A/N: A million thank you's to everybody who read my story! To think that you all actually took the time to read it blows my mind. You're amazing. And special thank you's (and virtual cookies) to Believing in Tomorrow, Echo Uchiha, Xx- Silent Ookami –Xx, BriBri, and Bulla 49 who reviewed!

A/N: I probably should clarify: Sasuke Gaiden is going to focus primarily on Sasuke and Team 7, so we won't be spending much more time pre-manga/anime. This is second part of the prologue; it wouldn't upload yesterday, so I had to post it separately.

Two years later

Itachi silently ran up the stairs to his room, heart beating at a slightly elevated rate. A childish voice echoed loudly throughout the house, informing him that his time was almost up. Itachi reached his room and seamlessly entered. He slid under the bed in one smooth motion, barely ruffling the fibers of the white carpet. He forced himself motionless; it was easy enough for him, really. He was a Konoha ninja, after all, and he was not any common ninja. He was Itachi Uchiha, child prodigy and future head of the prestigious Uchiha clan. No, he had no problems with staying still.

Tiny feet padded into the room. Itachi smiled, a rare event now. The feet slowed as the owner searched for something. The closet did not afford the sought after object, nor did the space behind the door. The dresser drawers and clothes hamper were empty as well. The feet stilled, and Itachi did not need to see Sasuke's face to know the child was stumped.

Perhaps I should make a noise, Itachi thought, and give him a small hint. Itachi immediately discarded the thought. After all, he reasoned, how will he ever become a proper ninja if he doesn't begin training early? He had to learn the hard way. Another small part of him protested, arguing that Sasuke was just a toddler, and that it wasn't fair to him-

Something grabbed his foot. Instinctively Itachi roughly jerked his leg away. His hand went to the kunai at his hip.

A chubby, two year old face peeked under the bed. "'Ound you!" Sasuke cried triumphantly to his older brother, his face shining. Itachi took in the tomato stains on Sasuke's shirt and face and the messy, disorganized nature of his hair as he observed his younger brother. "I won!" Sasuke squealed happily, as if to prove his point.

Itachi crawled out from under the bed as smoothly as he had crawled under it. "Good job, Sasuke," he congratulated the small child calmly. Sasuke beamed even brighter at his brother's rare praise.

Feet mounted the stairs once more, but these feet were much heavier than their predecessors. They did not have a child's clumsy and rambunctious gait, nor did they have the soft tapping of their mother's steps. These feet moved loudly, with a stated intention and clear purpose.

Hiro Uchiha appeared in the doorway of Itachi's room. He was frowning, but that was not unusual for him. Itachi could not remember his uncle smiling when he was younger, and Hiro had not so much as grinned since his brother's death.

"Itachi," he grumbled, his low gravelly voice even hoarser than usual. "What are you doing in here? You're supposed to be practicing your ninjutsu, not wasting time with him." To Hiro, Sasuke was usually "him".

"Hai, Hiro-sama," Itachi answered politely. There was no sense in arguing with him. Hiro was the temporary head of the clan, and he would remain as such until Itachi reached adulthood. Hiro was also determined to train and guide Itachi as his father would have if he had survived. According to his mother, Hiro saw his job as temporary clan head as a necessary evil. According to Shisui, he loved it. Itachi fell somewhere in the middle of the two polar views.

A slight noise reminded Itachi of his younger brother. Sasuke hadn't moved since Hiro's sudden appearance. Hiro noticed Itachi's momentary distraction. "Go play in your room," he told Sasuke sharply. "Your brother has work to do."

Sasuke's lip quivered pathetically. Hiro had always intimidated him. However, despite the child's fear of his uncle, he remained planted to the ground at his older brother's side.

"Sasuke, go to your room. I'll play with you later," Itachi lied to his brother, knowing that with Hiro at home there would be no later. But telling Sasuke the truth would only exacerbate the situation, so he opted for the lesser of two evils.

Sasuke looked up at his brother. For a moment Itachi thought he would listen. Deliberately, Sasuke lifted his arm and wrapped it snuggly around his brother's leg. He then said the first word he had ever learned, a word that was still his perennial favorite. "No."

Itachi very nearly groaned. Sasuke was impossible when he was in one of his stubborn moods. "Sasuke, go play by yourself. I need to train."

"'Tachi, I don't wanna!" the boy whined. Itachi gritted his teeth. Bribery would probably work on Sasuke. What can I promise him that will keep him quiet? Itachi was about to make an offer when Hiro interrupted.

"Sasuke, go to your room now!" Hiro's voice was thunderous and heavy, like a fist slamming into a wall. Frightened, Sasuke jumped. Upon recovery he puffed out his lower lip, obviously hurt. Nevertheless he obeyed, stumbling out of Itachi's room and into his own without another complaint.

Hiro headed for the stairs, and Itachi followed him without speaking. It wasn't until they were outdoors that Hiro spoke again. "He needs to learn to listen. Your mother spoils him too much."

Itachi just nodded, although he disagreed. His mother may have spoiled Sasuke a little, but it was understandable, considering that she had lost her husband and had to be at work and away from her children every day. But Itachi did not contradict his uncle, although it was certainly not because he was afraid of him. The fight was just not worth the effort.

Itachi warmed up quickly and attempted the first jutsu. Without even looking Itachi knew his brother was watching from the upstairs window.