A/N: I am so late with this. To be honest, I didn't have that much inspiration for this one, so I'm sorry if it feels kind of...uh...not inspirational enough? Yeah, anyways, that doesn't mean I'll leave this fic, oh no, I have it finished in my head, just need to type it down..haha... Yeah. Also, expect a one shot (that was finished like a month ago) soon. Now, enjoy~

-Sasuke's POV-

It was the beginning of December, and I still hadn't gone to visit the clan. I was walking to the interrogation room to get the next clue from Naruto. The echoing of my footsteps made my headache worse. I had a nightmare again and I was sure the bags under my eyes were visible. I knew I had to visit the clan but I couldn't bring myself to go there. The place brought up too many memories. I reached the interrogation room and opened the door, the grinding of metal against the floor increasing the pounding in my head. When I walked in I saw Naruto, surprisingly sitting patiently, and an officer waiting there to escort him back to his cell when I finished talking to him. I pulled a chair and sat down, looking tiredly at him. I was hoping he wouldn't be his usual screeching self, or I may accidently strangle him.

"What's the next word?" I asked, getting ready to jot it down and go back to my office. I didn't have a lot of work to do, so after I finish what's left, I may take a quick nap. I realized I was getting lost in my thoughts, holding the pen for at least two minutes now. And the idiot still hadn't said a word. "Well, Dobe?" That seemed to snap him out of his trance. I looked down at the paper again, ready to write, when his next words made me freeze in my seat.

"You still haven't gone, have you?" I sharply looked at him, wondering how he knew what the clue meant. Maybe he had hidden the meaning from me?

"How do you know that the clue meant I should visit the clan?" He grinned at that, tilting his head to the left. He looked like a sly fox right now, with his whisker-like marks stretched at a weird angle.

"This is a prison. Did you really think news wouldn't fly around about your predicament? There are a few people here that have relatives working for Kisame and their relatives had overheard your conversation. They had worked for Kisame for a long time and managed to link two and two together. The relatives came to visit their friends and family here, and the news slowly spread from there. It was by chance I heard two guys talking about it at lunch. So, my question is, if you still haven't gone….are you afraid to go there?" That question was one I had been expecting but after actually hearing it, the realization hit me hard. I had been trying to deny it but I knew I was hesitating. Usually, I would have gone straight away but that place was different. I felt like the moment I stepped in there and met with him, I was going to feel like a child again, waiting for him to scold me and tell me how I'm not good enough. I took a deep breath, just now noticing my hand was trembling, and looked the blonde in the eyes.

"Yeah, I am. But I will go there, because I promised to myself I will do anything to catch my brother." I firmly said, and I could see surprise flash in the blonde's eyes, before he grinned again.

"The word for December is brothers!" He said, changing his voice into a ridiculous imitation of a game show host. I smirked a little, wrote it down, and got up to walk out. "Good luck, Teme! Don't you dare chicken out, okay?"

"Hn. You wish, Dobe." I said before getting out of the room. My headache wasn't as bad as before for some reason. I went back to my office, put my coat with the box inside on, and told an officer to inform the others that I was going to be away for some personal business, and if they needed something to go ask Suigetsu. After going outside, I went inside my car and started driving to the clan head's house. After arriving there I parked in an alley near the house.

I took a deep breath, my hands gripping the steering wheel hard as I mentally prepared myself for a meeting I didn't want to ever have. I stepped out of the car, immediately pulling my coat closer around myself as I felt the chilling wind hitting my body. I walked out of the alley and near the household. This was the house where the clan head lived at. It was probably a stretch to call it a house, since it was bigger than that. It had three floors and the walls were painted a plain white color. The clan's symbol, a red and white fan, was painted proudly on the entrance gate. The gate had two guards standing on each side of it. Both of the guards were dressed in black suits and had a stoic expression on their face. There was a brown fence circling the whole house, and I could see the mini courtyard on the other side. The guards tensed when I came closer and I stepped in front of them, carefully wording my next sentence.

"I would like to have a meeting with the clan head." I said. It was probably a little too straightforward but there was no need to beat around the bush. The more I twisted my sentence, the more suspicious they would get.

"We are sorry, sir, but the clan head is busy at the moment and asked not to be disturbed by anyone."

"There is something very important I have to discuss with him. Now. I know he is a busy man but I'm sure he will spare some time to talk with me once he sees me." This was going to be hard. The old guards would have recognized me but I guess it was too much to hope they weren't replaced. I was sure the guards were going to politely tell me to fuck off but then an old voice stopped them.

"Sasuke-sama?" I turned to the source of the voice and saw a man I knew very well. He was looking through the fence, probably to check what the commotion was about. He was a butler that had been in charge of taking care of me while my parents were busy when I still lived in this house.

"Norou-san. It's nice to see you after such a long time." I said, bowing slightly in his direction. The old man smiled and went out of view for a second, probably to open the gate. He hadn't really changed much. Still looked like one of those old, happy grandpas you wouldn't mind being around. He had white hair slicked back and piercing blue eyes that always made me feel uncomfortable when I was little. I turned my attention back to the guards and Norou, when I realized he had managed to convince them to open the gate for me. I took a deep breath before walking through the memories I had been repressing for a long time surfaced back, and this time I couldn't just wake up because it wasn't one of my nightmares. It was reality and I had to suck it up and do what I came here for.

I followed Norou through the short path to the door. The path would be surrounded with flowers if it wasn't winter. I remembered how I had helped my mother plant some flowers. I had done a terrible job at it but she had just smiled and re-planted them after I was done messing around. I slightly smiled at the memory, one of the only happy ones I had of this place. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the front door creak. Norou had opened it for me and I took off my shoes before stepping inside. The place was still the same as before. The wooden floor, different works of art on the walls and endless looking corridors. Norou led me to my father's office and I was starting to dread our meeting after every step I made. We finally arrived at the door to my father's office. Even if the building had an old and traditional look to it, most of the furniture was up to date. Norou knocked on the door and I waited next to him, feeling myself sweat.

"Come in." I heard a strong, deep voice and I froze as Norou opened the door. I couldn't do it after all. After all of the mental preparation, I still froze when I saw my father in the room. He was sitting on his desk, writing furiously on some document, not even looking up at me. My mother was also there, standing next to his desk. Once she saw me she gasped and I could see tears gathering in her eyes.

"Sasuke? Is that you?" She whispered but it sounded like she shouted the words in the deadly silent room. My father's head snapped up so fast that I was surprised he didn't snap anything. He got up from his desk and I could see a mix of agitation and confusion in his eyes. I stepped forward, Norou closing the door behind me and I knew he was going to wait outside. I bowed to my father before speaking.

"I would like to talk with you concerning a certain case. Uchiha Itachi has left me clues that may lead me to him, and the latest one led me here. I would like to ask for permission to look around his old room." There was a long silence that followed my request, and I didn't move from my position, waiting for my father to speak. I looked up when I heard a bang. My father had punched the table, making some of the papers slip to the ground and a cup of coffee he had on his desk fall down and break, the coffee spilling and staining the floor.

"You dare to come back here after I forbid you to? I told you not to step a foot inside this house. I do not care about your demands. You will get out of here right now, or I will get you out by force." He said, a stone mask taking over his face but I could see anger in his eyes. I clenched my hands and took a deep breath. I needed to stay calm. Stay calm.

"This could help the investigation a lot. I did not come here to anger you. I remember what you said to me very clearly but I didn't have a choice except to come here myself."

"You could have send another officer." He said. I could see my mother getting restless, looking between me and my father. I steeled my gaze at my father's exclamation.

"You know better than anyone else that I wouldn't send anyone else. Itachi is going to be caught by me. It's my case and I will finish it. I'm sorry to say this but you don't have a say in the matter. Either you let me inspect Itachi's room now or I come back here with a full squad."

"This is my house and I make the rules here. Get out. Now."

"I won't. Last time I couldn't oppose you. I wasn't strong enough. This time I'm not under your house and I am not obliged to follow your rules." At that my father snapped and walked briskly to me, catching my shirt and pulling it. I could see utter fury in his eyes.

"You dare to talk like this to your father, you disobedient child! I kicked you out of this house once, I can do it again!" He shouted at me, shaking my shirt. I looked coldly at him and got ready to block the punch that was coming but suddenly a pale, slender hand was holding my father's back.

"Fugaku, please stop." My mother whispered.

"I will not let this brat talk back to me. Let me go, Mikoto." He said, roughly pulling his hand away. My mother looked sharply at him, before catching his hand again.

"No. The first time I didn't do anything. I just let you have your way. This time you will let me see my son or I swear I will leave and never come back here again." She said, and this was the first time I saw hesitation flash in my father's eyes. He sighed and let my shirt go, going back and sitting on his chair.

"Go. This is the first and last time, though. I do not want to see your face here again, Sasuke." He said and turned back to his papers. My mother looked ecstatic at that and I quickly bowed, before following her out of the office. Once we were out, she pulled me into a tight hug, and I hesistantly hugged her back. It had been a long time since I had hugged anyone, and I felt awkward but happy in her embrace.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried for you. How are you? Are you eating healthily? Do you need money for anything? Do-"

"Mom, I'm okay, don't worry." I said, flashing her a small smile. She also smiled at me and after calming down, she led me to Itachi's room. Norou had just smiled at us and wished me luck in my investigation, before saying he had to go back to work. After walking to the second floor, and continuing down the left hallway there, we passed by my old room, and I stopped in front of it for a second.

"You can go in if you want to, honey." My mother said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head. I came for a reason, and I would probably get distracted if I went in my room. Had too many memories in there. We continued till the end of the hall, stopping at the last door. My mother opened it and we walked inside. "It hasn't been touched at all after he left." She said, looking sadly at the room. I clenched my hands, feeling myself grow more determined. I didn't know if I would catch Itachi but I knew I didn't want to see that kind of expression on her face again. I started searching through the room. To be honest, I didn't know what I was supposed to look for. I wasn't even sure if I had to search his room but it was the first place I thought he would hide something in. I sighed after half an hour of looking through the room. My mother had left me to search around, and just now came back with two cups of tea, offering me one. I took it and we sat on the bed. I was thinking where to look at next when my mother spoke.

"Now that I think about it, you mentioned Itachi gave you a clue, right? Can I see it?" I nodded and got the box out of my coat's pocket. I gave the box to her and she gasped when she opened it. "This is from one of my bracelets. I thought I had lost it long ago, I didn't think I'd find it this way."

"It's yours? Where did you lose it?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I remember I was coming into this room to leave Itachi's clothes. I opened the wardrobe and after I put them there I went back downstairs. That night we were having dinner, and that's when I realized I had lost it. We searched through the rooms that I had gone into but we didn't find it."

"When exactly did that happen?"

"Well, Itachi was still here… I can't say for sure. I remember I was in this room, though. And somehow, I have the feeling that Itachi wouldn't leave a clue anywhere else, where anybody could find it. This room hasn't been opened since he left." I thought about what she said. It did make sense for Itachi to leave the clue here but I had searched the whole place. Still, if the bracelet was my mother's, it is possible Itachi had picked it up to use it as a clue. I walked back to the wardrobe when I heard a loud creak. The floor was wooden but it had a black and white carpet over it.

'Could it be…?' I thought, crouching down and removing the carpet. I got up and stepped on the planks one by one. One of them creaked loudly and I smirked, removing the plank. My mother came next to me, curiously looking over my shoulder. I found an envelope under the plank. I got the envelope and opened it.

"If you're reading this, then you actually managed to figure out the clues I left you. You could think of this next clue as an extra. It is a seperate one from the monthly clues but it will be useful in the long run. Good luck, foolish little brother." I read out loud. I turned the letter around and the word "fear" was written there. I put the letter back in my pocket, sighing. So far the clues were a jumbled mess but I hoped they would make sense in the end. Right now they were like an unfinished puzzle. All I needed to do was collect the missing pieces. I was brought out of my thoughts when I felt my mother touch my shoulder.

"I…I probably won't see you again for a long time but promise me. Promise me you will stay safe." She sternly said, her piercing black eyes staring intently at me.

"I'll try." I said. I couldn't promise her anything but I think she knew that. She just smiled at me. She walked with me to the main gate. I saw Norou there. He bowed at me and said his goodbye. My mother hugged me, her body shivering from the cold. "I should go. And you too. You're going to catch a cold like this." She just hugged me tighter, and I could feel my coat getting wet. She was crying.

"I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too, mom." I said and with that I walked out of the gate. After getting inside my car I took a deep breath that I hadn't realised I was holding in. That night, I didn't have a nightmare.

A/N: Hope ya enjoyed! Also, don't worry, I will reveal more about Sasuke, and Itachi, and the clan but later on c: R&R and cya in the next chapter~