Chapter 7

AN: Hey guys, sorry it took awhile to make another chapter, school work got in the way! Anyway, here's another chapter! Enjoy!

Itachi: age 13

Sasuke: age 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

It was a sunny morning in Konoha and Sasuke was on his way to the academy with a slight pout upon his features. He didn't want to go to the academy today, or any day for that matter. Which was kind of strange, considering how Sasuke actually enjoyed going to the academy.

No, he didn't feel sick, nor was he falling behind on his school work. The reason behind this was because he was being bullied.

Sure, he was popular with the girls, but there were a few other children who despised the young Uchiha.

The bullying wasn't too extreme. It usually came from a group of three older boys, probably around Itachi's age. By the looks of it, they haven't been able to graduate from the academy. So most likely, the bullying is coming from jealousy.

They would insult Sasuke, and make fun of him behind his back. Sasuke knew he shouldn't be paying any attention to those losers, but the insults were slowly getting on his nerves.

When Sasuke arrived at the academy, he took a seat and prepared for the day ahead of him.

Shuriken training had just ended, and everyone was given 30 minutes of free time outside. The day has been good so far, none of the bullies have bothered him yet.

Sasuke smirked as hope filled his chest. Maybe they moved on to pick on someone else.

"Hey, Uchiha!"

Sasuke frowned. Nevermind.

He knew who that voice belonged to. It was one of the bullies.

Sasuke turned around, glaring daggers at the boy in front of him.

"Why are you all alone, duckbutt? Are you having trouble making friends, you emo little bastard?" the boy jeered. "I don't get what anyone sees in you. You're just a pathetic wimp."

Sasuke became annoyed, he really wasn't in the mood to deal with this.

"At least I'm graduating soon." Sasuke spat, still glaring. "Unlike you."

The smug look on the boy's face disappeared and was replaced by a look of anger.

"What did you say, brat?" the boy roared.

He suddenly launched a punch at Sasuke, who easily dodged and gave the boy a hard side kick to the stomach as a counterattack, causing him to fall over.

"Oww…." he said, glaring up at Sasuke.

Sasuke just nonchalantly put his hands in his pockets, and walked away with a smirk, pleased he got to teach his bully a lesson.

"I'll get you for that, Uchiha." the boy said, glaring at Sasuke's back. "I'll make sure I do."

The rest of the day went without a hitch. The bullies didn't bother Sasuke for the rest of the day, making Sasuke feel proud of himself.

The young raven was on his way home, with a big grin on his face. Itachi should be coming back from a mission today, and he couldn't wait to see him.

As he was walking home, Sasuke spotted the bully from before coming towards him.

Sasuke glared at him.

I thought I took care of him already. Sasuke thought, angrily.

"Hey, Uchiha." the boy said with a sly grin on his face.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.

"Hey, hey, hey, you don't have to be mean now. I just wanted to get even."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, skeptically. This kid would be no match for the young Uchiha.

"It's true I probably would have no chance against you alone..." the bully began. " But I wonder...are you able to fight against all three of us?"

Just then, two other boys came up behind Sasuke and grabbed him, dragging him to a forest where they couldn't be seen.

They threw Sasuke's bag on the ground and two of the boys restricted his movements and covered his mouth. Sasuke tried to break free from their hold, but their grip was too tight.

The seven year old scowled at the leader who was in front of him. The boy then gave Sasuke a sharp kick to the stomach causing a small cry of pain to escape his lips.

The other boys laughed.

"How does that feel, Uchiha?" the leader taunted, kicking him again.

Sasuke tried his hardest not to show weakness. But when he received a really strong punch in a particularly sensitive area, he couldn't help but cry out in pain once more, causing the boys to laugh.

Sasuke hated this. He hated how the bullies found such happiness in his suffering. He hated himself for being so weak, what would his family think of him?

He hated himself even more when he felt tears well up in his eyes. But he refused to let them fall.

After mercilessly abusing the young Uchiha, they finally released him. Having no strength to hold himself up, Sasuke promptly fell to the ground.

The leader went up to Sasuke's face.

"If you tell anyone about this...I'll kill you." the boy threatened. After giving Sasuke one last kick to the stomach, the leader and his friends walked away laughing.

Sasuke laid there on the ground, feeling defeated. His body ached so much from all the brutal beating. A single tear rolled down his face and he gritted his teeth in frustration for being so weak.

After lying there for a few minutes trying to compose himself, Sasuke mustered up all the strength he had and got up. He gathered his stuff and limped his way back home.

Once he got home, Sasuke went straight to his room, not even bothering to announce that he came back. He was all dirty and probably covered with bruises.

All the feelings he had felt before came rushing back and he couldn't stop the tears that began to roll down his face. He couldn't believe what just happened. The more he thought about it, the harder he cried. He was so weak! So pathetic! He was probably the only Uchiha who couldn't save himself from a school bully.

No matter what, he couldn't let anyone know about this, especially his family. They would disown him if they found out.

But, he felt so lonely. This was way too much for him to handle. He wanted so badly for someone to be there for him, to comfort him.

Itachi was the first one to come to mind.

Sasuke shook his head. Even if he did tell his brother, the death threat the bully gave sounded serious. If that boy was capable of doing this, who knows what else he could do. So the young Uchiha decided to keep this to himself.

Dinnertime rolled around, and the Uchiha family was sitting around the table enjoying dinner. Itachi came home and was currently talking with his father about a mission.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had his eyes locked in his plate, not daring to look up. He was trying his hardest not to start balling his eyes out in front of everyone. Most of the pain from earlier had subsided, but there was this heart wrenching feeling in his chest that refused to go away.

The little Uchiha did a good job of hiding his injuries with his clothing and hair, so no one had noticed anything.

Sasuke was almost done eating when Itachi glanced over at him, realizing that his otouto had been awfully quiet. He couldn't help but also notice the downcast expression on his face.

"Are you ok, Sasuke?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke froze. He could feel everyone's eyes on him and it made him uncomfortable. After a few seconds, making sure he wouldn't burst into tears, Sasuke answered.

"I'm fine…" He barely choked out. "Just tired."

Itachi wasn't convinced at all. He was about to continue questioning him, when their father interrupted and started to talk to him again.

Sasuke quickly got up and put his dishes away before his brother got a chance to examine him. He started walking towards his room, his head tilted downward so his bangs could hide his face. As he left the kitchen, Sasuke felt the older Uchiha's worried stare drilling into him, but he didn't look back.

Two weeks had passed and the same thing happened everyday after school. The bullies would continue abusing the Uchiha, and Sasuke would go home and lock himself in his room, not being able to face his family.

This gradually made Sasuke feel depressed and he couldn't get a goodnight's sleep due to the discomfort his injuries gave him.

Sasuke couldn't take it anymore, he needed to tell someone. He needed someone's help. After thinking long and hard, he decided he was going to tell Itachi. Even if he would think poorly of him...

Meanwhile, although no one else noticed, Itachi knew something was wrong. His otouto hasn't been acting like himself lately and not knowing what the problem bothered him a lot. Sasuke usually told him everything.

The prodigy was just about to head off to go train with his ANBU team, when Sasuke came up to him with his hands behind his back and his gaze locked on the floor.

Taking a closer look at his brother, Itachi noticed bags under his otouto's eyes and how pale he had become. He obviously hasn't been getting enough sleep.

"Good morning otouto." Itachi greeted.

"Good morning nii-san. Are you busy today?" Sasuke asked, his voice almost nervous sounding.

"I have to train with my team for most of the day and I won't be home till later." Itachi replied.

"Oh...then, nevermind." Sasuke said quickly. He was about to walk away when Itachi stopped him.

"Wait, otouto." he began. "You know you can tell me anything right?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Was there anything you needed?" Itachi asked, hoping Sasuke would open up to him. "Because I'm here if you need anything. It's my job to be."

Sasuke hesitated.

"I was just wondering if we could...talk." Sasuke answered, reluctantly.

Relief flooded through the prodigy's chest, this was just what he was looking for. But the relief suddenly disappeared when he realized the timing couldn't be any worse.

"I would love to talk, otouto, but I have training and you have to go to the academy. So how about we talk when I get back from training? You should be home by then."

"Ok, Ita-nii." Sasuke answered.

Itachi smiled, it's been a while since Sasuke has called him "Ita-nii".

"Have a good day at the academy otouto." Itachi said, ruffling Sasuke's hair.

With a final wave, the prodigy walked out the door.

Sasuke felt a little better knowing that he was going to tell Itachi about the bullying, meaning this nightmare would end soon.

Once class was dismissed, Sasuke rushed as fast as he could home, hoping the bullies wouldn't get to him.

Sasuke thought that he was off the hook, but he then felt himself being dragged into that same forest for what felt like the hundredth time that week.

Sasuke was violently thrown on the ground as pain shot through his body.

He looked up and saw all the bullies towering over him.

"You didn't think you could get away from us now, did you?" the leader spoke up with an evil grin on his face, kicking Sasuke in the ribs.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, couldn't take this anymore. Anger coursed through him as he quickly stood up, ignoring his throbbing injuries.

He came at them at full power and one by one, he used some offensive techniques he recalled his brother teaching him in the past. He was just about to escape when he felt excruciating pain all over his right arm.

The young Uchiha fell to his knees, clutching his arm. He looked over to find a large gash rip along his arm, coating his small hand in blood.

Where did this come from? Sasuke thought, wincing at the pain.

He looked up to see the leader holding a kunai laced with his blood.

"You're really stubborn, aren't you. That's what you get for being difficult." The leader said. "And there will be more where that came from."

Sasuke's eyes widened in fear. Who was he kidding? These boys were older and stronger than him, and outnumbered him greatly. There was no way he could beat them.

The small raven watched as the two other boys got up from the ground and gripped onto him tightly. The strikes he received this time were much worse than the ones before. He felt too weak and sore to struggle against them. He could feel his consciousness slowly slipping away from him.

All he could do now was hope someone would save him.

Itachi was on his way to his house from a long and tiresome training session. However, he was determined to get home so he can finally know what was bothering Sasuke.

When Itachi walked through the door, he expected Sasuke to be eagerly waiting for him, greeting him with a warm hug. He wasn't surprised when Sasuke didn't come, however. He's been acting really strange lately.

Anxious to help his brother return to his happy, cheerful self, Itachi headed to his room to change out of his uniform and look for him.

After changing, Itachi looked around for his brother. He had checked his room but he wasn't there. Sasuke would surely be home by now, it was almost dinner time.

Itachi decided to look in the kitchen. He was met with the sight of his mother finishing up dinner, but no Sasuke.

"Hi, kaa-san." Itachi greeted.

"Oh! Itachi! Thank goodness you're here. Sasuke hasn't returned home yet and I'm getting worried about him." Mikoto said, concern written on her face.

Itachi immediately felt the same worrying feeling shoot through his heart after he heard his mother's words. It wasn't like Sasuke to come home late. What if something happened to him?

"I'll go look for him." Itachi said, giving his mother a reassuring look.

The prodigy then rushed out the door and began searching for his brother. He checked the park and the academy, but he was nowhere to be seen. Worry gripped onto Itachi's heart even tighter. Where would Sasuke run off to?

The prodigy closed his eyes as began searching for his brother's chakra signature.

It was faint, but Itachi found it in a small forest nearby, along with three other chakra signatures. Itachi raced towards the forest, keeping his eyes locked on his destination.

When the older Uchiha reached the forest, he could hear noises coming from within. His feet instinctively wandered further before they came to an abrupt halt.

He found Sasuke.

However, that worry that has been eating away at Itachi's heart suddenly turned into a bubbling rage as he witnessed what played before him.

His poor brother was being beaten mercilessly before his very eyes and looked like he could lose consciousness at any second. He saw as his baby brother tried to struggle against it, but there was no more strength left in his body. What made it worse was that the boys beating him up were so much older. Don't they have any sense of humanity?

Itachi gritted his teeth in anger as he couldn't take anymore of this.

In a flash, the prodigy appeared in front of Sasuke with crimson eyes scowling at the boys that stood before him. He watched as they all took a step back in confusion and resisted the urge to beat the living daylights out of every single one of them.

"Who are you?" The leader spat.

"Do you find it fun abusing those younger than you?" Itachi asked, completely ignoring the leader's question.

The leader scoffed. "Get out of our way, this has nothing to do with you."

He took a step and was about to push Itachi out of the way when one of the other boys stopped him.

"Wait," the boy said fearfully. "Don't you know who that is?"

The leader rolled his eyes. "Yeah, another jerk from the Uchiha clan. Most likely that loser's older brother."

"But he's not some ordinary clan member," the boy replied, his voice trembling. "That's Itachi Uchiha, the Uchiha clan's prodigy."

The leader eyed Itachi up and down angrily, giving the older Uchiha the overwhelming urge to poke both his eyes out and give him a good kick in the head.

"So what?" The leader answered.

"You don't understand." The boy continued. "He is extremely skilled and is already a team leader in the ANBU Black Ops, despite being our age. He has assassinated thousands of shinobi in this past month alone."

"You mean past week? " The prodigy corrected, his tone dark.

Itachi would never brag about these things, especially since it goes against his will of peace. However, if just talking about it can inflict any feeling of terror in these boys, he would gladly share his experiences.

"W-who cares." The leader stuttered slightly, fear hidden in his voice. "You don't scare me. I'll show you!"

The older Uchiha watched as the boy in front of him pulled out a kunai, and almost laughed.

The leader came running towards Itachi with his kunai thrusted forward. However, the prodigy simply kicked the kunai out of the boy's hand, sending it up in the air.

The older Uchiha then jumped, his body twisting in mid-air, and gracefully caught the kunai. He landed silently behind the leader as he held the kunai against his throat.

Itachi couldn't help but feel satisfied when he saw the boy's face change to a look of fear as he struggled to distance his throat from the sharp kunai.

"I trust that you will never lay a finger on my brother again, let alone look at him. That is, unless you want trouble." The prodigy said, his voice laced with pure malice that would scare anyone. "Do I make myself clear?"

The leader's breathing became shallow as he nodded his head vigorously. "V-very. Please, just let us go."

Itachi pulled his kunai away and watched as all three of the boys ran out of the forest.

He normally wouldn't have been that violent, but Itachi thought this way was more fun. They deserved it anyway, especially after what they did to Sasuke.

As if he forgot what this whole thing was about, the older Uchiha swiftly turned around and rushed over to his brother who was still facedown on the ground.

Itachi knelt down beside Sasuke as a heart wrenching feeling washed over him. His poor brother was still trembling as he gripped onto the grass like his life depended on it.

"Otouto." The older Uchiha said gently as he ran a soothing hand through Sasuke's hair.

Itachi then carefully lifted his brother off the ground and pulled him into an embrace. He immediately felt Sasuke's small frame relax as his little hands gripped onto him.

The prodigy rubbed circles on his sibling's back as he couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty. He should've known that this was happening. He should've acted when he first noticed Sasuke acting strange.

But he didn't.

And because of that, his poor brother had to go through this alone.

After a couple more seconds of silence, Itachi lifted his brother and gently placed him down against a tree without saying a word.

He then examined the injuries on his brother's arms and legs and noticed a particularly big wound on his right arm. Itachi unwrapped the bandages around his ankles and wrapped it around Sasuke's arm to stop the bleeding.

The prodigy then looked up at his brother's face and saw nothing but shame and sadness, completely destroying his heart.

"Otouto, where else did they hurt you?" He asked tenderly.

Sasuke simply looked down at his lap, not wanting to answer the elder's question. Itachi sighed as he placed his fingers underneath his brother's chin and lifted his head gently.

"Sasuke, please. I'm only trying to help you otouto." Itachi said as he searched those big, obsidian eyes for an answer.

Sasuke merely averted his gaze and remained silent.

Itachi sighed.

He pushed his brother's bangs out of his face and revealed bruises on Sasuke's cheeks and forehead, making him frown. He then lifted Sasuke's shirt revealing tons of bruises all over his torso, causing him to sigh inwardly.

He felt a familiar rage fill his chest as he thought about who did this to his brother, but quickly suppressed it. Instead, a suffocating feeling replaced it as he thought about how much pain Sasuke went through.

"How long has this been happening?" Itachi asked, his gaze never leaving his brother's bruised torso.

Sasuke hesitated.

"...About two weeks."

Itachi's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Sasuke, why didn't you tell me about this?" Itachi asked, putting down Sasuke's shirt.

He looked up to meet his brother's gaze, only to be met with tears rapidly spilling down Sasuke's face.

"I-I don't know." Sasuke choked out."I-I didn't k-know what to do. I w-was so scared and c-confused. I-I wanted to tell y-you, b-but I j-just couldn't."

Sadness gripped onto Itachi's heart tightly as he listened to his otouto try to explain. He couldn't stand seeing his little brother in so much pain like this.

"Shhh, it's okay otouto. I'm here." Itachi comforted as he pulled Sasuke into a hug . "They won't bother you anymore, I promise. But if they do, make sure you tell me."

Itachi pulled away from the hug and looked directly into Sasuke's eyes.

"How am I supposed to help you when I don't know what's happening?" Itachi said, wiping away Sasuke's tears. "You can't hide things like this, okay?"

Sasuke nodded.

Itachi hugged him again and Sasuke nuzzled his face in his brother's chest.

"Nii-san?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think we can keep this between us?" Sasuke asked cautiously. "I really don't want kaa-san or tou-san to know about this."

There was a moment of silence. "Are you sure you don't want them to know?"

Sasuke nodded. "You know how they are."

Itachi put a gentle hand on his brother's head.

"If that's what you want otouto, then I won't tell them." He replied. "Come on, let's go home so I can take care of your injuries better."

Itachi put his brother on his back and began walking home.

"I love you, Ita-nii." Sasuke said, as he rested his head on Itachi's shoulder.

Itachi smiled and held onto Sasuke tighter.

"I love you too, otouto."

AN: That was soo long! Once again, sorry it took so long to post another chapter, school is just so busy! But I hope you enjoyed it!

Please review!