Chapter 11: What Have I Done? (Part-I)

The cursed night ended with the lights of the morning Sun. Unfortunately, the darkness in the brothers' relationship was yet to disappear. Obviously, the consequences of their 'fight' weren't something that would just disappear overnight. Itachi needed to do a lot of right things and say a lot of right words to Sasuke and the younger one needed to be open to accepting them. First thing in the morning, Itachi got a call from Shisui.

"Itachi what happened last night? Is everything alright? I tried to call you several times but you weren't picking up." It was easy to tell that Shisui was worried.

"Yeah, sorry about that. It's just….. Sasuke and I got into a fight last night." Itachi said with a small tone of voice. Part of Itachi wished what happened last night was nothing but a nightmare. That he didn't unintentionally hurt his baby brother so much. The guilt was gnawing at Itachi's conscious. Threatening to eat him alive.

"Am I hearing things or did you really say 'you and Sasuke got into a fight?" It was clear from Shisui's voice that he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Itachi sighed heavily.

"You were right Shisui. I shouldn't have distanced myself from Sasuke. He thinks I'm ashamed of him. Can you believe that?" Itachi inhaled a deep breath at this point.

"I've hurt him very badly Shisui. He's so mad at me now. But nowhere near how mad I'm at myself. I made Sasuke cry. I brought tears into his eyes." The pain in Itachi's voice was almost tangible it was so intense.

"I want to apologize to Sasuke and fix things between us but for the first time, I've no clue as to what should I do? I never thought I'd be clueless when it's regarding Sasuke. It's making me hate myself even more."

"Hey calm down Itachi. You won't solve anything if you're worked up like this." Shisui didn't need to see Itachi to know that the prodigy was one step away from tearing his own hair out. He was feeling so frustrated.

"But-" Itachi began but Shisui interrupted him.

"Follow your instincts." The older cousin advised wisely.

"Since it's about Sasuke, you will know what to do if you simply follow your instincts." Itachi thought about it too and then smiled a little.

"Thank you Shisui. You really know what to say to me and what I need to hear."

"Well, what are best friends for," said Shisui with a smug tone of voice which only made Itachi smile more. Then there was a moment of silence on the other side of the line.

"Anyway, speaking of things you need to hear Itachi. I've found something" said Shisui, his voice sounding serious now.

"What is it?" Itachi asked almost anxiously.

"The man hired to kill you never had any interaction with Danzo directly but he worked several times before for one of Danzo's men. What are the odds of Danzo not being behind the attack on you" said Shisui.

"Danzo must have thought this will never trace back to him. After all, he is a master at playing safe. If that man had succeeded in killing you that day, it would've been a great victory for Danzo. Your death would've devastated the family and someone would've done something reckless which would've given Danzo a perfect opportunity to bring the Uchihas down."

"Then it's a good thing I didn't die that day," said Itachi almost bitterly. Shisui sighed heavily.

"One day you'll get to avenge your friend Itachi. I promise." His cousin gave him his word. Itachi closed his eyes and sighed out too. He slowly opened his eyes again before speaking up.

"Yes, I wish to avenge Tenma but more importantly, I want to make sure Danzo learns not to cross with us. He tried to have me killed at the first opportunity; who is to say he won't dare to attack Sasuke one day. From what I've learned, Danzo is someone who doesn't hesitate to play dirty. If it suits him to go after Sasuke, he will. The fact that Sasuke's just a kid, won't stop him."

"Nothing will happen to Sasuke," Shisui spoke with utmost certainty as he assured Itachi.

"We will protect him. YOU will protect him."

"Just like I protected him when that bastard Mizuki-" Itachi didn't say more. He didn't need to. Shisui knew Itachi still felt guilty for not being able to protect his little brother that day. And he never wanted a repeat of such an occurrence. No one did. Ever since the Mizuki incident, Itachi always wanted to be two steps ahead with protecting Sasuke. And that was why Itachi was so concerned about Danzo who was not only the murderer of Tenma but also a clear danger to Sasuke.

"Shisui, we have to find a way to put a leash on Danzo as soon as possible" said Itachi, sounding rather anxious and very very serious.

"I know. And I think I've a plan. But it's gonna take me a little time" said Shisui.

"Let me know when you've worked everything out." With that Itachi hung up and exhaled a deep breath.

Needless to say, the Uchiha prodigy couldn't sleep all night. After what happened last night, with Sasuke declaring that they were no longer brothers, how could Itachi possibly sleep! He stayed up all night thinking of ways to make Sasuke forgive him. Itachi wanted to go to Sasuke that very night but he knew his little brother needed to calm down first. How ironic was that? Usually, Itachi could calm down his brother no matter what within minutes, but now it was Itachi who was the cause of Sasuke's anger and hurt. And gosh, Itachi felt horrible about that. Knowing Sasuke, his otouto must be crying his eyes out all night, yet there was nothing Itachi could do to help this time. As the situation was, he was the last person Sasuke would accept any kind of comfort from.

However, that didn't mean Itachi was going to leave Sasuke alone for too long. He needed things to get back to normal between them. Desperately so. Itachi couldn't have his only brother, the one he loved so much, not have anything to do with him. The Uchiha prodigy simply couldn't allow it. It was a moment of revelation for Itachi. He realized, that he might need Sasuke in his life more than Sasuke needed him. Because among all the things Itachi was, a son, a Uchiha, and a prodigy, but it was being a big brother that he really liked and wanted to be for all his life.

Fugaku arrived at the mansion early in the morning. Even though he would need to leave for work again but he wanted to enjoy having breakfast with his family. Hence, he came back home first instead of going straight to the office from the airport. As soon as Fugaku entered the mansion he felt that his home was unusually quiet. Nothing seemed out of place though. It was just something he felt but couldn't quite put a finger on. Everyone else in the mansion knew of what happened yesterday with Sasuke staying in the rain for hours. And that the brothers had a fight for the first time. Well, it wasn't exactly a fight. More like Sasuke yelled at Itachi while the older stood still, feeling completely shocked. Mikoto already told all the maids and servants not to mention anything to her husband about that. She didn't want Fugaku to scold Sasuke when the boy was already so heartbroken.

Mikoto greeted Fugaku and led him to their bedroom so that he could freshen up. She also asked one of the maids to go wake up her sons and tell them to get ready for breakfast. Itachi was already up, so he didn't need anyone to wake him up. He also told the maid that he'd go wake up Sasuke. If Itachi didn't start making amends right away, Sasuke would only get angrier. He would hurt more too. Itachi went to Sasuke's room and found that the door was locked. It was the first time Sasuke did that. Itachi wasn't surprised though. If Sasuke could shout at his brother, who he loved and worshiped then what was locking the door compared to it. Itachi was tempted to break down the door but refrained from doing so. He also noted learning to pick up locks as soon as he could. Itachi could've asked his mother for the keys had his father not been home yet. But since he was, Fugaku would certainly inquire what happened should he see Itachi asking for keys. And getting Sasuke in trouble with their father was the last thing Itachi wanted to do. So, he decided for Sasuke to come out on his own.

This morning was going to be exceptionally different. Not to mention the long list of firsts. Like for the first time, Sasuke was going to wake up early and not go look for his brother right away. Instead, he dragged himself to the washroom to freshen up and get dressed. Sasuke felt very weak. In fact, he could barely keep his eyes open. Eyes that looked swollen and puffy from all the crying he did last night. Truth to be told, Sasuke simply wanted to go back to sleep and never wake up again. His knees were threatening to give out, and his entire body was shivering from cold. Why was it so cold? Even taking a hot shower didn't help Sasuke much. Despite feeling so crappy, Sasuke decided to go about his day like he was fine and that nothing had changed. Except that he no longer had a brother. The little Uchiha refused to show anyone just how weak and pathetic he felt on the inside. He was going to stay strong in front of everyone, his parents, friends but most importantly him.

When Sasuke got down to join his parents and their older son for breakfast, he found them already sitting at the table. As soon as Itachi saw Sasuke, he gave his little brother a smile, hoping against hope that Sasuke had miraculously forgotten everything about yesterday and that they were back to being loving brothers. Itachi's absurd hope was crushed when Sasuke, not only not returned the smile but quite openly averted his eyes from Itachi as if the mere sight of him hurt the boy. Itachi's smile dropped immediately and he felt a sharp jab in his heart.

"Good morning sweetheart!" Mikoto greeted her younger son.

"Morning!" Sasuke replied grumpily and went to sit on the chair that was furthermost from Itachi. It was another one of those things that happened for the first time. Sasuke always took the seat right beside Itachi. He refused to sit anywhere else. Mikoto raised her eyebrows at Sasuke. Clearly, the boy wasn't over yesterday. She glanced at Itachi and saw that Sasuke's action had hurt him. Itachi was always very good at hiding his true emotions, so if she could see the hurt on Itachi's face, then it really must be too much for him to hide. Mikoto inwardly sighed heavily. Needless to say, she wasn't used to her sons having a fight. Therefore, she had no idea how to go about dealing with the situation. However, just because this was new to her, Mikoto wasn't just gonna sit around and do nothing while her boys hurt each other.

"Sasuke, are you alright honey?" Mikoto asked worriedly as Sasuke clearly looked very weak. He could barely keep his head up and eyes open as he sat at the table. Itachi's instinct screamed at him to go to his baby brother and check him for what was ailing the boy. But the older brother had to stomp on his instincts knowing Sasuke would most likely get violent again should he approach the boy. And once again Itachi asked himself, how could he let it come to this!

"I'm fine" replied Sasuke, obviously not telling the truth.

"I don't feel like eating though. Can I skip and just go to school?" He asked hopefully.

"Sasuke, if you're not feeling very well then you should stay home and rest. I'll inform your teacher about it" said Mikoto to Sasuke then she looked at her firstborn.

"Itachi, will it be a problem if you skip school today and stay with your little brother?" It was clear what Mikoto was trying to do here. She was trying to give the brothers some time together. Hopefully spending time together would resolve this fight between them. Before Itachi could reply to his mother, which was obviously going to be a yes, Sasuke spoke up, never letting his brother say a word.

"NO!" Sasuke's outburst surprised the other three members of the family. Realizing that his reaction was too extreme, Sasuke dialed it down a bit.

"I mean, I have to go to school. There's a quiz today that I can't afford to miss. Besides, I'm fine. No reason for me to skip." A heavy silence engulfed the room after Sasuke finished talking. Itachi looked even more miserable if possible. This was obviously another first-time thing. That Sasuke would rather go to school than spend time with his brother. The silence among the family broke as Fugaku spoke up.

"Okay, what is going on?" He asked a simple question and expected a straight answer. Clearly, something had happened while he was away.

"Nothing darling, Sasuke is just angry with Itachi because he didn't go to the carnival with him yesterday" replied Mikoto, not willing to reveal anything further. Especially about Sasuke stubbornly waiting in the rain for Itachi for hours. Sasuke wanted to scream that it wasn't just the carnival. He wasn't vain like that. It was much more. So much more. But he kept quiet. It didn't matter anymore. He already lost his brother. It threatened to bring tears into his eyes again but Sasuke held them back. Fugaku on the other hand, not knowing the seriousness of the situation, laughed it off.

"Well, Itachi, why don't you make it up to your brother? That should calm him down" said Fugaku. Only if he knew how much Itachi wished to make it up to his brother.

"The carnival is still going on. You could take him there after school today." Fugaku suggested.

"I will father," said Itachi and he really meant it. Sasuke wanted to protest so badly. But he could never speak up to their father. However, that didn't mean he was gonna go with Itachi anywhere.

Both brothers got into the car that was going to take them to school. Usually, when Itachi and Sasuke go to school together, the entire ride would be filled with chatters. Sasuke would talk about anything and everything that came to his mind. And Itachi would enjoy it as well. Today however the car ride was dead silent. Not a single sound was coming from Sasuke. Well except for the sound of his breathing. Itachi noticed his breathing getting labored. He was shaking a little bit too. Sasuke was leaning his head against the window with his eyes closed. Not to mention, his skin looked pale and dry. Itachi couldn't stop himself anymore. He pressed his hand against Sasuke's forehead. Both immediately flinched. Itachi because he just found out that his brother was burning up and Sasuke for being touched by Itachi.

"What do you think you are doing?" Sasuke asked with anger in his voice. It almost sounded like a growl. Itachi didn't back off though.

"Sasuke you're burning up." He spoke anxiously with utmost concern in his voice. Sasuke however scoffed at that.

"As if you care. Stop talking to me. I told you already, you don't have to pretend to care about me anymore. So just stop!" With that Sasuke was about to turn away from Itachi again but the older didn't let him.

"Of course, I care Sasuke. How could I not care? You are my brother Sasuke. You are the one I care about the most in this world." Itachi never sounded so desperate before. He was desperate to make Sasuke believe him. Itachi couldn't allow Sasuke to keep on believing that he didn't care.

"Stop lying to me!" Sasuke snapped at Itachi. He was already feeling terrible. Itachi's lies were obviously not helping. It was only hurting him more.

"I am not lying!" Itachi snapped back.

"Yes, you are. You only feel ashamed of me. Nothing else." Sasuke argued back.

"I have never, ever felt ashamed to have you as my brother Sasuke. I don't understand. Where did this ridiculous thought even come from?" said Itachi inhaling a deep breath to calm himself down. It wouldn't do any good if both of them were overwhelmed with emotions.

"Then why did you keep pushing me away? If you aren't ashamed of me, then why do you treat me like such a pest." Itachi opened his mouth to say something but then he closed it again. There was nothing he could say to defend himself. He couldn't deny that he wasn't pushing Sasuke away from him. And Sasuke was too young to understand how he was feeling and what motivated him to put distance between them. Itachi didn't understand it but not expressing himself to Sasuke at that moment was a mistake on his part that he was going to regret later. So, instead of telling Sasuke his reasons, he heavy-heartedly settled for only apologizing to his brother.

"Please forgive me Sasuke. It was wrong of me to mistreat you." Sasuke stared at Itachi for a moment then sighed out heavily as he looked away.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Like I said before, you no longer need to concern yourself with me" said the younger brother as if Itachi was simply going to accept that. The older inhaled a deep breath.

"Look, I won't force you to be around me if you really don't want to but please, you need to rest. Let me take you back home. I will leave you alone after that." Itachi sounded utterly defeated but there was nothing he could do at the moment. On the other hand, Sasuke may be saying that he wanted Itachi to leave him alone but deep down that wasn't what he really wanted. He wanted Itachi to stay with him. He wanted his older brother to hold him while he slept his fever off. But damn his stubbornness which was preventing Sasuke from caving in and forgiving his brother. One thing was for certain, Sasuke did not like to see Itachi groveling at all. It wasn't an apology Sasuke craved. It was Itachi's love and attention he desired. Just like always.

"I don't want to go home," said Sasuke at once. He was pretty adamant about going to school earlier with his parents. He didn't want to go back home and appear weak. Especially in front of his father who already thought less of him. As if Itachi could read Sasuke's mind at that moment, he perfectly understood his brother's hesitation. But if Sasuke attended all his classes without any rest, he'd only get worse. Itachi quickly thought of something.

"How about we go to uncle Izuna's place then?" He suggested enthusiastically only to earn a scowl from Sasuke.

"And do what? Watch you pretend that I don't exist while you play brothers with Shisui. No thanks." Itachi immediately opened his mouth to defend himself but Sasuke was faster to cut him off.

"Just take me to school. I'll meet up with Naruto there and go to his place. He's always up for bunking school anyway." Obviously, Itachi felt hurt that Sasuke would rather spend time with Naruto who the boy claimed to never like than with his brother but at this point, having Sasuke rest properly and not feel any stress was of utmost priority. Also being around Naruto would hopefully lessen the hurt Sasuke was feeling in his heart. Itachi was ready to endure the pain of his own but he wanted Sasuke to feel better. Even if the reason for his feeling better was someone else. Hence, Itachi didn't argue at all.

"Alright, as you wish."

After that silence engulfed the brothers again. Pretty soon the car pulled over at the school parking lot. Sasuke rushed to Naruto as soon as he spotted the ever so energetic boy.

"Hey dobe, wanna bunk?" Sasuke asked simply with his cool attitude. Naruto immediately glowered at him.

"Don't call me dobe," Naruto yelled. Then the next second he changed his tone.

"Yeah sure. What do you wanna do?" Yeah, the dobe was like that. Easy to anger and easier to calm down.

"Are your parents home?" Sasuke asked.

"Nah ah, they'll return later in the evening," Naruto replied.

"Then let's go to your house and play some video game," said Sasuke very casually. Naruto however couldn't believe his own ears. Was Sasuke really wanting to hang out with him? Everyone knew Sasuke was anti-social. For him to approach Naruto with this matter was a big deal. The blue-eyed boy immediately figured something must have happened to Sasuke. Something big. And he intended to find out what. For now, though, he simply accepted Sasuke's proposition with a huge goofy grin. Seeing that grin, however, Sasuke immediately started to regret this idea. Well, there was nothing to do. The damage was already done.

Itachi from distance watched his baby brother and Naruto walking off together. Sasuke didn't glance his way even once. Itachi breathed out heavily, feeling depressed. 'You reap what you sow'. He ignored Sasuke, made him feel unwanted, and hurt him badly. He deserved to feel this pain of rejection. However, it only made the prodigy even more determined to win his brother back. He'd fix this. No matter what.

Not feeling like attending classes himself, not that Itachi needed to, he decided to take a long walk. His destination was uncle Izuna's mansion. Itachi needed to meet up with Shisui anyway to find out what else he dug up regarding Danzo. And a long walk would probably help him clear his mind and come up with a brilliant idea on how to make Sasuke forgive him.

"I'll be walking to uncle Izuna's." Itachi let the driver know and he started to walk. The driver would be following him closely. The driver wanted to protest and tell Itachi-sama that it wasn't safe for him to walk such a distance all by himself but seeing the look on the boy's face, the driver knew it'd be futile to voice his opinion. Besides, he was merely a driver and he needed to follow an order that came straight from Itachi.

Unfortunately, the day was really a cursed day for the Uchiha brothers. Within twenty minutes of walking, a van broke the traffic signal and rushed towards Itachi who was turning around a corner. Within a blink of an eye, the door of the van opened and Itachi was pushed inside by masked people. Itachi could have probably resisted them. At least he could've shaken them off and run away but since the boy was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he barely had any notice of his surroundings. It wasn't like Itachi. In fact, it was very much unlike Itachi but a fight with Sasuke wasn't usual either. When Itachi realized what just happened, it was already too late. He was already in the grasp of the enemy. The Uchiha prodigy was kidnapped in broad daylight and the Uchiha family was due to receive another huge blow.