Revised 6/7/2022

Chapter 2 - The Nine-tail's Attack

3 months Later

Itachi had made it a habit to meditate, after returning home from the training field, every day and that was exactly what he was doing right now. The last two months had been hectic in his house, with the addition of a new family member, but even with the added chaos, Itachi enjoyed his new brother, Sasuke. When his mother had first brought him home Itachi wasn't sure how to feel, but after a while, he began to enjoy the sight of his younger brother. After Sasuke's birth, Kushina began to visit more frequently, and she would always ask Mikoto the weirdest questions about Saskue's birth. This confused Itachi because from what he could tell Kushina wasn't expecting a child any time soon, but maybe she was prepping for if she ever decided to have a child.

Finished with his meditation session, he went downstairs to switch out one of the books he was borrowing from his father. When he reached the base of the stairs, he saw his mother grabbing her bag, and placing the strap over her shoulder.

Placing Sasuke into his crib Mikoto looked over at Itachi, "I'm heading to the market to pick up a few ingredients for dinner, could you look after your brother until I get back?" After receiving a nod from her eldest son, "Thank you, he's asleep right now so he shouldn't give you any trouble, but if you need something you can always go to Akura's house, she'll be able to help you." With one last smile to her precious boys, Mikoto left the house.

Itachi sat beside Sasuke, opening the book he had in his hands, yes, he had already read it once, but it wouldn't hurt to begin reading it through a second time while he waited for his mother to return. The book he was reading was about different clans' kekkei genkai, but he wasn't interested in most of them, only the one that he might develop in the future, the Sharingan. The book contained first-hand accounts of how different members of the clan had gotten their Sharingan, and what the author, an Uchiha, believed to be the biological cause. The author theorized that when an Uchiha is exposed to a traumatic enough event their brain releases a special chakra, which mixes with the adrenaline that would've been released earlier during the event. This usually causes temporary blindness for the Uchiha, before developing the Sharingan.

The sun was beginning to set, and his mother still wasn't anywhere in sight. It was starting to get dark out, but he wasn't worried, his mother was always back for dinner. Looking down at Sasuke, Itachi noticed that he began to stir, in his sleep. Opening his eyes, Sasuke began to wail, this was unusual since he was normally a quiet baby. Standing up to try and get Sasuke back to sleep, Itachi nearly fell over due to the ground violently shaking, followed by a loud explosion. Running over to the door Itachi looked outside only to see Konohagakure in flames. Were they under attack? Who was attacking them? It had to be Kumogakure since Iwagakure was still far too weak after their loss from Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. Closing the door Itachi didn't know what to do, he could stay put, but their current position didn't offer much protection, and if any Kumo Shinobi were to invade he wouldn't stand a chance. The only other option he had would be to leave and group up with some of the police force. However, this would mean that he had to leave the house and enter an unknown situation, this would also mean that if his mother was to return, she wouldn't know where they went. Deciding that staying on the move would be his best bet and that if Kumo shinobi had invaded then Mikoto might be pinned down and unable to make her way over to them, he decided that leaving was the best option.

Grabbing his bag, he put some canned food into it along with a small med kit that they kept in their kitchen for emergencies. Heading into his father's office he looked throughout the drawers, unable to find the item he was looking for. He prepared to leave, but before leaving, he noticed a small, black chest in the corner of the office. Walking over to the chest Itachi fumbled around with the handles a bit before opening it, inside was the exact object he was looking for. It was full of shuriken, and kunai, of all shapes and sizes, grabbing a kunai Itachi left the office. The cold steel felt unfamiliar in his hands, he had held a kunai before, but it was only with his father and only on rare occasions. Placing Sasuke into a baby-carrying harness, Itachi took one last look at his home and left.

Itachi had been walking for a little while, he could've easily crossed more distance, but he was trying to keep to the shadows, and edges of buildings. He had yet to see any more evidence of an attack, other than the frequent quakes, and smoke-filled air. Just as he hadn't seen any enemy shinobi yet, he hadn't seen any friendly shinobi either, it was almost as if they were hiding, or preoccupied. It didn't matter though, Itachi wasn't far from Konohagakure's Police station, and once he arrived there, he would have at least a few answers to his questions. Itachi was planning on cutting through a wooded area up ahead, after all, isn't that where the hidden leaf is supposed to excel? Itachi knew this forest well since it led to the training field he frequented, and since he had made a habit of trying a new path every week, he was very familiar with them. Hearing a strange noise Itachi stopped in his tracks, listening he found that the noise was coming from the left of them. Debating what he should do, since the noise could be a friend or foe, Itachi decided to get a bit closer to try and determine the source of the noise. Trying his best to sneak close without alarming them, he found out what was making the noise. It was a girl crying, she didn't appear to be injured, she had a few cuts and scrapes, but other than that she appeared unscathed. Taking a moment to fully examine the situation Itachi realized that she was the same girl that he had met a few months ago, in the training field not far from here.

Approaching Izumi slowly from the side, "It's not safe to stay here alone, you should come with us."

Looking over her shoulder at him, with tears in her eyes she tilted her head. Her eyes seemed to be wondering before they came to an answer, "Itachi?" He was the last person she thought she'd see out here, what was he doing out here?

He answered her question with a nod, "We're on our way to the police headquarter. It's fortified and should be capable of surviving attacks from enemy Shinobi. We'll be safer there."

This confused Izumi, why was he talking about enemy shinobi? And would the headquarters be capable of surviving an attack from that monster? "Enemy shinobi? We're not under attack from any other village."

This shocked him, if it wasn't a village that was attacking them then what was causing the fires, and quakes? "Whose attacking us then?" Could it be an insurrection, was Konohagakure at war with its people?

Looking down at the ground, "Not who, what. It's a beast as large as a mountain, and the swing from its tails takes out buildings."

"Tails?" he questioned, what kind of beast could be capable of this level of destruction? Remembering back to one of the books he read, it had mentioned something briefly about what the author referred to as 'tailed beasts'. It was only a brief mention to show the strength of the Mangekō Sharigan's genjustsu, but why would there be a tailed beast in Konohagakure? "Either way, we're sitting ducks here, and we need to keep moving, are you coming?" Offering her a hand.

Taking his hand, she stood up, "Thank you," it was at that moment that she noticed Sasuke sleeping on Itachi's back. Wiping the tears from her eyes she motioned towards Sasuke, "Can I hold him?" trying her best at puppy dog eyes.

Realizing that this was exactly what he needed to ensure her corporation, "You can hold him once we make it to the police headquarters." He thought about the decision he had just made, granting a somewhat stranger the ability to hold his baby brother. "Qs long as you don't make him start crying." He appended to the end; a bit more satisfied with his decision.

This caused a smile to form on her lips, "Then what are we waiting for?" Izumi proceeded to march in the direction she assumed the headquarters was.

Sighing and placing his hand on his head, "It's the other direction."

Switching the direction, she was going, "I knew that!"

They were nearing the headquarters, about half a mile back the air began to get extremely smoky, due to the burning buildings nearby. Konohagakure's streets were quiet, Itachi didn't know what to expect, but he wasn't expecting it to be this quiet, it was eerie. The building to the right of the headquarters had crumbled down, and the one on the left wasn't doing much better. Itachi had feeling in his gut seconds before he noticed the hunk of building about to land on Izumi. Without thinking he rushed forward pushing her to the ground. The concrete hunk fell a short distance away from them.

Arriving at their destination, Itachi pushed open the door. Heading inside he surveyed the room. It was smaller than what he remembered, and a lot messier, but the mess was probably a result of the quakes. The mess wasn't what surprised him, the surprising part, what concerned Itachi, was the fact that there wasn't anyone else in the building. The lights were out, and there wasn't a single sound that he could hear. This was odd because the police headquarters was one of a few locations around Konohagakure that civilians were instructed to occupy in the chance that they were invaded by another hidden village.

Deciding to search for any indication of where they should head next. Itachi went into the building, allowing Izumi in before shutting the door behind them. Itachi had been here a few times with his father, so he was able to navigate the building well. Going into one of the conference rooms he placed his bag on the table. Before glancing around.

Tugging on Itachi's sleeve, Izumi got his attention, "You said I could hold him once we got here." She whined with the best puppy-dog eyes she could muster.

Rolling his eyes, "If he starts to cry you have to hand him back." Itachi didn't like the idea of handing over his little brother to a stranger, but he would be close if anything happened. Besides, he didn't have the time to argue over the issue, he needed to decide what their next move should be.

Passing him over to Izumi, she took him carefully, looking down at his face "He's so adorable." She gushed. Little Sasuke didn't like leaving his brother's arms, causing him to wail loudly. Izumi rocked him gently, trying to hush him, but it wasn't working.

Taking Sasuke back, "You're moving too much, you need to be nice and slow." He instructed, rocking him slowly. This seemed to satisfy Sasuke and stopped his crying.

It frustrated Izumi that Sasuke preferred Itachi's company over hers, "I was rocking him perfectly fine." She huffed, "The only reason you were able to quite him is that he's familiar with you." Sitting down in one of the nearby chairs, she read some of the 'boring papers' laying on the table.

Hearing the front door open, Itachi placed Saskue onto a chair gently. Looking over at him Izumi began to ask "What are you…" before being cut off by him motioning for her to be quiet.

Walking over to his bag on the table he grabbed out the kunai he had brought with them. Holding the weapon in a reverse grip he prepared to leave the conference room. Itachi still wasn't convinced that the tailed beast wasn't released by an enemy village, who else would have a purpose of destroying Konohagakure. Peeking into the hallway, he didn't see anything, satisfied with this sight he walked out. Walking over to a right turn he placed his back flat against the wall and waited for someone to walk by. It didn't take long before heard footsteps nearing their location. Bending at the knees a little, Itachi prepared to attack the next person who walk around this corner. The steady noise of the person's feet hitting the ground grew louder as they got closer until he could see their shadow on the wall in front of him. Mentally counting to three Itachi jumped out at the stranger, slashing at their mid-section. His attack would have hit his opponent, if only they hadn't grabbed his wrist.

Looking up to see the face of his attacker he was preparing for the worst, he wasn't expecting to see such a familiar face, "Mother?"

Looking down at the grime-covered face of her son, Mikoto smiled, "Itachi!" Hugging her son, caused him to drop the kunai, "I'm so happy I found you." Releasing him from her death grip, she looked him over, examining every scratch, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm alright, Sasuke and I made it here before anything happened."

Mikito's eyes grew huge, surprised because her other son had slipped her mind, "Sasuke!? Where is he?"

Directing her into the small conference room, "He's right in here" He glanced over at his brother, sleeping so peacefully, no worries in the world.

Happy to see her youngest son unharmed Mikoto didn't even notice the fourth person in the room, until Itachi introduced her, "This is Izumi, we found her on our way here." Explaining the girl's presence.

Looking over at the younger girl, "So this is who I have to thank for keeping my precious boys unharmed."

This caused Izumi to giggle. The thought that she was protecting anyone washed over her with relief, "If it wasn't for your son, I would probably still be in the woods crying." Her eyes met the floor embarrassed by what she just admitted. Looking over at Itachi, she smiled, "He's the real hero of the day."

This caused Itachi to look away in embarrassment, "We were trying to figure out our next destination." Swiftly changing the subject.

Mikoto pretended to think for a moment, "We should probably head home, I'm sure those quakes caused quite the mess." Changing over to a more serious tone, "The attack is over, and I'm sure that everyone could use a good night's rest, it's been a long day."

By the time they had left the police headquarters most of the fires had been put out, and the smoke was beginning to dissipate. People had also once again begun to fill the streets, examining the damage caused by Kyubi, the demon fox.

Izumi stayed the night at their house, with the promise that Mikoto would help her find her parents the next day. Fugaku never returned home, but the idea that he died never crossed Itachi's mind, his father was just that good. As his eyes fluttered to sleep that night he was once again reminded of the promise he made to himself a year ago, he was going to be the end of this spiral of pain.

Chapter Words: 2,708

Story Words:5,652

Original A/N: I'm sorry if it seems like I rushed through these first two chapters, it's because I want Itachi to be older before he really begins being a shinobi, and I also want him to only be five years older than Sasuke. So, I needed to get certain events out of the way such as the Kyubi's attack.