Sasuke's min-nin gradually calms down over the course of their five-hour journey to the waterfall. Maybe that's because like Itachi the miniature shinobi has rationalized his brother is too skilled to have died in a mere bird crash. Or perhaps the min-nin is simply too tired to panic anymore.
Sasuke's counterpart is leaning against the jar wall like the only things keeping him up are pride and sheer strength of will, and he winces when Kisame and Itachi walk behind the waterfall to enter a short cavern. The rushing water likely resembles thunder to his little ears, so Itachi moves a bit faster down the tunnel until the waterfall is a dull thudding behind him. Kisame eyes Itachi curiously when he reaches the hideout entrance first—Itachi never was one to rush—before undoing the lock seals.
Itachi steps in quickly to avoid his partner's scrutiny, but only gets three feet inside before the blond on the couch springs up and strides over.
"Did you get it?" Deidara asks, approaching with an eager shine to his blue orbs while he rubs his hands together.
Itachi considers walking past him without a word, but already Deidara's eyes have landed on the jar, and soon he invades Itachi's personal space.
"Wow! It's real! Look at its little clothes and stuff, un!" The bomber bends over to examine the jar's occupant up-close, and Sasuke's min-nin pushes off the wall and backs up into the jar's center, glancing between Itachi and Deidara like he can't decide which would be worst to stand near.
"Heeey," Deidara squints, sending a critical look to Itachi, then the min-nin. "This thing kinda looks like you."
"That's because it's an Uchiha," Kisame enters and gestures to Sasuke's counterpart. "Technically it's Itachi's younger brother, just a miniature version of him."
"What!?" Deidara gapes, and Itachi leaves while Kisame explains everything to the bomber.
He slips into a side tunnel, briefly stopping by the restroom to grab what he needs from the medicine cabinet, and walking on until he reaches the third bedroom.
Itachi closes the door behind him and turns to the square table jammed in the corner. He sets the jar on it next to the long glass container already there.
Sasuke's counterpart glares at the cage, realizing Itachi plans to put him in it, and squares his shoulders like he's gearing up for a fight while Itachi places down the rubbing alcohol bottle, bandage roll, ointment jar, and cotton swab.
Itachi wishes he could simply place the min-nin in the cage and be done with it. However, the tiny shinobi is injured and Itachi can't leave him with a rudimentary splint. That's just asking for an infection to develop.
Still, Itachi knows this experience will be unpleasant for the both of them as he opens the jar and snatches the min-nin up.
The shinobi struggles instantly, squirming and bucking within his hold so violently it appears he's having a seizure. Itachi has to tighten his grip to ensure the min-nin doesn't slip out, and when the tiny ninja rears his head back, Itachi presses his thumb lightly under his chin so he can't dip his head down and bite him.
"Calm down. I need to treat your leg," Itachi says in case the min-nin can understand and be reasoned with.
Yet, he either doesn't hear him or doesn't care because Sasuke's counterpart gnashes his teeth and tilts his head aside to gnaw at Itachi's thumb, but Itachi presses a little harder on the min-nin's neck until he can't move his head at all. Then Itachi waits, unmoving while the teenager continues to wrench against his fingers, his tiny nails scraping at Itachi's palm and his chest heaving against Itachi's fingers.
Itachi is considering placing the min-nin under a genjutsu before he hurts himself when the little Uchiha starts to slow, his wild bucks dwindling into sporadic spasms. Soon the shinobi's energy is completely spent, and he sags, panting so heavily Itachi can hear his every breath.
Itachi waits ten seconds after the min-nin's last futile scratch at his hand before removing his thumb from his throat. The min-nin of course tries to nip him, but Itachi merely pushes back his neck again, and asks, "Are you almost done?"
Sasuke's counterpart glares death at him, but Itachi ignores this, explaining. "I'm going to treat your leg. The less you struggle, the sooner I can let you go."
The little Sasuke's expression doesn't change, and Itachi sighs as he lowers the min-nin onto the table, laying him flat on his back and pressing his hand firmly over the small shinobi's torso so he can't rise.
Sasuke's counterpart writhes under his fingers, growling when Itachi tugs up his cloak with his free hand until the min-nin's injured leg is exposed. He waits for the little Sasuke to simmer down before untying the twig from his leg.
The min-nin's breath hitches, face draining of color and expression contorting with pain despite how carefully Itachi extracts the twig from his limb. Then setting it aside, Itachi opens the alcohol bottle, picks up the cotton swab, and dips the tip in the liquid before gently running the cotton up and down the min-nin's leg, cleaning away dirt and sand grains. While letting his leg dry, Itachi dunks the other end of the swab in the jar of light green ointment and repeats the process.
Once he's finished, Itachi checks the min-nin's face for any signs of pain, but the tiny shinobi is staring off into space, clearly trying to pretend this isn't happening. Itachi understands, he wouldn't appreciate being manhandled either, especially by an enemy ninja. Frankly, this probably hurts the min-nin's pride more than anything.
Quickly Itachi pulls the small, gray accessory from his cloak pocket. It's a plastic leg splint, an item from a dress-up doll collection, but when Itachi saw it in the Suna-nin's shop, he figured it would fit the min-nin well enough.
The little Sasuke shudders when Itachi sets his broken leg in the splint and secures it with the velcro straps, but otherwise doesn't react until Itachi picks him up. The min-nin claws at Itachi's knuckles since Itachi didn't trap his arms this time, but Itachi ignores the minor pain as he sets the min-nin in the glass cage. The small shinobi limps away immediately while Itachi secures the plastic lid over it, making sure the chakra-restraint activates.
"Try to stay off your leg unless it's necessary," Itachi tells the miniature Sasuke, though the teenager doesn't look back as he examines the other objects in the cage. "I will provide water and nourishment for you later."
The min-nin still doesn't look back, which is fine. It hurts seeing any Sasuke's face so full of bitterness and hate when Itachi knows it's his fault his sweet little brother turned out so wrathful.
Itachi turns, grabbing the ointment and bandages and walking over to his bed. He removes his cloak, sits on the mattress edge, and scoops up a glob of ointment, rubbing it over the blisters on his arm where the miniature Sasuke electrocuted him.
He pretends not to notice the min-nin watching him as he winds a strip of bandage around his arm to help the ointment stay on and lessen the pain while the injury heals.
When he's finished, Itachi puts his cloak back on, gathers all the medical supplies, and leaves the room without looking back.
—
Sasuke watches Oki-Itachi depart with a blank expression, but once the bedroom door closes, he scowls. "He deserved it." Sasuke crosses his arms. "I should have fried his whole body." The Chibi growls, remembering how Oki-Itachi had the gall to sound disappointed when he asked, "Are you almost done?"
As if Sasuke was an unruly child throwing a tantrum and not a shinobi trying to escape his missing-nin captors.
Sasuke seethes. "Lecturing me like he's my brother..."
The Chibi freezes the second the words leave his mouth, recalling the sight of his brother's crow spiraling out of the night sky and crashing into the earth with a sickening crack. Sasuke hasn't eaten since yesterday, but his stomach churns at the possibility his dear brother might be de—
Sasuke shakes his head. No. Nii-san isn't dead. He can't be. Their plan might have gone awry, but Itachi is a fast-thinker, he would have thought of something when his crow started to fall.
But if Itachi is fine, why hasn't he come for me?
The question causes Sasuke to fall against the glass wall, sliding down it until he sits with his legs stretched out and hands balled in his lap. Please. Surely that time in the shop wouldn't be his last memory of his brother...
.
"I'm going to create a shadow clone once the chakra-restraint wears off," Itachi says, eyeing the seal on the glass container. "My clone will create a diversion to help you escape, but if he can't get you out, I will have already escaped and shall be waiting outside." He turns to Sasuke, who is watching attentively from his seat on the floor. "I will summon a crow once all of my chakra returns and follow the missing-nin who buys you. When their guard is down, I will place them under a genjutsu and free you."
Sasuke nods, but is frowning. "And if I can't get my sandal in place, if we both get caught?"
Itachi lowers himself and catches his brother's chin, gently tilting it up. "Have a little faith in yourself, Sasuke, and trust me. We'll get home, no matter what."
Sasuke feels his face warm, and he looks away as his brother lets him go. "I know, Nii-san," he rubs the back of his neck and musters a smile, "I always trust you."
.
Sasuke doesn't want that to be the last time he ever sees Itachi. It can't be. It can't.
Sasuke braces himself against the wall and stands, searching the cage. It's obvious the missing-nin were planning to procure a Chibi shinobi for some time now because there's a beanbag next to a piece of cloth stuffed in the corner that is probably supposed to be his bedding, and two empty plastic bowls on the other side of the cage. As if he's a pet gerbil in need of feeding.
Sasuke rolls his eyes, but his expression falls when he realizes there's nothing here that can help him escape. He can't jump high enough to reach the ceiling, and even if he stacked all the "furniture" to reach the cover, the Chibi doubts he could lift it.
The small ninja hobbles over to the green beanbag and sits on the plush cushion, sinking back and closing his eyes. He's tired, hungry, injured, and trapped. His only hope is his brother who might be dead, and maybe that's why when he falls asleep, he dreams of the day he first met Itachi.
.
Sasuke was born like every Chibi, on the day his Oki counterpart first uses chakra, which in Sasuke's case is when the Oki produces a tiny flame under his father's guidance at age four.
Chibi-Sasuke wakes up four-years old at the edge of a lake under a foggy gray sky, blinking groggily as he sits up. His brand new body fails him when he first tries to stand and he splashes back into the shallow water, getting mud on his shorts and gravel in his hair. Wet now, Sasuke shivers as he rises and instinctively heads to the tall grass on a nearby hill to avoid being seen by humans.
While he climbs up the incline, tripping often but determined to reach the top, brief images of a man and woman with dark eyes and fair skin flash across his mind next to a boy of similar appearance.
His parents, a voice in his head supplies.
Next, a snapshot of a bedroom with an open window and wooden shuriken littering the floor pops up, and Sasuke knows it's his destination, but the image fades when Sasuke spots an older boy standing by the base of a tree. He has four kunai in his hand, poised like he's about to throw them at the tree trunk until he notices Sasuke and they slip from his fingers as he gapes.
"Nii-san?" Sasuke calls instinctively, and the older boy rushes over, dropping to his knees once he reaches him.
"Sasuke," his big brother smiles widely, settling his hand on Sasuke's hair. "We've been waiting for you."
"You have?" Sasuke cocks his head. "Sorry I made you wait."
Itachi shakes his head. "No, don't worry about it, all Chibi come at their own time."
"Chibi?" Sasuke asks, but Itachi just gets up and reaches down to take Sasuke's muddy hand.
"Let's go home, Sasuke." Itachi beams, and his hand is so warm Sasuke never wants to let go, but he has to when his new body fails him halfway to their house. Though it turns out for the best when Itachi carries him the rest of the way, and Sasuke's whole body warms up as he nuzzles into his brother's chest.
Their parents are surprised to see him, but Mother quickly gets over her shock to gush at how cute Sasuke is. Father is disappointed Sasuke hadn't arrived earlier—Itachi showed up when he was three and walked himself home without help—but eventually welcomes the newest addition to their family.
Itachi doesn't let Sasuke go for the rest of the day, except while he bathes to rid himself of the mud, and when Sasuke asks why, Itachi grins and says, "I'm just so happy to be your big brother."
.
Sasuke jerks awake, coughing and choking on the humid air while a couple of tears trickle down his face. Though he can't produce anymore teardrops when his whole body feels drier than a prune in the desert.
Through the haze of dehydration and his violent coughing fit, Sasuke sees the little water bowl has been filled. He stumbles up, but the world fades in and out, and he regrets not eating those granola crumbs earlier because he thinks he might pass out before he can drink the water.
Still, Sasuke forces himself to put one foot forward after another, swaying with every step. For some reason the water bowl looks like it's getting farther the more distance he crosses, and Sasuke is worried this means the water is a mirage, but if it is, it doesn't really matter, because Sasuke doesn't make it halfway across the cage before he falls in what feels like slow-motion.
Suddenly large fingers hook around his waist, catching him, and Sasuke blinks blearily at the painted fingernails—purple nail polish really isn't this guy's color.
The two fingers gently urge Sasuke ahead and he stumbles foreward, draped over the two fingers like they're a crutch. Together they slowly make their way to the water bowl, and upon reaching it, Sasuke cups his trembling hands and dips them in the cool liquid, bringing the water to his lips and practically inhaling the too small drink. He takes a dozen more sips, soothing his throat and filling his belly until he's so full of water he likens a ship about to capsize.
Breathing hard from the overexertion, Sasuke just hangs for a minute, completely immobile atop the fingers. However, as his mind clears, Sasuke realizes the fingers are an oddity, so trails them up until he sees Oki-Itachi standing over the open cage. For a moment, Sasuke is too shocked to do anything, but then he remembers all the other times Oki-Itachi helped him today and grows confused. Oki-Itachi made sure Sasuke was warmed by the fire last night, tried to share his granola bar with him, and even went out of his way to find a splint that fit his Chibi leg. Why was the human being so nice?
It must be a trick. I shouldn't fall for it.
Sasuke doesn't understand why he's so distrustful of Oki-Itachi until he recalls everything that happened before today.
.
Sasuke is eight-years old when the Chibi Uchiha run out of food. The Third Hokage offers to help, and many of the other Chibi clans offer a portion of their meals to the Uchiha. Yet Fugaku is stubborn, and will not accept charity. Not until the former Hokage stops by their house, Minato's tan face graying at the sight of Sasuke's bony body.
The blond slams his hands on the table, and hisses. "Fugaku-san," Minato glares, "Do not let pride be what kills your clan." His face softens. "At least let us feed the children."
Fugaku relents, accepting the food for the children and the civilian Uchiha. However, he sends out their shinobi population to hunt and gather, but it's hard to take down even a squirrel when most of the Uchiha have lost the majority of their chakra.
For the Chibi and Oki are connected, and when their Oki counterparts die, much of the Chibi Uchiha's chakra dies with them.
It begins with Shisui, who loses his Sharingan in one eye the day his Oki counterpart perishes, and now only has enough chakra to perform some jutsu and a single summoning. Similarly, Izumi can't use her Sharingan at all, and a few other Uchiha share her infirmity, while the rest of the clan can only maintain their Sharingan for a few minutes.
Sasuke and Itachi are the only ones unaffected, and now talk follows them everywhere. For Sasuke, there are offers to train him and pass down secret Uchiha ninjutsu since Sasuke might be the last Uchiha child with full strength. However, for Itachi, it's all suspicious mummers and hushed accusations.
Glares now follow Itachi everywhere in the compound, as do whispers like—
"Will he kill us too?"
"I bet he conspired with his Oki!"
Itachi never wavers under their distrust, and doesn't even bat an eye when a group of Uchiha warn Shisui right in front of him to stay away from Itachi because, "We all know his Oki killed Shisui's counterpart, he'll do the same to you."
Sasuke hates himself for being the one to tell his clan what Oki-Itachi did, even though other Chibi Uchiha reported seeing Itachi's counterpart kill the Oki Uchiha too, but eventually Sasuke just hates Oki-Itachi. He hates the human for making his clan starve, for causing so many deaths because hunting is dangerous when most of their shinobi can barely use their Sharingan, and a lot of the civilians aren't strong enough to protect themselves from the animals that break into their now abandoned homes.
Chibi Uchiha life is tough these days, and Oki-Itachi is too far and powerful to hold responsible, so all the blame falls on Sasuke's brother.
It's why Father sends Itachi away when Sasuke is eight. The clan has decided to split up to make life easier on everybody. Half of them will travel to the city of Sora-ku where the clan has a pact with the ninja cats there, who promise to protect and provide for them. The rest will stay in Konoha.
Itachi, because he is the clan heir and strongest Chibi Uchiha, is the perfect candidate to lead the group in Sora-ku while Fugaku manages the ones in Konoha. Sasuke wants to go with his brother, like Shisui and Izumi volunteered to, but since Sasuke is the only other Uchiha with unimpaired chakra, Father wants him to stay in Konoha so the power is balanced for both groups.
Sasuke cries the whole night before Itachi's departure, and in the morning, refuses to let his brother go. Their parents have to pry him off Itachi, Sasuke kicking and screaming the whole time, but Itachi can't leave his little brother in such a state, so he takes Sasuke in his arms and walks over to the docks at the lake.
He sits on the edge and hugs Sasuke tight while the eight-year old bawls into his shoulder. "It's my fault they're sending you away! I shouldn't have told them what Oki-Itachi did! That's why everyone hates you, Nii-san, it's all my fault!"
Itachi rubs circles on his back and tells Sasuke he is not to blame. When the sky darkens Sasuke knows their time has come to an end and he thinks he's all out of tears until Itachi presses their foreheads together and vows. "I will always love you."
Then Itachi takes him home, and Sasuke watches him disappear into the tunnel beneath the gnarled tree root leading the crowd of Uchiha to Sora-ku. Sasuke watches until the last Uchiha disappears into the tunnel, and even after that, Sasuke lingers.
Itachi doesn't return to Konoha for five years, and Sasuke doesn't see him again until he's thirteen.
.
Sasuke's hands curl around the fingers holding him, hate boiling his blood and rage ravaging his mind. It's Oki-Itachi's fault his clan has fallen so far. It's his fault the Chibi Uchiha clan have to fight for every meal. It's his fault Nii-san was banished for five years, and now his brother might be dead because Oki-Itachi sat back and watched the sharkman kill him.
Sasuke wrenches off the human hand and chomps hard on the Oki's finger. He bites until he breaks through skin, and only once he sees a line of blood welling does Sasuke let go and back up to glare at Oki-Itachi.
The human's face is devoid of expression, as if he doesn't feel anything, and the Oki doesn't, does he? Because Oki-Itachi is a cold-hearted, unfeeling monster and Sasuke hates him. He will always hate him, and shall never forgive him.
Oki-Itachi doesn't say anything while he pulls his hand out of the container and puts the lid back on. Sasuke expects him to leave then, but Oki-Itachi stares at him for a moment before he whispers, "I am sorry, for everything, Little Sasuke."
Sasuke's eyes widen, but already Oki-Itachi is heading out the room and shutting the door behind him, leaving the Chibi to stare after him in stunned confusion.
—
Itachi walks into his bedroom and immediately looks over to the glass cage. Approaching the square table, he's surprised to see the min-nin asleep on the beanbag, but Sasuke's counterpart did expend a lot of energy fighting Itachi, and was undoubtedly tired prior to their altercation. Still, it amazes Itachi to see his little face so relaxed, the lack of a scowl shaving years off the min-nin until he resembles a young child. Itachi wonders if his own brother looks this innocent when he sleeps, but snips the thought before it can go further.
Itachi turns away from the min-nin, and his eyes land on the empty bowls. He soon decides now would be the best time to fill them, so quietly removes the cage lid and takes one of the plastic basins, filling it with water from the kitchen sink. He's setting the bowl back inside the cage, and pondering which food item to put into the other bowl, when the little Sasuke's face twitches. Itachi thinks it's because he was being too loud, but the min-nin starts crying and Itachi realizes he's having a nightmare.
The twenty-year old doesn't get to decide whether to intervene as the boy suddenly wakes up coughing and wheezing. The tiny shinobi appears dazed, squinting and teetering when he stands without noticing Itachi's looming presence above him. Instinctively Itachi catches the little ninja as he falls because for a moment all Itachi saw was his kid brother tripping over his two feet in his eagerness to catch up with Itachi, and he doesn't want Sasuke to get scraped knees.
Itachi continues to assist the shinobi until the min-nin is properly hydrated, though he's concerned when the little shinobi remains in a stupor. However, his expression slowly morphs into one of clarity, and it's all too evident the moment when Sasuke's counterpart recognizes him, rage swiftly replacing his docile features. Yet Itachi doesn't stop him from biting his finger because Itachi understands the min-nin is just scared and frustrated. It's obvious min-nin think and feel no differently from humans. Yet, Itachi helped to trap and capture the min-nin as if he was an animal. While not the worst crime Itachi has committed since he became a missing-nin, because it's Sasuke—his little brother's face glaring up at him—and the tiny shinobi probably won't understand anyway, Itachi apologizes.
Then he bolts. Itachi walks briskly through the tunnel feeling off-kilter because his words to the min-nin were one of the most honest things he's said in a long time. There's also the name that slipped out, "Little Sasuke," which bothers him, and the question of why Itachi called the min-nin such an affectionate term.
Soon Itachi is standing outside by the waterfall, attempting to calm his racing heart. His chest twinges with the urge to cough due to his illness being aggravated whenever he exerts himself, but Itachi holds it in while he stares up at the twilight orange sky.
Yet Itachi can't properly appreciate the pinks and yellows of the setting sun before a dark spot in the bright horizon captures his attention.
The Uchiha holds out his arm once the crow is near, allowing it to land.
"Did you find him?" Itachi asks.
The bird cranes its neck to drop something small and leathery in Itachi's palm. Itachi looks down to see a miniature saddle in his hand.
"This was all you found?" He doesn't look up as the crow caws an affirmative, and Itachi dismisses the summon while he ponders the evidence.
That's the second crow Itachi has sent to his counterpart's crash site. He was hoping to retrieve the injured min-nin in secret, but it seems his counterpart might not need his help. Though there is a possibility the min-nin's body was already eaten by scavengers, but the dead crow's body remains untouched so Itachi finds that unlikely.
Itachi faces the sinking sun again before looking down at the drop of blood racing down his forefinger.
"You and I are flesh and blood. I'm always going to be there for you... Even if you do hate me. That's what big brothers are for."
Itachi stares off into the darkening sky and wonders how much longer he must wait until he finds permanent relief at his little brother's hands.
Thank you everyone who reviewed and supports this story, it always makes me happy seeing what you guys have to say :D
Next time: Sasuke is still confused by Oki-Itachi, and has a strange encounter with 'Tobi'...
See ya at the next sporadic update! ;)
