Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"Mangekyo Sharingan!" he said suddenly. Both his Akatsuki partner and Suigetsu gasped.

"Itachi!" they both shouted, although they meant different people.

Chapter 3 – Injury

Uchiha Itachi, son of Uchiha Sasuke, collapsed to his knees. He could see a red moon and the Uchiha compound in negative form. A young boy ran down the street, watching people die; people wearing the Uchiha crest on their backs. A ghostly image of his uncle appeared.

"That's your father," it said, pointing at the young boy. "He was seven at the time. I killed our entire clan – and now you're going to watch, helpless, as he did all those years ago." Rage flooded through Itachi as he heard that; rage that he needed to break free of the genjutsu. He didn't move an inch – he could sense his uncle approaching with the intent to kill. The elder Uchiha stopped in front of his victim and laughed cruelly.

"You are just like your father – he couldn't take Tsukuyomi either." He drew a kunai and stabbed at his nephew. Itachi didn't react – it was a feint and he knew it. A triumphant grin spread across his uncle's face. He lunged again – this time for real. The younger Uchiha reacted with inhuman speed. In one fluid movement he drew his katana – a gift from his father – and deflected the blow so that it avoided anything fatal. Using the momentum of the stroke, he stabbed his uncle, reaching the spinal column with enough force to remove any further threat from his uncle. He quickly moved out of his uncle's reach, whilst still keeping his katana against Itachi's spine.

"Don't. Ever. Underestimate. Me," he said slowly and clearly, watching the older Uchiha carefully. His uncle laughed.

"You're good. You broke free from my Mangekyo Sharingan, deceived me and then got out of my striking range quickly. Your father could never manage that," he complimented. "As a reward for your talent I'll come quietly. But I'm curious – who's your mother?" Itachi glared at him. Hotaru slipped round behind their target and securely tied him with some special bonds designed to drain Chakra.

"You haven't earned the right to know," Itachi told his uncle. "Let's go." He and his squad mate Hisuke grabbed their prisoner and waited for their sensei.

"You can stay or you can go – we have no orders concerning you," Suigetsu told the other criminal. Kisame shrugged.

"I don't want to abandon Itachi... but I'd rather not get captured. I'll go," he replied before vanishing.

"We'll wait a while," Suigetsu said. "We have to return at night or the villagers will see us." His three subordinates nodded and sat down, forcing their captive to as well. He offered no resistance; the Chakra draining bonds were doing their job – and quickly. He slumped over backwards, unable to sit without support - apparently. Itachi kicked him viciously.

"Get up," he said. "Stop faking. You can sit up just fine." His uncle winced and looked up at him.

"Kick me like that a few more times and I won't be able to," he commented. Itachi moved his leg back. The older Uchiha hastily sat up, making his nephew grin in triumph.

"You're a disgrace, Itachi," Suigetsu said to their prisoner. "You used to take blows like that without flinching."

"I'm not as young as I used to be..." Itachi responded.

"Nonsense. Sasuke's as lively as ever," Suigetsu scoffed.

"He is five years younger than me," Itachi pointed out.

The younger Uchiha listened to the conversation purely because he was bored. Some of it was interesting, like the age gap between his father and his uncle, but most of it was boring.

Hotaru sat next to him and put her arm around him, staying silent even when he glanced at her. Hisuke sat on her other side and grinned at his squad mate, trying to cheer him up. It didn't work as Itachi was staring into space.

"You guys should get some sleep," Suigetsu said. "It'll be a long, sleepless night." Itachi nodded and shut his eyes. Because Hotaru's arm was around him, he slumped against her as he quickly fell asleep. She lowered him so that his head was resting on her lap and stroked his hair with one hand; the other hand she draped across his torso as she too shut her eyes and succumbed to sleep, leaning against Hisuke, who put his arm around her and rested his head on hers. Suigetsu looked at them and smiled.

"They look sweet like that," he commented to the older Itachi, who nodded in agreement.

"Itachi reminds me of Sasuke a lot," he commented. "He acts just the same." It was Suigetsu's turn to nod. They sat comparing stories about Sasuke until twilight, when Suigetsu decided to wake up his squad. He poked Hisuke.

"Wake up!" he said. The young ninja grumbled and opened his eyes. Seeing that the sun had set, he shook Hotaru, waking her.

"It's time," he said when she scowled at him. Her scowl faded and she poked the sleeping boy in her lap. He moaned and opened his eyes, looking up at her quizzically.

"Up you got," she said. "It's twilight." Itachi groaned and sat up, wondering why his head was on her lap. He looked over at his uncle, who smiled weakly back. Suigetsu pulled their captive to his feet, while Hisuke and Hotaru pulled their teammate up. The teenager stumbled and fell against the kunoichi.

"Ita-kun?" she asked, concerned. He gasped and bent over, clutching at his abdomen. "Let me see." She sat him back down and pulled his top up, cursing when she saw the injury that he had sustained while fighting his uncle. Blood was constantly seeping out the wound and rolling down his body.

"Lie down," Hotaru commanded. He complied and she rolled up his top so that she could treat him. Despite the blood loss, it didn't appear serious enough for her to need to use her special ability so she reached into her weapons pouch and withdrew her medic kit. Using her water Chakra, she wet a piece of cloth and pressed it against the wound. The white material quickly darkened.

"Hisuke, keep the pressure on," she instructed. Her teammate pressed down, trying to stem the flow of blood. For such a small wound, it was far more serious than Itachi had realised when he had deflected the blow. Hotaru created a wad of gauze and ordered Hisuke to change the blood soaked material for the clean one. He did so and Hotaru secured it with tight bandaging. Once she was done, they helped Itachi to stand.

"Hotaru, Hisuke, you escort the prisoner," Suigetsu ordered. Quickly, they did so while Suigetsu supported Itachi. "Let's go." The five ninja made their way to Konoha. When they got there, they were surprised to be greeted by Mikoto.

"Itachi!" she gasped when she saw her brother. He grinned at her.

"Hey, sis," he said weakly. Their prisoner looked at her with interest. Feeling his gaze on her, Mikoto turned and inspected him.

"So you're my uncle," she stated before walking over to her injured brother. "Naruto told me," she added, seeing her brother's face.

"Only because she was shouting at me for sending Itachi on that mission," the Hokage said, stepping up beside her. Itachi grinned at his sister, who put her arm round him to provide support.

"Let's go to the Hokage tower," Suigetsu suggested, looking at his disciple's pale face in concern. Naruto nodded in agreement and grabbed their prisoner's arm, leading the way. As soon as they arrived, Mikoto persuaded her brother to sit on a chair. He slumped back and only his sister's support prevented him from falling off. Immediately, Hotaru knelt down in front of him and pulled up his top.

"It'll be easiest if you take this off," she explained. Mikoto just grabbed the material and pulled it up over her brother's head. The cloth that bound his wound was soaked through with blood. Carefully, Hotaru unwound the bandaging and the blood leaked out, oozing down his body. Mikoto glanced at it worriedly.

"Hasn't it stopped bleeding yet?" she asked. Hotaru shook her head, equally concerned.

"We'll need your mother, looking at that," Naruto commented, forcing the older Uchiha to sit in the corner. "Mikoto, can you go get her? And get your father and Tani while you're at it – but don't tell your father about him -" he jerked his head towards the prisoner. "- just that Itachi's injured." Mikoto nodded and stood. She glanced at her uncle – she hadn't missed the shock on his face when Naruto had said her name – before heading towards her home. Entering the spacious residence, she shouted for her parents and sister. They came running.

"What is it, Mikoto?" Sakura asked.

"Itachi's back – but he's injured beyond Hotaru's skills," her eldest daughter explained. Sasuke's eyes widened in concern for his only son and suddenly the entire Uchiha family was running towards the Hokage tower as fast as they could.

Meanwhile, Naruto glared at his captive.

"You will stay quiet and in that corner – understand? If Sasuke notices you before I want him to, things could get out of hand pretty quickly." Itachi nodded and looked at his semi-conscious nephew, who was being laid on the floor.

"That girl that went to get my brother – is that Sasuke's daughter?" he asked. Naruto nodded as he watched Hotaru change the dressing on Itachi's wound – again.

"Sasuke won't be happy that you've injured his only son," Suigetsu commented. There was the sound of running feet and the Uchiha family burst in. They saw Itachi, almost unconscious on the floor and hurried over to him. Suigetsu and Naruto strategically placed themselves so that Sasuke couldn't see his older brother.

"Itachi!" Tani sobbed, sitting on the floor by her brother. Mikoto resumed her place by Itachi's side. Sakura knelt down by her son and performed some seals, causing a green glow to engulf her hands. Gently, she pressed her healing hands against the wound. Sasuke just watched in silence as the deep cut closed and his son fully lost conscious. In concern, he darted forwards and cradled his son in his arms. Looking around, he saw the miraculously clean Hokage desk and laid his son on it.

"What happened?" he demanded, turning towards Naruto and Suigetsu. For the first time, he noticed their unusual positioning. "What's behind you?"

"Sasuke..." Naruto started but his best friend cut him off.

"Don't make excuses! My only son is injured and now you're hiding something from me!"

"SASUKE!" Naruto shouted, cutting him off in turn. "Calm down. I'm not telling you anything until you calm down." Sasuke glared at him.

"Dad... calm down. You don't want to disturb Itachi," Mikoto reasoned. Her father glanced at the unconscious teen behind him before turning back to Naruto. He didn't say anything. Sakura walked up at him and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her and smiled, consequently missing the look of gratitude Naruto threw her. Sasuke took a deep breath and faced the Hokage.

"I've calmed down now," he said. "What's going on?" Naruto walked towards him, still blocking his view. Securely holding on to his best friend's arm, he turned and pointed.

"Look," he said gently. Suigetsu moved out of the way, revealing the S-Classed criminal behind him. Sasuke stared at the man sat in the corner.

"Who...?" he asked, but fell silent when he saw the man's face. His look of confusion was replaced by anger. "You! How can you be still alive?" he demanded, stepping forwards. Naruto restrained him.

"It's a long story... brother," Itachi said, looking up at Sasuke. Tani gasped and ran up to stand by her mother. Mikoto stepped up and put her hand on her father's arm.

"What did you do to my son?" Sasuke demanded harshly. His elder brother looked down.

"Our mission was to find and capture Itachi," Suigetsu cut in. Sasuke looked at Naruto.

"How did you know he was still alive? Why did you send my son?" he demanded. Naruto sighed.

"I needed to send someone with the Sharingan. Initially I was going to send Mikoto's ANBU squad, but then Itachi's Sharingan reached three tomoe," he explained patiently.

"Why not me?" Sasuke asked.

"Be honest. Would you have been able to capture, not kill?" Naruto responded. Sasuke looked down. "Exactly."

"So what happened?" Sasuke asked, glancing at his son.

"He managed to outsmart me," Itachi said. "But it cost him." Sasuke glared at him. "Realising that his Sharingan was equal to mine, I resorted to Mangekyo Sharingan..." Sasuke snarled and lunged at his brother. His family restrained him. "...But somehow he managed to release it and trick me into thinking that he was still affected by him. When I tried to deliver a fatal blow he deflected it slightly and stabbed me in return." There was a glimmer of pride in Sasuke's eyes as he heard how his son had managed to outsmart the genius that was his brother. Naruto realised that Sasuke wasn't about to kill Itachi and so loosened his grip slightly.

"Perhaps you should go home," he suggested gently. Sasuke nodded and walked over to his unconscious son and picked him up, carefully cradling him in his arms.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Sasuke said before leaving, followed by his wife and two daughters. They hurried home where Sasuke laid his son on his bed. Mikoto sat by her brother and smoothed back a lock of his hair. Tani slipped out of the room briefly to get a bowl of water and a cloth. Sasuke and Sakura left the room as she re-entered, leaving their children alone together. Tani damped the cloth and gingerly wiped away the dried blood. Once she had finished, Mikoto picked up his pyjamas and put them on him (she'd done it before so she knew that he wouldn't mind).

Carefully, she tucked him in and played with his hair, opting not to go to bed. Tani sat by her and held Itachi's hand. Both sisters were concerned by how pale their brother was. They hoped that he hadn't lost too much blood.

All night, Naruto, Suigetsu, Hotaru and Hisuke sat in the office, listening to Itachi talking – occasionally interrupting with a question or two. By the early hours of the morning, they had learnt why he had killed his clan and all that he had done as a member of Akatsuki. Finally, Naruto permitted him to ask some questions.

"So, what do you want to know?" he asked.

"I'm curious about Sasuke's family," Itachi responded. Naruto sighed.

"Thought so. He's got three kids – Mikoto, Itachi and Tani. Mikoto's eighteen, Itachi's sixteen and Tani's twelve. Their mother's Sakura, who you may remember..."

"Pink hair, green eyes?" Itachi asked. Naruto nodded. "I remember, at least I remember a girl like that he had a crush on at the academy. Haruno Sakura, her name was." Naruto nodded again.

"That's her."

In the Uchiha Mansion, Sakura sneezed.

"Are you OK?" her husband asked, looking up at her worriedly. She smiled down at him.

"Someone must be talking about me," she said. He sighed and shut his eyes. Sasuke had been really shaken up by the realisation that his older brother was still alive; that was why he was lying on their bed with his head on Sakura's lap.

"Itachi'll be alright, won't he?" he asked her, meaning their son. She nodded.

"Yes, he'll probably be waking up soon," she assured him. He smiled.

"Good. When I saw him... all that blood..." Sakura put her finger on his lips.

"Shh, stop worrying."

Sasuke's strong arms wound around her waist and held her tightly.

"Get some sleep. Mikoto and Tani are with him," she whispered, pulling a blanket over him. His breathing slowed as he succumbed to sleep.

Thanks for reading!

Tsari