Interlude - Itachi

To be a ninja is to endure. The mission is all that matters. At all costs, it must be completed. Whether the mission is one given by your leader or one you decide on yourself; your goals demand that you endure.

Others might see you as a monster, but so long as they're safe, it doesn't matter. You believed that for the longest time.

But... he challenged that belief.

"You should smile more, big brother!"

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You were born to be a ninja. Your father and his comrades heralded you as a prodigy- someone born only once in a hundred years. It was no surprise that you were wielding a kunai before you could even take showers by yourself.

You remember those days. Father was excited, proud. Mother wasn't so fond of you running with sharp objects and would often get into arguments with your father. They were calm, peaceful days.

"I can see bright things in your future, son. With you, The Uchiha clan is sure to prosper."

Faced with such words, what else could you do? Your devoted your life to becoming the best ninja you possibly could. School was easy, though you kept socializing to a minimum. Once you mastered everything they had to offer, you tried opening up and speaking to your peers.

"What? You want to talk now?"

"Umm... s-sorry, but I have other things to do."

"I don't want to hold you back..."

"What's so special about me?"

You had become good; the best. Everyone was either scared of you or saw you as an arrogant, anti-social jerk.

They were wrong... but could you really blame them?

Eventually, some of your peers decided to take their anger out on you. It would have been a simple matter... yet there was a surprise. Someone stood up for you; it was a young girl. The two of you had met before, but you had brushed her off. In the end, you were the one to scare off the fools by showing your strength.

Any further attempts to socialize were met with failure. The only one you could call a 'friend' was a person much older than you.

"Damn... you're good." He was an older student- a graduate. By chance, you ran into him and decided to test your might.

You managed to land a single blow before he knocked you on your ass. More importantly, he was part of your clam.

"Name's Shisui. Who are you, oh prodigal son?"

The spark of rivalry drew the two of you together. Your dull, monotonous life became just a bit brighter. The two of you quickly grew closer, and through speaking to him, you learned about the will of fire.

However... soon, your mother was with child. When he was born, you were there. His little hands looked so delicate- as if they'd break with the slightest of touches.

"S-Say hello to your little brother, I-Itachi..."

You stared deeply into young Sasuke's eyes. He was part of the family and you would protect him.

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The nine-tails changed everything. So many died- so much was destroyed. You were separated from your mother and father. It was up to you to look after Sasuke.

The world crumbled around you, so you ran. By chance, you met her again. Alone and scared, the three of you took shelter and waited. With skies tainted red, the Hokage died and Konoha suffered a deadly wound that would take years to recover. If that wasn't enough, rumours about an Uchiha charming the fox to attack slowly began to blossom.

You paid little attention to those, focusing on your brother.

At first, many thought him to be a 'damaged' child. It took him far longer than normal to begin speaking. His eyes held a certain intelligence to them, however. When he finally spoke his first words, you happily sat back, pointing out to any naysayers that he was fine.

Many of those same people soon began to see how quickly he was learning things.

"Another prodigy!"

"Amazing!"

You knew better. Your brother wasn't a genius- the way he struggled with certain topics and his problem solving was enough proof for you. Rather than a prodigy, it felt like he was reviewing things he already knew.

Your brother was certainly special, but not for the reasons others said. Also, you found his pouting and crying to be quite adorable.

You sat back, happily watching as he grew. Thankfully, it wasn't just him that was enjoying life. You made friends and saw your family grow closer.

Everything was great. So, of course something went wrong.

A coup... there were honestly some people in your clan that might as well not have a brain. You couldn't let that happen.

You would make his life as good as you could.

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How... how did things turn out like this?

"Sasuke!" You shouted, hands gripping the body of your little brother.

He was supposed to get away! You'd be the one taking the blow, not him!

Blood pooled under him, the gaping wound on his chest angrily staring back at you.

No!

As fast as you could, you used a fire Jutsu to try and stop the bleeding. It hurt to see him squirm, but seeing him dying would hurt so much more.

"B-Big brother..."

"Hold on! I'll get you to a medic! Sasuke!" Tears streamed down your face.

Not like this. Not him. Please.

"Big... brother...."

He had changed your world. You wouldn't let him die here.

You'd save him- even if it killed you!