Well Chapter 2 came quickly simply because I couldn't get it out of my head. This takes place when Sasuke and Itachi are training together and Sasuke twists his ankle the day before the entering ceremony at the academy.

I hope you enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Itachi walked forward through the village, heading in the direction of home. His younger brother clung to his back gleefully, a small smile on his face.

Itachi glanced up at the small dark haired boy, "you know Sasuke," he said suspiciously, "it's funny how the one with the twisted ankle is so happy."

Sasuke laughed a little, "Sorry big brother," he said, his smile growing, "I'm just so excited to start at the academy tomorrow! I can't wait to be a strong ninja like you."

Itachi smiled tightly. For Sasuke to become a ninja, put his life in danger, and fight for his life was the last thing he wanted. But Itachi smiled for him, not wanting to crush his brother's hopes and dreams, "I'm sure you will become strong." Itachi said to the boy.

Sasuke's face changed into a little scowl, "It was also nice to spend time with by big brother without the pest around," he said with an exasperated tone.

"Sasuke," Itachi warned with a frown, "do not call your brother a pest."

"But he's so annoying!" Sasuke whined, "he's loud, and obnoxious, and he's always following me around trying to get me to play with him."

Itachi almost laughed at that, "is that so Sasuke? Well it is eternally the little brothers job to annoy the elder."

Sasuke nodded his agreement, "Yes it is…" His voice trailed off and his face contorted, "hey! That's mean!"

This time Itachi did laugh, "took you a minute to catch on there, didn't it? Sasuke."

Suddenly Itachi paused in his walking and was quiet.

Sasuke looked down at his ride, confused, "big brother, what's wrong."

"Be quiet Sasuke, I need to listen." Itachi stood there silently listening as hard as he could. He could hear a commotion gathering somewhere. There were angry voices shouting. He focused some chakra into his ears and the voices became clearer.

"Die demon!" One shouted.

"Go to hell monster!" Came another.

And then the voice came that was at the center of their rage, "what are you doing!" It shouted, "leave me alone!"

Itachi's eyes widened, "Sasuke, hold on," he told his brother. And before Sasuke could reply with a question, he was off.

Itachi arrived in an alleyway where a group of eight civilians had cornered someone against the wall. He stared at their backs. What is going on, he thought to himself as he put Sasuke down carefully.

"Sasuke, stay here. Do not move." He ordered.

"Big brother! What's happening?" Sasuke asked, his eyes wide with fear.

"I don't know," Itachi replied and he walked forward, "Hey," He said, now directing his voice to the villagers, "What is happening here?"

The villagers backed away from their target revealing a very injured seven-year-old in the center of their rage. The blonde's hair was matted with blood and his arm was off at a weird angle. He lay on the cold floor, unconscious.

Itachi ran forward, "Naruto!" He shouted, fear in his voice, "are you ok?" He asked, kneeling next to his little brother. Naruto didn't move. Itachi's eyes turned up to glare at the villagers, his sharingan burning bright and menacing.

"I'm waiting for an explanation," his voice was dangerously calm but his aura was enough to make all eight of the attackers step back.

"We were teaching the monster a lesson," said the bravest among them, glaring at the unconscious child, eyes filled with hatred.

"He's a child," Itachi deadpanned, his aura was growing darker by the minute.

"No!" Shouted another voice, "He's nothing but a monster! He had it coming!" A kunai whizzed based the source of this voice and embedded itself in a dumpster behind him. The man's cheek split revealing a deep gash.

The eight villagers stared at Itachi with wide-eyes; they hadn't even seen him move. How did he do that? "Leave," he said, his voice still calm, but demanding. The eight men scrambled away in fear, dashing from the alley.

Itachi knelt next to Naruto, checking his injuries.

Sasuke, whose view had been obscured by the villagers, now dashed forward seeing his younger brother lying there, injured, "Naruto-nii-san!" He shouted as he raced to Itachi's side, limping slightly on his twisted ankle, "Is he going to be ok?" He asked, looking at Itachi with wide eyes.

Itachi didn't answer, instead he turned his back to him and said, "Sasuke, get on my back, I'm taking Naruto to the hospital."

Recognizing the urgency in his elder brother's voice, Sasuke didn't say anything and immediately complied. Itachi scooped up Naruto into his arms. "Sasuke, don't let go, I can't hold you this time," and he took off.

Sasuke clung tight to his brother's back as he ran. Please be ok. He thought to himself, Please be ok.

Sasuke and Itachi sat together in the waiting room quietly.

The doctors were still examining Naruto and they weren't sure how long it would take. Should I send a message to mom and dad? Itachi thought to himself, no, he decided, I'll wait until we have some information.

Meanwhile as Itachi thought, Sasuke sat next to him, his eyes downcast. He glanced up at his older brother. He's so strong. He was able to protect Naruto and I couldn't do anything.

Itachi's eyes met his and Sasuke immediately looked away, turning his gaze back to the floor.

"What is it Sasuke?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke sighed. His brother always knew everything, "It's my fault." He said quietly.

Itachi looked at Sasuke in surprise, "your fault?" He asked, "How is that?"

"If I didn't want you all to myself today then you would have been with Naruto too." Sasuke explained, "If you were with Naruto then you could have protected him and this would never have happened. I was being selfish."

Itachi smiled at his brother slightly, "Sasuke, I'm glad you are worried about Naruto, but I'm sure he'll be fine. His injuries weren't that serious. As to this being your fault, that's ridiculous." he affectionately poked his brother's forehead, "besides, I wanted to spend time with you too."

Sasuke's eyes widened, "really?" he asked in surprise.

Itachi smiled again, "of course. I love both my brothers equally, but sometimes I just want to spend time alone with one of them."

Sasuke smiled, his guilt appeased, "thank you, big brother."

Itachi patted Sasuke's head and then looked toward the examination room door. But why did those villagers attack Naruto? Did he do something? No. A child couldn't do anything to warrant that. There's something I don't know, something about Naruto that they're not telling me.

The doctor walked in through the examination room door and Itachi stood, "How is he?"

"He has a couple of broken ribs and some cuts and bruises. His right arm was pretty badly broken, but we managed to set it with no problem. He also has a pretty nasty concussion so you'll have to wake him every three hours for the next twenty-four hours until we know he'll recover without problem. He's free to leave now."

Itachi nodded, "thank you doctor."

He went to walk through the door to the examination room when he heard a voice mutter, "Better then he deserved." Itachi paused in his tracks, "what was that doctor?" He asked, his sharingan flashing ominously.

The doctor paled, "Nothing! Nothing!" He insisted, "Only that his injuries weren't that severe."

"Very well then," Itachi muttered, deciding to let it go in favor of helping his brother, "Sasuke, stay out here, I'm going to go in first."

Sasuke nodded his understanding, shot the doctor a glare, and returned to staring at the floor.

Itachi walked through the door to see his adopted brother sitting on a table in the center of the room. He felt his chest constrict at the sight. Naruto had bandages wrapped around his head and his hair that fell over the bandages was covered in dried blood. His face was badly bruised and his arm was casted and in a sling. But the worse part for Itachi was his eyes. There was nothing but sadness in his eyes as he stared down aimlessly at the floor.

"Naruto," Itachi asked quietly, walking towards his adopted brother, "how are you feeling?"

Naruto didn't reply and continued to stare at the floor as through he didn't notice Itachi's presence.

Itachi got down on his knees so he could look closer at Naruto's face, "little brother," he said softly, "I need you to talk to me."

"I don't know…" Naruto said, his eyes remaining downcast. His voice trailed off.

Itachi looked down at the boy and noticed his fists were clenched. There was anger in his eyes now. "Say that again. I couldn't hear you."

"I don't know what I did!" Naruto shouted his head snapping up to look Itachi in the eyes, "what did I do? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?" He kept repeating, tears now spilling over from his clear blue eyes.

Itachi tensed as he looked at Naruto. What did he do? He wondered to himself. Could he have done anything? Itachi knew that there was more to the story than he himself knew, but for now his job was clear; he had to comfort his brother. He placed his had carefully on Naruto's injured shoulder and Naruto stopped his mantra.

"Naruto, I don't know why this happened." He finally decided on, after all, it was true, "but I can promise you this: it was not your fault."

Naruto's tears slowed as he looked at him, his eyes shimmering with hope, "do you really think so?" He asked. Was it really not my fault? Am I not a monster?

Itachi nodded his head firmly.

"How do you know big brother?" Naruto asked, his voice small.

"I know you little one," Itachi said passionately, "you are a loud, boisterous, and occasionally annoying young man, but you are also kind-hearted and loving. There is nothing you could have done to warrant such hatred. Whatever the problem is, it is on the bastards who did this to you."

Naruto looked at Itachi suspiciously, "are you sure?" he asked quietly, his voice still meek from the experience.

"Trust your big brother," Itachi demanded, "I am never wrong."

Naruto laughed a little, "That's not true big brother, you're wrong sometimes!"

Itachi laughed as well, his heart warming at the sight of Naruto's smile, "well…" he said, his voice trailing off, "maybe sometimes."

Naruto laughed again and Itachi reached under his arms to lift him.

"I can walk!" Naruto demanded, struggling against Itachi's grip.

"Mmm?" Itachi asked worriedly, "Are you sure?"

"Of course I can walk big brother!" Naruto scoffed, "I'm going to be an awesome ninja someday!"

Itachi laughed, "very well then Mr. Awesome Ninja, at least let me help you."

Naruto scowled but relented as he felt his legs wobble beneath him. The room was a little dizzy and he felt nauseous. He stumbled a bit but Itachi caught him.

It must be the concussion, Itachi realized, "Here, Naruto, use my arm."

Naruto nodded and clutched at Itachi's arm, holding himself steady as the two walked from the room.

"Naruto!" A voice shouted. Sasuke quickly appeared in front of them and raced straight to Naruto. He stood far to close to him as he checked his injuries, "wow, you look awful! Are you okay?" He asked.

"Bastard!" Naruto shouted, "That's not a nice thing to say! Of course I'm all right. I'm going to be a powerful ninja!"

"Watch your language Naruto," Itachi warned.

Sasuke scowled, "No need to get insulted. I was just worried."

"Well you shouldn't be!" Naruto said proudly, "I can take care of myself!"

"Sure you can." Sasuke mumbled, "You only get beat up once in a while."

"Say that again bastard!" Naruto demanded angrily.

"I said…" Sasuke started.

"Sasuke!" Itachi's voice cut him off, "It's been a long day for all of us. Let's get home."

Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other then scoffed and looked away. Itachi sighed then smiled fondly at his two younger brothers. The sibling rivalry between them was something he couldn't truly understand, but it was certainly amusing.

"Naruto," Itachi said looking down at the injured boy, "I know you want to walk, but I'm going to carry you."

"But…" Naruto started, but stopped the second he saw his brother's face, "there was no room for argument. He sighed, "Ok."

The second they walked into their house on the Uchiha compound, Mikoto was all over them, "Naruto!" She shouted, immediately picking him up from Itachi's arms.

"Mikoto!" Naruto complained as she carried him like a small child, "I'm ok!"

Mikoto ignored him, placing him gently on a chair in the living room. She bent down and checked his injuries and then turned to Itachi, "what happened?"

Itachi was quiet. He honestly wasn't quite sure what to say. Should he just say Naruto the villagers had attacked Naruto? That may be the truth but it made no sense. But Itachi decided on asking a question of his own, "Why was he alone in the streets?" He asked his mother.

Mikoto gasped in surprise, "Naruto!" She turned to him, "I told you to go to the store in the Uchiha compound to get milk! What were you doing in the village?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and looked at his adopted mother sheepishly, "there's a store in the village that has way better ramen."

Mikoto sighed, "That's not ok Naruto. Clearly it wasn't safe for you to be running around alone."

"I'm fine!" Naruto insisted again.

"Why are you 'fine'?" Fugaku asked as he entered the room.

Mikoto stood and crossed her arms, "Naruto decided to go wandering in the village and then something happened…" Her voice trailed off and she turned back to her eldest, "what happened to him?" she asked again.

Itachi looked at her evenly, not answering. He looked down at Sasuke who stood next to him watching the exchange with curiosity and a touch of glee at his brother getting in trouble. He looked at his father who stood there watching him expectantly. He sighed, "Is dinner ready?" he asked finally.

Mikoto looked confused and then angry. How dare he ignore her question! What a disrespectful boy. But then, Itachi was always a careful child. Everything he did had a purpose, so she answered, "Yes Itachi-kun, it's just about ready."

Itachi nodded and turned to Sasuke, "go help Naruto wash up for dinner. Make sure he doesn't get his arm wet."

Sasuke's eyes widened, he had wanted to hear the rest of the conversation, "but…"

"Now, Sasuke," Itachi interrupted, a clear command in his voice.

Sasuke sighed, "fine. Let's go Naruto-kun." He walked to Naruto and grabbed his good hand to help him up. Naruto immediately stumbled. Sasuke snorted then moved closer to him, offering his shoulder for support, "You're such an idiot sometimes." He muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Naruto shouted indignantly.

Sasuke laughed, "Come on stupid," he said and helped guide Naruto down the hall to the washroom.

The three other's in the room watched the two young children disappear from the doorway. The two adults turned and looked at their remaining son, "What happened to Naruto?" Mikoto finally repeated her question.

This time Itachi responded, "There were some men, villagers it looked like, they were attacking him. Do you know why?"

Mikoto gasped, "Why do think I would know why anyone would do such a thing?" She asked in shock, "Naruto is such a good boy, there's nothing he could do to…" Her voice trailed off as her face changed from one of shock and indignation to one of fear and understanding. "Oh, " She said simply, as if figuring something out.

Itachi turned to look at his father. His eyes burned with silent question, demanding an answer.

"We know Itachi," Fugaku said finally, "but we cannot tell even you."

Itachi nodded shortly. He of all people understood the world of shinobi. He understood the need for secrets and lies. "Very well," he said quietly. He turned to leave, "I will take dinner in my room, I have an important mission tomorrow."

Fugaku sighed, his eyes closing. We watched his quiet and secretive son who was so powerful and so dangerous. Someday, he thought, you will understand.

Itachi's eyes burned red with anger as he walked down the hall. He might understand the need for secrets but he didn't need to like him. He felt the frustration of the Uchiha clan growing with each passing day and he heard the whispers behind his back. More secrets? That was the last thing he needed. He looked up to hear the voices of his two brothers arguing in the washroom and smiled. At least he had them. They were two lights in a world full of darkness and hatred. It didn't matter what the reason was for the attack on Naruto, because he was his big brother.

Naruto, he silently promised, I will protect you from now on.