Shizuka Pov.

It had been a few weeks now and I was on my way back home when I met Itachi. "What are you doing here so late?" he asked.

He looked different. I couldn't describe what was different, but he was definitely not like usual. "I was training," I replied confused.

"Shizuka, I want you to go home now. Wait there till I get you. No matter what you may hear, do not leave your room, ok?" he asked, looking at me urgently.

I nodded and hurried to get home. I ran into my room without paying attention to my father and locked the door.

For a long time, nothing happened. Then I heard the first screams. What's happening out there? I hid under my blanket, my eyes closed tightly. Spasmodically, I did not try to think about what was happening outside and pressed my hands harder against my ears.

I didn't know how long I lay there until the blanket and one hand were gently removed from my ear. "Shizuka" I heard Itachi's voice. I opened my eyes and looked at Sasuke's big brother.

He looked battered. Although he was not physically injured, I could see slight traces of tears on his cheeks. Though his expression said nothing, his eyes reflected pain and grief.

I wiped away the tears. "What happened?" "I'll tell you later. I'll blindfold you now and take you with me. Please trust me," he said. I nodded. Of course I trusted him. My brother did too. He put his foreheadprotector in front of my eyes and took me on his back. I was startled for a moment as he began to move, but soon calmed down a bit.

We had been on the road for a while before I raised my voice. "Is it still far, Itachi?" "No, we'll be right there," he answered. After a few minutes he stopped.

"Itachi, good that you came. As I can see you didn't came alone. Why did you bring her?" I didn't know the voice, but on the basis of the tone I could guess that our counterpart was a man. "Because I promised my best friend to look over her" Itachi said monotonously. "You know that's not a permanent solution," the stranger said.

I felt Itachi nod and start moving again. Judging from the noise, we found ourselves in a kind of cave. The footsteps echoed through the corridors.

"You're going to live here for the time being. Once you enter the room, you can take the blindfold off her. Tell her the rules," the stranger said and started walking again. Once his footsteps faded, I heard a door open and Itachi entered. He set me down and closed the door before taking the foreheadprotector from my eyes.

"Do you explain everything to me now? What are we doing here? What happened at home?" I asked my questions.

"We're in the hideout of an organization called the Akatsuki. I brought you here because the Uchiha clan no longer exists. They're all dead, except for Sasuke and us," he said seriously.

"Did you kill them?" I asked, though his face from earlier told me the answer already. That would have explained why he had cried.

He nodded and he turned his eyes away from me as if he was ashamed of what he had done. I wasn't angry with him. It didn't surprise me either. I didn't have anything that kept me at home. My father only became stricter after Shisui's death and I didn't have any friends. The only one I trusted was Itachi and he was here.

"Will you tell me why you did it?" I checked. "Not today." He seemed exhausted, but I wanted to ask him another question that burned my tongue.

"Where is Sasuke?" I was surprised that he wasn't here. "He's in Konoha," he retorted. "But why?"

"This is for purpose. Now please go to sleep. I'll explain everything to you if you're ready for it," he replied pointing to one of the beds in the room. Apparently he didn't want to go into the topic any further.

I looked around the room once more. It wasn't very big and only sparsely furnished. It'd be enough to sleep.

I went to the bed which he had assigned to me and rolled me into the blanket. I still wondered why he had not taken Sasuke with him when he was his brother? Was there any connection with the coup d'état that Shisui mentioned? Was Itachi extinguishing our clan? But why then everyone, not just those involved?

I asked myself all these questions before falling into a restless sleep.

Next morning

When I woke up, Itachi was already fully dressed and seemed to wait for me to finally open my eyes. "Mornin'" I still mumbled sleepily and got up.

"Slept well?" asked he. I shook my head. The night was restless. I had far too much to digest to sleep well.

"Come, I'll show you where you can freshen up," he said, taking me by the hand. "I'm not a kid anymore," I mumbled. "Gomen. I should measure you on other scales like Sasuke," he said, releasing my hand. "What do you mean by that?" I asked and stopped.

"Shisui has spoken to me often, expressing his concern that you are not acting like a kid, but mostly like an adult in a child's body. Back then I didn't really understand it, now I do. Your reaction to the fact that I wiped out our clan ... Every child would have run away. But you're here and seem to trust me."

I thought about his words as I followed him silently. "Itachi?" I asked. "Huh?"

"What's the definition of a normal child? Who says how a normal kid should behave and how is it measured?" I asked curious.

He stopped and looked at me in surprise. "That's a good question." He thought. Most children of your age are happy, carefree, have friends and play. They are open and you can read them like a book. They show their emotions. You, on the other hand, concentrate on training, appear cold and distant. Ypu don't seem to be interested in finding or playing with friends. You hide your emotions from others, except from me."

"Actually, it's my father's fault. At some point I lost interest in playing and was just trying to get strong and honor the Uchiha. I wanted to make Shisui proud, he should see how strong I was. It was brainwashing. I couldn't do anything about it, couldn't resist. My father kept reminding me that a true ninja isn't allowed to show feelings. He mustn't be able to see through. It serves to protect himself and his comerades. It's still different with you anyway. I can not hide my emotions from you just as little as I could from Shisui. Maybe it's because I trust you."

"But why?" he asked. I shrugged my shoulders. "Because my brother trusted you."