Welcome to chapter 7 of The First Initiation.
WARNING: This story is rated M for a reason. This is Yaoi, if you don't like it, don't read it.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.
The wind blew through the tops of the trees surrounding the dilapidated old house. The lone
figure huddled into the torn blanket that had traveled with him since he left home, wishing for all the world that he wasn't alone.
XxXxXx
A few miles to the south, another stood high in the trees, searching for a lone chakra signature that would lead him to the man he was looking for. The wind blowing through his shaggy hair caused the man to run his thin fingers across his scalp trying to calm the ebony strands.
"It shouldn't be much further, I'm getting a faint pull to the north. Maybe another day's travel to reach the location" the man said to himself.
Leaping from his branch, Sasuke ran north until it was too dark. "Shit, it's too cold to continue." He looked around for some sort of shelter to block the freezing wind. Spotting a small cave, Sasuke jumped down from the tree and ran the short distance to the ragged opening in the wall of rock.
After making sure that the cave was uninhabited, he used his katon to start a small fire to keep himself warm. Laying down, Sasuke thought about all that he had learned these past few years since he killed Orochimaru.
Sasuke had just thrown the final blow to the long haired snake man. Orochimaru fell into a heap. The young Uchiha had walked to the body to make sure that the job had been finished. The evil man grasped Sasuke's hand and pulled him close, and with his final breaths whispered "Itachi killed your parents and family because the elders of Konoha ordered him to, he begged them to spare your life. He finished the heinous act and turned rouge because he didn't know how to face you or the village. I was whispering in Danzo-sama's ear that the whole reason that Kyuubi was released was because your family was incompetent in keeping that fox demon under control, and he convinced the elders that this was the truth."
Sasuke looked at the dying man in disbelief. "No, it can't be true." Everything that he had felt at that time for his brother had been lies and everything in his world was now upside down.
The snake wheezed in a shallow breath before continuing. "The Sandaime didn't know anything about it. I came up with a plan where I would be able to overthrow that old coot and become the Godaime . This was all of my doing, Itachi was following orders like the Anbu captain he was." As the greasy man whispered the last sentence, Sasuke saw that there was no more life in the snake. Orochimaru's eyes rolled back and he let out his last breath.
It took Sasuke almost a year to come to terms with all of the information. He had started sending one of his summons to the Hokage explaining everything.
"Now, if only I could find Itachi, then this will be over." he whispered to no one.
The information that the last Uchiha received from the underlings of the snake was that the Akatsuki had fallen to the Leaf and Sand shinobi. None were left, but not all of the bodies were found. The raven had searched for clues to his brother's where abouts these past few years, and the last clues had brought him to this remote place in the land of Mist.
Rolling towards the small fire, Sasuke hoped that the small hut that was about a mile to the north yet was where Itachi was.
"I just want to take my family home where we belong." he muttered as he fell into a restless sleep.
XxXxXx
Bright sunlight was pouring through the only window onto the figure covered with a thin blanket.
Rolling over, he cracked one eye open before remembering that he could no longer see. Feeling the sun's warmth on his face, he could tell that the sun had risen a few hours ago and that today was going to be a warm one despite it being early spring.
Sitting up, he folded his blanket and felt around himself for his bag, finding it just above where his head had been. Reaching in he pulled out the bag that held his toothbrush and other items.
Making his way slowly to his feet, Itachi straightened his clothes and made his way to the door. "It's a good thing that I found this place before I lost my eyesight" he thought "I know my way around."
Itachi had found this place, surrounded by thick trees and a sheer rock cliff, a few years ago. He had painstakenly built the shack and secretly filled it with all of the necessities that he would need when he left the organization.
Before he left, he had altered the memories of some civilians in the towns around the shack, so that when Sasuke came looking for him it would be easy for him to find his brother. He had made it possible that the information would only be given to Sasuke by giving his description to the civilians.
Walking slowly towards the small creek, Itachi spread out his chakra, searching for his brother. He grinned when he felt a familiar spike in the chakra field, "So little brother, you should be here soon. I just hope that you will be able to kill me quickly"
Itachi went through his basic morning routine, then returned to the hut to eat some dried fruits.
XxXxXx
Sasuke entered at the southern edge of the clearing that surrounded the shack. The raven sent out a spike of chakra, and felt an answering flare.
Falling to his knees, Sasuke took several deep breaths as he realized that the person that he had been looking for all this time was sitting seiza in that falling down hovel.
For a moment, the anger and resentment that he had felt all of the years since Itachi had murdered his entire family reared its ugly head.
"YOU LOW LIFE BASTARD, COME OUT AND FACE ME, NOW!" Sasuke screamed, "I know you are in there."
Itachi slowly stood and walked to the door.
"Before you kill me, Sasuke, I just want you to know that I still love you, no matter what." the long haired raven said.
Itachi, walked out away from the hut and knelt down and closed his eyes, prepared to take the punishment that was coming to him.
Sasuke looked at the figure kneeling in front of him, and felt something die inside of him. He shook his head slowly, walked up to Itachi and fell to his knees, wrapping the older raven in his arms.
"I know everything, Aniki." Sasuke whispered into his brother's ear.
"Wha...what do you mean?" the long haired raven asked, disbelieving what his otouto had said.
"Before I killed Orochimaru, he told me everything. I sent one of my summons immediately to the Hokage, informing her of everything. All I had to do was find you, which I now have done, and then I can go home. So Aniki, what do you think, are you ready to go to Konoha?" Sasuke slowly unwrapped his arms from around the older raven.
Itachi slowly lifted his head and turned his face to his brother. "There is no way I can return home, the penalty for treason is death."
Sasuke shook his head, " You don't understand, when I said that I was in contact with the Hokage, I meant with everything. She has informed me that with all of the information that I have given her over the years, including the truth about what happened with our family. We are more than welcome by the higher ups in Konoha to come home."
Itachi hung his head, and shook it slowly. "Sasuke, I can't go back. I'm not the same person I was when I left. I know that when you look at me, you see the sharingan running full force in my eyes. The downfall of using it all these years is that now I am totally blind. I don't know what you look like now, I can only see you in my memories. If I go back I will be totally helpless. I will have to have someone care for me at all times. It's why I am all alone out here, the rest of the akatsuki left me to fend for myself. I could see it coming and prepared for it the best that I could."
Sasuke took his brother's hand and placed it on his face, "I haven't changed that much, Aniki. I think that the only thing that is different about me is that my hair is a lot longer than it used to be."
Itachi ran the tips of his fingers along Sasuke's strong brow, before moving to his eyebrows and eyes. He slowly ran his index finger of his right hand down Sasuke's straight nose and across his thin lips. Then ran both hands across his cheeks to his chin.
Itachi grinned, "Well otouto, you are right, nothing much about you has changed, except that you really need to shave. That's some monstrous stubble you've got there. I never thought I would see the day that you would have stubble."
" Oh, and that fuzzy shit on you face is soooo much better." Sasuke reached out and rubbed Itachi's face.
"Well, like I said I can't see my face, but I know that it must be bad because it itches something fierce." Itachi grinned and came to the conclusion that what Sasuke was telling him was the truth, it was time to go home and the thought of that made him extremely happy. "So do you think that you could help me with this. If I'm going home, I want to look my best."
"Are you serious, are you really coming home with me?" Sasuke asked, not believing what he was hearing.
"It's time, otouto, let's go home." Itachi reached out and grabbed his brother in a hug.
XxXxXx
Itachi felt himself becoming drained and tugged on his otouto's hand, "Sasuke, how much longer until we reach Konoha? I'm starting to get exhausted, we have been running for three days now." Itachi asked the younger raven.
"We are a day out, yet. We are coming up on the small onsen that is just north of the village" Sasuke answered him. "We will rest there for a few days, while cleaning up and getting something better to wear"
"Are you sure that we are welcome?" the long haired raven asked his brother, "I am worried that as soon as we get close enough to the village we will end up in the prison with Ibiki breathing down our throats and Inoichi searching the deep recesses of our minds. I have some horrible memories in there that I don't want anyone to know."
"I told you that I had everything taken care of. The only thing we have to worry about is the reactions of our friends."
Sasuke walked into the onsen and asked for a single room with a private hot spring for him and Itachi to share. He paid for the room and he and Itachi followed the owner to their room.
"If we could ma'am, we need razors, shaving cream, a pair of scissors, and a fresh change of clothes, please, whatever you can find will be fine." the young raven asked the lady.
She nodded her lavender haired head "I'll see what I can come up with." She gave the brothers a quick bow and left them to themselves.
"Well, how about we check out the hot spring" Itachi offered, while shrugging out of his tattered shirt and started to reach for the front of his pants.
Sasuke laughed as Itachi tilted to one side in his rush to get undressed. "Slow down before you fall down" the young raven chuckled, stripping off of his own shirt and pants.
Sasuke reached for Itachi's arm so to lead him to the hot spring. The long haired raven flinched at the touch, "Sorry, I'm still not used to someone touching me. It has been a long time since someone did that voluntarily."
Sasuke helped his brother into the warm water and went to follow him in, when he was stopped by a knock at the room's door. Scowling slightly, the young raven grabbed one of the yukatas provided by the onsen for the use of the guests, and put it on before answering the door.
A young girl, no older than thirteen, was kneeling beside the door with a basket filled with toiletries and a medium bag filled with clothes.
"Here are the things that you asked for, Uchiha-sama" she stated, head still touching the floor in a low bow.
"Please get up, you don't have to bow to me." Sasuke told the young girl reaching out to place his hand on her hair. It was a gentle touch on her light brown hair, to which she jumped slightly at and moved away from the young man quickly.
" I didn't mean to startle you, my name is Sasuke and you can address me as such." Sasuke reassured the young brunette. She reminded him of Hinata, somewhat, with the long hair flowing down her back.
"My name is Ayame, and I am the daughter of the owner." She replied. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"My brother and I haven't had a decent meal in some time, is there any way for us to get something to eat?" he asked the girl.
"At this time of night, there isn't much of a choice, but my mom just made some Miso ramen if you would like." she told Sasuke.
"That would be fine." he told her, then watched as she left to get the food.
Sasuke returned to the hot spring to find that Itachi had moved out of the water and was sitting on the ledge.
"They brought the things that we asked for, and I asked for some food too, they will be bringing some miso ramen in a little while." He told his brother. "Let's get started getting cleaned up."
"I am putting all of my trust in you, and I know that you will do the right things." Itachi told Sasuke with a small smirk gracing his face.
Sasuke eyed the hot water with longing, before turning to his brother, " Well, we might as well go into the bathroom and shower, we can't leave suds in the onsen." Helping the older raven to his feet, Sasuke led the way into the shower.
The young Uchiha went about setting the water temperature in the shower so that he and his brother could enter without getting burned, then turned and grabbed a small bowl that he filled with the warm water and placed a hand towel in it.
Turning back to Itachi, Sasuke grabbed his hand and led him into the shower. Sasuke started with his aniki's hair, grabbing the shampoo and pouring a large amount into his hand. Reaching forward with his hand slowly so as not to startle the older raven, Sasuke massaged the shampoo into a lather in the long inky black hair. Slowly moving his brother back into the water, Sasuke tilted his brother's chin back to rinse his hair.
"Otouto, please remember to use the conditioner. It has been a few years since I have been able to use it and I hope that the owner put some in the basket." Itachi sighed in relief when he felt Sasuke starting to massage his head again, rubbing in the conditioner.
After rinsing the long hair, Sasuke reached for the washcloth and soap. Working up a good lather, he started with Itachi's face and worked his way down his body. When he reached his feet, he rinsed the cloth and started again. When Sasuke thought his aniki was clean enough, he helped Itachi out of the shower and handed the towel that was warming in the bowl of water to him.
"Hold the towel to your face until I am done in the shower, it will help when I shave you" Sasuke explained.
Sasuke returned to the shower and gave himself a good scrubbing, not spending as much time on himself as he did his brother. He wasn't as dirty as the long haired raven.
Upon leaving the shower, Sasuke reached for the basket and grabbed the shaving things and the scissors.
"Ok, Itachi, I'm going to shave you now. I'll go slow and easy and I'll try not to nick you." the young raven told his aniki.
"You better, or I will make sure that you cannot contribute to restoring the clan." Itachi threatened with a small smirk.
" That's ok, I think that I'll leave the restoring to you. The person that I am in love with cannot have children" Sasuke told his brother with a smile while shaving him knowing the older couldn't see him.
"So tell me little brother," Itachi began when Sasuke signaled that he was finished shaving him, "Who is she? I made sure to know all of the young kunoichi of Konoha so I would be able to advise you best when this time came." Itachi's smirk widened slightly.
"Sorry, Aniki, but I don't think that that is any of your business" the young raven replied.
"Aw, come on, is it that pink haired girl, Sakura? Or maybe, that girl with the really long blue-black hair? Or is it the one with the really long blonde hair that reminds me of Deidara?" Itachi asked, turning to the direction that he last felt Sasuke's chakra spike.
Sasuke looked at his brother and sighed, Itachi was giving him the best puppy eyes that he had seen since he left Konoha.
"Fine, but don't think that I didn't warn you. It's not any of those girls. Sakura is annoying to the point of fingernails against a chalkboard, it is so not her. It might have been Hinata, the one with the blue-black hair, but I can't stand her family. I mean seriously, skipping over her as the heir just because she doesn't have the skills like her older cousin, Neji , is ridiculous. And it's not Ino, I mean she is pretty and all, but her hair is too long and her eyes aren't the right shade of blue for me." Sasuke answered to the best of his ability without giving away who he liked.
"Don't tell me that you like that genin, Moegi?" Itachi asked, crinkling his nose in distaste.
"Of course not, she has a huge thing for the Sandiame's grandson, Konohamaru." Sasuke replied, then took a deep breath and blurted out "IaminlovewithUzumakiNaruto."
The long haired raven started with slight shock then said " Please repeat that more slowly."
"I am in love with Uzumaki Naruto." Sasuke slowed down, a blush creeping across his cheeks.
" You're gay? Well, Otouto, we are more alike than we both thought. The one I love is also a blonde man with blue eyes. I am in love with Deidara, but as you can tell, he did what he thought was best and left. Orders came down that whoever was found in my company was a traitor and would be killed immediately. I haven't had any contact with him in two years. I miss him terribly." The older raven told the younger, with tears forming in his eyes.
At that moment they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Sasuke put his yukata back on and answered the door, where he was met by Ayame.
"Here is the meal you requested, Sasuke, and I'm sorry that it took me so long to get back to you." the young lady handed the tray of miso ramen to the raven. "If there is anything else I can get for you, please let me know."
Sasuke watched the girl walk back down the hall, before turning back into the room.
Setting the food on the table, Sasuke went back into the bathroom to help his brother get dressed in his yukata.
All through dinner, both ravens were quiet, thinking over everything that had been brought out in their conversation.
"Aniki, I'm sorry that your love left you and I hope that your life will change for the better when we get home. I will send a summons to Tsunade in the morning, telling her of your handicap and hopefully she can set up some help for you to be able to get around on your own. I know that you don't want me to be constantly helping you, but I will if you want" Sasuke said, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder.
"What will you do when we get home? Will you tell Naruto how you feel? Will you not tell him?" the long haired raven asked before he was interrupted by his brother.
"I'm not sure. I guess that I will tell him, but if it seems that he has moved on, I'll leave him alone" Sasuke replied, hanging his head.
Sasuke lifted his head to look at his brother, who he caught in mid yawn. "Alright, let's head to bed. It's really late and you need to replenish your chakra" He helped Itachi into the bed before climbing in next to him.
"It sure has been a long time since we shared a bed, don't hog all of the covers and I wont kick you off the side" Itachi told his little brother, grinning tiredly.
Sasuke punched him lightly, before falling in a deep sleep.
"Goodnight, Otouto, I can't wait to go home" the older raven said before drifting off to sleep himself.
XxXxXx
Sasuke woke up when his body hit the floor, "Damn it, Itachi!" he groaned. Cracking open his eyes, he could see that the room was flooded with light. Picking himself up off the floor, Sasuke straightened his yukata.
Working quickly, he performed the seals and summoned one of his quickest snakes and gave it a verbal message to take to Tsunade.
" Please let Tsunade or Shizune know that I found Itachi and that we are coming home. Let them know that Itachi is blind from using the Sharingan too much and will need help accustoming himself to his home once again." The snake nodded before slithering away.
Hoping for a reply by mid-afternoon, Sasuke climbed back into the bed and tried to sleep once more.
A few hours later, the summons returned with a reply. "Message from Shizune. Sorry for Tsunade not answering herself, she went to the elders with your message. All is ready for your return. No charges will be filed, you will both be free men. Hope to see both of you soon." with that the snake disappeared.
"Hey, sleepy head, wake up we can go home now" Sasuke tried to rouse the sleepy Uchiha by shaking him, but it didn't work. Grabbing both of his shoulders and shaking him violently while shouting his name finally worked after about five minutes.
"Is there something that you want, Otouto. I'm trying to sleep here" the grumpy raven mumbled.
"Wake up, I wanna go home." Sasuke tried again.
"Coffee, now." Itachi said, and turned over to face the wall.
A loud knock sounded at the door, "Don't get up, I'll get the door." Sasuke answered the door to find Ayame with a tray of food.
"Good morning Sasuke, I brought you and your brother breakfast. There is coffee and tea, toast and eggs and rice." She handed him the tray with a smile, "will you be staying longer."
Sasuke smiled back, " Thank you, and no, we will be going home today. Thank you for your hospitality."
Ayame bowed and smiled before turning and leaving the young raven to his food.
"Alright Itachi, you lazy bastard, get up or I will eat your share of the food and drink your coffee. Ayame brought breakfast." the young raven sat the food on the table in order to help his brother to the table.
Itachi groaned and rolled back over, "Did you send a summon to Tsunade?"
"Yup, I sent it out when you kicked me out of the bed and I have already heard back. Shizune, who is Tsunade's assistant, sent the reply. Tsunade was with the council, they know that we are coming home and we are not to be arrested, but be welcomed home as free men." Sasuke hurried through his breakfast, only to be interrupted by a knocking at the door once more.
"Sorry to bother you again, Sasuke, but I forgot to bring this package with your breakfast." Ayame said, handing him the package.
"I wonder what this is?" Sasuke asked himself, knowing that the clothes he asked for were in the bedroom.
Reaching the clothing that was brought to them last night, Sasuke started to go through them after a few minutes he realized what must be in the package that Ayame just brought him. "New underwear, her mother must have realized that we needed everything new."
Turning to Itachi, Sasuke was shocked to not find him at the table. "Itachi, where are you?" Sasuke asked the empty room.
"I had to do some things in the bathroom, I didn't mean to scare you" Itachi answered him.
"What was so important that you do that you couldn't wait for me to help?" The raven asked angrily, truly scared that something might have happened to his brother.
" I so do not need for you to help me piss, Sasuke, there are some things that I can still do on my own." Itachi smirked at his brother.
"Can you dress yourself? If you can't I will help you, but I want you to try." Sasuke walked into the bathroom to relieve himself and shave, which he was unable to do the night before, he was just so tired.
Dressing himself in the black slacks and a gray button down shirt, Itachi waited for Sasuke to emerge from the bathroom.
After about ten minutes, Sasuke walked out into the main room dressed in clothes similar to his brother's. Black slacks and a blood red button down shirt graced his toned body. Handing Itachi his sandles, Sasuke put on his own shoes and reaching for his brother's arm, they left the onsen and headed to Konoha.
XxXxXx
Tsunade was sitting at her desk when a knock sounded through the room. "What is it Izumo?" she asked.
The chunin stuck his head into the room "news from the outer guards, Sasuke and Itachi will be arriving shortly, Hokage-sama"
"Thank you, please send for Naruto, have him come to my office as soon he can" She asked.
"Right away, Hokage-sama" the chunin left immediately.
Tsunade reached into her draw for her sake, but was interrupted before she could even take the first sip.
"You know Hokage-sama, drinking this early in the day can be bad for your health" Sasuke said as he entered the office, leading his brother to a chair in front of the Hokage.
"Well, welcome home Sasuke, Itachi. I am happy to have you both home. There is some information I need to tell you as well as administering a full check up for both of you. You have both been pardoned and your home has been cleaned and readied for you to live in. Your money has been returned to your account, we had it moved to a private account that no one could touch. Now, Itachi if you would please follow me, I will start your check up." Tsunade reached for the older raven, when the door to her office slammed open.
"BAA-CHAN" Naruto yelled, running into the room. " you wanted me." The blonde stopped short when he saw who was in the room with Tsunade. Juggling his bundle, he gasped "Sasuke, when did you get home?"
"Obviously, I just got in, Dobe." the raven answered.
"TEME!" Naruto yelled, waking Kazue who started to cry. "I'm so sorry, beautiful. Shhh, go back to sleep now" the blonde slightly rocked the baby in his arms, quieting her down successfully.
"I think that you and Sasuke have a few things to talk about, so we will leave you alone." Tsunade led Itachi out of the room.
"Well, dobe, what's new." Sasuke asked, looking at the baby.
Blushing Naruto introduced Sasuke to Kazue. "Sasuke this is my daughter, Uchiha Kazue."
Sasuke looked at the blonde, confused. "If she is your daughter, why does she have my family name?"
Naruto looked at the man who he had loved for years, answering with a blush on his face, "Because she is your daughter, too."
Naruto handed the little girl to Sasuke, then explained everything that has happened in the past few months.
Sasuke looked with awe at the raven haired girl who was sleeping in his arms, " I can't believe you did this for me, dobe. Why?"
The blonde looked at Sasuke, "When she was left at my door, and looked so much like you, I couldn't help my self. She reminded me of why I tried to save you so many times. I didn't know if you were ever coming back, but I knew that the most important thing to you besides your brother was restoring your clan. I helped you along, it isn't important to me to have my name go on, but it is to you. Tsunade made it law that who ever marries Kazue has to take the Uchiha name. It will go on."
Sasuke looked at the girl again and saw that she was now looking back at him. Beautiful blue-green eyes looked deep within his own black eyes, and something melted in his heart.
Kazue reached for the raven, "Pa"
Glancing at the blonde, Sasuke sank to his knees, not knowing that tears were falling from his eyes.
Sasuke hugged the girl to his shoulder, shaking slightly with his cries.
"Burp" Kazue belched loudly and spit up all over the Uchiha's shoulder.
"Well, Sasuke, I think that she likes you. She has initiated you into the family." the blonde told him, laughing.
Naruto reached into the bag he was carrying for a towel.
Sasuke sat Kazue on the floor next to him while Naruto cleaned his shirt the best he could.
"How many are in your family?" the raven asked the blonde.
"Well, I'm Dada, and Gaara is Mama. There is a whole story behind that, it's really funny. She has also spit up on Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Temari, Kankaro, Sakura, Kiba, Shizune, and Baa-chan." the blonde counted out on his fingers.
Sasuke frowned, "What is Gaara doing here?"
"Gaara gave up his position as Kazakage to help me raise Kazue. We are kind of dating." Naruto said with a blush.
Feeling a tightness in his chest that he couldn't explain, Sasuke picked up his daughter, hugged her tightly, then handed her back to Naruto. "Tell Tsunade I'll come in for my exam tomorrow and to bring Itachi to the main house. I need to be alone now."
Sasuke looked at Naruto with sad eyes before leaping out of the window and running for the Uchiha compound.
I would like to thank all of my readers for their patience while I worked on this chapter. I can't believe it has been almost seven months. All I can say is that I have been channeling Shikamaru, except where he watches the clouds I read stories. I hope that the next chapter shouldn't take as long.
Love, Mama.