He was supposed to die.

Itachi sighed as he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. The years of meticulous planning had been for naught. It did not end the way he had intended and now, he was too ill to do anything.

Now that Sasuke knew the truth, everything had become extremely complicated. He can't simply die because if he did, he knew Sasuke would destroy Konoha immediately. He had to live on, not just for Konoha but more importantly, for his brother. He can't allow his brother walk down the path of self-destruction that was partially created by his own hands.

He was the one who severed all of Sasuke's familial bonds, fed him hatred, anger and power.

What was once an innocent child was now a creature of darkness, morphed by his very own hands.

Nevertheless, Itachi still loved and wished the best for his brother, just like how he had wanted Sasuke to live in a world of peace and be proud of the Uchiha clan. He was willing to go to great lengths just so that Sasuke could enjoy these indulgences that he was deprived of.

Contrary to popular belief, Itachi wasn't born a genius. He made himself into one the day Sasuke was born. He had to excel so that he would know the standard of perfection and then provide the best for his brother. If flaws exist, Itachi would correct them and if he failed, he would conceal them.

The Uchiha planned a coup d'état. That was a flaw. Itachi had seen countless deaths and bloodshed to know what a world without peace would be like. It would only bring meaningless suffering, tarnishing the perfect world that Itachi had painstakingly been building for his brother.

So he corrected and concealed this flaw. In slaughtering his entire clan, no one would know about the coup d'état. The image of the Uchiha would be untarnished in Sasuke's world. In portraying himself as a blood lusty villain who only craved for power, he was setting a bad example for Sasuke to detest and oppose.

The deeper his sins, the better Sasuke would be as a person.

By dying at his brother's hands, Sasuke would gain the respect of Konoha for taking down a missing-nin.

That was the future that Itachi had envisioned and crafted for his beloved brother.

Ironically, his schemes of protecting Sasuke backfired and he had failed miserably.

The door creaked open, causing Itachi to break his train of thoughts momentarily and turn towards the source of intrusion. It was Nekobaa.

"Here's your meal." Nekobaa placed a tray containing a bowl of porridge and a glass of water onto his bed side table.

"Where's Sasuke?" Itachi asked as he sat up in worry. Sasuke had always been the one to bring his meals. Had he left to launch an attack on Konoha?

"Relax, Sasuke is not here right now but he's not heading for Konoha." Nekobaa replied, reading his thoughts with deadly accuracy. "You should worry about yourself instead of others."

Itachi frowned. Where could Sasuke be?

Reading his thoughts for the second time, Nekobaa promptly replied, "This may be a shock to you but Sasuke went to search for your sister."

It took Itachi a few seconds to absorb Nekobaa's words. He stared at her in confusion. His sister? Since when did he have a sister? He may have had one years ago before his mother miscarried.

Nekobaa pulled a chair next to the bed and nestled herself in a comfortable position before continuing with her explanation.

"Your mother, unlike what you've been told by your father, did not have a miscarriage. She had a girl but she was born blind. I'm sure you know what most shinobis would do under such circumstances."

For a child to be born with disabilities, his or her fate as a shinobi would have been sealed. Most parents would move out of the village and settle elsewhere in the country for their childrens' future. Konoha, being a ninja village, only had the Academy. There were no other schools to cater to children who had no intention of pursuing a ninja career, let alone schools catering to those with special needs.

"Being the clan leader, it was inconceivable for your father to uproot the entire family and live outside the village. Your mother could have moved out while the rest of you remained behind but being Uchihas, both of them would be vulnerable to your clan's long list of enemies. Besides, Sasuke was still a child and Fugaku was constantly overloaded with work while you had just been accepted into ANBU. It was impossible for either of you to look after him."

Just as Nekobaa finished her explanation, a cat came into the room and jumped onto her lap. Nekobaa kindly patted the cat, evoking a soft meow before continuing her story.

"Your parents gave her to me. I was supposed to send her to some faraway place for adoption. The girl's pretty lucky…minutes after they left, a couple came into my store with their daughter, who was also adopted. You can tell by their different hair colours. The couple saw the new-born and offered to adopt her."

"Seeing how their adopted child is healthy and happy, I was confident that they would love and treat your sister as if she were their own daughter. More importantly…" Nekobaa paused for dramatic effect and also to catch her breath.

"The mother was a student of the legendary medical-nin, Shiba Toru."

"Shiba Toru?" Itachi repeated the name. He had heard of the name before. In fact, everyone in all countries did. Shiba Toru was famous for healing everyone, both the rich and poor without any discrimination. He had no allegiance to any country or village, simply a lone healer who travelled to different parts of the world, healing as he went and in his latter years, lived in seclusion. Rumour has it that he accepted several students whom in gratitude, followed his path of travelling and healing under multiple fake aliases so that only the name Shiba Toru would be remembered.

Nekobaa nodded. "So you see how lucky your sister is! She would definitely be safe with that lady. Not having any allegiance with any countries would mean that she has no ties with the Shinobi world. And if the couple ever planned to settle down, it would be at a secluded location."

"The family left and I never heard from them again until two years later. She had sent a letter, informing me that the girl had gained her eyesight. I never managed to relay this message to your parents. You'll know the reason if you work out the time frame."

It was the year he annihilated his clan.

"I've kept the letter with me ever since, but Sasuke found it when he flipped through the old Uchiha albums."

Itachi stared at Nekobaa in shock. He needed time to absorb the news that she had been supplying for the past few minutes. Horror washed over him as he realised what Sasuke was about to do.

"Sasuke can't drag her into this mess." They were missing-nin. Sasuke visiting the girl and her family would endanger their lives. Sister or not, Itachi did not want to sacrifice innocents.

Nekobaa sighed, "You should know by now that your life is more precious to him than anything else, especially that of a girl who he had never met before. Let's just hope that the mother is willing to travel here to heal you…if not…"

"Sasuke would use her as a hostage." Itachi grasped out. He knew his brother's train of thoughts at the back of his hands.

Nekobaa nodded gravely before standing up and moving towards the door. "Anyway, you shouldn't worry so much. You can't do anything in this condition. Might as well take a rest. Good night."

Itachi was once again left in the suffocating silence of the room.

So he had, has another younger sibling, a sister. Granted that he had never met her before, she would still biologically be his sister, sharing the same Uchiha blood coursing through their veins. It was a fact that he could not deny even if he wanted to.

What good could there be for the girl to be associated with them? If others were to know of her existence – the existence of another Uchiha – she would be hunted like an animal. And how old was she? Ten? An age too young to be involved with their bloody histories.

Innocence, once lost, can never be regained.

REVIEW PLEASE!