Chapter 1 – Awake and Alive

Many things had happened in the past two months, all of which were bad.

Glancing out of the opening to his hideout, staring at the downpour of rain that was simply refusing to let up for even a second, red and black eyes narrowed fractionally, the only show of emotion on his otherwise detached features. It had been raining for days now without a break, making it difficult for them to do many things.

Their village, their home, was no more. Of course, it was still standing, still filled with life, but it was the kind of life living within the village that destroyed it, that destroyed everything Konoha used to be. Not a single soul within those walls was happy. From the reports he'd been receiving from inside rebels, living in Konoha was more like living in a concentration camp, of sorts. That was not how Konoha was supposed to be. People were supposed to feel free and safe, they were supposed to feel like they could be themselves and happy. But all of that had changed on the night of the attack, the night the Godaime Hokage had been assassinated.

There were now public punishments and executions for anyone who dared to disobey – intimidation tactics in a sad attempt to bring order to the chaotic village, to allow Danzo to feel as though he was in control. And the shinobi still living there were worked to the bone, going on back to back missions, never allowed a break. More than likely because Danzo's foolish actions had cut the number of shinobi by half, if not more.

That night had been…

The second their guards were down, hidden enemies had sprung on them like starving wolves, showing no mercy, not even to the elderly who were unable to defend themselves, or the innocent children who could not fully understand what was happening or why. They'd been ruthless, slaughtering anyone who opposed them and stood in their way. Starting with his clan.

The Uchiha Clan had fought hard for as long as they possibly could, knowing that not only would they all be annihilated either way, but also to protect Konoha once Danzo set his sight on their Hokage and anyone who tried to protect her. Even after all their talk on taking over, they had never plotted against innocent people. Just the higher ups, just the ones who hadn't trusted them. People like Danzo.

Those who had been fortunate enough to make it out were in hiding – himself being one of those people. There had been no choice. Had he stayed in the village, he would have undoubtedly been killed just like the others of his clan and there were so many promises he had made. He could not go back on his word, especially not on the vow he'd made to his parents.

Protect Sasuke.

"Itachi."

He looked over his shoulder at the blond standing in the hallway, features downcast as his once cheerful blue eyes looked out at the rain in front of Itachi solemnly.

It was around two or three weeks after they reached the Uchiha Hideout that Itachi was reminded of Uzumaki Naruto's absence from the village. However, as there had been no way of reaching out to him while he was training in Mount Myōboku, all they could do was wait for his return, hoping and praying that he would not go straight to Konoha. Fortunately, he didn't. Itachi had left one of his crows by a well he'd managed to find, one that he'd discovered was used frequently by one of the elder toads. Once the female elder revealed herself, he'd managed to relay his message, warning her of Konoha's downfall. Not even an hour had passed before Naruto was appearing at the hideout, panting harshly, red in the face and demanding answers.

"My brother is continuing to stay silent?" he asked, going back to watching the rain.

During the attack, Itachi had all but dragged his younger brother out of Konoha, picking up other escapees while their parents acted as decoys. In his condition, without his Sharingan more specifically, Sasuke had been useless to him and Itachi's priority was saving his life, even though that meant he'd left without knowing the status on his family and friends.

Every night, attempting to sleep was a losing battle. He would stare up at the ceiling, unwillingly recalling the way that, once he'd realised their parents weren't with them or planning on meeting them, Sasuke had snarled and yelled like he was nothing but a child, screaming that they couldn't leave them behind, they couldn't leave their parents to die. How he could say that given all that he'd done before the attack, Itachi didn't know. He'd abandoned their parents before. Left them to an unknown fate. How was this any different? It was safe to say that his younger brother hated him now. There was simply no getting around it.

"Instead of running like cowards," Sasuke had spat at him the next day, when he'd finally found his voice and was capable of standing by himself without support, chakra slowly returning to him, "we should have stayed with them. Even if it meant dying alongside them."

Did his brother truly believe that, though? What would come of the village if they were to turn their backs on it? What about the innocent civilians, or the shinobi who weren't strong enough to fight back? Their parents' sacrifices had been noble and every day, Itachi reminded himself that they would not be in vain. One day, Danzo was going to pay for what he had done, but for now, they had to bide their time. They had to grow stronger before attacking that man and his ROOT operatives, especially now that they didn't even have a tenth of the manpower they'd had that night.

Despite his palpable hatred, Sasuke had chosen to remain by his side as they came across more stragglers from Konoha, bringing them to the hideout. There wasn't enough food or supplies for so many, but they made do. They had to out there.

They had to now that they were all living as rogue-nin.

Many were unable to accept their new titles. They couldn't adjust to life on the run. Living in Konoha, they'd soon come to realise, had sheltered them despite their professions. They were unused to the idea of there not being a store on every corner, or constant flows of missions to earn themselves some extra money when they needed it.

Unfortunately, because of being the heir to the Uchiha Clan and the fact they were staying in the Uchiha's hideout, they all looked to him for guidance. Itachi wished they wouldn't. Sure, it was probably the best of a bad situation – he was an ANBU captain before the attack, had the most experience out of all those at the hideout – but… Perhaps it was selfish of him, maybe even weak of him, but he preferred not having such a large group of people relying on him. Not in a situation such as theirs, where death was right around the corner. Perhaps he wouldn't have made such a great Hokage after all.

Apparently deeming it as okay to walk out a little further, Naruto did so, leaning against the opening of the hideout. They'd made it a rule that the blond was only to leave the hideout if they had no other option – Naruto was their trump card. They needed him when they were taking back Konoha, so couldn't risk having Danzo find him.

"Being his usual doom and gloom self," he sighed heavily, dropping to the ground. Itachi glanced at the younger man, assessing his haggard features and suppressing his own sigh at the sight of him. Being locked in all the time was weighing down on Naruto. "His attitude is freaking a few of the kids out – nothing new there, though." With yet another sigh, he muttered, "I don't know what I was expecting, really. I knew he wouldn't be thrilled about being dragged back, but I just…"

Itachi's eyes returned to the downpour, going off into the distance when he saw a strike of lightning, one that was shortly followed by a booming crack of thunder. "You thought he would return as the child he once was."

Naruto's laugh was not cheerful or embarrassed. It signified his exhaustion, his sombre mood, and it made him regard the blond more closely out of the corner of his eye. When he'd first come to them, Naruto had been tanned, but now he was almost as pale as Sasuke. There were dark circles surrounding his eyes and they all knew of his sleepless nights, they knew of his nightmares. They had him crying out helplessly as he imagined over and over again what could have happened to his loved ones that night.

"I always thought it'd go back to being like old times," he mumbled brokenly, no matter how hard he tried to hide his pain. "Back when we were all together as a team. Me, Sasuke, Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei. Before all the bullshit that tore us apart."

A stab of inescapable guilt shot through Itachi at the sound of her name. They'd become friends – she'd been one of his closest and dearest friends, in fact – and he had left her behind. He wished, more than anything, that he had gone for Sakura and Shisui once he had Sasuke. More than anything, he wished to know that they were alive and safe. However, the fact that they weren't at the hideout told him all he needed to know. Shisui would know to go there, regardless of the fact he'd disappeared for eight long years. It was their clan's last resort should they ever have to scatter and regroup. Due to never being necessary, it was never used, therefore, remained a secret.

Although it made his heart ache viciously at just the mere thought, after all the time that had passed and the fact they'd been incredibly vulnerable at the time of the attack, Uchiha Itachi knew that the most likely outcome of that night, for Shisui and Sakura, was their deaths. He simply wished it wasn't true.

"What should I do, Itachi?"

There wasn't much they could do with him. Not out there. Itachi didn't want to think of his brother so negatively, but what choice did he have when in charge of the others? They were all his responsibility. He had to keep everyone safe. "Keep watching him."

Naruto nodded once, blue eyes serious and determined.

A/N - The response for the prologue was amazing! I've only got a few minutes (I'm actually posting this while on my break at work, as I wanted to thank you all for such kind reviews), so I can't reply to reviews at the end of this chapter, but that's going to be my way of responding to the reviews as I'm always getting lost about who I've replied to and who stills needs a response. This way is so much easier.

Okay, so here's my plan for those of you who might be worrying that this story is going to be in Itachi's perspective: it's only going to be the first few chapters that are from Itachi's P.O.V and it's simply to try and set the tone, if that makes sense to you all. I realised only when I started writing the story that there's a really good one already out that's fairly similar (minus the Uchiha Clan and a few other things). Will of Fire, for those of you who might be wondering what it is. It's KakaSaku, but it's still about Danzo taking over and people having to run to save themselves. I recommend it to those who like the pairing, though saying that, it's a really popular story so you've probably already read it.

Anyways, I've got two minutes left of my break, so I'm going to end it here. Thank you all again and I promise, next time I update, I'll reply to your reviews! :-)