I do not own Naruto. I do, however, own Chiyuki, any original characters, and this story's plot.
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Even prodigies have to rely on others, sometimes.
house of the rising sun
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Uchiha Itachi has just become an older brother, and he doesn't quite know what to do with himself just yet.
His mother kindly shows him how to hold Sasuke, and his small arms awkwardly - but gently - hold the tiny little baby that's gripping his fingers, and oh-
Itachi would burn the world down for this baby.
(In his heart, his love for his little brother burns a beautiful, scarlet red, and nothing has ever felt as right as this.)
Mikoto and Fugaku watch, with no small amount of love and pride, as their eldest child holds the newest acquisition to their family, and marvel at how quickly baby Sasuke has charmed his older brother. Itachi loves Sasuke as much as life itself, and something settles in his mind. His heart burns and warms his baby brother up, and he's eager to be the best big brother in the world.
He has a couple of great examples to learn from.
One of them is his cousin Shisui, who despite being much more extroverted than Uchiha are, does not show his affection for anyone so easily, and has taken Itachi as his own little brother. They train, they eat snacks, and they spend hours talking quietly to each other, understanding one another effortlessly.
No one understands him quite as well as Shisui does, and he's grateful for the older boy, even if he is loath to admit it sometimes.
The other example is Sarutobi Chiyuki, who despite being the youngest of three siblings, knows how to play the part of a big sister well. It makes Itachi grumble quietly to himself, because Sasuke absolutely adores her, and the Uchiha heir can't decide if he feels jealous of his brother, or the older girl.
He doesn't know how to be a younger brother, and is only now learning how to be an older one, but if he could, he thinks he'd like to have a sister like her: someone who quietly reassures him, who faces him directly (fearlessly), who looks at his - prodigal, extraordinary - six year old self and treats him just like she treats everyone else.
Not as Uchiha Itachi, a genius born once every hundred years, the heir to the prestigious Uchiha clan - but simply as Itachi.
(As someone who holds a similarly heavy weight on her shoulders, perhaps she understands better than everyone else what it feels like to have a crown put on your head, without any regard for your opinion on the matter.)
Sasuke was named after Chiyuki's grandfather, in the hopes that he'd be just as powerful and kind like the previous Sarutobi clan head. It's something that goes unnoticed by no one, and even if the move hadn't been a (mostly) kind gesture, the fact of the matter is that the Sarutobi Princess, the Iron Demon, and most likely future Hokage is now the godmother of the Uchiha clan heads' youngest son.
Itachi learned with Shisui what it means to look underneath the underneath, who'd claimed that it was an essential skill for people like them - people who inevitably stood out -, and the six year old wonders how that will turn out for his clan.
Despite it all, his parents trust the ash blonde girl enough to put their clan's fate in her hands, and the Uchiha heir is happy that Sasuke's godparent is someone reliable - young, yes, but trustworthy nonetheless. His own feelings aside, he feels as if he'd be able to leave his brother's life in her care, and the thought alone is enough to put his mind at ease.
He doesn't know what he'd do should anything ever happen to Sasuke.
(It's a thought he'd really rather not dwell on.)
The truth is that Itachi has always trusted Chiyuki, most likely a result of subconscious thinking - for as long as he can remember, his parents always had an unshakeable amount of faith in her, and he never saw any reason to question it.
His father sometimes murmurs to him about loyalty and respect, about how as a ninja, his allegiance should be, first and foremost, to Konoha - and, most importantly, to his Hokage. When the young academy student asks the Sarutobi Princess what it means to be the leader of a village, she braves through the fog of confusion in his mind and grabs his hand, dragging him out to glorious sunlight.
"I want to be Hokage so that everyone can freely choose how they want to live."
Did that mean he'd be able to choose his own allegiances? Would that give him the freedom to not have to choose between his village or his clan? Did that award him the possibility of not having to dogfight his way to the top, wary of all that tried to approach him?
"What about you?"
She'd looked at him with a curious tilt to her head, puzzled by his question.
'Does this person not think about herself at all?'
It was the pot calling the kettle black, but it had him worried for a total of two seconds. If this person was going to live for the sake of others, what about herself?
The girl had smiled at him, then, a wet hint to her chocolate brown eyes. It was a kind smile, similar to those his mother would give him, and the sudden, raw gentleness threw him off for a split second.
"The moment I decided to become Hokage is the moment I chose my freedom."
It occurs to him that this person already made the decision a long time ago, but the way she words it makes Itachi think this is the best way she's found to deal with the heavy crown she's found herself wearing. Instead of letting her back curl forward to accommodate the solid weight, Chiyuki has decided to become strong enough to wear the crown effortlessly, as if it'd always belonged in her head.
And that hits a bit too close to home, because Itachi has never asked to be a genius, or the Uchiha heir. He never asked to stand out so much, and he just kept on meeting people's expectations because he didn't know any better, because it'd be a huge dishonor for him to pretend to be weaker than he actually was.
The confusion clears from his mind, slow and sure like the sun breaks through the darkness of the night everyday, without fail.
Itachi puts his life and Sasuke's on her hands, because he believes her - believes her confidence, her quiet self-assurance, her kindness, and strength - and decides that his own freedom is following her.