Chapter 1
Itachi was going downstairs for breakfast when he heard the sound of a thud from Sasuke's room. a sound that indicated that someone had fallen off their bed. Concerned and a little amused, Itachi knocked on his brother's door.
"Everything okay in there Sasuke?"
The door basically flew open with how fast Sasuke opened it. He looked at Itachi with a shocked face. Of course, his baby brother was surprised to see him, he wasn't supposed to be back until tomorrow, so he leaned in and scooted down so the boy could hug him. his little brother would always jump into his arms after Itachi came home from a mission so he wasn't expecting anything different, only this time he got the door slammed into his face for his troubles.
Itachi would be lying if he said that didn't hurt just a little, and he didn't mean just the emotional damage of Sasuke's rejection but also the door hit him in the nose and that hurt. bad. but before he could check if it was broken, the door flew open once more but this time it closed as soon as Sasuke saw he was still there.
To say that Itachi was confused at his brother's actions would be an understatement, but the confusion slowly gave way to concern as soft chuckles were heard from the other side that quickly turned to laughter. Concerning laughter. The kind of laughter that itachi would usually describe as... manic. but Itachi wouldn't think that. that was no way to think about his younger brother. but still... he wondered what he should do. was Sasuke alright? Did he do something that was funny? Why did his little brother's laugh, his little angels laugh, the laugh that had brought him nothing but joy sound so... wrong?
Before Itachi could think about it further the laughter abruptly cut off and the door opened slowly revealing a smiling Sasuke.
Sasuke looked as happy as any other time when he saw him but something about his smile looked... odd.
"Are you alright Sasuke?" Itachi asked because what else could he say? why were you laughing and why does your smile seem different? no, those questions were much too rude.
"Yes Nii-san. I'm perfectly fine. I'm just happy to see you." Sasuke looked him straight in the eyes when saying this, no trace of a lie in his expression.
before Itachi could respond, Mikoto's voice calls out for them to come down for breakfast.
Itachi doesn't miss the look that flashes over Sasuke's face at the sound of their mother's call but before he could comment Sasuke is running downstairs and into their mother's arms.
Mikoto lets out a little sound of laughter. "what's this Sasuke? I thought you were too old for hugging anyone but your brother." she teases, but Sasuke doesn't respond, hugging her tightly with his face pressed up against her stomach.
only when Fugaku entered the kitchen did Sasuke let go of their mother to say hello to their father and sit down at the table.
Itachi was worried for Sasuke, but he seemed genuinely happy even if his smile seemed different... not as bright.
after they were all sat around the table and started eating Fugaku spoke. "Itachi, I'd like you to attend more clan meetings from now on. More people are- " "Fugaku." Mikoto interrupted, "maybe this conversation should wait until after breakfast."
Fugaku didn't seem happy but he didn't protest, making Itachi sigh in relief in his head, but he kept his expression neutral.
it was Sasuke that broke the silence this time. "is it just me or have the clan meetings been happening more often these days?"
the question seemed like just the harmless observations of a 6-year-old but Itachi couldn't help but feel like Sasuke was digging for something.
the table fell into silence after Sasuke's question. after a few seconds, Fugaku answered. "yes the clan meetings are being held more often but there is no reason for you to concern yourself with clan matters quite yet Sasuke."
even though Itachi was happy that his parents respected Sasuke enough to not dismiss his questions out of hand because of his young age, something that he was especially grateful for when he himself was Sasuke's age, he couldn't help but wish his father hadn't confirmed that for Sasuke. for some reason he didn't have a good feeling about it.
sensing his brother wanted to ask another question, he quickly asked "Hey Sasuke, would you like me to take you to the academy today?"
it took a second but a bright grin split Sasuke's face. "really nii-san? will you take me?" Itachi smiled at that and brought his hand to Sasuke's head to pat it, but Sasuke's flinch stopped him in his tracks. it wasn't some unnoticeable reaction; it looked like Sasuke was reaching for something and stopped himself. this raised so many alarms in Itachi's head making him look at his parents for guidance. did something happen when he was away? Did someone hurt his precious baby brother??? He tried asking this through his eyes alone but his parents looked just as confused at Sasuke's reaction.
before anyone of them could say anything Sasuke grabbed Itachi's hand and got up "come on then nii-san, let's go." Sasuke said cheerfully.
Itachi got up but his brain was working a mile a minute. was Sasuke hurt? had someone touched him? had someone hurt him? who? when? it must have been during his last mission. Sasuke was acting fine the last time he saw him... this was getting him nowhere, he needed to ask-
Sasuke's voice interrupted his thoughts. "nii-san, I'm gonna be late, hurry up." he was standing near the door with his shoes already on and a scowl on his face, so Itachi smiled and followed him.
☆
the walk to the academy was quiet, Itachi not wanting to voice the questions in his head for Sasuke in case it would make the boy uncomfortable. after he dropped Sasuke off, he went to meet up with Shisui.
Shisui was waiting for him near the Naka River with 2 sticks of dango in his hand.
As soon as he saw Itachi he gave him a bright grin and waved his hand that was holding the dango. Itachi felt like some kind of pet being made to come closer with the promise of treats but just because he could see the manipulation didn't mean he wouldn't fall for it, so with a smile he approached Shisui and took one of the dango sticks from him, making Shisui broaden his grin farther. It was times like these that made him appreciate his best friend the most.
"I'm sure you didn't drag me all the way over here for dango, so tell me, what's going on?" Itachi started.
"Actually, dango was the only reason that I invited you here. I think we both deserve a bit of a break, don't you think so?" Shisui answered in a teasing tone.
Itachi sighed at that. "Well I can't argue but I feel like we could be spending our time more productively."
"Productivity is good and all, but you need to relax every once in a while. We're killing ourselves over here." Shisui complained in a childish tone making Itachi chuckle.
"So I suppose I'm not allowed to talk about... clan matters right now huh?" Itachi asked with a small smile.
"Nope. not a word. " Shisui answered with a big grin. "How about you tell me about Sasuke instead?"
That took away Itachi's good mood, making him scowl. "I actually wanted to ask you about him... I think something happened to him in the past few days that I was away. I was hoping you'd have some idea of what could have happened since you were in the village."
Shisui frowned. "Why do you think something has happened to him?"
"He flinched away from me today. he thought I would hurt him Shisui." Itachi looked visibly hurt when he said that. "I... I'm not sure but I feel like he was going to take out a weapon before he stopped himself." he shook his head "I don't know. Maybe I'm just being paranoid." he sighed and put his head in his hand.
Shisui put a comforting hand on his back. "Well, usually I'd tell you that yes, you were being paranoid, and you should stop worrying. but the fact stands that Sasuke flinched from your touch and I consider it reasonable for you to be worried about that." he gave a comforting smile. "But I'm sure Auntie Mikoto wouldn't allow anything to happen to Sasuke. BUT, if something has actually happened and if someone has actually hurt him we'll find the bastard and we'll hide the body somewhere no one will ever find it"
Itachi smiled a little at that and Shisui offered him a bite of his own dango to Itachi which he took gratefully.
as he chewed the dango he thought about the other odd behavior Sasuke had shown that day. his laughter. usually, the sound of his little brother's laughter was enough to make a living nightmare of a day into something much more bearable. and dare he say it, good. but that sound today... it was so unlike Sasuke that he didn't even want to think about it much less talk about it. besides Shisui would probably just tease him about it later, saying something along the lines of "You're so overprotective that even Sasuke laughing makes you concerned. What next? will you get worried over him breathing too?" yes Itachi could Imagine it now, so he decided to keep this one to himself.