Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Older Brother: Authority

Itachi had never been prepared for the day when Sasuke would no longer do as he asked. It wasn't as if Itachi was a control freak or that he particularly felt the need to keep his younger brother under his thumb. He just didn't know what to do once his control began to slip.

The days after the massacre had been trying for everyone, most of all for the brothers. They were called out to numerous interrogations, asked to recount their steps through the District on the night of the massacre over and over and called to several meetings about business affairs and the issue of Wills.

Itachi still could not believe that the investigation team had wanted both him and Sasuke to identify each and every Clan member that had been slain. No matter how much he wanted to, Itachi would never forget the way Sasuke had blanched, pupils dilating when presented with the corpse of their Mother and asked to confirm her identity.

The boy had barely been holding back his tears, confirming that it was his Mother lying dead in front of him before being led along to the next table where the body of Fugaku was positioned. Sasuke had let the tears fall and, stunning Itachi and everyone in the room, his eyes flared red, his Sharingan awakening at long last.

No one but Itachi knew how to act in that moment. The investigators weren't sure if was hostile or accidental, whether they should congratulate the boy on awakening his Sharingan or console him. While the team had been busy looking clueless at one another, Itachi swept down faster than a bird of prey and lifted Sasuke up, carrying him out of the room as fast as he could. The Sharingan could burn images into memory and Itachi hadn't wanted to Sasuke to even see his family's corpses again, let alone have their deathly pallor forever painted in his mind.

As he bolted towards the door, Itachi felt Sasuke shift, the slightest of movements, and Itachi cursed everything on the earth. The body bag their Mother had been in had not yet been closed back up. He knew, he knew, without having to check, that Sasuke was undoubtedly now watching his Mother's corpse, the image most likely never to leave him.

Itachi had screamed at the investigation team while Sasuke sobbed into his shoulder. He had yelled at them for over two minutes straight, wondering how anyone could ask a child to look at his parent's dead bodies for a second time and stand around like fools when his Sharingan, the famous ocular Jutsu that notoriously allows ninja to memorise images and movements, awakens when he's standing in front of them.

It took a visit to the Hokage but Itachi managed to spare Sasuke the pain of looking through all his dead family members after that, his attention only being called to a few who had mutilated features and identity confirmation was more important. Itachi took the burden of identifying all his Clan. It was like looking through some morbid family album, being led from table to table and telling the investigators who this dead person was.

The experience was emotionally draining on both brothers, and it only seemed to get worse. One after the other, the brothers were asked to retrace their steps through the District on the night of the massacre. With the investigation team trailing behind, Sasuke was asked to walk exactly where he had walked on that night. Itachi was allowed to walk with him, although the investigation team had been against it. They had wanted to keep them separate and then check to see if their stories matched up. After another visit to the Hokage, Itachi was allowed to walk with Sasuke as he recounted his experience.

It hurt Itachi deeply to hear his brother have to talk about what he saw, felt and heard as he stepped jerkily through the streets.

"There was so much blood…" Sasuke's voice trembled. He was constantly being encouraged to keep talking, keep relating his thoughts to the investigation team.

"Did you hear anything?" one of the team, a woman, prompted after a beat of silence.

"No, I didn't hear anything. I was so scared."

"I understand. Was there ever any movement, even in the corner of your eye?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. Everyone was dead; no one was moving."

When they arrived in the family hall, it took a tremendous amount of willpower for Itachi not to start raving again. Their home, the place their family had lived proudly, had been almost literally torn apart by squads looking for evidence as to why ANBU would want to wipe out the Uchiha. Sections of the wall had been knocked down, carpet torn up, furniture carelessly moved and overturned, as if a bull had charged through the area.

Itachi could practically hear Mikoto's shriek if she could see what had happened to her house. He remained quiet, as he had promised to do, and let Sasuke talk through the scene in the Hall.

"Did this man ever say anything?" the same woman asked Sasuke after he told them how his parents had been butchered in front of him. So insensitive, Itachi thought, and sent her a displeased look.

"He might have said something… I don't know, I can't remember…"

"Try to remember. Remember what his voice sounded like and try to reshape the words," the woman prodded, a little more gently this time after catching Itachi's glare.

"I don't know…his voice was raspy, I don't know what he said," Sasuke told them. Itachi knew Sasuke was trying to get this over with, since this had probably been the worst part for him.

"That's not good enough. What did he say? It would dishonour your parents if you withheld information," a man's voice cut in.

Itachi rounded on him, not caring that he had promised not to say a word.

"Don't you dare speak to him like that. My brother just recounted a distressing event and you will not tell him that he is dishonouring our parents," Itachi told him, keeping his voice low and calm. The man's lip curled, but he nodded and muttered an apology. The woman asked Sasuke what happened next and he told them, up to the point where he realised Itachi had come for him and then he had fainted.

Then it was Itachi's turn. He arranged for Kakashi to watch over Sasuke while he told his tale of events. He hated having to keep bothering the man but for now he was the only one Itachi felt he could trust. Itachi didn't want Sasuke to listen to his perspective of how their District had looked as ghastly as Hell and smelt even worse as he retraced his movements for the investigation team. So he had to have Kakashi look after him for a while.

The investigators hassled Itachi a little more, asking for every detail and every move he made. Eventually, the team had what they needed and the brothers had no more requests for interrogations or interviews. As far as the investigation side went, they were left alone.

Itachi had left Sasuke with Kakashi at his apartment and went to pick him up, apologising profusely to the man for bothering him again. Behind his mask, Kakashi was smiling, brushing off Itachi's apologies good naturedly.

"It's fine. When I said you could always knock on my door, I meant it. Besides, it's not like Sasuke is a pain or anything. He's very quiet…" Although it was hidden, Itachi could tell that the smile had died.

"He's almost too quiet, actually." Kakashi stepped outside, leaving one leg inside the apartment to keep the front door from closing completely. "I know he's going through a lot and it's only natural that he would be having trouble right now. But I fear for his mental health. Going through what he did would leave scars on any child. My advice, which you don't have to take, would be to have his mind checked, purely to make sure there isn't something more serious going on in there that we don't know about."

That single eye bored into Itachi, letting him ponder for a moment. The truth was Itachi had been thinking the same thing. Sasuke had always been pretty quiet compared to other children his age but now he was almost…silent. But Itachi didn't want to have Sasuke on medication or be forced to see a medic on a weekly basis because they told him his mind was damaged.

Itachi was convinced that what Sasuke needed right now was some form of stability and the mind-set that he would be okay. A visit to a doctor could ruin any chance of that.

"I appreciate your concern, but I'd rather wait before I send him to a medic. He can't be expected to behave normally so soon after…what happened. The least I can do is give him some time to heal before I get half a dozen nurses telling him he's mentally broken before he can even try to recuperate," Itachi told Kakashi firmly.

"I understand. Again, please feel free to give me a shout if you need anything. I'm sure Sasuke will be okay; he's a strong kid."

Itachi thought Sasuke would get better too. He genuinely believed the worst was behind. But things got worse. They always did.

In light of their situation, Itachi was given time off missions and could expect fewer of them once he was back on duty. He was Sasuke's legal guardian now and he anticipated that neither of them would take up their normal life any time soon.

But, the morning after they had been given the clear by the investigation team, Itachi was shocked to find that Sasuke was getting ready for the Academy. His little brother was packing his bag with books when Itachi peered into his bedroom. Sleep had been evasive and the slight rustling from Sasuke's room had drawn him immediately out of bed.

"Sasuke, you don't have to go to school today. We talked about this, remember?" Sasuke ignored Itachi and kept packing, completely absorbed in his task.

"If you really want I can teach you something at home today," Itachi tried. That usually got his brother's undivided attention. No dice.

"Sasuke, you shouldn't be going to the Academy. It's too soon and I can promise that you won't be missing anything; you're miles ahead of your class already. You're not going today." There, that was the final word. Now, like he always would, Sasuke would stop whatever it was he was doing and do as Itachi asked. Itachi was practically already stepping back into the hallway before realising that Sasuke was continuing to pack his bag, as if he hadn't heard a word Itachi had said.

This had never really happened before. Sasuke always obeyed orders. He always wanted to please those around him. And Itachi didn't know how to deal with a Sasuke that wasn't like that. Perhaps his parents could sort him out-

With a jolt, Itachi caught himself. He had been about to call for their Mother, the word already buzzing its way out of his mouth before he cut it off, a strangled sound escaping him. Itachi would have shook himself, kicked himself for such a blunder. Without knowing what else to do, Itachi left his brother's room and went back into his own.

He forced himself to sit down on the edge of the bed and calm down. Never had Itachi's mind been in such a dark place. After seeing the results of the massacre, Itachi was still stunned that he had agreed to be the cause of it. What kind of man was he, to be willing to murder his entire family all for the sake of politics?

And now, now he had to act like it had never been his intention to kill the Clan, lying to everyone about what a nice and innocent person he was. Pretending to be bad was something Itachi could do but pretending to be good….that was the mark of a true monster.

He wondered if this guilt would have been the same even if he had murdered the Clan. Strangely, Itachi thought that he may have felt less guilty if he had gone through with it. Then again, to think of what he would have done….

It took tremendous will for Itachi to keep from shutting down completely. He was roused from his thoughts when he saw Sasuke shuffle past his room, probably on his way to the Academy. A pang of guilt hit his heart. To think Sasuke still thought Itachi was his kind older brother, who could do no wrong and was good inside and out. Lying to Sasuke about everything had probably been the hardest thing so far.

Didn't he deserve to know what had happened to his family, why they were murdered and that Itachi was going to do it? The increasingly familiar anger tore through Itachi. For his suffering, for his brother's suffering, he hated the village and himself. This anger was new to Itachi and, once again, he couldn't fathom how to deal with it.

Before Sasuke could get to the front door, Itachi had dashed out of his room, grabbing Sasuke's arm and forcing him to turn around. At last, Sasuke acknowledged his presence, if only it was by a slight widening of his eyes.

"You're not going to the Academy today. I don't care if I have to tie you up; you're not going," Itachi said, managing to keep the volume of his voice at a reasonably quiet level.

Sasuke looked horrified at that thought. And then he looked angry.

"I am going to the Academy. I don't care if I have to tie you up. I'm still going." This was not Sasuke. Never had he threatened Itachi before. Normally Itachi would have found the idea of little Sasuke trying to outmatch him fairly humorous. Now it only served to enrage him. Why was his control slipping?

"You will do as I say! Besides, you're not strong enough to overpower me so don't you even try to threaten it!" Sasuke gave an insistent pull on his arm which drove Itachi's anger up a few notches. "You think everything will go back to normal if you go to school? How naïve are you? You think everyone will treat you just as they always have? You think things can ever be normal again?" Itachi was no longer bothering to keep himself in check. He didn't realise how vulgar his words had become or how tightly he was holding Sasuke's arm. "No one will see you as a person anymore; you're just a broken toy to everyone! Worthless and pitiful!"

"I don't care! I have to get out of here, I can't stand it anymore!" With a fierce tug Sasuke removed Itachi's hand from his arm and charged out the door, slamming it behind him. Itachi stood, stunned. He could hear himself saying those awful things over and over again. How…could he say those things?

Itachi slumped to the floor. How he despised himself. He couldn't control his brother and he couldn't even keep himself in control.

Itachi didn't go after Sasuke. He spent the day sorting out some financial matters and pondering just how and when his authority over Sasuke had slipped so dramatically. How had their relationship disappeared so violently?

He didn't realise just how far away Sasuke was from him already.

Edited 3/7/15

I think the mental trauma of what the massacre and Tsukuyomi must have done to Sasuke is kind of skimmed over in the original manga/anime. I mean, that would seriously mess you up and it's really no wonder than Sasuke would have this all-consuming quest for vengeance. He has nothing to lose and every reason to hate the people that ordered his Clan's murder.

Thank you to akasukifangirl and Minervana1 for reviewing last chapter.

akasukifangirl: Haha, we both share a hatred for Danzo. I couldn't stand him in the original story, him and that stupid 'X' scar on his chin. I know Itachi is a little unsupportive of Sasuke in this chapter but he is confused and is kind of punishing himself by being wretched to Sasuke. I just want to say thank you for being such a regular reviewer as well, it really means a lot

Minervana1: As I read your review, I honestly sat there with a big, dopey smile on my face. It makes me so happy to know that people enjoy this story. Haha, I'm not quite done torturing the brothers yet so Itachi will probably be feeling very guilty as time goes on. I like to think that he has a big conscience so seeing what the massacre does to Sasuke makes him feel worse for almost being the perpetrator. Anyway, we'll get to that later. Thank you for your kind words, and hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint.

Thanks for reading,

Cipher.