In a village full of ninja, gossip traveled at lightning speed. So, even if Itachi hadn't been at the fights between the Rookie Twelve, he would have inevitably heard about what Sasuke had done.

"Mini-friend killer…"

"How can his comrades ever trust him?"

"He wanted to kill his teammate because she cussed him out."

"Pathetic. What is the Uchiha clan teaching their kids if the clan head's kid is like this?"

"He doesn't deserve to be a shinobi."

"What if he turns traitor?"

Itachi wanted to yell at every single one of them to shut up and that his sweet, little brother wasn't like that. He was a caring boy who just wanted to prove himself and had taken things too far. Kids always said things they didn't mean! But, most kids didn't produce a deadly, high ranking justu to fight in a friendly match with their teammate.

Being Orochimaru's apprentice would have been truly special, yes, but surely Sasuke wasn't so obsessed that he would have done anything to achieve that goal. Right? Itachi desperately wanted to believe that, but truthfully, he couldn't quite say for sure anymore. Ever since he had become a member of Anbu and Sasuke had joined his own genin team, the two brothers rarely saw much of each other. What had happened to the Sasuke he had known and loved?

When the match had been called, Itachi had to use all of his willpower not to rush to Sasuke and demand an explanation and an apology for Sasuke's teammate. The girl had played a smart, but nasty tactic, Itachi could admit, but there was no cause for such anger. There must have been something else going on for Sasuke to act this way.

However, with him still on duty to watch over the Hokage, Itachi could only watch from the Academy's rooftop as their parents frog-marched Sasuke home. They had made a swift escape away from the other clan heads to better mitigate the damage and humiliation Sasuke had caused towards their clan. They would be lucky if the rumors died down before snow began to fall in several months. No doubt they would be talking about this until Sasuke became a jonin.

If he could even further his shinobi career.

Once his shift had finished at the stroke of midnight, Itachi had scrambled to store his mask away and leap across rooftops to get back to the Uchiha district as fast as he could. He knew he was risking damages to houses and businesses by how aggressively he was running across the village with chakra enhanced steps, but he needed to get to Sasuke.

Their father had always been strict with the both of them, but the anger on their mother's face meant that Sasuke would be facing their parents' wrath by himself. While he would never admit it, Sasuke craved their parents' approval, and this would only cause him to fall further into the hatred that was bubbling under the surface. How had they let this go on for so long?

Finally, he could see the Uchiha district come into view. Flaring his chakra in a specific pattern, he barely gave a glance at the guards stationed around the various entrances. He only had eyes for his family home. He could feel three familiar signatures, but there weren't any lights on. But, by the pure agitation coming off the smallest signature, Itachi could guess that the talk between Sasuke and their parents hadn't gone will.

Touching down lightly on the engawa, Itachi was cautious as he entered the house and headed towards Sasuke's room. Pale moonlight guided his path as his bare feet made no sound on the polished floors. The house was deadly still as he stood in front of Sasuke's room, his hand hovering over the door's handle. It would be all too easy to turn around and go to his own room, allowing Sasuke to think on his own actions by himself, but he knew he couldn't do that. He loved his brother too much to abandon him.

Taking a deep breath, Itachi knocked lightly before sliding the door open. Standing in the middle of his room, Sasuke looked like a puffed-up cat as he glared daggers at Itachi, eyes shining red in the moonlight. While some might have seen the scene as menacing, Itachi could only see his brother angry and hurt.

"What are you doing here? Going to yell at my like okaa-san and otou-san?" Saskue hissed. His fists were clenched harshly at his sides, and he ground his teeth in annoyance.

"No," Itachi said softly and stepped fully inside the room, shutting the door quietly. He stared at his little brother sadly. This all could have been avoided, but now it was far too late and all they could do was stave off some of the damage. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Me?" He snarled. "They were more concerned over her!"

"Sasuke."

"What?!"

"Take a deep breath."

For a second, Itachi was convinced Sasuke would hold is breath instead, simply out of defiance, but finally, his shoulders sagged as he took several deep breaths. Slowly, Itachi approached him before grabbing his arm and pulled him towards the bed. Once they were sitting side by side and one of Itachi's arms around Sasuke's shoulders, did the younger Uchiha finally sag into his side.

"It's not fair!" He whined.

"What isn't?"

"She shouldn't have gotten that apprenticeship! She's lazy, barely ever trains, and she's weak!"

That was certainly a lot of resentment.

"Are you saying you're jealous of her?"

"What?" Sasuke's head snapped up to stare at him like he'd grown another head. "No. Why would I ever be jealous of a civilian born?"

"But she is the one who is now Orochimaru-sama's apprentice."

"She shouldn't be!"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm so much better!"

"I didn't realize the shinobi world worked on the mindset of schoolyard arguments," Itachi spoke lowly and kept his eyes locked on Sasuke's.

"You know what I mean!" He hissed. "I was the obvious choice!"

"Were you?"

"Yes!" His voice was growing louder. "I'm way stronger than her! I won all of my matches! And I have the Sharingan!"

"But are you smarter?"

"What's that supposed to mean? Aren't you on my side?"

"I will always support you, otouto, but you have to be honest with me, do you think she's smarter than you?"

His cheeks puffed out the slightest bit before he looked away, grumbling. "She always beat me at theoretical stuff while we were in the Academy."

"I saw you taking the test today."

"You did?!" Sasuke whipped around, staring at him in shock. "Otou-san said you were on Anbu duty!"

"I was." Itachi smiled mischievously. "I was protecting the Hokage."

It was entertaining to watch as the gears turned in his little brother's head before he figured it out, and rolled his eyes.

"Do you want to know what I saw?"

"What?"

"Your teammate, Sakura, finished her test in only half an hour, with almost every single question answered correctly. Some questions even I would have struggled to answer fully." Itachi admitted quietly. Sasuke could only stare at him, not saying a word. "So, in a way, she is smarter than you, but like you said, you have your own strengths."

"But?" Sasuke mumbled.

"What you did was stupid."

"I thought you weren't going to give me a lecture!" Sasuke spat.

"No, I said I wasn't going to yell at you," Itachi said firmly. "What you did today was borderline traitorous. If you had succeeded in killing a fellow shinobi during a match between peers, you would have ended up in T&I."

Ignoring Sasuke's flinch, he continued.

"On top of that, you know that your actions are not solely yours; you are the second son of the Uchiha clan head, and everything you do represents our clan. By showing that you were willing to do anything for a position of power, you put our whole clan in an awkward position. Do you know who was watching the matches today?"

"The other kids' parents?"

"And who specifically are they?"

"The clan heads of the other major clans…"

Itachi didn't bother explaining how bad this whole thing was. They sat there for a few minutes as the consequences finally started to sink in. Itachi couldn't predict how this would affect their clan's standing or Sasuke's own future, but over all, this would not be a pleasant experience. He could only hope that Sasuke would learn from this and begin to really evaluate his choices before the next time came and he would truly get someone killed. Itachi never wanted his brother to shoulder that kind of guilt, not if he had any say in it.

"Itachi-nii?"

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"Did otou-san tell you what's going to happen?"

"No, I came straight here to see how you were doing."

"Oh…" While the moonlight wasn't strong, Itachi could clearly see the small blush on his cheeks. "He says that because both Sakura and Naruto will be training underneath the Sannin, Team Seven will be dissolved soon."

"That does sound accurate."

"And that no team would want to take me on because of what I did."

"Also true." Itachi wasn't going to sugarcoat this. Sasuke had messed up and needed to accept the consequences his actions had caused.

"Otou-sans says he's sending me back to the Academy to learn proper teamwork." The last words were snarled in anger and every inch of Sasuke's body was tensed. Itachi's eyes widened in shock. The Academy? "He said that if I can't handle the basic rules of being a shinobi, I don't deserve to be one until I learn how to cherish my comrades."

Itachi didn't know what to say. Yes, their father was harsh, but to humiliate Sasuke like that seemed far too extreme. But, because of the way Sasuke had acted in front of all the major clans, their heirs, the Hokage, and one of the Legendary Sannin, they needed to do something drastic to prove that Sasuke would truly be punished.

And what could be worse than forcing him to give up his headband and earn it all over again?

Heart aching for his little brother, Itachi didn't bother with words as tears began to stream down Sasuke's face. He only wrapped his arm around him and sighed.

When had everything begun to fall apart around them? When had his brother become so resentful of someone even remotely better than him? He would have to talk with their parents to figure out how to help Sasuke. Maybe working with those younger and weaker than him would help him realize why teamwork was so important.

Or, it would only make matters worse.

Tucking Sasuke closer, Itachi rubbed his back and hummed softly. After a few minutes, Sasuke whispered into his shoulder.

"Okaa-san says I have to formally apologize to Sakura."

"That would be a responsible thing to do."

"And apologize for the way I spoke to Orochimaru-sama."

"You do not want to be on his bad side," Itachi warned. "You hurt one of his students, and he will not forget that. You will need to prove yourself not only to him, but to Sakura as well. If you can not mend things with her, then I fear we will not only have a Sannin causing trouble for us."

"Who else?"

"His children."

Sasuke looked confused at that, but Itachi could see the exhaustion creeping into his expression from the stress of the day.

"Itachi?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think about all this?"

"Honestly," Itachi couldn't meet Sasuke's eyes. "I think you really screwed up, otouto."

"Do you think I'll ever become a shinobi?" His words were barely audible, but in the silent house, they might as well have been screamed.

"I don't know."

Sasuke could only nod in forced acceptance.

"Sleep, Sasuke. We will talk more about this tomorrow."

Making sure the smaller boy at least got under the covers, Itachi left the room, and closed the door softly behind him. Turning around, he met his father's expectant gaze. With barely a flick of his head, Fugaku signaled him to follow. They entered Fugaku's office, the silencing seals activating immediately.

"Sasuke will be sent back to the Academy in a few days."

"I mean no disrespect, otou-san, but will that be healthy for him?"

"I do not care!" His father seethed, slapping a hand down on the low table they sat at. "The level of disrespect and carelessness he showed today clearly indicates he wasn't remotely ready to be a full fledge shinobi!"

"Otou-san—"

"Not only did he try to kill his comrade, he spoke out of line towards one of the most affluent men in the village! What will the other clans think of us now that they know my own son acts so carelessly?"

"I—"

"He had the gale to talk back to me and your mother. He truly believed that he done nothing wrong by attacking his teammate that way. I did not raise either of you to act in such a disgusting manner, especially towards the village our ancestors built together. We have dedicated our lives to protect the people of our home, and what does my son do? He throws it all away in the name of his own damn pride!"

Itachi could only nod. His father was correct, in a way, but Sasuke was only a child. Even if he did have impressive justu under his belt, he still didn't have the experience either Itachi or Fugaku had. Especially since Sasuke hadn't been taught to focus on clan politics like he had been.

"I have decided that you will cut back in your missions, and focus instead on your duties as my heir."

Blinking, Itachi stared at his father in shock. Weren't they just talking about Sasuke? Why was he now being brought into this?

"The clan is in a precarious position," his father explained gravely. "We need to be seen as a strong unit that is willing to re-educate our most wayward children. I need you to take up your duties and help guide Sasuke onto the correct path."

Keeping his face neutral, Itachi nodded. However, on the inside, he was shocked and slightly pleased. At least he and Sasuke could now spend more time together, and he could teach his brother what he truly needed to know.

"I understand, otou-san," Itachi said humbly.

"Good. We will petition to the Hokage about reducing your missions tomorrow."

"Yes, otou-san."