Disclaimer: As Piggy so eloquently pointed out in the previous chapter, we do not own Naruto or any of the cannon characters. They belong solely to Kishimoto-sama.

Phatpigeats: Don't call me Piggy

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There was always something about hospitals that made him cringe. He knew people tried to decorate hospitals so that they were more 'homey', but in his opinion it was a failed attempt. The pale green color on the walls, the flowery pictures, the cheery floral sofas and decorative end tables; it all made him itch to jump out the nearest window. Maybe it came from life as a ninja, being taught to look beneath the underneath. As pretty as it was on the surface, he could never ignore that it was still a place where people died. It was like the whole thing was a trap, made to lull you into a sense of ease before it tore away someone you loved and left you broken. Of course he was probably biased. He never came into hospitals unless someone he knew was hurt or dying. Intellectually he knew more people came out of hospitals alive than dead, but that didn't erase personal experience.

Kakashi was drawn out of his thoughts when the elderly night nurse approached the desk to inquire as to his presence.

"May I help you, ANBU-san?"

"I want to know if the Uchiha brothers are fit to receive visitors."

The nurse's face fell, "Those poor boys? Yes there is no danger, they are both in stable condition but neither has woken up yet. You can still see them if you like, just follow me."

"Thank you"

The nurse led Kakashi to the southern part of the building, until they reached a wing that was relatively free of people.

"There are no other patients in this section. We thought it best if they have some quiet for their recovery. The elder brother is in this room here, the little one is across the hall. Don't disturb them to much."

"Again, thank you"

The nurse nodded before she headed back the way she came. Kakashi entered the room that Itachi was in and closed the door behind him. Looking to the young man in the bed, he wasn't really surprised to see a pair of onyx black eyes looking back at him.

"The nurse said you were unconscious." He stated

"I didn't feel like talking to nurses or doctors. Are you here to ask about the massacre?" Itachi's voice was hollow

"You know me better than that Itachi."

Itachi's shoulders slumped slightly and he looked away, "yes I know…Kakashi…" there was a moment of suffocating silence. Itachi seemed to be struggling with himself, as if he were afraid to ask his question, or get an answer.

Kakashi placed a calming hand on his shoulder. The Uchiha prodigy finally looked up again. There was a deep dread in his eyes.

Finally he got the question out, "Sasuke...I…when I got to the compound I saw…I mean…I know everyone else is…dead, but I blacked out before Shisui got away and Sasuke…he was still alive then but the nurses…I haven't heard them mention him. Is he…did Shisui…."

Itachi shook slightly as he rushed through the last part of the question before letting it fall short.

Kakashi was a bit annoyed that no one had bothered to mention Sasuke, but then he supposed they had though Itachi asleep and Itachi seemed hesitant to have his question answered, fearing to find out his little brother was dead.

"Sasuke is fine. He's in the room across that hall. He was suffering from shock and a few minor injuries but he'll be alright."

With that reassurance the tension seemed to leave Itachi. The boy looked up at his fellow ANBU captain and longtime friend with a lost look in his eye.

"What am I going to do? Everyone else is gone. The whole clan…I didn't…I couldn't save them"

Kakashi didn't answer, he just sighed and sat in the chair beside the bed. He had never been fond of the Uchiha clan as a whole. They had been arrogant and stuck in their own ways. Kakashi had never forgiven them for trying to force Obito out of a shinobi life when he failed to activate his Sharingan by the time he graduated the academy. At the time Itachi's grandfather had been the head of the clan. Kakashi could still recall the pompous old man's sneer at Obito's funeral. Had Mikoto not held him back he probably would have attacked the elderly Uchiha. In the long run it was only because of Fugaku and Mikoto that Kakashi even associated with the clan at all. Fugaku was the younger of two sons; his older brother had been much like his father. Needless to say Fugaku had never quite fit in amongst them. Their differences became even more pronounced when Fugaku chose to elope with a girl of 'bad-blood'. Mikoto's mother had been a failure of an Uchiha, barley making chunin before being unofficially excommunicated after giving birth to a child out of wedlock whose father wasn't even an Uchiha. Mikoto had never activated Sharingan, though she had been a tokubetsu jonin without it. Either was Fugaku loved her, they eloped and caused a clan scandal. Fugaku was never officially disowned but he was cut from many clan decisions. Even so, he and Mikoto had been the only people who defended Obito. They had even taken him into their own home when his own parents cast him out. Kakashi had not learned much of this until after Obito's death, but it has softened his heart toward his dead friend's Aunt and Uncle. They had become good friends of his since Obito's death. Fugaku had taught him about using his newly acquired Sharingan eye and Mikoto had always fussed over him. As such he had found it very amusing when the couple's eldest child quickly proved to be a prodigy, and even more so when Fugaku's elder brother died without having any children; leaving the one time 'failure' to become the new clan head.

Kakashi only realized that he had gone silent, lost in memories, when Itachi called his name and poked him in the knee.

"Sorry Itachi it's...I've had a…" Kakashi trailed off realizing that as difficult as this day had been it had been worse the Itachi.

Itachi understood. While Kakashi wasn't a blood relation, he was like family.

"I know it sounds wrong but I'm not as sad as I should be over the rest of the clan. Mother and Father, I feel so alone without them…but for the rest of the clan it is just an empty feeling, perhaps bit of pity…" Itachi sighed and fell back against the pillows, looking up at the ceiling

Kakashi nodded his understanding "Your parents, you, your brother, and maybe your great aunt and uncle; you were different then the rest of the clan. We both know that there were some ominous ambitions while your grandfather was clan head. His friendship with Danzo was always considered something that could lead to future problems. Then there was that entire issue with Sasuke and Root…it's understandable that you where not overly attached to them"

Itachi's eyes grew steely. Shortly after their grandfather died and he was promoted to ANBU, his uncle had put forth the idea of entering Sasuke into Root. The excuse given had been that since Itachi was such a genius surely his brother would be to. It would be beneficial to the whole of Konoha for Sasuke to receive intensive training at a very young age. At the time his parents had seemed constantly panicked. Although he was an ANBU operative, he had still only been 13, and his parents had tried to protect him from the uncertainty. However, Itachi was well aware that His father had gone behind the clan's back and informed the Hokage of what was happening. His parents had planned an escape route, deciding that if the clan tried to take Sasuke away by force, they would flee Konoha with Sasuke. However the entire event had blown over, Itachi was sure that the Hokage played a major role in 'discouraging' Danzo by reminding him that Root was technically disbanded; however it really came down to Sasuke. The younger boy had failed to become any sort of prodigy. He was now seven and had yet to activate Sharingan. He also had the feeling that his parents had tried to slow the progress of Sasuke training in order to throw off the clan council and Danzo. Not that it mattered anymore. There was no more Uchiha clan, just Sasuke and himself. There was no more need to tiptoe around clan politics for fear of upsetting others. Without the council fearing damage to the clan's prestige, Itachi's options became much clearer. If Danzo or anyone else tried to hurt Sasuke they would die. In a way it made life much easier. Now that his mind was back to the massacre Itachi decided to be brutally honest.

"I will kill Shisui."

Kakashi frowned, not that he didn't sympathize; if he ever saw Shisui he would do everything in his power to give the man a slow and painful death. He knew it was worse for Itachi because Shisui had been one of the few clan members outside his own family that he liked. In truth, until a few hours ago Itachi had considered Shisui his best friend. Even so, Itachi was in a fragile place right now. He was still trying to process the death of his beloved parents. Kakashi didn't want to see Itachi become obsessed. People who lived only for revenge never met a happy fate.

"Itachi…don't let him do this to you…he should pay, no, he will pay for what he's done…but don't give him the satisfaction of ruining you life. Nothing can bring the dead back, no even vengeance…don't take it with you."

Itachi actually smiled, inside he was relived to know he still could, "I know Kakashi…Mother and Father may be gone but I have Sasuke. He needs me; I have to move on for his sake. He's always been such a quiet child; he can't be on his own. I'm afraid of what he would do if left to his own devices in the wake of tragedy; of what he would become"

Kakashi silently agreed, and then decided it was time to turn this conversation in a new direction. "What will you do then? ANBU don't have much free time or reliability. The council was talking about assigning a guardian for Sasuke. They plan to allow you time to visit when you're off duty."

Itachi face contorted into a venomous glare, his Sharingan activated instinctively "LIKE HELL THEY WILL!!"

"Simmer down Itachi; you don't have the spare chakra to be using Sharingan right now. I said that's the council's plan. Hokage-sama has already said that he doesn't approve. He feels that it is wrong to separate siblings after such a tragedy. Besides, even if he went crazy and decided to agree to their scheme, I wouldn't allow it."

Itachi took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

"I'm going to retire from ANBU. I'll request to be given rank as a jonin. The council can drop dead for all I care. No one will me raising my little brother in my place!"

"Even as a jonin you will have missions outside of Konoha. What will happen to Sasuke while you gone? The Uchiha Compound is a very big place for one little boy to be alone."

Itachi sighed "I don't intend for us to live in the Uchiha Compound. I mean…maybe someday…when I… er… well…when there is more than just the two of us to carry on the Uchiha name, perhaps then we will re-open the compound. For now I intend to close it down and put our possessions into storage. An apartment is far more practical for just me and Sasuke."

Kakashi grinned underneath his mask "Then I propose a solution to both problems. You and Sasuke should move in with me. You know I have the space. I think Hokage will be kind enough to arrange it so that our missions don't overlap, that way at least one of us is always there to take care of Sasuke. Should there ever be a time that we both have to be out of the village Iruka would be willing to help."

Itachi blinked in surprise. It was true, Kakashi had the room. He had a very generous salary as well as a sizable inheritance that he had invested well. He rented out part of the top floor of a nice apartment building. He had three small bedrooms, two of which usually went empty or as were used storage. It wasn't a huge space but with the three of them there it wouldn't be overcrowded. It was also true that if they had missions Kakashi's neighbor could watch Sasuke. The chunin teach liked kids and had a soft spot for the ones that didn't quite fit in.

Itachi nodded "I think that you be good. However I will pay half the rent and you have to promise to keep your little books out of Sasuke's reach."

"Deal" Kakashi said with a light chuckle

Itachi was silent for a moment, he didn't look up at Kakashi when he spoke "Thank you… I…it's good to know that…"

"You aren't alone" Kakashi finished for him. "…Mikoto and Fugaku were good to me. I've always though of you and Sasuke as the annoying little brothers I never had. I don't intend to abandon you."

Itachi let a few tears fall "they would want us to stay together…to be happy."

"Yes they would. We're still a family."

Itachi gave a shaky nod "Kakashi could bring Sasuke in here? After all he had to see…I don't want him to wake up alone."

Kakashi stood and exited the room. He walked across the hall and into Sasuke's room. The boy slept fitfully, trembling slightly. Kakashi picked him up and carried him across the hall. Entering into Itachi's room again, was about to put the boy onto the big fluffy chair in the corner but though better of it when he saw Itachi. The relief on the elder Uchiha's face was scary. Kakashi realized that Itachi needed to see for himself that Sasuke wasn't gone to.

He gently placed the little boy in his brother's arms and then returned to his chair. Sasuke seemed to settle a bit, falling into a peaceful slumber.

They said nothing more. They just sat silently thinking on the past, preparing for the future. A little family keeping each other afloat in the wake of disaster, held together by something beyond words.

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Sarutobi smiled to himself as he placed the crystal ball back into his desk drawer. He had known from the start that no further report would be filed tonight.

He was about to put away his papers and retire for the night, when there was a great crash. The door to his office flew off his hinges and across the room, along with the chunnin who had been guarding it.

Sarutobi sighed "As usual it's a pleasure to see you, but must you always break my door…and my guards for that matter?"

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Okay big explanation. I know that Naruto wasn't in this chapter and I'm sorry. However I thought it was important to understand the entirety of the Massacre coughforeshadowingcough. Also this gives you an idea of the kind of childhood Sasuke will have from now on. It makes his personality in this story far more plausible. I had intended for this chapter to be about the Uchihas and Naruto, however it took on a life of it's own and it seemed to long. So this chapter is devoted to the Uchihas and Kakashi. A bit of a cliffhanger for the next chapter, but it will be posted soon.

Thank you for reading and please review.

Remember flames will be set on fire.

Belle-san and Phatpigeats