I couldn't stop thinking about it the following months, and I caught myself wondering how it would be when I became a big brother, a nii-san. I thought about what I and my little sibling could to together when he or she grew older. We could play together, do homeworks, train... and when we were older, we could even go on missions together! I wouldn't be alone anymore!
I concentrated on training and homework, and I turned six years old. Mother's belly grew, and I wondered how long I would have to wait. I asked Shisui one day, what it would feel like to have a sibling. Shisui had a younger sister, she was just eight months old. He teased me a bit about it but then ruffled my hair and said that he was sure that I would be the best big brother ever. I don't know, but that made me very happy.
One day when father was out on a mission and I was sitting in the kitchen eating, I saw that mother suddenly jumped. She was standing at the kitchen counter.
"What's wrong, mother?" I asked, a bit worried, for she had placed her hands over her stomach.
"Oh ... he or she just kicked for the first time," she smiled.
She met my stunned gaze with bright eyes, and suddenly asked: "Do you want to feel?"
Amazed and surprised, not really sure what to do, I went over to her. What did she mean?
"Put your hands on my stomach", my mother said, pulling up her shirt a bit, exposing her big belly.
Gently and amazed, I put my hands over her belly, and gave a start when I got a slight nudge in my palm. I resisted the impulse to remove my hands, and got another soft nudge. I realized that I was gaping.
"It's your little sibling who is moving around in there. You see, Itachi," mother smiled. "He or she likes you."
I got a warm feeling inside me that I had never felt before. I realized I was smiling. I felt that it was a he, that I would have a little brother. It just felt like that.
Some months later, I awoke in the middle of the night when I heard my mother scream. I was instantly worried, had something happened? But when I got up I was met by my parents on their way out through the door.
"We are going to the hospital now, Itachi", my father said. "We'll be back in a few hours."
I was left alone. I couldn't sleep, I was worried about my little baby brother. Would he be alright?
Morning came, and I hadn't heard anything from them. My father came back alone, clearly irritated. "She hasn't given birth yet," he muttered. "Now I'll miss a important meeting." I went with father to the hospital.
I had to sit and wait with him in a long, empty corridor next to the delivery room. Father was impatient.
Mother groaned in pain, and a nurse came by and told us:
"She has been struggling for eight hours now; it's a stubborn little child." I was worried. Was my otouto all right?
Three hours later I hadn't moved at all, but father was really annoyed and was walking around.
Suddenly the air changed, and I knew it was time.
Silence ... and a faint, tinkling scream. My eyes widened.
"It's a healthy baby boy," a nurse in the room said.
My father rushed in and through the glass window in the door I could see a small child be lifted up, cried incessantly. I felt sad inside, why was he crying?
I knew I wasn't allowed to enter the room until they told me to, but I struggled to remain in place when I heard him cry. I just wanted to make sure he was alright.
My father soon walked out again, bored and annoyed, muttering something about "loud noise". I went in, saw that the nurses fiddled with mother. I still heard a heartbreaking crying, and saw that they had put my little brother in a crib on wheels further away in the room.
I cautiously approached the steel crib, curious, concerned and amazed. The sad crying subsided gradually, until I stood beside it, and the crying stopped.
I leaned over the edge and looked down at my newborn otouto.
I was overwhelmed, felt my eyes open wide. The first moment I saw him, the world turned around. He was so ... perfect.
Completely new, small and helpless. Sleepy black eyes looked up at me; a little black hair covered his small head. He lay with his small hands clenched, close in front of his chest. He seemed as curious about me as I was about him, but he also seemed lost and scared. Nobody else in the room seemed to notice that otouto was afraid of everything new. It was obvious to me.
A nurse walked over to us. "He's very similar to you," she smiled. "Do you want to hold him?"
I looked up astonished and nodded. I wanted to make otouto feel safe. I sat down on a chair beside the crib, and the nurse gently placed the little bundle in my arms. I sat perfectly still, hardly daring to move for fear of dropping him.
His black eyes looked calmly at me, and he cried no more. I smiled at the little baby and hugged him gently. I was careful, as if he was made of glass.
I realized that I loved him, and I had never felt this way before. My father used to view me as a tool, and always told me to not make bonds of love.
I had witnessed war and death, and I killed for the first time when I was only four years old. But this little miracle, my otouto, washed all the horrible memories away. He was so pure, so innocent. A new life brought into this world, in exchange for all lost.
"His name is Sasuke," my mother said from her bed. "What do you think, Itachi?"
"Sasuke," I smiled at my baby brother. It was just right. What would I say to him?
The answer was simple.
"Welcome to the world, otouto", I said. "I'm your big brother Itachi, and I'll always protect you. "
Sasuke looked happy, as if he understood and trusted me. I had never felt so happy before. I kissed his forehead softly.
Suddenly I could feel something pulling in my hair, Sasuke's little hand had gotten hold of a strand. Then he let go, and his eyelids began to fall.
I was immediately worried, what was wrong?
But the nurse just smiled. "He's tired."
I stroked his eyelids gently when he had closed them. "Sleep well, otouto."
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