A/N: Wai! I manage to get this out (even though I have a two day art exam in... less than ten hours and i still need to sleep despite my insomnia T.T) I've got worse hayfever than usual, and feel like I have a summer cold. Bleh. Anyway, thank you for your reviews, I hope this doesn't disappoint you!
Disclaimer: No, Naruto and all associate are not mine. Not even the Uchiha brothers.
Claimer: But I do own Kari-chan and all things not int the original Naruto manga or anime by Masashi Kishimoto-san.
Aniki
Brother
-----x-----
Sharingan locked on Sharingan
They regarded each other not as brothers
But as a nuisance
And a murderous traitor
-----x-----
Sasuke sighed deeply as he came close to the end of warming up. Kari had run off saying she had to do something and left him as they were heading to the training grounds. Like before, she was extremely respectful to his old home and his family's graves though seemed to get a little awkward and jumpy now and then.
He scowled when he glanced at the Sun, realising he had been stretching out his warm up waiting for her to return. He really was too used to her. She'd probably gone to see someone; she was overly friendly with quite a few of the sensei and Konoha Genin around her age. Especially the boys… Sasuke's scowl deepened. 'Tch.'
His attention was caught when he sensed Kari's familiar chakra, stating that she was approaching. He got up and looked in the direction he sensed her, slightly embarrassed that she didn't find him caught up in his intense training. To his annoyance, she wasn't going at her normal speed, but was walking rather slowly, so he started walking towards her impatiently.
"Baka, where did you—Kari?" Sasuke stopped halfway through realising she was staggering and pale.
"Hey Sasu," she greeted with a wave, before slumping forward. He hastily rushed forward in time to catch her and held her steady while she looked at him with glazed eyes.
"Doushita?" Sasuke asked confused. 'She was fine this morning, is her fever back? Did her cold get worse?'
"I have a really bad migraine," Kari said, her voice croaky as she touched her forehead. "Why did you leave me with Gai?"
"You ran off saying you had something to do," Sasuke said.
"I did?"
"Hn," Sasuke rolled his eyes irritated with her stupidity.
"Maybe I fell over and bumped my head?" Kari wondered. "My back kind of hurts so it makes sense."
"You klutz, you're meant to be resting, it's probably your bruising from when you were fighting Gaara and the other Suna-nin. You probably reopened your stab wounds baka, lift your shirt," Sasuke commanded. He had only helped her wrap them this morning; he really didn't want to do it again.
"Mm? Oh ok…" she said dumbly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. 'No refusal, no tantrum, no bright red face, no rules on what not to touch? What's wrong with her?' Sasuke thought confused. She turned round, and didn't even have a chance to grab the bottom of her shirt when Sasuke cursed and grabbed her shoulders.
"What the hell happened to you?!" Sasuke hissed, seeing the back of her shirt and the bandages all torn up, as well as tears along her skin, dry blood sticking to her back. His stomach churned when he thought he caught a glimpse of some bone.
"I don't… remember…" Kari said slowly. Grumbling Sasuke got the supply of bandages he had brought, with Kari being clumsy with such poor defence he brought some with him so he was prepared. He just hoped he had enough.
Once wrapped, she seemed happier and more comfortable; stretching despite the fact she still had a terrible headache. She grimaced when the torn skin on her back would stretch but ignored it, becoming somewhat used to being in pain. She needed a vacation, a month or two where she could fully heal and get back up to full strength. But inside she knew she loved the adrenaline rush of battle after battle, the excitement, strength and freedom she felt when she fought. It was like when she ran or the few times she flew.
She sat against the rock and heaved a contented sigh, waiting for Sasuke to perform his Chidori so she could advise or criticise. It was amazing how differently they used the same jutsu. It even sounded different. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her skull. It was like a little hyperactive Lee was hammering inside her head.
Her ears twitched at the sound of chirping and her eyes shot open to see Chidori heading her direction. She squeaked in panic and ducked as it thrust into the rock, a little above where her head had been.
"Sasukeee!!" Kari hissed. He wasn't listening to her, more caught up in his own thoughts.
'Ore wa… I couldn't do anything!'
"I never want to see an important friend die in front of me ever again."
"I swear… I will protect everyone dattebayou! Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"
"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"
'Naruto's getting stronger and stronger. Compared to him… ore wa…'
Sasuke's thoughts were cut off when arms wrapped around his shoulders and he was pulled into a hug.
"Baka! Nani—?"
"Urusai Sasu," she mumbled, burying her face into his shoulder. He finally relented, relaxing in her hold.
-----x-----
"Perhaps you can fight him evenly, but I cannot, he's to strong…" Kisame said as they watched Sasuke and Kari.
"Hai, if we both fought him we would both be killed. Or in a good case we might kill him, but we'd die along with him," Itachi agreed. "Even if we had more men, the result would not change."
"His caretaker is a legendary Sannin, Konoha's Uchiha-clan and Kiri's Shichi Shinobi-gatana seem petty before his name."
"Aa, shikashi… All strong opponents have a weakness," Itachi concluded, and stood, the wind blowing through his hair and ruffling his cloak.
"We should have taken her before," Kisame said.
"She'll come on her own, she has our scent now."
-----x-----
Naruto grinned as he rang the two bells, practically swinging off them. Kita sat beside Jiraiya who was getting annoyed by the noise.
"Cut that out," he grumbled, pulling out something to eat.
"Ne, ne, Ero-sennin," Naruto called. Jiraiya looked round to see four Naruto's, two on the others shoulders. "What kind of student was Yondaime?"
"It wouldn't be an over statement to say he became strong thanks to my tutelage and since you, Kita and Kari-chan are going to receive my teaching you're super lucky," Jiraiya said simply.
"Eeeeehhhh??" the Naruto's said in disbelieving synchronisation.
"You don't believe me? A good teacher raises a good apprentice. That's common sense. Look at Kita for example, under Kari's care and teaching she's able to speak, use chakra, handle kunai, travel at the same speed as a shinobi and even use a small selection of jutsu." Kita puffed her chest out, swelling in pride.
"Then, then, who taught you Ero-sennin dattebayou?" Naruto asked.
"Me? I learned from Sandaime," Jiraiya said with a grin.
"Sandaime?"
"Yep, when Sandaime was still young," Jiraiya said.
"Sandaime? Young?"
"I was young too," Jiraiya said, grinning wider.
"Young?!" the Naruto's cried in disbelief losing balance and tugging on one of the bells causing it to fall. Naruto quickly dispelled the clones and caught the bell, but wasn't counting on the other one falling on his head. He fell over, and in turn fell down the steps, Kita darting after him as he fell screaming and then landed with a thud at the end. "I got tangled dattebayou!" Naruto whined, tied up by the long ribbons as Kita pounced on one of the bells.
"You deserved that," Jiraiya said with a chuckle. "Since Kakashi taught you stuff, you went through that bell training right?"
"Eh? Aa! I did dattebayou!" Naruto cried in remembrance. "I was the one tied to the log, that sucked," Naruto grumbled, while Kita was battling against the bell that was bigger than her. The bell was easily winning.
"Hontou? Omae mo ka?"
"Too? What do you mean 'too'?!"
"Forget it. Get up and put that back" Jiraiya said.
"Even if I wanted too… I cant, this is tangled…dattebayou!" Naruto cried. Naruto finally untangled himself with Kita's help and put them back up while Jiraiya was lost in his memories.
"Nani? Nani? What's so funny Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked.
"Just that a good teacher raises a good apprentice," Jiraiya said ruffling Naruto's hair.
"I don't understand dattebayou…" Naruto mumbled, his blonde mane a mess.
"We're leaving now, did you fix it?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yosh dattebayou," Naruto replied, turning back to the shrine so he could pray, Kita mimicking him as best she could. She hoped her Okaasan could come soon, she said she wanted to finish training with Sasuke, she must be busy…
-----x-----
"Sasu?"
"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?" Sasuke grumbled.
"As many as you like, because I won't listen to you," Kari replied simply.
"Do you remember what happened yet?" Sasuke asked. He knew those injuries weren't just from a fall, and he hadn't been able to feel a bump on her head. It didn't add up.
"Just that Naruto wants me to go on a mission with him and Jiraiya, and that I need to get my stuff and catch up to them," Kari replied.
"Mission?" Sasuke repeated.
"Yeah, Kita said it might take a while, so you take care of yourself when I'm gone ne?" Kari said simply.
"How long do you mean? Days? Weeks?" Sasuke pressed, not letting the subject drop.
"Could be months from the sound of it," Kari said, not missing Sasuke's scowl.
"Hn, you should be worrying more about yourself, look at the state of you," Sasuke said, pointing at her torso. Kari blushed and lightly slapped his hand away.
"I'll be fine, and I'll hurry back as soon as I can. I would leave Kita with you, but I haven't trained her in a while and she didn't see me most of the training coming up to the Chuunin exams," Kari said. Sasuke didn't reply. "I'm sorry Sasu, but it's not like you'll miss me ne?"
"Hn."
Ignoring his bad mood she wrapped her arms around his middle, ignoring how he tensed in her hold. Even if he found it amusing to tease her, it didn't mean he liked it when people touched him. He'd learnt to live with her affection, but preferred it when he'd started it.
"Even if you won't miss me, I'll miss having you there to insult me and wake me up at unhealthy hours," she said smiling. "But I'll have to take care of myself this time, ne? I'm a big girl now."
"Iie, you're still chiisai."
"Can't I get a nice goodbye?" Kari whined. "I'll miss you too Kari, I wont go through your stuff Kari, I wont sex Sakura in the house Kari, I'll look after the house and keep myself well fed and hygienic Kari, is that too much too ask?!"
"Hn."
"And I won't miss your hning!" she said, letting go of him and folding her arms. He turned and smirked at her. When she turned her back on him, determined to give him the cold shoulder, he put his hand on her shoulder, spun her round and crashed his lips against hers.
"Mmmm!!" she complained, but he ignored her and wrapped his arms around her. 'I have my own way of showing I care, and that's through actions and not words. Maybe I will miss fighting for the cover, forcing you to eat breakfast, carrying you around when you get hurt, wrapping your injuries, teasing you, seeing you first thing in the morning and last thing at night, and the warmth I feel when you're close to me. But just a bit. You're still an annoying baka and I'll enjoy the peace.' He pulled away from her and smirked at her darkened cheeks.
"Have you even told Kakashi yet?"
"Anou…"
"Baka."
-----x-----
The Jounin sat at various points in Kakashi's room. They had removed his vest and hitai-ate and tucked him into bed. The room was reasonably plain, just three pictures above his bed. His old team when Kakashi was a genin, his current team with Kari and Kita added in. And finally a picture of the Jounin and Kari, where they both looked incredibly happy, with a sibling like affection clear in their faces.
"Based on how they're acting, they haven't found Naruto yet, and they want to capture him first before they get Kari," Gai said, sitting on a small stool he had found.
"About that… isn't something funny?" Asuma asked, sitting on the desk. He was about to pull out a cigarette but thought better of it and put it back. "They were already in the village, it's easy to find Naruto in this village. Itachi also knows Naruto's face…"
"Shh!" Gai cried, hearing footsteps approach.
"Kakashi…" Sasuke said opening the door. Kari's ears pricked when she noticed Kakashi lying on the bed and shot to his side. Her forehead pressing against his, as her hands were so cold. Her ears drooped as she was clearly distressed by him seemingly ill. "Why's Kakashi asleep? And why are Jounin gathered here?"
Kari was oblivious to the calculating stares analysing her. 'She's clearly still disorientated, but at least her wounds are wrapped. From her reaction to Kakashi her memory must not have returned yet…' Gai concluded. Sasuke took a few steps into the room seeming suspicious.
"What happened?" Sasuke demanded. 'Was this why Kari isn't feeling right, because Kakashi's hurt?'
"Who hurt him?" Kari mumbled lowly. Her eyes turned to Gai, a ruby glow starting to taint them.
"Nothing much happened," Gai said simply, but was interrupted when someone barged into the room.
"Is it true the Itachi came back?!" he cried. Gai turned to him and glared. "And he's after Naruto and that Kari girl?!" The man looked surprised at Sasuke. "Oh?"
"Baka," Kurenai grumbled as Gai slapped his palm to his forehead. Kari's eye dilated and she felt cold and clammy. 'Naruto…?!' She could feel the tension rolling off Sasuke and looked at him, unsure what to do.
"Kari…" Sasuke said quietly and she darted to his side. He grasped her hand and shot out the door, barging past the idiotic Jounin.
"Why did things turn out like this?!" Gai complained.
Sasuke jumped from roof to roof and then jumped down to the ground, sprinting at full speed. 'He's back in the village and he's after Naruto and Kari? What's going on?' He glanced back at Kari noticing her eyes were still dimmer than usual. 'Was he the one who hurt her?' He tightened his grip and they jumped up towards Naruto's apartment skidding to a stop (Kari almost going into the wall) and Sasuke wrenched open the door, almost causing Sakura, who had been on the other side, to fall over.
"Sasuke-kun…?"
"Where's Naruto?!" Sasuke shouted.
"Well that was polite…" Kari sighed, the pounding in her head growing.
"I just got here—" Sakura replied but Sasuke had already shot off, dragging Kari along behind him. "I wanted to give Naruto some Ohagi...."
'If he gets caught by Itachi, Naruto's dead! Which means…' Sasuke glanced at Kari, who was luckily able to keep up. 'If Naruto dies, she'll die too… I won't let that happen!' Again he skidded to an abrupt stop outside Ichiraku, causing a still slightly out of it Kari to collide into his less than soft side.
"Old man! Naruto should've come here!" Sasuke shouted, while Kari tried to get her balance back, ignoring the little Naruto's prancing around her head.
"Do you know where he went after he left Teuchi-ojisan?" Kari asked, rubbing her thudding head.
"Oh, Naruto. Let's see. He came here with Kita-chan and talked about Kari-chan as usual. Jiraiya-san came here about noon, they had some ramen together. Then they said they were going to go somewhere…"
"Doku ka?!" Sasuke cried.
"I think the lodging town is a little away from the village and he left with Jiraiya and Kita-chan, saying he wanted to see Kari-chan," Teuchi replied.
"Jiraiya?" Sasuke asked.
"Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, one of the three genius ninja!" Teuchi explained.
"Ero-sennin…" Kari added.
"He just looks like a big white haired old man though," Teuchi described causing Kari to inwardly snort.
"Big and white-haired…" Sasuke repeated before turning and jumping off, Kari giving a cry of 'arigatou!!' as she was dragged away.
"Oi! Geez, your supposed to eat a bowl to show your appreciation you know…" Teuchi said huffily.
-----x-----
"This is a strange city," Naruto said, looking around at all the activity as Kita laid on his shoulder. This was a busy place and she didn't want to get stepped on. Finally, Jiraiya seemed to find a hotel he liked and booked them in.
"Naruto. We're going to stay here tonight."
"Eh?? I can still walk! And Kita-chan isn't tired either dattebayou!"
"An apprentice must follow his teachers orders," Jiraiya said.
"I just want to learn the new technique!" Naruto complained.
"And that what makes you my apprentice! It only has two beds so if Kari arrives tonight you'll just have to sleep on the floor," Jiraiya said simply.
"We've slept in the same bed before dattebayou!" Naruto cried defensively. Jiraiya smirked mischievously but decided to push the thought aside.
"Hm?" Jiraiya said looking up in surprise to see a gorgeous black-haired woman with a curvy body walk in. She wore a short, tight dark blue dress that sent Jiraiya's mind reeling. She turned towards master and apprentice, flicking her hair and looking at them with flirty brown eyes. The boys blushed and squealed while Kita looked repulsed.
'What stupid creatures the male population are…'
"Naruto!" Jiraiya squealed. "Here are the keys. Go to the room, mould some Chakra, train and go to sleep. If Kari arrives say I said hi ne?"
"EHHH??!!" Naruto shrieked. "Are you trying to say that from here on out is the world of adults?! No fair Ero-sennin!!"
"Feh, Okaasan is way more pretty than that weird lady," Kita huffed, thinking again about the idiocy of men.
-----x-----
"It's that lodging town, it's not that far!" Sasuke cried, tightening his grip on Kari's loosening hand. Her head felt just about ready to explode and her eyes burned like no tomorrow. She wanted to collapse and sleep. But the strange thing was that when she asked the Torai-Kenshi what was going on, she received no answer…
-----x-----
"When… whenever I'm with Ero-sennin it's always like this!" Naruto grumbled as he sat on the bed and moulded his Chakra, Kita napping beside him. "Baka Sasuke, making Kari-chan train with him and delaying her. She could've been here by now! Baka Sasuke!"
-----x-----
Sasuke stopped at the top of the steps looking down at the busy city. How was he going to find Naruto here?
"Kari! Can you find Naruto or Kita?" Sasuke asked. "Kari answer me—Oi!" He quickly caught her as her legs buckled underneath her. "Doushita? We don't have time for this!"
"My head… I can't think straight…" Kari mumbled pressing her palm to her forehead, as if she could fight the pain inside it. "I can't communicate telepathically when my heads about to fall off, and my senses are all mixed up, I'm seeing double…" she panted, looking at the two Sasuke's glaring angrily at her.
"Then I'll carry you—"
"No, if I go to sleep I don't think I'll wake up… At least not for a while…" Kari said, thinking back to Kakashi.
"Well I can't leave you, he's after you too baka!" Sasuke shouted, causing her to wince at the volume.
"He's gone after Naruto first, if he was in the village he would've found me and taken me wouldn't he…" Kari said. Sasuke didn't reply, but his face said it all.
'I think he already got to you…'
"Let's start with the hotels, they might have checked in already… Ji-sama is pretty lazy…" Kari said, closing her eyes for a moment, but she could feel the ground sway beneath her and quickly reopened her eyes feeling sick.
"Can you keep up?" Sasuke asked, still holding her steady.
"Sort of, but I can't stop…" Kari said, realising her breaking had involved crashing into Sasuke.
"Don't let go," Sasuke said, gripping her hand tightly and shooting forward, the sound of her footsteps alien to his ears, she usually was such a silent light-footed runner.
"We'll have to check all of the stores too," Sasuke said, stopping and remaining steady when she crashed into him.
-----x-----
"Is he serious about supervising my training?" Naruto grumbled, now with multiple clones to help mould Chakra.
"I think Okaasan is on her way!" Kita piped up.
"Finally!"
-----x-----
They darted from store to store, Kari's stomach churning and her body beginning to ache from crashing into Sasuke.
"Is a blonde kid with a stupid face about my age, a white puppy, and a big white-haired man staying here?" Sasuke said in a rush.
"Our inn is for women only," the woman replied. Kari whined slightly as Sasuke dragged her back out and towards the next place.
"I'm looking for someone. Is a stupid, blonde kid about my age, a white puppy, and a big white-haired man staying here?" Sasuke demanded.
"We only have the seniors staying here today."
They ran across the road to the next place, Kari at the end of her tether and about to give in and collapse.
"Is a blonde kid with a stupid face about my age, a white puppy, and a big white-haired man staying here?" Sasuke asked.
"Hm? White hair?"
"Is he here?!" Sasuke demanded.
"I might have seen one when I was about to change shifts. Ah! A blonde kid and a white-haired old man."
"Are they here?! What room?!"
"Eeto… Second floor, end of the hall, room one."
They both flew up the stairs and ran to the end of the corridor. Sasuke quickly knocked the door.
-----x-----
"Oi, why are you all asleep?" Naruto asked, looking around at the sleeping clones. He looked up when he heard a knocking at the door and dispelled his clones. "What? He's already dumped and decided to come back? I can tell when it's Kari-chan and that's not her Chakra…"
Kita got up and followed him towards the door. They continued to knock. "Wakatta dattebayou!"
-----x-----
"Naruto!!" Sasuke shouted, throwing open the unlocked door to see two people that were definitely not Naruto and Jiraiya, though the kid did look dumb… and was looking at Kari's chest... "It's not them…" Sasuke said in shock.
A pained thud in Kari's heart alerted her to trouble and her eyes widened.
"Iie…" she whispered. Her vision swirled as she turned and ran down the swaying corridor, Sasuke hot on her heels.
-----x-----
Naruto opened the door and looked up in shock, realising it was someone he didn't know. The person's red eyes seemed to paralyse him, making him feel cold…
'Sasuke? No who is he?' Naruto thought, looking up at the strange man. 'The same Sharingan as Sasuke…'
"To think this little boy holds the Kyuubi…" Itachi mused.
'How does he know about the Kyuubi, dattebayou?' Naruto thought shocked.
"Not half as surprising as the girl with the three spirits of balance," Kisame stated, thinking back to the small, fragile looking kunoichi from before. "I still think we should've brought her first."
'Three…? Kari-chan?'
"Naruto-kun, you're coming with us."
-----x-----
Kari was in a frenzy of panic, she crashed into the wall, unable to turn and tripped on her way down the stairs. With the adrenaline pumping through her she was still able to run at a decent speed, meaning Sasuke wasn't able to help her as she stumbled. She rushed into the street looking around wildly, only seeing blurs of colour.
"Kari calm down!" Sasuke hissed. He was just as worried as she was, but something had scared her and now she was freaking out. He couldn't deal with this right now.
She span around as the blurs seemed to grow, his scent was all around, the headache growing worse, the pressure increasing. Her breathing escalated as she looked around, trying desperately to make something out that would help her. 'I have to get to Naruto! I HAVE TO GET TO NARUTO!!'
"Kuso, Kari you're hyperventilating!" Sasuke cursed grabbing hold of her and shaking her. She wasn't calming down and just seemed to get more confused.
"Who? W-what? N-Naruto! I need to find Naruto!" she said in a frantic whisper, grabbing hold of his shirt. "Where is he?! Where's Naruto?!"
"Kari doushita?!" Sasuke said, shaking her slightly. Kari reached up with shaking hands and brushed her fingertips along his face.
"S-Sasuke?" she asked shakily.
"Who else would it be?!" Sasuke snapped.
"I can't see you…" she said horrified. "Everything's blurred!" Her heart seemed to pick up its pace even more. "I can't find him! His scents everywhere but I can't find him!!" People were starting to stare at the near hysterical girl, the blurs slowing, confusing Kari even more.
"Kari listen to me, you need to calm down," Sasuke said the desperation to find his brother overpowered by the sudden fear for her. Her eyes were a dark blank grey, and rimmed in red, a sign she was close to tears. Her chest heaved at a fast pace, cold sweat glistening on her skin. He pulled her close to him, trying to contain her trembling, standing against her thrashing and desperate mumbles of 'Have to find Naruto! I have to find Naruto!'
"Let go, please let go!"
"We'll find Naruto okay, just calm down. Don't let go of my hand and I'll guide you through the streets," Sasuke said, trying his best to soothe her.
"Why can't I see? Why are my senses mixed up Sasuke?" Kari asked.
"I don't know…" Sasuke replied, taking hold of her hand. She didn't look at him, but looked ahead, only able to see a black blur where he stood. She gripped his hand tightly and he shot forward. 'Genjutsu muddles the senses… But she must be under a pretty complex Genjutsu if she's still able to understand what's going on outside it… Did he do this to her?'
"Sasuke…" Kari said quietly. "Stop slowing down, I can keep up." She'd calmed down for the most part, but he was still unnerved by how glazed and blank her eyes were.
'That guy… he's near by. That guy…'
Kari made a soft gasp as she was pulled into Sasuke's memories, her vision becoming crisp and clear in the vision. Her senses normal.
-----Sasuke's Memories-----
"Oniisan," the young Sasuke called, watching his older brother put on his ninja sandals. "Can you help me with my shuriken training today after school?"
"I'm busy, ask father," Itachi replied simply, looking back at Sasuke.
"But he said you're better with shuriken, and I think that too," little Sasuke mumbled with a small frown. "You always treat me like I'm a nuisance Oniisan." Itachi turned and beckoned Sasuke closer wit a small wave of his hand. Sasuke eagerly stepped forward, only to be poked in the forehead. "Ite-e!"
"Forgive me, Sasuke. Maybe another time…" Itachi said. Sasuke frowned, trying to look up and see if he had a bruise on his forehead, but unfortunately, his onyx orbs wouldn't let him see. Itachi seemed sad… no angry? He got up. "I have no time to help you today."
"You always say 'forgive me Sasuke' and hit my forehead," Sasuke said, rubbing the sore point on his head. "And you don't ever help me out, not just today." Itachi didn't reply and simply slid the door open and walked out, causing the young boy to smile.
-x-
"Otousan, does Oniisan not care about me?" Sasuke asked his father as they sat at the low table.
"He's… a bit different, he doesn't like interacting with people," Fugaku said carefully.
"Nande?" Sasuke asked curiously.
"I don't know," Fugaku replied. "Even I, his father can't understand him."
"Hai! Sasuke, your lunch!" Mikoto said happily, holding up a wrapped bento for him. "If you want to practice with your shuriken I'll help you when you get back."
"It's not practice, it's training," Sasuke corrected huffily, taking his lunch from his mother.
"Ittekimasu!"
-x-
Sasuke sighed, walking down the main road of the Uchiha compound.
"Sasuke-chan, are you heading to school?" a middle-aged woman asked as he passed her, sweeping outside.
"Mm!" Sasuke replied, turning to her.
"I saw Itachi-chan a while ago. My, he has grown up. He's become an excellent shinobi. He graduated at the academy at the age of seven with top grades and he moved up to Chuunin at ten, right?"
"He was able to use his Sharingan when he was eight," Sasuke added.
"Yes, I'm proud that he's part of the Uchiha clan," she said with a smile. "Oh yes, how old are you now Sasuke-chan?" Sasuke looked down awkwardly.
'I'm the same age as brother when he graduated… But I…'
"Doushita no?" she asked kindly.
"Oi! Stop talking about those stupid things," a man said good naturedly, coming to stand beside her.
"Hey koi," she said with a smile.
"Sasuke, you and Itachi are both of the Uchiha clan, a noble family in the village of Konoha. Be confident about yourself, you can become a great shinobi like Itachi someday." Sasuke smiled and nodded.
"Ittekimasu!"
"Be sure to study hard!"
-x-
Sasuke studied hard, carefully reading in class. 'Hai, I'm a part of the Uchiha clan like Oniisan.' He flung shuriken at the post in front of him, practicing his technique as the sun warmed the colours of the sky as it began to sink. 'I won't lose to Oniisan!'
-x-
"I've stayed out for a while," Sasuke cried as he raced through the dark Uchiha compound. He paused and looked up at the tall telephone post, the large full moon behind it. 'What was that? I thought someone was there…' His eyes widened as a thought struck him. "The lights are out… it's not time to sleep yet." He started running again and went to turn but stopped and stared in horror. The lanterns were torn, cracks in the walls and on the ground, weapons embedded in stone and flesh, blood… there was blood! People lying still on the ground!
"W-what is this?" Sasuke whispered in shock. He sped past the bodies, running as fast as he could. 'What's going on?' He stopped and slowed to a walk, seeing two familiar bodies holding onto each other, lying still. The woman and man from earlier that morning… "Shizu-obasan…" Sasuke gasped, looking up. "Otousan… Okaasan…!" He rushed home and slid open the door to find the house dark and silent.
"Otousan? Okaasan?" Sasuke asked, slowly walking inside. "Are you here?" he asked, taking off his shoes and bag. He walked into two rooms but found them empty and dark. He jumped slightly at the sound of a crash and thud. He gasped and ran, finally stopping in front of two double doors. 'Someone's in there…' His legs shook underneath him as he desperately took silent pants of air. 'Move… Move… Move!' He stepped forward and grasped the door handles, his heart beating wildly, like a wild bird suddenly caged.
He slowly opened the doors, afraid to what he would find inside. The door creaked eerily, the noise seeming to echo in his brain. The room was dark apart from a patch of light from the lone window, the moon bathing the two motionless people in light. Blood was splattered around them, the man laying over the woman, as though he had died protecting her.
"Otousan! Okaasan!" Sasuke cried, rushing in. The doors closed behind him and he gasped, seeing a movement in the shadows behind his parents. The floorboards creaked as the killer slowly approached. Sasuke stumbled backwards, feeling the closed doors behind him. Finally the person stepped into the light, letting himself be seen.
"Oniisan!" Sasuke cried, as Itachi's Sharingan eyes turned to him. "Oniisan! Otousan and Okaasan were…Nande? Nande? Who did this?--!" His eyes widened as a shuriken shot towards him, embedding itself in the door behind him. He winced, feeling his shoulder rip open, blood spurting out of the shallow wound. "Oniisan… Nani?" Itachi's face remained blank, devoid of emotion. "What are you doing Oniisan?" Sasuke cried, grasping his shoulder.
"Orokana otouto." Itachi closed his eyes as if bracing himself, before slowly opening them again. "Mangekyou Sharingan!"
The sky turned red and the black clouds raced across the sky. Everything was in negative black and white, even Sasuke himself. There was only black and white, no shade of grey. Sasuke gasped as people fell one by one in front of him. People he recognised as the dead family he passed on his way to see if his parents were alright.
"My legs…!" Sasuke gasped realising he couldn't move. He cried out as the bodies fell closer to him, practically falling on top of him. Shuriken shot out of nowhere, and blood covered his vision, dragging a scream from his lungs.
"AAAAAAH!! YAMETE!! ONIISAN!! DON'T SHOW ME THIS!!" Sasuke screamed, clutching his head and screaming in agony. But it didn't stop, and people continued to fall dead before his eyes.
"Why… Why did you do this Oniisan?" Sasuke sobbed, looking at Itachi who stood unphased despite the dead people around him. People shot towards Itachi, but he stood still, just staring at Sasuke. "Iie… iie…" Sasuke cried, trying to warn them. They were thrown away easily, one landing in front of Sasuke causing him to scream. "Ojisan Obasan!" Sasuke cried, but they both fell dead in front of him, making him scream in terror.
"Otousan! Okaasan!" Sasuke cried, seeing his parents sitting with Itachi behind them, katana raised. "Yamete Oniisan!! Don't do that to Otousan and Okaasan!" But his pleas went unheard as Itachi cut straight through his and Sasuke's parents, causing blood to splash around them and Sasuke to let out his loudest scream…
He fell to his knees, the Genjutsu over, leaving him sobbing and shaking, clutching his head in psychological agony. Itachi's eyes faded back to onyx as Sasuke fell forward panting harshly. Saliva ran out of his open mouth, a hairs width away from mixing with his parents blood, which had pooled between the floorboards and stretched out, almost like a road towards them.
"Why… Why did you…Oniisan…?" Sasuke whispered.
"To see what I was capable of," Itachi replied, without a shred of emotion.
"What… you were capable of?" Sasuke repeated. "That was it? You killed everyone for that reason?"
"It is important," Itachi stated.
"What the hell…" Sasuke started dragging himself up. With the last of his strength he shot forward. "Don't screw around!!" he screamed but was easily stopped when Itachi's fist shot into his gut, causing saliva to spill out of his mouth and for him to crash to the floor. He looked up to see his fathers dead face opposite him and his wide eyes filled with tears and spilt down his face.
'Kowai… Kowai!!'
With a scream, Sasuke got up and ran away, desperate to get as far as he could from Itachi. He ran past the dead bodies stumbling as he went.
"Don't kill me!!" Sasuke screamed desperately. He stopped and stared in horror when Itachi appeared a few metres in front of him. "Don't kill me…" Sasuke begged.
"You are not even worth killing, otokana otouto. If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me and survive in an unsightly way. Nigete, run and cling to life…"
-----End of Sasuke's Memories-----
Sasuke picked up his pace, Sharingan activated by rage, motivation fuelled by his painful memories. Kari hiccoughed slightly, feeling thick sticky red tears on her face.
"You could see it?" Sasuke asked.
"Hai…" she replied weakly.
"Stop crying," Sasuke demanded.
"No." He stopped to catch his breath and looked back at her, red streaks fresh on her pale face. "I can't…"
"You're looking at me…"
"You're only slightly blurred now", Kari agreed with a slight sniffle.
"Stop with the pity and your vision should clear," Sasuke snapped, realising after he said it he was being too harsh to her.
"You're too stubborn to cry," she murmured. "So I cry for you." She furiously rubbed her eyes, feeling the sting of burst blood vessels. She gripped his hand and looked around, still a little disorientated, but her sight a lot better.
"I don't want you to end up like them…" Sasuke said, unable to stop himself. She looked at him slightly confused. "You're a stupid, emotional, annoying girl… Yet, I don't feel so alone when you're there. I don't want you to be taken away from me…"
"Now I want to cry again," she sniffled, embracing him.
"Stupid, emotional, annoying… Try and point out a direction," Sasuke said, calming down slightly with her there.
Her eyes shot open, and she shot to the right, dragging him along as she ran at full speed, pumping some chakra to support her jelly-like legs.
-----x-----
"Let's go outside," Itachi requested, his gaze never wavering.
'These guys aren't just chumps…' Naruto thought stepping out, Kita pressed against the side of his head, her rapid heartbeat against his jaw.
"Itachi-san, it would be annoying if he moved around… Perhaps we should cut off a leg or two," Kisame said, causing Kita to grow lowly. When he Itachi didn't answer, Kisame reached up and gripped the handle of his blade. "Then I shall." He took slow steps towards Naruto, each step echoing in Naruto's mind as he felt Kita quiver slightly.
"It's been a long time…" Itachi mused. "Sasuke."
"Uchiha Itachi," Sasuke said darkly.
"Uchiha Itachi?" Naruto repeated. 'An Uchiha like Sasuke?' Kari's eyes darted to him and Kita, giving them a once over and deeming them alright. If they did happen to have even a scratch… she was going to flip.
"Oh? You were right, the girl did come to us," Kisame said glancing at Kari, who shot him a glare, noticing how close he was to Naruto. She felt Sasuke step forward slightly, so he was slightly shielding her, his Sharingan blazing. "The Sharingan… and he's very similar to you. Who is he?" Kisame asked.
"Ore wa, otouto da," Itachi replied, still not turning to face Sasuke.
"I heard the entire Uchiha clan was killed… by you," Kisame said, clearly trying to wind Sasuke up.
"Uchiha Itachi, I'm going to kill you!" Sasuke growled. Naruto gasped, remembering on the rooftop with Kakashi, when they were sorted into teams.
"And to kill a certain man."
"That man… I promised I wouldn't die until I killed him."
'This guy is the guy Sasuke wants to kill?'
Finally Itachi looked round, and Sharingan met Sharingan.
"Like you said, I hated you, detested you… And just to kill you I've… I've survived!" Sasuke shouted, Chidori sparking in his palm.
"Chidori?" Itachi said his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I'm going to kill you!" Sasuke shouted, slamming his Chidori into the wall and hurtling towards his brother.
"Mou… I really hope we don't have to pay for that…" Kari said, momentarily distracted.
"DIE!!" Sasuke shouted, going to strike, there was a bang and when the dust settled, there was a huge whole in the wall, and Itachi was holding Sasuke's wrist.
"Sasuke!" Kari cried in alarm. The grip was so tight it was cutting off the blood flow and Kari could feel her fingers start to go numb. She winced, knowing that if her arm was damaged she would only have Taijutsu in the style of kicks and one hand, Ninjutsu impossible without both her hands.
'What happened dattebayou? Sasuke's jutsu was easily avoided! Not… good I have to do something!' Naruto made a hand sign and his and Kyuubi's Chakra flared. Kari gasped in pain, and fell to her knees clutching her head.
"His Chakra is filling up the space… Sou ka, this is the Kyuubi's Chakra," Kisame said. "It seems you succeeded in blocking most of her Bijuu Chakra, and she hasn't recovered from the Genjutsu," Kisame added, glancing at Kari, whose skull felt like it was slitting in half, the fragments embedding into her brain.
"Why you…!" Sasuke snarled.
"You're a bother." Itachi stated, and with hardly effort, broke Sasuke's wrist, causing him to scream. Kari clenched her hair with one hand as the other dropped useless at her side. Her eyes kept rolling to the back of her head as a white hot pain speared her in the middle of her forehead.
"Sasuke! KARI-CHAN!!" Naruto cried in alarm as Sasuke collapsed to the floor clutching his wrist. "Chikusho!" He bit his thumb and made hurried hand signs. 'Ninpou, Kuchiyose no—'
"Too slow," Kisame said simply, slicing straight through Naruto's Chakra with his Samehada.
'I don't feel the Chakra!' Naruto thought in alarm. 'Kuso! Kuso! Nande, dattebayou?!'
"My Samehada can shave and devour Chakra," Kisame explained. "It would be a shame if he used his petty techniques."
'Genjutsu… Itachi used a Genjutsu on Kari which is why she's so messed up and can't remember this morning. That guy said shave… It must have been him that hurt Kari's back…' Sasuke thought, glancing at her as he struggled against the pain of his broken wrist.
"Perhaps we should cut off his arms before doing it to his legs," Kisame said.
"Naruto!" Kita cried in alarm.
"And then I'll skin that little rodent…" Kisame added, glancing at Kita, making her hackles rise.
'Why isn't it coming out dattebayou?!' Naruto thought desperately struggling to force out Chakra.
"Futile," Kisame scoffed, raising his blade. He swung it down and gasped when it hit something solid. "Nani?"
"Kari-chan!" Naruto cried. She'd pulled out her right katana, using her left forearm to support it, trying to ignore the searing pain in her wrist.
"Heh, guts wont help you here," Kisame said with a smirk, pressing more weight down, forcing her legs to bend and slide apart. She flinched at the pain in her arm feeling tired and weak.
"Naruto… Get back…" she panted, her katana being pressed down.
"Kari-chan!" Naruto said worriedly, easily able to see how she was struggling.
"I can't… hold…" Her legs gave in but a cloud of smoke surrounded them.
"Nani?" Kisame asked. An armoured toad was blocking his blade.
"You two… don't know me very well." There was a puff of smoke behind Naruto. "The man Jiraiya… Is better at winning a girl… then at being seduced by one." Jiraiya said, with a (in Kari's opinion) half naked woman over his shoulder. "I would never let a women seduce me with her beauty. When you become great like me, women will go crazy over your own beauty!"
"Urusai," Kari grumbled. "I have a huge headache Jiraiya-sama stop making it worse…"
"Yeah right! You were excited over a single wink from that woman!" Naruto shouted, pointing an accusing finger at his mentor. "I don't think you should be showing off like that right now dattebayou, Ero-sennin!!"
"Come on now, don't call me that in front of people," Jiraiya said simply, seemingly awkward.
"Urusai dattebayou!! More importantly, these guys aren't just chumps Ero-sennin!" Naruto cried, pointing at Kisame and Itachi. "Ne! Ero-sennin!!"
"Stop calling me Ero-sennin!!" Jiraiya half screamed.
"He is the great Jiraiya who is praised as one of the legendary Sannin after all," Kisame said with a chuckle. "Even if you are an extreme lover of women… I knew that we couldn't hold you off that easily."
"You hired… a prostitute…" Kari grumbled from her position of leaning against the undestroyed wall.
"EHH?! They know Ero-sennin's true identity!!" Naruto cried in alarm. Did he completely miss that speech Jiraiya gave?
"Well, that's not really my true identity or whatnot…
"It seems like you have dispelled the Genjutsu from that woman," Kisame mused.
"Or put a Genjutsu on a random woman to make her a whore… Geez…" Kari weakly scoffed, cradling her broken wrist slightly.
"You're a disgrace to all men, using your eye to hypnotise a woman to separate me from Naruto," Jiraiya stated, setting the woman down against the wall. It was further down from Kari, on the side Sasuke had half destroyed with Chidori.
'Separate? But why dattebayou?' Naruto thought.
"So you're after Naruto after all," Jiraiya said lowly. He didn't miss Kisame's glance towards Kari. "And after Kari as well…"
"No wonder Kakashi-san knew. I see now. You were the source," Itachi stated. "It is an urgent order by our organisation the Akatsuki to take Naruto-kun and Kari with us."
'What's going on dattebayou?' Naruto thought taking a step back. Kari glanced at him but when she tried to move the room span, making her feel dizzy. The armoured toad disappeared in a poof of smoke.
" I can't hand Naruto or Kari over to you," Jiraiya said sternly.
"We'll see about that," Itachi said simply.
"Very well, I will get rid of you two here," Jiraiya said simply.
"Don't interfere!" Sasuke hissed as he forced himself to stand.
"Sasu…" Kari mumbled, his figure blurring slightly, before she blinked, clearing her vision.
"The one who's going to kill him… is me!"
"I have no interest in you right now," Itachi stated emotionlessly.
"Urusai!!" Sasuke shouted, charging forward, clenching his right hand into a fist. Itachi countered with a swift kick and sent him flying into the far wall.
"Sasuke!" Naruto cried in alarm while Kari growled, eyes sparking red before a pain shot between her temples. "Chikusho!" Naruto cried, going to rush to Sasuke's aid.
"Naruto! I told you not to interfere!" Sasuke shouted causing Naruto to stop. He forced himself back up, using the wall for support. "I told you before… I've lived up until now… for this moment… for this day!" His Sharingan reactivated as images of his dead parents with Itachi standing over their bodies flashed in his mind. He shot forward again and went to punch Itachi in the face. It was effortlessly blocked, and then countered with a backhand to the face, bringing out blood and sending Sasuke flying back into the far wall, causing him to spit out blood when he collided with the hard surface.
"Sasuke…" Naruto said in horror.
"I'm not through yet…" Sasuke choked out, his wrist twitching slightly, sending shots of pain through Kari's whole arm. "This is my battle…"
"Very well," Itachi said. Jiraiya went to step forward but Kisame stopped him.
"You heard him, this is a battle between those two. Let's not interfere."
Itachi took a step forward, but was interrupted by a low threatening hiss from Kari.
"Kari," Sasuke warned, shooting a look at her. Itachi stopped and looked around at her. His eyes narrowed slightly, seeing blood dripping down her chin and her limp left arm.
"Interesting," Itachi said, turning and taking a step towards her.
"No!" Sasuke shouted, a little desperation slipping into his voice. "This is our battle, leave her out of it!" Itachi paid no heed to his brother's words and continued walking towards Kari, who's growling and hissing got steadily louder until she was bearing her canines. She was backed up against the wall, but showed no other outer sign of fear.
He bent down slightly, extending his hand to grasp the front of her shirt, lifting her exhausted body and slamming it against the wall. She flinched slightly, at the pain in her back but otherwise glared him straight in the eye, her growl a low rumble in her throat.
"Kari-chan!" Naruto cried in alarm, Kita shaking slightly in fear.
"Let her go!" Sasuke shouted, afraid to move, afraid to stay and watch. 'Not her too, don't take her too, please not her, not her…!'
"You still don't remember the events of earlier today?" Itachi asked lowly, though the thick silence meant everyone could hear him. "Then I'll have to refresh your memory won't I?"