The first chapter of extras. This chapter goes along with chapter 4 of Crossing the Distance and is what happens to Itachi while the Uchiha family is waking up. The one where Naruto doesn't have a clue where Sasuke is and only finds out at the very end.

Please enjoy!

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Itachi

It hadn't always been like this. Itachi still had many memories of the better times, when everything was still alright and he had nothing to worry about. Playing with Sasuke had never been a problem. He could keep up with every little trick Sasuke pulled out his sleeve. School had always been easy. Every class he passed with flying colours. He was the smart one of the family, the one who worked hard and came back with the results his parents would be proud of. Sasuke did the same, but Itachi always felt a little like their prodigy or something along the line.

That idea came crashing down fast though. Soon after he had started high school his eyesight had started to worsen. Still that didn't mean they had anything to worry about. Glasses could be bought and through Itachi could see perfectly again. There was no problem at all. They just needed to get stronger ones every year, but that was hardly something to worry about.

Until that faithful day where he heard his parents whisper something to each other, thinking their kids had gone to bed already. Sasuke had been only twelve at the time, still so innocent. He hardly noticed anything. His little brother was just happy, always smiling whenever Itachi was around. So it wasn't Sasuke who had overheard their parents speak. It was the more observant Itachi who listened in and found them worrying. A condition that had been in the Uchiha family for a long time. It didn't occur too often, but once in a while it jumped up. A gene that eventually made you blind.

Perhaps Itachi should've jumped in and asked more about it instead of disappearing back into the shadows, but he couldn't. What if it were true? What if that really happened? Itachi rather not think of that, so the idea was stuffed away somewhere in the back of his mind. Every day in school he made sure to not show the obvious signs of worsening eyesight. They didn't buy new glasses as often and Itachi was pleased with that. It meant it wasn't as bad as his parents might've thought. That at some point he walked around with glasses as thick as an elderly would wear went completely by him.

And now he was 25, still living with his parents, hardly dating because he didn't want to bother any potential partner with his problems, and at his job they had started to question his capability. All because of his eyes. Itachi realised his life did not really have a very happy ending. Yes, he would still live long, but it's not easy to live without sight. He had accepted that possibility now, had fully embraced that outcome to be exact, even if he did not mention it to anyone. Except for his parents.

A week ago he had finally dared to speak to them. It was difficult, but the hard truth was now finally out on the table. Itachi could be angry at them for not talking about this sooner with him, but hadn't he done the same? Running away from the problems until they could no longer be denied?

They were supportive, but Itachi hadn't expected anything less. Never was he forced to do anything against his will and perhaps that's why they had let him so free in getting new glasses and getting tests for his eyes. He was very independent, always had been, but now for maybe the first time he needed them more than ever. Having his father by his side as they went to the hospital to do the tests was the best thing that could happen. Itachi had never been so scared in his entire life. But his father was there, holding his hand. No matter that he was a 25 year old man already. To Fugaku he was still his little boy and that meant the world to Itachi at that point.

Unfortunately it was already too late.

The test results would come in in a week time and Itachi was anxious to find out what the results would be. It never got to that point though.

It was a normal morning in the Uchiha household. Still early, but everyone was already awake, except for Itachi. Mother could be heard rummaging in the kitchen, getting breakfast ready for everyone before they all went out the door. Father had already joined her. Itachi could imagine him sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper on his IPad, his newest toy. Didn't matter they also had a prescription one a paper version of it. Sasuke would've just crawled out of bed. It depended on how late his classes started, but usually the guy had to take a leak at about seven in the morning, always. It was funny how well he timed it. The click of the door opposite Itachi's room notified him it was now seven o'clock. A few more minutes before his alarm would ring and he had to get up as well, to get ready to go to work. Such a nice routine they all had.

A smile graced his lips as he thought of how well it all worked together. Their parents were still incredibly happy together and even though Sasuke didn't have the best bond with them, they still loved each other unconditionally. Sasuke's little rebellion with a previous boyfriend had not improved their relationship at all, but the guy had been single for quite some time now and everything was slowly improving. It made Itachi incredibly happy, because this family mattered the most. Sasuke mattered the most. If Itachi could not achieve full happiness, then Sasuke at least had to.

The sound of the alarm made Itachi groan, because his bed was still too comfortable. But it was time to get up. First he turned onto his back and stretched his arms out, letting his alarm beep for a little while longer. With his arms and legs stretched out around him Itachi finally opened his eyes to conquer the day. Everything was white…

Frantically Itachi moved his eyes around, trying to find a point he recognised. His desk on the other side of the room, his clothing rack right beside the door. Nothing. Sometimes an outline of a shape would pop up, but that was it. Everything was just too bright. He didn't dare to move, didn't even dare to shout for help. He couldn't, wouldn't.

It was eventually Sasuke who barged in, annoyed by the alarm clock that was still beeping on Itachi's nightstand. At first he wanted to scowl until he saw Itachi lying there, motionless. Itachi had no idea what exactly Sasuke saw on his face then, but he heard himself whisper, 'I can't see…'

And then was when Sasuke started to panic. Immediately Sasuke started to scream for help before he came rushing towards Itachi. Cold hands were placed against his face and he could feel Sasuke's breath fanning over his face. Was there perhaps a sign in his eyes, a hint of what might be going on? Itachi still isn't sure what Sasuke saw, but he heard a soft sob bubble up out of his brother's throat.

Fear.

Yes, that was what Itachi was feeling as well. Never had he been so frightened. Two pairs of footsteps came storming up the stairs. Itachi heard them hesitate in the doorway, but then first mother came for him, her hands grabbing one of his. Their father walked slower and only gazed down at him for a moment before fishing out his mobile. He called for an ambulance…

He could feel their stares on him. Sasuke sitting beside him on the bed, hovering over him as if at any point it could all change, his mother holding his hand, whispering comforting words to him, telling him it would all be alright, and his father just standing there, waiting for a miracle to happen or the ambulance to just be there.

Itachi had no idea how long he had lain there until the ambulance actually arrived. It came bursting into the street with its sirens on, waking up the whole neighbourhood effectively. Gossip would start soon enough Itachi expected. This village was small and the people weren't that friendly behind your back. Why was he even thinking of this? Shouldn't he be worried of what was going on? Though he knew already. This was just it. The point of no return. The gene had done its job and now Itachi would go through life without every seeing a thing again. If he had known it would happen so fast he would've appreciated certain sightings more.

The cycling teenagers blocking the cycle paths while shouting rude comments at people that tried to pass. The traffic that would be stuck right as you drove up to the highway and the people wouldn't let you squish your car in as well, because everyone was in a hurry. The line for coffee at the logic shop where everyone gathered and the employees were rude to you, because they had all just gotten out of bed. It seemed like the unimportant moments, but even that he would miss. It belonged in his routine. It was part of his life and now he would never be able to do all that. He would depend on so many people.

Father had left the room to open the door for the ambulance workers and the stretcher was soon rolled in. The whole journey towards the car went by in a blur. Lifted off the bed to be laid down on a very uncomfortable thing and then being taped into it or something. Off the stairs and then they rolled him right into the car, the wheels safely tugged under the stretcher now.

There was a struggle outside on who would join Itachi inside the ambulance and eventually no one did, because one of the staff members of the ambulance said he wanted peace inside the truck and he needed to ask some questions as well. A last challenging shout from Sasuke's mouth was ignored and their father simply ordered him to get into the car, because they would drive after him

It all felt so final when the doors were slammed shut. The lights in the truck were even brighter than inside his room and Itachi squinted his eyes to keep it out. The person sitting with him in the back was rummaging through something. Paper crumbled and he heard a pen scribbling something on it before the man finally turned to Itachi. The questions asked seemed all so pointless. If he knew his name and where he was from. If he knew what he was doing before and then what his healthcare agency was. As if Itachi knew this right now. There were other things to worry about. Which agency insured you for this anyway?

Speeding through the streets they reached the hospital in a mere ten minutes. The guy next to him stepped out as soon as the truck stopped and with the help of someone else they wheeled the stretcher out of the car and inside the building. Directly around him it was chaotic, several people talking to each other at the same time, telling his story about what had happened and then asking him once more if he could tell them again. But around that, right outside their little bubble it was eerily quiet, like it can only be in a hospital. No one else was there. It was just him and three other people right beside his stretcher. They wheeled him through several doors, turning many corners and even taking up an elevator to finally end up somewhere.

His family joined in only a few minutes later, but they couldn't do anything for him. Couldn't even hold his hand. The tests they were doing were much more important and for some reason the blood results of his previous test could come in a lot faster than before, the rush really apparent now. The MRI-scan was not necessary, nor was the EEG. The blood said it all. The genes.

And while Itachi went through all these tests he could only hope that his little brother would never have to go through the same thing.

Characters © Masashi Kishimoto

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And let me know what else you would like to see here. Any chapters that have been published already that need to be written from another point of view?

Love, Dana