AN: Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you! This chapter is a bit weird….. I've been reading some fics and some authors describe Sasuke's hair to be a really, really, really dark shade of blue when it's actually just black. But when I look at some pictures of him I can see what they mean. So this chapter is really just based on that. Enjoy!

Itachi: age 18

Sasuke: age 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Ever since Sasuke had become a genin, Itachi would always greet his brother when he came home from a mission.

Of course there were times when Itachi would be on a mission himself. But if he was home, the older Uchiha would make it his duty to greet his baby brother when he got back.

He's seen his brother come home with scratches, bruises, cuts and countless other injuries, and of course Itachi was quick to tend to him if their mother didn't get to him first.

Most of the time though, Sasuke comes home unscathed and shows gratitude whenever the elder greets him.

There was even a time when he came home wearing cat ears. And as embarrassing as it was for him, considering that he forgot to take them off after the mission, Itachi couldn't help but adore his brother's cuteness.

And that still remains as one of his favourite memories.

It was now past noon in the Uchiha household and Itachi was home by himself. His parents were out doing errands and his little brother was out on a mission.

The older Uchiha had just finished a list of chores his mother had made him do and was currently in the living room reading through some scrolls.

He was just in the middle of finishing one when he heard the front door open.

The elder instantly knew it was Sasuke who had come home as his sharp senses picked up the familiar chakra signature.

He was expecting his brother to announce his arrival as per usual, but it never came.

This perked Itachi's attention as he got up and headed towards the door.

The prodigy came just in time to see Sasuke gently place his shoes down and begin trying to creep his way down the hall.

However, this wasn't what caught the elder's attention.

What caught his attention was the hood his little brother pulled over his head. It was as if he were trying to hide something.

The little Uchiha wasn't even halfway down the hall yet before he was stopped.

"Sasuke?" Itachi said as he watched Sasuke stop in his tracks and visibly tense up.

This only made Itachi even more suspicious.

The younger of the two slowly turned around to face his brother as he still clutched on to his hood.

"Nii-san! I-I didn't know you were home." Sasuke stammered as he avoided eye contact.

Yeah right. He is definitely hiding something.

And Itachi, being the prying older brother he was, was going to find out what.

"What are you doing otouto?" The Uchiha prodigy asked as he moved closer towards his sibling.

"Nothing!" the small raven said as he shook his head. "I was just going to the bathroom."

Sasuke was never really good at hiding things from Itachi. Towards other people he was great, but never with his brother.

The younger Uchiha looked up at Itachi innocently as the elder stared at him.

"What's under your hood?" Itachi asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"My head." Sasuke replied.

The older Uchiha resisted the urge to face palm. "Very funny otouto."

But then it dawned on him. What if Sasuke was hiding a head injury? He knew his brother would be stupid enough to do that.

Okay, no more playing around.

"Show me what's under your hood Sasuke." Itachi said as reached for it.

The little Uchiha quickly took a step back as his brother's hand just barely grazed his hood.

"Leave me alone nii-san. I only have to pee." he said as he turned back towards the hall.

Itachi sighed.

"Sure you do." he mumbled.

Before Sasuke could take a step, Itachi suddenly appeared in front of him and poked him in the forehead. In the second of confusion, the prodigy had also managed to pull his brother's hood off and saw a flash of blue before the younger quickly pulled the hood back over his head.

Sasuke gripped his hood tightly as Itachi looked at him in confusion.

"Sasuke, did I just see blue?" the elder asked puzzled.

"No..." the little Uchiha murmured.

The older Uchiha tried pulling back the hood again but his brother refused to let go.

"Sasuke…" Itachi warned gently.

Sasuke sighed.

"Hai." he replied obediently as he let go of his hood.

Itachi's eyes widened as he witnessed what was in front of him.

"Otouto, what happened?" he asked, slight amusement in his voice, but mostly shock.

Because in front of him stood his brother, with a full head of blue hair.

The young Uchiha shut his eyes tightly. "Please don't laugh."

The prodigy managed to resist the urge to break down in laughter for his brother's sake, but he couldn't stop the slight tremble in his shoulders as it tried to burst out.

Sasuke's face turned into a light shade of red as he sighed.

"I'm sorry Sasuke," Itachi said as he hugged his brother. "I won't laugh, I promise."

"I can feel you laughing nii-san." came Sasuke's muffled reply as he returned the hug.

"Sorry," the elder stated as he pulled back to look at his brother's face, a smile still on his lips. "I thought you were injured or something. What happened?"

Sasuke scowled.

"Naruto happened." he said angrily. "The dobe did it while he was on his shift for night guard and I was stupid enough to fall asleep."

Itachi's face grew wary. "He didn't bleach your hair, did he?"

"He better not have. He said that it should come out after I wash my hair, but I don't trust the stupid bastard." Fear suddenly appeared on Sasuke's face as he looked up at his brother. "What if it doesn't come out Itachi?! I don't want blue hair! Kaa-san and tou-san are going to kill me!"

The older Uchiha put his hands on his brother's shoulders to reassure him. "It's okay, don't worry. I'll help you. Kaa-san and tou-san won't be home for a few hours so we have time."

Sasuke hugged his brother. "Thank you aniki."

"Anytime otouto," Itachi replied as he ruffled his blue hair. "Come on. Let's try washing it out."

The Uchiha brothers spent several hours in the bathroom trying to wash the dye out of Sasuke's hair. They had managed to turn the vibrant blue to a more toned down blackish blue.

Sasuke stared at himself in the mirror as Itachi ran his fingers through his spiky hair, searching for any more blue. Unfortunately, there was still a lot left.

"How much dye did he use otouto?" The elder asked incredulously as he continued examining his brother's hair.

The young Uchiha rubbed his hands over his face. "I don't know. Knowing the stupid idiot, he probably used every last drop he had."

Itachi sighed inwardly.

"Well, the good news is that he didn't bleach your hair." he said as he looked at Sasuke through the mirror. "But the bad news is that the dye is leaving a blue tint to your hair."

A glower slowly made its way on Sasuke's face.

"Ugh! This is so stupid!" he yelled as he stormed out of the bathroom, Itachi following behind him.

"Sasuke, where are you going?"

The young Uchiha gritted his teeth. "I'm going to kill Naruto."

Sasuke almost made it out the door before Itachi grabbed his waist, stopping him from leaving.

"Okay. Let's not do that," The elder reasoned as he turned his sibling to face him. "You're only going to make things worse."

Sasuke huffed as he let his head fall on his brother's chest.

"This isn't fair," he complained. "I'd love to see that idiot wake up with green in his stupid blonde hair. Have fun getting that out."

Itachi put a hand on his brother's head as he let out a small laugh.

"Now I admit what Naruto did wasn't something desirable. But fighting fire with fire won't do anything for you otouto." he said gently.

"Kaa-san and tou-san are going to murder me," the little Uchiha said as he looked up at his brother, anxeity rising in his chest. "What am I going to do?"

Itachi felt a pang of guilt as he saw panic in his baby brother's eyes. Their parents would definitely freak out if they saw Sasuke with blue hair, and without a doubt punish him. But it wasn't his fault that his hair was dyed, his poor brother doesn't deserve to be punished.

So being Sasuke's older brother, it's his job to protect him.

The prodigy held his brother's shoulders. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here to help you. The blue isn't as noticeable as it was before. If we wash it a few more times it's most likely to come out, so don't worry."

The young Uchiha stared at his brother for a second before glomping him. He couldn't express how much gratitude he felt towards his big brother. Itachi could have just left him to fend for himself and let him get punished by their parents, but he loved Sasuke too much to do that.

"I love you nii-san," Sasuke said as he nuzzled his face in his older brother's chest. "I would literally be dead if you weren't home."

"I know. You're lucky I didn't have a mission." Itachi stated as he smiled warmly, returning the hug. "Now come on, let's try washing it again."

The two brothers finished just before their parents got home.

Sasuke's hair almost looked exactly how it was, but there was a very light tint of blue that refused to wash out. Luckily for them though, the tint was barely noticeable and very easy to miss.

The young teen tried avoiding his parents for the night, but he couldn't escape the inevitable event of dinner.

So there he sat at the table, trying his best to not draw any attention to himself as he ate his dinner at a quick pace.

Thankfully Itachi had managed to grab their parent's attention by telling them about an upcoming mission he has, leaving Sasuke out of their radar. Regardless, the little Uchiha was still very paranoid that they would notice something. No matter how miniscule the difference was, his parents were still shinobi. Sasuke can only hope Itachi can keep their attention until he finishes his dinner...

"Sasuke."

Sasuke froze as his body tensed up. He wasn't the only one since he felt his brother react the same way, but very discreetly.

The young Uchiha slowly fixed his gaze on his mother who had called him.

"Yes kaa-san?" he said trying to hide his nervousness.

Mikoto examined her son with curious eyes. "There's… something different about you. I just can't tell what."

Sasuke clenched his fists under the table. Damn!

Fugaku then began scanning his youngest son as he also caught his attention. "Yes, now that you mention it, there is something different about him. What do you think Itachi?"

Sasuke looked at his brother with pleading eyes.

The older Uchiha shrugged as he took a look at his sibling. "I don't see anything different about him." he said nonchalantly. "He is getting older, maybe you're noticing his face growing more mature for the first time."

Mikoto and Fugaku looked at each other before staring at their youngest son again.

"Yes, maybe that's it." Fugaku finally said.

Yes! Thank you nii-san! Sasuke thought as he nodded at his parents.

"For a second, I thought his hair might have looked blue!" Mikoto stated, causing herself, Fugaku and Itachi to laugh.

Man, he was good at this.

Sasuke felt his face flush slightly as he tried laughing along.

"I met a shinobi with blue hair once," Fugaku said as he put more food on his plate. "And I cannot explain how bad it looked. He looked like some sort of clown that belonged in a fruit basket."

Both Fugaku and Mikoto began laughing again while Itachi tried to hold back a few chuckles as he looked at his brother whose face was bright red.

Sasuke abruptly stood up from his seat.

"Thanks for the food," he muttered, trying to hide the extreme embarrassment he felt.

Itachi chuckled lightly as the younger shot him a look. He put his dishes away and left the kitchen plotting and scheming.

Because the next time he sees Naruto, that boy is dead.

AN: Sorry for such a late update and making it really short at that. I've editing old chapters so that's been taking up some of my time, but feel free to re-read some of them! And although this chapter was weird, I kind of liked it. I hope you guys enjoyed!

Please Review!