Chapter 1 - A Moment's Breath

"Congratulations!"

It seemed to be the word of the day at the Konoha Academy. It was on everyone's lips, just like pride was in everyone's eyes – parents and students alike. It was uttered in every corner and hung in the air almost as heavily as the smell of honeysuckle. It made Sasuke queasy and irritated, even more so knowing his mother was somewhere in the back, glowing with the same sentiments herself. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and crossed his arms. The hitai-ate felt tight and uncomfortable around his head and he felt his forehead sweating underneath – whoever had had the wonderful idea of holding this celebration on a midsummer noon should have been dragged to the public square and beaten.

The students were aligned in the middle of the courtyard, under the merciless sun, while parents, grandparents and siblings watched from the back, clumped up under the shade of the trees that lined the fence. They were chattering among themselves in hushed whispers, somehow managing to make more clamor than if they had been talking out loud.

Sasuke tapped his foot and threw a glance over his shoulder. His mother was immersed in a conversation with someone. No sign of his father or brother. The ceremony was about to begin and he doubted they would make it on time. That's nothing new, he thought. He was, however, unable to deny the bitter taste of disappointment that settled in his mouth. His father missing out on his graduation from the academy was not a surprise. After all, his older brother had graduated when he was 5 years younger than Sasuke. The record had been set.

But Itachi… Itachi had promised he would try. Instead of the usual 'maybe next time', this time he had actually promised. Sasuke blamed himself for believing him. Ever since Itachi had joined the ANBU their relationship had been an uphill struggle. Worse since he had been made captain. Oh, but their father had celebrated that. Itachi was always worth his time, his attention, his praise. His hands curled into fists at his side just thinking about it. This day couldn't be over soon enough.

The Hokage himself presided over the ceremony, as he did every year - and each year he somehow looked smaller and smaller under those white and red robes. On he went about the new generation of shinobi, Konoha's pride and hope for the future. Sasuke imagined Itachi had heard the same words at his own graduation, ten years ago.

A breeze swept over the heated crowd, but it blew hot and brought little relief. Sasuke squinted, resisting the urge to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun. Just a little longer, he told himself. After all, for how long could one old man go on talking without getting tired? Someone was fidgeting beside him, seemingly as eager as him for this to be over. From the corner of his eyes he caught a glimpse of orange. It had to be Naruto, the class clown. The idiot had failed the examination, he should not even be here, he thought. But then he noticed Naruto was sporting a hitai-ate too. Somehow, he had passed, then. It spoke volumes about the laxity of the system and Sasuke now understood what his father meant when he sometimes argued Konoha was growing weaker. It began here, at the Academy.

By the time the ceremony was over, it was a wonder that no one had passed out. Sasuke would not be surprised if this turned out to be the hottest day of this year's summer. And it was not yet over for the graduates, he thought dismally, shifting his hitai-ate to wipe the beads of sweat forming underneath.

"Genin, you will now all return to your classrooms, where your teacher will inform you of your teams," one of the faculty said loudly after the Hokage had finished his speech and shuffled back to his seat. "Congratulations once more! You are now Konoha shinobi."

Sasuke scoffed. He shoved his hands in his pockets and dragged his feet around to make for the entrance to the school when his eyes caught sight of a familiar figure standing apart from the crowd, leaning against the fence.

Itachi.

Sasuke's feet stopped of their own accord. There was a jolt of surprise in his heart. How long had he been standing there, watching? He certainly had not been there the first time Sasuke had looked. After a moment's hesitation, Sasuke changed his direction, parting from the crowd of genin making their way inside the school building.

Itachi straightened up with a wan smile and reached out a hand, two fingers extended. Sasuke stopped short of being poked, the look in his eyes rather stern. It bothered him that he was still being treated like a five-year old. And in public. His older brother's arm hung in the air for a few seconds, then slowly descended to rest at his side.

"Sorry I was late, otouto," Itachi said, accepting the silent reprimand in Sasuke's look.

"I was expecting you not to show up at all, so…" Sasuke trailed off rather coldly, only to regret it a moment later, when his eyes noticed the hints of his brother's state. Eyes half-closed, dark circles underneath, pale skin. There were details even a veteran shinobi could not hope to conceal from eyes which knew where to look. Itachi had been gone for well over a week this time, and at the very least, it looked like he had not gotten any sleep for the past two days. No rest for the ANBU, it seemed. "In any case, thanks for coming," Sasuke added.

"I believe congratulations are in order."

Sasuke was about to respond when their mother noticed them and rushed over. "Itachi! What a pleasant surprise," she said. Her hand came to rest on Sasuke's shoulder, even as her eyes quickly took in Itachi's state. She at least had the grace to say nothing of it, though Itachi was certain he would hear no end of it on the way home.

"I have to go," Sasuke said, looking over his shoulder. The last of his classmates were now filing in through the doors and he did not want to be late for what would come next. He threw one more look at Itachi. "I'll see you tonight?" What he had meant as an affirmation came out of his mouth as a question. Nothing was ever certain with Itachi. Sasuke had learned that the hard way over the years, and sometimes it showed against his will.

Itachi nodded. Sasuke graced him with a half-smile before walking off. He watched the Uchiha clan's crest on the back of his little brother's shirt and his vision doubled and blurred. He closed his eyes, feeling slightly chilly in spite of the heat that hung heavily in the summer air. He had pushed his whole squad to the limit to get here on time. Not one of them had complained, but his own body certainly was.

His mother waited until Sasuke was out of earshot before turning her full attention on him. "How long since you last slept, Itachi?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. There had never been any point in lying to her, she was a jounin and, more than that, a mother.

"42 hours," Itachi said.

Mikoto sighed. "I'm sure Sasuke would have understood," she said. Itachi merely displayed a wan smile. That alone was enough to make her relent. "You're a good brother, Itachi. Come on, let's get you home. I'll make the two of you your favorite meals for dinner tonight."

It seemed like forever had passed by the time Itachi's head hit the pillow. His hair was still wet from the shower he had forced himself to take and it stuck to his cheek, feeling cold, but he did not have the energy to care anymore. He pulled the covers and huddled under them, his head swimming with red clouds on black.

Their mission had been a scouting one. In the past month there had been reports of strange activity in the local countryside, of shinobi garbed in black cloaks with red clouds and people disappearing or found dead in their wake. The latest report had placed them in a city very near Konoha and the Hokage had not liked that one bit, so he had dispatched Itachi's team to investigate. They had spent over a week following the leads in those reports, going from one town to another, inquiring about the incidents, but had returned mostly empty handed. The one consistent piece of information which had come out of this investigation was that there were two such shinobi, and that one was male and the other, female. Witnesses produced conflicting reports on the exact symbols displayed on the shinobi's hitai-ate, but all agreed that they were slashed with a single line, as if their wearers had renounced their allegiance to their village of origin and were making a bold statement of it.

Itachi forced his eyes shut. He should be catching up on sleep, not tire his mind further by thinking of the mission or what would come next. For now, he had done his job. He had made it to his little brother's graduation ceremony. He deserved some rest.

It seemed like he had slept for no more than a moment when he sensed his little brother approaching. Itachi opened his eyes to a now dark room and realized it was already evening. Now he could hear Sasuke's steps coming down the hallway and he sat up, running a hand through his tangled hair twice to settle it down.

"Aniki, dinner," came Sasuke's voice from beyond the door. He had spoken before knocking, Itachi noted. As if he were keeping the closed door between them. He was slowly losing his little brother, he thought. Sasuke was growing into a man, into a shinobi. Soon, he would no longer need Itachi and whatever emotional attachment was left between them would be gone when Sasuke realized that. Whatever Itachi did now may already be too little, too late, he feared.

"I'm coming," he said.

Mikoto had outdone herself tonight for her sons, attempting to show them how proud she was of their achievements. The dinner table was laden with their favorite meals and everything smelled wonderful. Itachi's stomach growled at the sight. All he had had for the past week had been food pills to keep him going. Whenever he returned from a mission, he realized how thankful he was for the little things people usually took for granted, like a soft bed or a hot meal, or even the safety of one's home. When in the field, ANBU would always sleep with one eye open, even if they took turns to keep watch.

They all took their places at the table. Fugaku put down the scroll he was reading and his eyes swept past Sasuke over to Itachi, who inwardly cringed, knowing how it must have made his little brother feel, especially today.

"Welcome back, Itachi," their father said. "I trust your mission went well."

"As well as could be, father," Itachi said, then sought to quickly divert Fugaku's attention. "So, tell me about your teammates, otouto."

"I'm with the class idiot and an annoying girl," Sasuke replied, unhelpfully.

Fugaku looked at his younger son, but he said nothing, even as his gaze lingered. Sasuke appeared not to notice and began loading his plate with his favorites.

"People may end up surprising you," Itachi said.

"Oh, yes, Naruto Uzumaki is number one when it comes to surprising people." From Sasuke's tone, Itachi gleaned that they were not the pleasant kind of surprises. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed a strange look pass between his parents.

Uzumaki. Of course. Itachi had been young, but he remembered his mother's best friend, Kushina Uzumaki. Hair that red was hard to forget. And, being a member of the ANBU for so many years, he was privy to the secret which pertained to Kushina's son, Naruto. Images of the night the kyuubi had attacked Konoha flashed before his eyes. He looked at Sasuke and remembered how small he had been in his arms as he ran with him through the streets of Konoha to reach safety. The kyuubi was now hosted safely inside his teammate's body. Sasuke had no way of knowing that and perhaps it would be a long time before he learned the truth about Naruto Uzumaki.

"Itachi, you should eat more," Mikoto said softly. "You've lost weight."

"Hai, hai," he said, taking another small bite. But reverting to actual food after a prolonged diet consisting of food pills had to be done gradually, no matter how his stomach sang odes at the sight and smell of the feast on the table. He did not wish to spend the night throwing up until dawn. Thus, unable to do much eating, he became increasingly aware of the subtle tension that hung in the air. It had worsened since the last time they had all had dinner together, he judged. Sasuke had been steadily growing ill-tempered over the past couple of years, and their father's absence from his graduation day had likely done more damage than anything. Itachi found himself not having any idea how to defuse the situation.

Sasuke was the first to finish his meal and asked to be excused. Mikoto began to gather the empty plates after he was gone, but she was not one to let things be. "Fugaku, you should have said something to him," she said.

"He did what needed to be done, what everyone else did and no more. He should not expect praise for that."

"He was the first in his year! I think that, at least, merits some acknowledgement," Mikoto retorted. Her eyes flashed to Itachi, then back to her husband. "Sasuke is not Itachi. His path is different. I wish you were willing to see that."

Itachi pushed back his chair. The fact that his parents considered him old enough to talk about such things in his presence did not make them easier to listen to. He picked up his plate and went to the sink to do the dishes, but Mikoto stepped in and insisted he let her do it, so he thanked her for the meal and left the kitchen in search for his little brother. He heard his parents' argument continue quietly after that, but he blocked it out, not wanting to hear more.

Sasuke's door was shut, unsurprisingly. Itachi took in a sharp breath and knocked. "Sasuke. It's…"

The door opened before he could finish his sentence. Sasuke was looking up at him, but the look in his eyes was guarded and rather cold. He did not move from the doorway, either, making Itachi stand in the hall and feel kind of awkward. Itachi collected himself. "I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you," he said.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside and opened the door wide. "Come in."

Itachi stepped inside, unable to remember the last time he had been in Sasuke's room. Surely a long time ago, because he remembered it to look quite differently. Gone were the stacks of comic books that were his little brother's guilty pleasure, gone was his music collection. All that remained were a few books and framed photographs. Sasuke had gone rather minimalistic, which was strange for a teenager. But considering that from now on, he would not have as much time to himself, perhaps Sasuke had thought he would not miss those things.

"Are you eager to begin your life as a shinobi?" Itachi asked. If someone had asked him this question ten years ago, on the day of his graduation from the Academy, he would not have known what to say. Perhaps this was because at the time, it felt less like a choice and more like something that needed to be done, regardless of his feelings on the matter. Times were different then.

"I think it was about damn time," Sasuke said with a smirk, plopping down on the bed. For the first time today, Itachi sensed an undercurrent of emotion in his brother's voice. "What about your mission?" Sasuke asked. "I take it something didn't go as planned? They usually don't take this long."

Itachi smiled at Sasuke's spirit of observation, but he shook his head. "You know I'm not allowed to talk about my job, otouto. I'm sorry."

"Well, at least you're back in one piece," Sasuke said, even as he remembered Itachi looking like hell at the ceremony. He wondered if he would come back from his missions looking like that. With the team he had, that seemed likely. He must have looked thoughtful, because Itachi picked up on it quickly.

"Something on your mind, otouto?"

After a moment's hesitation, Sasuke decided to open up to his brother a little. Looking back, perhaps he had been a bit of an asshole to him earlier that day. "I keep thinking my teammates will only get in the way."

Itachi thought of how to approach the subject without telling his little brother that he may come across to others as rather standoffish. Sasuke was not a bad person. He had merely been left to his own devices for too long. "Give yourself some time to adjust," he said. "You have not even spent one hour together as a team, it's normal for you not to be accustomed to one another."

"You're a team captain. Do things always progress as smoothly as you'd have me believe?"

Itachi suppressed a chuckle for fear Sasuke would think he was not taking him seriously. In truth, he was impressed with his perspicacity. "It's true, some people are more difficult to work with, compared to others. Human relationships are complicated by nature. My belief is that, in time, people can overcome their differences and learn to work together for a common purpose." Sasuke seemed to be listening intently, so Itachi continued. "Members of a team rely on each other to complete a mission. Not one person has all the skills necessary to do it on their own."

"Not even you, the prodigy of the Uchiha clan?"

Itachi smiled and shook his head. "Not even me."

Sasuke waited expectantly for anything else that might slip through the cracks about Itachi's team, but his brother had the most unnerving self-control. Regardless, curiosity drove him to fish for more. "So, what do your teammates have that you don't?"

Persistent, if too direct. Itachi decided to let it slide. He could bite and still not get caught on the hook. "I cannot heal a wound or stabilize a dying person, and there are other, better tracking means than my sharingan. To say the least. In my line of work, we put our lives on the line more so than others. Teamwork is essential."

Sasuke smirked. "Hai, hai, point taken. I will do my best."

"Who is your sensei?"

"Kakashi Hatake."

Itachi smiled in a way that puzzled Sasuke. "Then believe me when I say that things will work out." His hand reached out before Sasuke could dodge the two fingers that poked him in the forehead. "Well done, otouto. I'm proud of you."

Sasuke rubbed his forehead with a frown, slightly embarrassed but also secretly glad. He realized he had missed Itachi. "You've said that already," he muttered, even as his lips twitched into a smile.

Itachi stood up. Knowing Kakashi's methods, Sasuke's shinobi life would likely begin early in the morning, and he did not want to keep him up too late. Being part of a team would help his little brother more than he knew and Itachi looked forward to hearing of their accomplishments. But for tonight, they both deserved some sleep.

Itachi woke up late in the morning to the persistent sound of something knocking against glass. He ran a hand through his hair and stepped out of bed, his feet carrying him to the window of their own accord as he fought through the haziness of sleep. A crow was perched on the window sill, knocking with its beak against the pane. Upon seeing Itachi, it stopped and cocked its head to one side, gazing at him expectantly. Itachi recognized one of his teammates' summons and quickly opened the window. To hear from his team so soon after returning from their mission could only mean one thing.

The crow held out a leg and Itachi took the tiny scroll attached to it. Reading the coded text it contained confirmed his suspicion. There was no time to lose. Another report had arrived that morning. No sighting of the two mysterious shinobi this time, only more dead bodies. The moment Itachi finished reading the scroll, the crow vanished in a puff of smoke. Akane would know he was coming.

Itachi washed up and got dressed in a pinch, then launched himself into the mad dash across Konoha's rooftops towards the ANBU headquarters. He covered the distance of a twenty-minute walk in little under three minutes and when he burst through the doors of the locker room, most of his team had already assembled and were standing by in full ANBU attire.

"What do we know?" Itachi asked the moment he walked in. A small scroll could only hold so much information, he needed to be fully briefed on the situation.

Tsume Inuzuka, the oldest member on their team and Itachi's second-in-command, stepped forward. Her ninken, Kuromaru, stepped beside her and sat stoically, watching Itachi, who was already changing into his ANBU attire. It did not matter that there were two women in the room with him. ANBU members did not stumble over such trivialities as nakedness. "One of our patrols has been found dead not one day from Konoha," Tsume said. "Murdered, and recently. Hokage-sama believes there is a connection between this mess and our mysterious, roaming shinobi. He wants us to investigate before any potential trail grows cold again."

"Where's Tenzo?" Itachi inquired, noticing that one member of their team had still not showed up. Him and Tenzo went back a long time, having been on team Ro, under Kakashi.

The other kunoichi on their team, Akane Nara, replied. "He has received the summons. I assume he will arrive shortly."

Itachi nodded and finished putting on his sandals. As if on cue, the door slammed open and in walked a rather breathless Tenzo already taking off pieces of clothing as he strode towards his locker. "Don't mind me," Tenzo managed to say in between sharp intakes of air. "I'll be done in a moment and you can brief me on the way."

Tsume tutted, but held her tongue when Itachi quietly raised a hand to stop her. "What else do we have?" he asked. He saw Tsume hesitate for a moment before she spoke.

"We got word from the cleanup crew at the site while you were on your way here," she said. "They said they won't remove the bodies, because we need to see them."

Itachi's brows furrowed at that. On a hot summer such as this, relocating the bodies should have been a priority. Who knew how many hours had passed since their death until they were found? And then it would take his team a bit to get there, too. This did not bode well. "We need to double up on our speed," Itachi said.

"Understood, captain,"three voices responded in unison.