Chapter 3: Itachi Meets Sasuke

Flashback

It didn't take long for Izuna and Shishui to catch up with Itachi who was running as if being chased by ghosts.

"Itachi stop!" Izuna grabbed Itachi's arm and successfully stopped his mad run. But the boy immediately started to struggle against his uncle.

"No, let me go."

"Itachi please calm down," said Shishui hoping that his cousin would listen to him at least.

"Where do you want to go? We'll take you there. You won't get anywhere running like this." Hearing that, Itachi creased his struggle. Shishui was right after all. The younger boy inhaled a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Well as much as he possibly could at that moment.

"Take me where I can meet a god. Any god. I will make him save my brother's life" said Itachi with such determination in his voice that both Izuna and Shishui were taken aback. They looked at each other. It was obvious that they couldn't talk Itachi out of this. Therefore, they decided to go along with his wish.

"The nearest temple from here is of Fire God. Let's go there." Izuna suggested. He thought Itachi wanted to pray even though the boy wasn't that religious. In fact, Itachi was hardly ever curious about the concept or existence of God before. But then again, desperate times called for desperate measures. After all who else do you go to when asking for life. Itachi didn't say anything and simply nodded his head. It didn't really matter to him which god he met, as long as that god could make his otouto live.

Izuna, Shishui, and Itachi went to the fire temple. As soon as they arrived, Itachi marched up to one of the temple priests. "I need to ask your god to save my little brother. How can I meet him?" Despite being comparatively more mature than other kids Itachi's age, he still was just a kid. And because he was a child, the priest wasn't all that shocked at the question. He simply thought the kid was, well just being a kid.

"Has something happened to your little brother, child?" The priest asked politely.

"My little brother isn't born yet but the doctors said only my mother or my brother can live. But I want them both to live. Please I cannot let my brother die. So, tell me what I can do to make God save him?" Such desperation and so many emotions were never before seen on Itachi's face. It amazed Izuna and Shishui as well as broke their hearts. Understanding the situation, the priest gave Itachi a sad smile.

"Child, the only way to communicate with God is through prayers. Why don't you go inside and start praying? I will ask everyone here to pray too." The priest said. Unfortunately, that didn't satisfy Itachi.

"But how will I know he's listening to my prayers? No. Praying isn't enough. I need to do more. I have to make sure... " Itachi whispered something to himself that no one else heard.

"Please, there must be something that I can do that will surely get his attention." Even though Itachi had said please but it was anything but a request. His persistence and stubbornness put the priest into a very difficult position. Unfortunately, even Izuna and Shishui couldn't help or make Itachi understand that there simply wasn't anything else to do. Having no other choice, and to calm the boy down, the priest gave Itachi a task. A task that was way too difficult for a kid his age.

"We are building a new section in this temple. Do you see those bricks over there?" The priest pointed towards the stack of bricks. There were probably over two hundred bricks there. Itachi looked at them and nodded his head.

"If you help to carry them inside, I am sure you will get god's attention since you'll be contributing to building his temple which is a noble work in itself." When giving this task, the priest had really thought that Itachi would give up after three or five laps. No, even five would be too much for the child. After all, in order to take the bricks from the pile and carry them inside the temple, Itachi would've to climb 500 steps each time. And given his age and physic, he wouldn't be able to carry more than two or three bricks at a time either. The priest had thought that when exhaustion would take over, the boy would simply give up and resort to simply praying to the god. But alas, he couldn't be more wrong.

"Dad, he's gonna collapse and lose consciousness if he doesn't stop soon." Shishui voiced his worry. Itachi had been at it for hours now. And there was no sign of him giving up. Izuna wanted to strangle the priest at one point for giving Itachi such a hard task. But he understood what that priest was thinking when he gave this task. Izuna himself had thought Itachi would give up soon. Who knew the boy could be so stubborn. So determined to save his little brother. Itachi even forbade Shishui from helping him when the older boy tried to. It was about his otouto, therefore it had to be Itachi to suffer this hardship. Someone else wouldn't do. Currently, Itachi looked half-dead, to say the least. Izuna was contemplating stepping in and ending this nonsense. After all, enough was enough. It wouldn't do Mikoto any good to find out that not only she had lost her second baby but her firstborn had exhausted himself to an early grave. Frankly, the way Itachi was going at it, dying wouldn't be very shocking. Even the priest was praying now for the boy to stop. He knew very well if anything happened to Itachi, he'd be in serious trouble. Thankfully when Izuna was about to intervene, he received a call from his brother Madara. And the news he received, well Izuna could think of one thing only-

'Itachi, you did it.'

"ITACHI!" Izuna shouted out to his nephew. Itachi looked up to his uncle. The boy was sweating like hell. He was breathing heavily, not to mention tired to the bones. Only God knew, how he was still standing. It was Itachi's sheer willpower that kept him going.

"YOU ARE A BIG BROTHER NOW!" Izuna said to Itachi with a huge grin on his face. There were even tears in his eyes. Tears of joy and extreme happiness.

As soon as it registered in Itachi's mind just what his uncle just said, his eyes widened with shock. But then a smile appeared on his lips. A second later though, Itachi closed his eyes and collapsed on the ground. But there was nothing to worry about. Itachi would wake up really soon. After all, he had to meet his little brother.

End Of Flashback

Given Itachi's desperation to save his little brother, he wasn't all that impatient to meet him though. After Itachi woke up from his unconsciousness, he didn't rush to meet his brother. In fact, he appeared to be a little hesitant. Many questions and thoughts were running through Itachi's mind. What if his little brother didn't like him now that he's finally born? There was no sensible reason behind why Itachi thought that his newborn brother might not like him but it was something the kid was afraid of. Itachi really wanted his brother to like him. Then he was also worried about some other things like, what if he couldn't hold the baby properly? Even though Itachi had been practicing. What if he hurt his baby brother instead of protecting him? What if he couldn't make his otouto smile? What should he do to make him smile? What if his otouto cried? What would he do to stop him? So many questions. No wonder Itachi wasn't rushing since he was thinking all these.

However, Itachi couldn't wait for long. As soon as the news about him waking up reached outside the hospital room, he was asked to go to his mother and baby brother. Itachi took a moment for himself before going. He inhaled a deep breath and put himself back together. He let the excitement of finally meeting his little brother took over him. Though, Itachi didn't let that show on his face. Not much anyway. He remained calm and appeared cool.

"Itachi, come meet your brother." Mikoto smiled at her son and beckoned Itachi to come over to her as soon as her firstborn appeared at the door. Mikoto was holding a bundle in her arms. No doubt, it was the baby. Itachi's little brother. The five-year-old boy started to walk over to his mother. Each step Itachi took, increased his heartbeat more. It wasn't very apparent but if anyone looked very carefully, there was a look on Itachi's face that said - 'I can't believe this is finally happening'. Itachi Uchiha was about to meet the brother he had been waiting for so long. No one could comprehend how big of a deal it was for the boy.

Finally, when Itachi reached the bed and he looked at the baby in his mother's arms, a small gasp escaped his lips as his eyes widened a little. 'This cute little baby is my brother. My little brother. My otouto.' Were the thoughts that started running through Itachi's mind. 'He is finally here. I will always protect him.' Itachi looked completely enchanted by his little brother. It was as if he was seeing an angel or something equally mesmerizing. Seeing that look, Mikoto couldn't help but smile at her elder son. She simply knew at that moment that Itachi was going to be the best big brother anyone could ever have. Not that she didn't know that already. But at that precise moment, it just became an irrefutable fact.

"Itachi, do you want to hold your brother?" Mikoto asked her son. Itachi however shook his head even though he'd like nothing more than to hold his brother. It was just that he was so small. Itachi feared hurting him. Mikoto didn't say anything and only smiled as she understood why Itachi refused. The five-year-old very carefully and very gently touched the baby's cheek with the tip of his forefinger. It was as if Itachi was reassuring himself that the baby was really here. That it was not his imagination or anything.

As soon as the baby's chubby cheek was touched, the infant opened his eyes and looked straight at Itachi. The brothers' eyes met for the first time. Eyes that looked so similar to each other. Anyone could tell that when this baby would grow up, he'd resemble his brother a lot. As if the infant knew who this person was, he flashed a smile at Itachi. A smile that took Itachi's breath away. Unknown to everyone, a bond was formed between them right then and there. A bond so strong it was unbreakable. This moment would remain the highlight of the brothers' existence for as long as they lived. The moment itself was short-lived though. It broke when Fugaku took the baby from Mikoto. Itachi didn't voice any displeasure at taking the baby away from within his arm's reach but not for a single second did he avert his eyes from his otouto.

"Which name have you picked up dear?" Mikoto asked. She had given Fugaku a few choices. The father smiled happily and said-

"Sasuke." He announced.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Fugaku looked at Mikoto who nodded her head with a smile.

"I like it. What do you think Itachi?" Mikoto asked her firstborn. Itachi also nodded his head in approval.

"He's going to bring great honor to the Uchiha family," said Fugaku, already feeling proud of his newborn son. The husband and wife talked for a while longer. Itachi remained silent and kept watching his little brother.

"I'm going to take Sasuke out to meet with his uncles and cousins," said Fugaku.

"Alright dear" replied Mikoto with a smile.

"You should rest for a while longer. You still look tired" said Fugaku looking at his wife with concern.

"I feel fine. Please don't worry about me. But you're right. I should rest for a little longer" said Mikoto. She laid down with a content and happy smile on her face. Fugaku kissed his wife's forehead before walking out of the room with baby Sasuke. Itachi quietly followed behind his father. Or rather followed his little brother.

Once outside, Fugaku was immediately surrounded by the family members. Everyone was eager to see the baby, especially Madara and Izuna. Their excitement and eagerness to meet their new nephew were more intense than normal. But that was to be expected since baby Sasuke almost didn't make it to the world. The mere thought of it felt like a nightmare. Madara and Izuna didn't even want to think what would've been the situation like right now if the baby really... NO. They would not think about it. Ever. The baby was fine. Mikoto was fine. Everything was fine. It was time to celebrate.

"Fugaku what name did you give your son?" Madara asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Fugaku replied.

"Sasuke is a good choice. It suits him perfectly" said Izuna while cooing at the baby.

"Little Sasuke here looks just like Izuna when he was born," said Madara with one of his rare sincere smiles. A smile that meant he was remembering something very happy or touching.

"Oh, he'll grow up to be such a handsome man. Just like uncle Izuna. Won't you little one?!" Izuna caressed the baby's nose, making it twitch a little. Little Sasuke made some gurgling noises and tried to hold Izuna's finger that was touching his nose.

"Always the modest one," said Madara shaking his head at his brother. The statement was obviously said in sarcasm. As the men talked and laughed among themselves, Shishui approached Itachi. The younger boy acknowledged his cousin however didn't stop looking over at his baby brother.

"Everyone looks happy" stated Shishui. Itachi only gave a nod in response.

"Thank you for this Itachi." The older boy said. And he sounded absolutely serious about thanking the boy. This however made Itachi confused. He looked at his cousin with questioning eyes.

"Why are you thanking me Shishui?" Itachi asked.

"Because I truly believe we are getting to experience this happiness because of your persistence. You didn't give up. You forced god to listen to you." After getting that explanation Itachi remained quiet for a moment before speaking up again.

"Giving up was never an option." Shishui was slightly taken aback by the intensity of that answer. But then he smiled to himself.

"No, I guess it wasn't," said Shishui. It was clear now. For Itachi, his little brother was the most important thing. There was nothing he wouldn't do for Sasuke. No limits he wouldn't cross. If anything was impossible, he'd make it possible for his brother. This was terrifyingly clear to Shishui now. And very soon everyone else would realize it too. However, if it'd be a good thing or a bad thing, remained to be seen. Time would tell it all.