Echoes

Chapter Fifteen

Can I See Some ID?

Sakura knew that Sasuke did indeed have a brother but he had also mentioned they didn't see much of one another.

"Oh. Sasuke didn't mention his brother was going to visit."

"It's a surprise… I can show you some ID if you want."

Sakura heard the man withdraw his wallet from a pocket, the soft sound of leather sliding against cloth reaching her ears and she shook her head.

"Won't do any good. I'm blind."

"...Oh." The surprise in the man's voice would have amused Sakura in most any other situation.

"Yeah, 'oh'." Sakura was beginning to feel annoyed – she just wanted to be out in the sun, not stood here deciding whether this man was telling the truth or not. Sakura soon realised that when she was annoyed she became very blunt as she spoke her next words. "And I was recently attacked by strangers in my own home so please forgive me if I'm hesitant to let a strange man in."

The man was silent for a moment before sighing. "Fine. I completely understand." Instead of hearing his feet retreat down Sasuke's path, she heard the distinct sound of a body sliding down the wall.

"What are you doing?"

The man's voice was below her now. "Sitting. I'll wait out here for Sasuke. The weather is agreeable enough."

Sakura raised an eyebrow in surprise. Was this guy serious? She groaned, not wanting to just leave him there and sat down in front of the ajar door.

"What are you doing?"

She smiled as the man mimicked her question. "Sitting." She quipped. "If you are Sasuke's brother then it wouldn't be very polite to just leave you here alone."

"Itachi."

"Excuse me?"

"My name, it's Itachi."

"I know." Sakura smiled. "Sasuke told me... just wanted to see if you knew Sasuke's brother's name... or well your name or –" She broke off abruptly. "You know what, never mind. I'm Sakura." She held a hand through the gap of the door and heard Itachi shuffle around to mirror her position.

He took her hand and shook it. His palms were smooth and dry, no sign of nervous sweat and she was pretty sure he was telling the truth... but the small part of her that was doubtful would not let her open the door

"Nice to meet you Sakura." Itachi released her hand and settled back against the wall. "So, where is Sasuke?"

"The police department. He shouldn't be too long."

Itachi hummed and there was a brief silence before he spoke again. "How did you meet Sasuke?"

Sakura smiled at the memory. "He literally bumped in to me."

"And you're together now?"

"I-" Sakura paused. Were they together? Nothing was official but the way Sasuke acted, the things he said... "I think so, yes."

Itachi laughed a little at that. "Think? I see my brother is still as socially constipated as ever. But for you to be here means he must care for you very much."

Sakura thought on that for a moment and shook her head in amusement. "You and Sasuke don't seem to be very much alike."

"In some ways we are, we can both be quiet and happy in our own company. But Sasuke seems to brood on things more than I do... he's felt overlooked at times in his life."

"Because of your father?"

"Yes. And I think in turn he saw me as the reason he didn't get as much recognition as he should have."

"That's quite sad." Sakura sighed.

Itachi made a noise of agreement. "Yes, but although Sasuke will glare and say he despises me at times, we are still brothers and are as close now as we were as children... I hope."

"I think Sasuke loves you very much. The sound of his voice when he speaks of you... he must really look up to you."

"And yet it should be the other way around." Itachi's voice was amused.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?"

"Sasuke had a strength that I never did. I didn't mind taking up the mantle of my father's business, but it isn't something I would have chosen to do on my own. I was glad that Sasuke had the chance to take his own path."

"You're a good person." Sakura said simply.

"You can tell that so soon after meeting me?"

"I can tell you care for your brother."

"So you believe I'm his brother?" Itachi's polite tone was laced with amusement.

"Perhaps."

"Itachi?"

"Speak of the devil." Sakura muttered to herself as Sasuke's surprised voice sounded out.

"What are you doing on the porch?"

"Talking to Sakura." Itachi replied as if his brother was foolish not to know the answer.

Sakura waved and grinned towards the door, knowing Sasuke would be looking at her.

"But why with a door between you?"

Sakura sighed. "I didn't know if he was telling the truth when he said he was your brother."

"Fair point." Sasuke grumbled.

Sakura stood and closed the door, sliding the chain off before opening it fully. Metsuki squeezed past her to greet the two brothers.

Itachi stroked the dog's large black her and a wry smile twisted his lips. "I always had you pegged as more of a cat person Little Brother."

There was an awkward silence as the three adults made their way to Sasuke's kitchen.

Sasuke glanced at his pink-haired lodger. "Sakura, would you mind giving us a few minutes?"

Sakura blinked in surprise. "Sure... I'll just be out back with Metsuki."

Sasuke waited until she had made her way to the back door and disappeared in out the garden. He had just opened his mouth to interrogate his brother when Sakura popped her head back in the room.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

She crooked a finger in his direction. Sasuke raised an eyebrow but went over to her regardless, aware of Itachi's eyes on his back. When he reached Sakura she stood on tiptoes so her mouth came closer to his ear.

"Give him a chance," she whispered. "I don't think he's the bad guy you think he is." She lowered herself back on to her feet and left the house without further pause.

Sasuke stayed frozen for a second before turning to look at Itachi who was stood with his hands clasped behind his back and observing a framed photograph of the Konoha skyline, politely pretending that he hadn't just heard Sakura's theatrical whisper.

"What are you doing here?"

"Sakura seems very nice."

Sasuke glared at his brother. "I said, what are you doing here Itachi?"

Itachi moved his eyes from the wall and looked at his baby brother. "Do I really need a reason to visit you?"

"Well it happens so little I suppose you must. Did father send you to spy on me again?"

Itachi sighed. "I talked to Mother about you last time, I did not 'spy' on you as you put it."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and repeated his earlier question. "What do you want.?"

"Is it so hard to believe that I came because I wanted to see my brother? I don't know why we can't speak to each other without it dissolving in to an argument." Itachi pulled one of the kitchen chairs out and sat down smoothly. "Let's talk Sasuke. You can explain what it is about me that grates on your nerves and I will explain why I have done what I did in my life."

Sasuke glanced back out the back door and saw that Sakura was lay out under the sun, foot tapping to unheard music and Sasuke imagined that she had a pair of headphones in... or she was more odd than he had previously given her credit for.

Relenting, the younger Uchiha sat at the table and met his brother's gaze. "You didn't do anything." Itachi raised an eyebrow and Sasuke continued. "You feel the need to explain your actions? You always did what father wanted of you. You were the good son."

"Or the most foolish."

"What?"

"Sasuke, I look at you and I'm envious that you did what you wanted to do with your life. I couldn't tell father no – that's cowardice, not loyalty."

"But you're his heir aren't you? Face it, he would have let you be whatever you wanted to be. You'd never have to be ashamed to show your face around there."

"And where would that have left you? If I'd chosen to become a lawyer, or a doctor, or a teacher? There would be no other heir for father too leave the business to but you." Itachi rubbed at his eyes. "I'm not saying this to make you feel guilty or to paint myself in a good light, Sasuke. But I knew I could cope with the business, and you could have too until you met Naruto. I saw how much you changed and how much happier you were becoming your own person."

Sasuke frowned. "So you gave up your happiness for mine?" His voice was bordering on scornful but Itachi smiled slightly.

"We're brothers – your happiness is mine."

That gave Sasuke pause for thought. "Then why did you never explain any of this before?"

"Honestly? You're stubborn as a rock. If you thought you owed me for doing this, you would have never moved away and enrolled with the KPD. Your pride would have had you chained to a desk next to father just to prove a point. I think it did you some good to set up on your own."

Sasuke scowled at his brother. "So you've let me hate you for all these years? What the hell Itachi? none of this makes sense."

"Of course it does. And you never hated me . You were angry at father and by aligning myself with him that anger was spread to me. But I know it was just because you were hurt that he couldn't accept your dreams." Itachi sighed and looked down at his hands. "Father is taking on less responsibility with the business and wants me to sign over as the new CEO."

"Are you?"

"Yes. My first order of business is to move the main offices from Suna to Konoha. I know father wanted to be in Suna to be closer to his investors but we're set up pretty solidly now. And I miss this city."

Sasuke nodded. "Is that what prompted you to come see me?"

Itachi smiled. "Partly. I came to finalise plans on the new offices, and that provided a good opportunity to drop by. Honestly though, it's been on my mind for a while but I wasn't sure how you'd react." He laughed softly and turned his gaze towards the back garden. "You seem to have mellowed out some though.

When Sakura ventured in from outside, Sasuke had retreated upstairs to shower and change. Itachi murmured a polite greeting from the kitchen table and she could hear Itachi tapping at the keys of a laptop. She took her chance, sitting down opposite the man.

"What was Sasuke like as a child? You touched on what he was like as he got older, but what was he really like?"

"Have you asked Sasuke?"

"You think he'd give me a straight answer?"

"Fair point." Itachi took his reading glasses off his nose and closed the lid of his laptop. "Well he was a normal child, I suppose. He was most definitely a mommy's boy and he stuck to her like glue. He excelled in all he tried, whether it was school or sports."

This did not surprise Sakura. "Sasuke told me that your father was hard to please."

"He was. He had the bad habit of comparing Sasuke's achievements with my own. I suppose he had the disadvantage of being younger – when he did match my accomplishments, I had already done them first."

"That's sad." Sakura frowned.

"Yes, but I suppose that was more to do with his teenage years. As a child he was much more carefree. If he wasn't with mother he could usually be found following me around. People would always comment I had my own little shadow following me around."

"Do you look alike?"

Itachi hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose. Our family as a rule share the same genetic features. Our traits are largely dominant."

Sakura let a small laugh escape and Itachi paused. "Sorry," she said. "It's just you sound like my old biology textbooks."

Itachi let out a huff of amusement. "Mother always did say it was like I swallowed a dictionary."

"Sorry for interrupting." Sakura apologised.

"Not at all. Similarities... let's see. There's no denying Sasuke and I are brothers, although I've always thought I follow after Mother while Sasuke looks like our father."

"That's quite ironic."

Itachi nodded and then caught himself. "I suppose it is. Sasuke was cheerful and thrived on social interaction. He was forever begging me to show him how to kick a ball or let him show me how well his reading was coming on."

"Did you indulge him?"

Itachi frowned thoughtfully. "Not as often as I should have. My father expected results from an early age. I moved forward a few years in school and so my workload increased. My father often chided Sasuke for bothering me."

"Did you find it bothersome?" Sakura's expression was riveted and Itachi chuckled lowly.

"No. I'd sneak away from my evening classes to get Sasuke from school sometimes and take him to the park."

"You sound thick as thieves."

"We were... though he had the most unpleasant habit of pulling my hair when he was very young."

"So do you have any embarrassing stories about him?"

"I think my mother would like to be the one to tell you about those." Itachi dodged the question tactfully and Sakura sighed good-naturedly.

"Loyal to the end, eh?"

"So I'm intrigued about you, Sakura. What was your life like as a child?"

Sakura shrugged. "Normal I guess. I was an army brat and travelled around with my dad."

"Just the two of you?"

"Yes. My mother passed away and my father has never remarried."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Sakura shook her hands in a dismissive gesture. "It's okay. I spent some my childhood here in Konoha and made good friends. I was living in Ame as a teenage however, my dad's been there ever since. It was in Ame when my eyesight started to fade. When I was eighteen I moved back to Konoha and connected with my friends again."

"Your desire for independence is admirable."

"Normal would be a better word, don't you think?"

Itachi regarded the girl before him and smirked. "Well put."

"So, what has been your act of independence? I know you've by and large adhered to your father's wishes, but surely that rebellious streak of yours went farther than ditching class?"

"I suppose the biggest annoyance to my father is the group of friends I keep."

"Your friends?"

"Yes, we're a bit of a ragtag bunch. Artists, tattooists, botanists and marine biologists. I suppose I'm the most level headed of them all."

"They do sound like a mixture." Sakura smiled. "And this bothers your father?"

"They aren't the type of people one would meet at a business function. Crashing it however..."

Sakura laughed. "Sounds like a good thing you have them in your life."

"I suppose Sasuke and I are bother lucky to have such people surrounding us."

Sakura felt a blush sweep across her cheeks at the subtle praise and almost missed the sound of Sasuke's footsteps returning to the kitchen.

Sakura breathed deeply and could smell the scent of his shower gel in the air – her face warmed a little more.

Sasuke paused and looked between the blushing girl and his smiling brother. "What are you talking about?"

Sakura shrugged. "Nothing much. Itachi was just telling me about your most embarrassing childhood memories."

The younger Uchiha shot a wide-eyed look at his brother and Itachi shook his head in amusement.

"She is joking, Sasuke. I've told her that task is best left to Mother."

Sasuke grumbled at the pair of them and joined them at the table. There was silence between the three until Sakura stood from her seat.

"Well maybe you two should go to get a bite to each and finish catching up." She suggested.

"What about you?" Sasuke frowned.

Sakura waved a hand dismissively. "I should probably head back to my own place, I've been underfoot for long enough."

"Nonsense." Itachi interjected. "You will have food here with us. Sasuke will cook, and we can continue our conversation."

Sasuke gave Itachi a withering look at having been volunteered to play chef for the evening. Itachi just raised an amused eyebrow and addressed Sakura, keeping his eyes on his brother's face. "I hope you like tomato soup, Sakura."

"So how has work been, Sasuke?" Dinner had been pleasant (and tomato-ey) and the three adults were now relaxing in Sasuke's sitting room.

"Aside from the obvious?" Sasuke semi-joked. "It's been okay. I'm working on the death of the scientist at the Jade Leaf."

Itachi nodded. "I recall reading something of that in the news. Is it giving you difficulty?"

"They've been clever. Clever but ruthless – at least one innocent person looks to have been killed just so they could get close enough to their true target."

Itachi hummed thoughtfully." Have you pinpointed a motive yet?"

"No," Sasuke sighed. "We suspect that it is linked to whatever the victim was working on but until we have at least one of the suspects in our hands I don't think we can be sure of anything."

"You sound as though you know a little about law enforcement, Itachi." Sakura was feeding Metsuki the remains of one of the bread rolls, listening politely.

Itachi smiled. "Not too much, just what I read in crime novels I suppose. Although my little brother has an undeniably interesting job."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Itachi turned on the Uchiha charm – he knew he had nothing to fear from his older brother, it was just how Itachi was – in his career a little bit of suaveness went a long way.

"Do you enjoy your work?" Sakura asked, rubbing Metsuki's head as the last of the bread disappeared and settling back in to her chair.

"I suppose. There is a certain amount of pressure that I find myself drawn to. I think I already mentioned that my friends largely seem to hold more exciting jobs than I, but someone has to be the straight man I suppose."

Sakura's lips twitched in to a smile. "I suppose."

"You still hang around with that bunch of misfits?" Sasuke groaned, no real malice behind his words.

Itachi smirked at his younger brother and spoke for Sakura's benefit. "My little brother has never got along very well with my friends. They found him an easy target to tease."

"Tease?" Sasuke scoffed. "More like torment and torture. There's a sadistic streak a mile wide running through that lot."

"Sasuke does not forget embarrassment easily." Itachi informed Sakura who grinned wickedly.

"Embarrassment? Do tell."

"No!" Sasuke said firmly. "I won't hesitate to kick you out of here Itachi."

His brother shrugged innocently. "I didn't say anything. Besides, I think you'll find that you initiated the discussion about my friends and the past you share with them."

Sasuke rolled his eyes yet again and pretended not to hear when Itachi promised to fill Sakura in later on.

Itachi had left to take a walk and familiarise himself with the city again, leaving Sakura the chance to slide a little closer to Sasuke on the sofa. "How did today go?"

Sasuke blinked down at her. "I told you-"

"No," she cut in. "You dodged the question and told your brother nothing about the review board. Now I'm asking you to tell me how it really went."

Sasuke shook his head lightly, amazed at the woman's stubbornness. "I promise it went fine. I got a chance to explain what happened. I gave details of possible witnesses in my report, including the shop owner who drove us back and made it clear I was off duty and provoked."

"What did the board say?"

"I got a good old-fashioned scolding, telling me that I should act like an officer even when I'm not in uniform ad nauseum. Then they said that because I had apprehended the pair and that they had been linked to a spate of burglaries in the city, the agreed that the benefits of my actions outweighed any poor showing for the force. Honestly, Sakura I didn't even get an official warning. Sarutobi-sama even gave me a wink as I left."

Sakura sighed and wiggled in to his side. Sasuke blinked in surprise but decided to go with the flow and brought his arm to rest around her shoulders. "Okay, I'll believe you." Sakura said. "I'm sure Naruto will tell me if you're lying anyway." She added in a teasing voice.

"Annoying." Sasuke retorted, smirking when Sakura swatted his chest.

"I like your brother. He's nice."

"He's always been the more sociable of us."

"I like you more, don't worry." Sakura cooed in an exaggeratedly sweet voice, reaching up to pinch Sasuke's cheek.

The Uchiha huffed, rubbing at the abused skin. "Very funny."

Sakura sobered and let her head rest on Sasuke's shoulder. The hair on her head tickling his neck. "Are you glad he turned up today?"

"Yes," Sasuke said pensively. "It seems as though we should have spoken about things a long time ago."

"That's men for you huh? Stubborn and almost physically incapable of talking."

"Have you met Naruto?"

Sakura laughed, her body shaking against Sasuke's arm. "Okay, I concede. I'm glad you've made amends."

"Yeah," Sasuke said, tightening his grip on Sakura. "Me too."

Okay so super speedy editing job here. This had extra bits added to it while I was at work with no access to my notes so there's a good chance something has gone amiss or just completely bonkers here!

This was mostly just bringing Itachi in to things a little more, and I'm glad that you were all excited by the end of the last chapter.

I'll come back and give it a good look over later but I wanted to get this up now because I won't have any chance this weekend as I'll be away from my trusty laptop.

As I'm sure you know the London Olympics open in less than half an hour and I'm feeling like a patriotic Brit so I'm off to go watch the opening ceremony… and what do you know it's started to rain… surprising that. So really just wanted to get this up before I go join in the celebrations.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter at any rate. Thanks for all the lovely reviews and I'll see you next chapter.