OMG, I haven't died?! Oh well, I'll just try harder to annoy you all. Yes, I am actually updating. The other stories will be coming soon, but Itachi got to go first. Why? Because I'm a chicken when it comes to updating and I needed a reason to actually post this. Blame the Uchiha. (Happy Belated Birthday, Itachi-san!)

For those of you who will undoubtedly freak-out some where in the middle of this chapter, bear with me. I do actually have an explanation, I promise. If you decide to review with only the claim that "that's not canon!" I will laugh and say, "duh." If what I was writing was canon, I would be a male named Kishimoto, which I am not.

By the way, that was my disclaimer. I've gotten lazy. Enjoy.

Target

Chapter 2: June 10th

Itachi kicked a stone down the path as he slowly walked into the village proper. Another clan meeting… Just how many did they need to have? He supposed it would be a lot more interesting once he was allowed to join, but for now, it just meant that he was kicked out of his home for awhile and had to entertain himself. Even the special dinner they had had last night to celebrate his birthday had turned into a heated discussion about "what should be done." Oh well, at least in another month he would have someone to share all this with…. He smiled at the thought of his soon-to-be baby brother.

"Itachi-kun!"

He started at the half-familiar voice and turned to see the Yondaime coming down the road, waving to him. The Hokage was with a couple of chunnin, who seemed to be anxious about something, but he said a few words to them and they nodded and disappeared. Then the Yondaime walked right up to him, waving.

"Good to see you again," he said cheerfully, as Itachi hesitantly bowed. "You really helped me out the other day with that whole cat incident. But we got it all sorted out now."

"I'm glad, sir," Itachi said, smiling.

"I heard it was your birthday yesterday."

"Yes, sir."

"Happy birthday."

"Thank you, sir."

The Yondaime frowned down at him. "You okay?" he asked.

"Fine," Itachi said, looking away.

"What are you doing?"

"Just walking."

"No training today?"

Itachi scowled. "The older kids are there today and they get mad when I do better than them at target practice. Then they start to tease me and I can't focus."

"Oh. Well, what about your family's estate, then? Don't the Uchiha have their own personal training grounds?"

"Yes, but I'm not allowed on the grounds right now," Itachi grumbled. "They're having another clan meeting." Beside him, the Yondaime stiffened.

"Really…."

"Hn."

"Well then, would you like to walk with me for awhile? I told my assistants I'm not doing anymore work today until they give me a break," he said.

Itachi looked up, brightening. "Really?"

"Sure. They're always trying to overwork me."

Itachi laughed, suddenly feeling much better. He liked the Yondaime. With him, Itachi wasn't treated like a baby.

They continued walking down the path at ease, silently admiring the sun reflecting peacefully off the pond to their right and talking about simple things: the weather, Itachi's classes, some of the different office duties that the Yondaime's assistants were trying to corner him into doing, when finally the Yondaime said:

"I've been meaning to ask you this. Where did you come up with the idea for the bow on the cat?"

Itachi shrugged. "For awhile, Mother thought she was going to have a baby girl, so she was going on about ribbons and bows with some of the Aunties. I was sick that day, so I had to listen to it all."

"Ugh. Torture."

"Mm hmm."

The Yondaime chuckled, but quickly sobered.

"So, they're sure it's going to be a boy now?" he asked quietly.

"Yes. Mother went to see a medic-nin and everything," Itachi said. "I still don't see how a baby can fit inside her like that, but they just pat me the head and tell me I'll understand when I get older. Mother let me feel him move a bit the other day," he added, smiling. "She says he kicks even more than I did." He grinned. "I'm going to have a very active baby brother."

"I'll bet you're happy," the Yondaime said, smiling. Itachi just shrugged, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face.

"Itachi-kun, could I ask you something?" the Yondaime asked quietly. Itachi looked up to see him focused on a cherry tree on the other side of the pond.

"Of course," he said, wondering what was up. The Yondaime looked down at him and then squatted so they were eye-level.

"What do you know about Uchiha Madara?" he asked quietly. Itachi froze.

"I-I'm n-not su-supposed t-to talk about him," he stuttered, taking a step back. The Yondaime grabbed his arms before he could run away.

"Itachi. Itachi-kun, relax," he said firmly. "I'm not going to push this if you don't want to talk about it. And I know that your family has strict rules about this, okay? But the fact that I know about him at all should give you a hint that I kind of know what is going on at that estate of yours."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Itachi gasped out, trying to free himself from the man's grip. Father was going to be furious with him!

"I really hope not," the Yondaime said sternly. "Truly I do, Itachi-kun. Because the rumors I heard aren't good. Not at all. Don't you want to know what they're planning to do to your baby brother?"

Itachi froze again. Now that was news to him. Slowly, he looked up at the Yondaime.

"What?"

The Yondaime sighed. "I don't know all the details yet, but from what I've heard, they've got this cock-a-maimy scheme about sealing something big inside your brother once he's born."

Itachi trembled. "But-but won't that kill him? Or hurt him at least?" The Yondaime shook his head.

"I don't know, Itachi-kun. That's why I need to know as much as possible about this 'Madara' person. Your whole family is being very tight-lipped about it all, and it's starting to worry me. Now, I know I've got no right to go poking into clan traditions and all that, but if it's something that could endanger the village, I need to know about it. You understand, right, Itachi-kun?"

Itachi nodded slowly, still slightly in shock. Father was going to do something to harm the baby? Itachi's baby brother? He wouldn't… would he? But if he wouldn't do it… then he wouldn't mind if Itachi told the Hokage… right?

"Wha-what do you need to know?" he asked quietly. The Yondaime looked around and drew Itachi over to a small hill. They sat down, the Hokage looking as relaxed as if they were simply having a friendly chat. With a start, Itachi realized that this was the same place where he and his parents had often had picnics. His hands shook at the thought of them hurting the baby brother he hadn't even met yet. His baby brother hadn't ever even gone on a picnic! They couldn't do that! Everyone had been telling Itachi how lucky he was and how happy he'd be once the baby got here. They couldn't take all that away now! He looked up at the Hokage expectantly. Surely he would help Itachi's baby brother, if no one else would.

"This Madara," the Yondaime began. "Is he actually the Uchiha Madara? The one who founded Konoha with the First?"

"I don't know," Itachi said. "I only saw him a couple of times, and even then it was far away. Mother doesn't like me near him. He says he is, though. And—and Father is very respectful to him...."

"I see...," the Yondaime said, pondering.

"Hokage-sama, they're not really going to hurt my baby brother, are they?" Itachi asked, looking up at the Yondaime, wanting him to deny it.

"I don't know, Itachi," the Yondaime admitted. "People sometimes do strange things for what they believe is 'the greater good.' Maybe Madara feels that doing this to your brother is the only option. Or..." he grimaced. "Or they might be doing it for nothing more than 'clan pride.'" He made a face that said exactly what he thought about that.

'Clan pride...' Itachi thought. 'It sounds like a bad thing....'

The Yondaime looked down at him, sensing his unease. "What do you say we practice together?" he asked, suddenly, standing. "This talk is making me restless." Itachi was more than happy to agree.

"What are we going to practice?" he asked, as the Hokage handed him a kunai.

The Yondaime grinned at him. "Defense." With that, he launched himself at Itachi, who was forced to parry and block as the Yondaime swung his own kunai. Itachi stumbled and quickly backed up, so he was out of the other man's reach. The Hokage smirked.

"Why are you running away, Itachi-kun?" he teased. "You've got one kunai, and I've got one kunai. We're evenly matched."

"You're bigger!" Itachi protested, panting a bit. "And stronger! And faster! And you have more—!" He stopped in mid-sentence as he felt a kunai pressed against his neck. Whoa. He hadn't even seen the man move.

"You're smaller," the Yondaime said quietly. "Lighter. Quick with your hands, and with your mind. Figure out what I'm going to do, and try to use it against me. You can dodge, and you can parry. Don't think of your traits as a hindrance. Think only of how you can use every aspect of both yours and mine to defeat me." Itachi stared up at the Hokage, even as he backed away and got into a crouch.

"Now, again!"

Right now, I can't promise that reviewing will make me update faster, but it will make me happier overall. Also, please remember that I wrote all this about a year ago, when the brothers were fighting in the manga, so if the information is slightly dated, that's why. I've tried to fix the glaring errors. The ones I haven't fixed, I usually have a reason for. But still, feel free to review.