A story written on the request of my little sister. She wanted something that would involve Itachi and Naruto and that wouldn't be short. And I obeyed as a big sister. That's what older siblings are for after all, ne:P

Summary: Well... it definitely is a long story and it does involve Itachi and Naruto and some lessons in life. After all we learn something new every day. There also are things that a teacher might learn from his student. The question is: what Naruto can learn from Itachi and what Itachi can learn from Naruto. Because there are things that even Itachi might not know. Starting from humour and getting more serious later. Two years before the massacre (more less). Almost unnoticeable hints to one of my previous stories, Dreamers. Oneshot.

If both, Itachi and Naruto, are going into OOC in your opinion, then sorry, but it was necessary for this story.

Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto

What one might learn

In some way it was really surprising to see what one might learn about himself when he was given a chance. Itachi wasn't an exception. It hadn't taken him much time to develop a habit of 'disappearing' after every finished mission in order to find a nice place in which he could spend some time alone, being just Itachi; not the Uchiha, the clan heir or even the big brother, but just himself. Of course some would say he was hiding, but it wasn't quite true. At least not in his opinion.

So he did this time. He was sitting at a branch of the tree he had discovered by chance a long time ago. The place quickly had became his favourite, as without any effort from his side the leaves and other branches would hide him from curious eyes of any random or not so random passer-by. A perfect hideout as one could say, and even Itachi would agree with the statement. And here he was – resting after his first ANBU mission and determined to enjoy this quiet sunny day.

Clank. Clank. CLANK!!

Well... At least the day was still sunny, because it appeared not to be quiet anymore.

Itachi just sighed and turned his attention to the person who had entered his 'secret sanctuary' as one could call this place, but Itachi would have never used such a phrase himself, obviously. The tree which he had been sitting on appeared to be a great lookout, so it didn't take him much time to realize that the source of the noises and his growing irritation was a little boy who, judging by his appearance, was not older than his little brother. Said boy was a proud owner of a blond crop of hair and a few kunai and shurikens which were the main source of said noises. It took him another while to identify the boy.

'Uzumaki Naruto...' he thought narrowing his eyes slightly.

As almost everyone in Konoha he knew the boy. Well... Maybe not quite knew, but at least he had heard of him as there probably was nobody that hadn't heard about the famous I-wanna-be Konoha Prankster No. 1. But unlike most of Konoha citizens he didn't particularly care that inside the boy Kyuubi, the Demon Fox, was sealed. Yet he did care that said prankster was doing his best at destroying one of these rare moments which he, Itachi, could spend in solitude, not disturbed by anybody. Especially when he was trying to rest after a tiring mission, just like now.

Itachi frowned and closed his eyes trying to ignore all the noises he heard, but in the end it appeared to be impossible. He shook his head in irritation. Training or not, no ninja should be so noisy. He glared at the boy, wondering how it was possible that such a little boy was making so much noise.

Some time later he was still watching the boy with a strange mixture of curiosity, amusement and utter disbelief. He wasn't even sure when his angry glares had changed into somewhat helpless looks. Because how on earth could anybody who aspired for a 'shinobi' title miss a target almost every time when throwing a kunai or a shuriken? If anybody had asked him about it one hour ago, he would have said it was impossible. Now he was being proven to be wrong.

'Why don't you focus on the target properly?' he exclaimed, not being able to resist anymore, when the boy missed again.

The object of his observation almost jumped hearing his voice.

'Who's there?' cried the boy and almost immediately became much tenser than he had been. 'Show yourself!'

Itachi blinked realizing what he had just done. He made some effort to suppress the sudden urge to facepalm (because no Uchiha would have ever done such a thing obviously) and silently congratulated himself on having revealed his own presence in such a silly way. Had it happened during a mission, he would have been dead already. But on the other hand, if it had happened during a mission, the other shinobi would have noticed that he had been being observed long time ago, as Itachi didn't even try to hide his presence. The conclusion itself made him even more confused about the skills of Naruto.

With a silent sigh he jumped from the branch and landed on the ground. Then he walked slowly into the boy's direction. It wasn't hard to notice that the blond-haired calamity, as he decided to call the boy, must have been rather angry with him. Naruto's blue eyes had darkened with anger and the boy glared at him in a way that no Uchiha would have been ashamed of. This anger was another thing that made Itachi feel somewhat confused, because in his opinion he hadn't done anything to deserve it.

'Except for spying on the boy,' a silent voice in his head whispered, but Itachi decided to ignore it.

Suddenly the glare changed into a puzzled look and Naruto's eyes widened. The young Uchiha noticed the fact with surprise, not really sure about the reason until he remembered that he was wearing his full ANBU gear, including a mask of a wolf. Usually such an outfit made no impression on Konoha citizens, but Naruto wasn't used to seeing it apparently. Itachi sighed; he must have been more tired than he had suspected if the thought that he could scare somebody hadn't crossed his mind.

'I won't hurt you,' he assured the boy in a calm, low voice.

To his amusement Naruto just gave him another glare.

At first Naruto was a bit surprised when it became obvious that he wasn't alone in the place he had decided to use as a training ground. Yet he also felt somewhat angry with that unknown person who had dared to watch... no, rather to spy on him while he had been training here. He couldn't help wondering how long that person had been hiding in the place which had seemed to be such a perfect hideout at first. Then he remembered that whoever the person was then he, it had to be 'he' judging by the voice, wouldn't rather like him, as hardly anyone in Konoha did in fact. Anxiety started to arise in his heart and he didn't like this feeling.

Trying to suppress unpleasant emotions, Naruto focused his attention on the man who had been observing him. He looked curiously at the person who had just jumped from the tree, his eyes still full of anger, ready to run away if the person tried to do anything to hurt him.

Then he saw a white vest and a porcelain mask of a wolf and his eyes widened with surprise when he recognized the usual ANBU outfit. His anxiety level decreased significantly, as many times he had been told that he could trust these people, yet the anger remained.

'I won't hurt you,' the ANBU said.

Naruto blinked. Did that man try to suggest that he, Uzumaki Naruto, was afraid of him? Instead of saying anything, he simply glared at the masked shinobi standing in front of him. No word was said and long seconds passed during which the two were looking at each other. He was watching the man, still pouting, and some silent voice in his head told him that he also was an object of a close observation.

Naruto quite quickly realized that the ANBU, although definitely skilled and quite powerful one (judging by the barely noticeable aura of confidence that surrounded him), was rather young. And quite surprisingly, the masked shinobi didn't give him that scary feeling that other shinobis usually gave.

The silence started to be somewhat overwhelming, so Naruto decided to break it.

'Who are you?' he snapped without thinking before he reminded that the ANBU would never tell him his true name.

'Uh... never mind,' he corrected himself after a second, still scowling at the man. 'What were you doing here?' he asked instead.

'Sitting.'

Naruto blinked at such a short and blunt reply. Then he frowned. Was the ANBU making fun of him?

'Just sitting? What will you tell me next? That you were tired?' he mumbled.

Having heard his words, the ANBU moved slightly in a way that one would move when being pointed out unpleasant truth, but Naruto didn't seem to notice it. Instead he continued grumbling.

'And no "thank you" to you,' he scowled. 'I can say myself how to throw a kunai.'

He turned into the target direction and ostentatiously took one of his kunai, intending to continue his training. But to his own surprise he actually spent a few seconds trying to aim well, before he finally threw it. The kunai hit the bull's eye.

Naruto looked at the target and his eyes widened. He shook his head in utter disbelief as if he thought it must have been his imagination only and looked at the target again, his eyes still wide opened. Then his face broke in a wide grin and the boy turned around, starting his little victory dance.

'Hey! Hey! I did it! I did it!!' the blond-haired boy exclaimed. 'I hit exactly the centre!'

His cerulean eyes were gleaming when he turned into the ANBU's direction.

'Hey, hey, ANBU-san, did you see that?' he grinned at the masked shinobi. 'It hit perfectly!'

Suddenly Naruto's face became serious. The boy was thinking about something deeply.

'Hey,' Naruto started with hesitation clearly hearable in his voice. 'Could you teach me something more? Pleeeeease...'

Blue eyes filled with hope and plea looked at the ANBU expectantly. The ANBU startled.

Itachi looked at the target and the kunai which had hit the bull's eyes. Well... He had known that the boy should have put more effort into his practice, but he hadn't expected him to get such a result immediately.

Surprisingly to himself he found the whole situation really amusing. Of course it didn't mean that usually he didn't feel amused at all. Contrary to the popular belief, he did have a sense of humour. He just didn't expose this trait of his personality to other people, letting them believe in what they wanted. Even now, although he felt dead tired, he still was able to appreciate how humorous the situation was.

Then he caught himself on smirking. Well... actually it was something more than a smirk, but officially the Uchihas smirked at best, so... he definitely wasn't chuckling as some people who didn't know the Uchihas' habits could describe what he was just doing.

Looking at the jumping and dancing boy, Itachi decided that it was definitely more than convenient that he was wearing the mask and Naruto couldn't see his face. It was really hard to keep a serious face seeing how the boy was pouting at first only to glow with happiness after a moment.

And then a pair of the sparkling, blue eyes, filled with gratitude, turned into Itachi's direction.

'Hey, hey, ANBU-san, did you see that? It hit perfectly!' Naruto grinned at him, his eyes still sparkling.

The young Uchiha moved unnoticeably, feeling rather uneasy while being watched by these clear eyes. A distant memory of some other face with a similar smile and eye colour flashed through his mind and disappeared. Itachi blinked.

The boy was still watching him with some expectation in his eyes.

'Hey, could you teach me something more? Pleeeeease...'

Clear, blue and obviously asking eyes looked at Itachi so intently that he startled.

He had no intention to teach the boy. He was too tired after the mission and definitely should go home if he wanted to avoid being interrogated by both, his mother and his father, and he had some other duties and no free time and...

'I could...'

Itachi blinked hearing his own voice. Had he just agreed to teach Naruto? It couldn't be. It must have been just his imagination... Right. He was just overtired and must have been imagining things.

'Hey, hey! That's great!' small arms wrapped around his waist when Naruto hugged him. 'You're the best, ANBU-san.'

Itachi looked at the boy, his eyes wide opened and filled with surprise. Apparently he wasn't imagining things. Cheerful and spontaneous reaction of that little blond-haired and blue-eyed calamity who was just hugging him was the best proof that he HAD agreed to teach a boy.

'That is odd,' the young Uchiha shook his head.

He didn't mean hugging itself. Sasuke always made sure that he, his beloved, older brother, would get his obligatory portion of hugs every day. But Sasuke was his younger brother and, although definitely lively and cheerful when compared to the other Uchihas, he wasn't even half as energetic and merry as young Uzumaki. Besides, he was his brother, not a complete stranger, a child he had met just a while before. It was the whole situation that was odd. The young Uchiha sighed. There must have been some kind of magic involved. There was no other explanation for what had been happening.

The boy finally stopped hugging him and now was just watching him, waiting for further instructions, his eyes focused on Itachi and his face unusually serious.

After a few seconds the Uchiha came to conclusion that said magic must have had a lot to do with a pleading look of these incredibly blue eyes.

'Well, Naruto-kun...' he started finally, trying to clear his thoughts a bit. 'First, I'd like you to show me how you hold your weapon.'

The blond-haired boy obeyed him immediately, without even asking where Itachi knew his name from.

Itachi glanced at Naruto's small hands, correcting the fingers' position a bit and giving the boy more instructions. Now when his mind was focused on this activity, he didn't feel as tired as he did before.

There was also something relaxing about this situation. It was bringing back some old memories; memories of similar lessons he had given to Sasuke. He felt a sudden twinge of guilt when he remembered that he had been refusing to teach his little brother recently and, although he did have some good reason to do so, it didn't make him feel any better. But he knew that some things couldn't be changed for a while.

With another silent sigh he focused his mind on what he was doing now, but deep in his heart he was praying silently that Sasuke would never learn the trick that Naruto had used on him. His little brother would definitely make good use of it and Itachi could bet that he would be the most frequent victim of it.

'I should be going home,' Itachi thought, but his body didn't want to obey his mind apparently, so he continued sitting on the ground.

The lesson had taken more time than expected, but it did give the results. The young Uchiha looked at the target trying to assess Naruto's progress. The boy's skills hadn't improved significantly – not a surprise after such a short lesson, but now at least he could place a kunai in the target every time he tried. Yet that bull's eye hit still was the only one he had got.

All that teaching related stuff managed to prove one more thing – Naruto's skills would have much improved if anybody had ever cared to teach the boy properly. Actually it was not quite a sensational revelation to Itachi; he could have expected it knowing how the boy was treated in Konoha. Yet should he tell anybody about it?

He glanced at the boy who had just lain down on the grass near him, wondering who should be actually informed about the situation. The Hokage? His teachers maybe?

'Wait... Teachers?' a sudden thought struck him. Naruto was as old as his little brother, so...

'Shouldn't you be at the Academy rather than spend your time here?' the words just slipped from his mouth before he could even think.

The boy looked at him, scowling a bit.

'I don't like that place,' he mumbled before turning his head into the opposite direction. 'And I don't think they really like ME.'

Itachi looked at him, but he said no word. He just didn't have to. He understood much more than the boy would have ever decided to reveal.

'Why are you doing it, Naruto-kun?' he asked after a while. 'Why are you trying so hard?'

Naruto actually could feel the weight of the other man's look. He knew that if that man's face hadn't been hidden behind the mask, he would see the ANBU's eyes fixed on him. There was no doubt that for some reason the answer was important for the one who asked. That's why Naruto decided to answer this question the best he could.

'I try, because I want my dream to come true,' he finally said with a very serious face.

The ANBU moved a bit, as if these words reminded him about something.

'What is your dream then?' he continued.

Naruto hesitated. He had never told anybody about this dream before. First, he knew nobody would be really interested in hearing it. Second, they would laugh at him for sure. He glanced at the man sitting near him. Would he laugh at him as well? Would he call him childish? But was this dream something that he should be ashamed of? Finally he made the decision.

'My dream,' he stopped for a while and took deep breath. 'My dream is to make other people notice me and recognize me. And I'll do it, believe it! I'll be Hokage one day even if others claim otherwise!'

He gave the ANBU a challenging look, but... Naruto blinked. Somehow he doubted that the masked shinobi noticed it, as he seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

'Here we come to dreams again...'

The words were so silent that Naruto wasn't even sure if he really had heard them. But there was something about them that made him wonder a bit.

'Don't you have your own dreams, ANBU-san?' the blond asked.

The masked man just looked at him for a longer while before he finally answered.

'I used to think I had a few, but...' he shrugged. 'Now I think that I can't call any of them mine'

Naruto shook his head in disbelief.

'It's impossible! That's it!' he exclaimed. 'Everyone has at least one dream!'

'I don't,' the man shrugged again.

'You do! You just haven't realized it yet, ANBU-san.' Naruto was sure he was right. 'Is there nothing that you truly want?'

'There is no...' the man started only to stop after a while.

'I want... freedom...' he continued slowly, yet he didn't seem to be aware that he was actually saying it aloud. 'I want the ability to make my own choices... and to be seen just as myself...'

Naruto could actually see how the ANBU blinked under that mask when he finally realized what he had just discovered. The boy grinned.

'See? I was right!' he snickered.

'Was it really so simple?' Itachi thought.

He had been looking for his own dream since his talk to Sasuke. But no matter how hard he had tried, he hadn't been able to find anything that he wanted. Every thing that had come to his mind had been rejected as a part of his father's of his clan's dreams, or rather demands, about his future. And now he was 'given' his own dream in such a way?

Itachi shook his head, smiling. The boy definitely must have been using some kind of magic.

'Thank you, Naruto-kun,' he said looking at the boy.

The boy just grinned at him. 'Welcome.'

'I guess I should go home now,' Naruto added after a while.

Itachi was watching how the boy stood up and started to pick up all his weapons. And how he walked away. Suddenly, the blond turned into his direction.

'But I still think it's unfair that you know my name, but I don't know yours!' he exclaimed.

Itachi looked at the pouting boy and couldn't help smiling. But the smile disappeared after a while. Rules were rules – that was true. But were these so important right now? A name was just a name.

'Itachi.'

To his surprise the boy started to look around.

'Making fun of me?' the blond frowned. 'I can't see any weasel here.'

Itachi blinked. And then he just sighed with resignation.

'It's my name, silly' he gave Naruto a piercing look. Well... at least he would have given a piercing look if the mask hadn't hid his face.

'Oh...' for the first time the boy lost his ability to speak. 'I didn't... Sorry.'

'Never mind,' Itachi just waved his hand.

He knew the boy hadn't had any bad intention when he had said that. After all it wasn't Naruto's fault – his name did mean 'weasel'.

Once again the two were standing in silence, just watching each other. And once again it was Naruto that broke the silence which started to be rather overwhelming.

'Hope to see you again!' he said. 'Thanks for everything, Itachi-nii-san'.

He grinned, turned around and just disappeared before Itachi could react or say anything.

The young Uchiha stood there for a while looking in the direction where Naruto had just disappeared.

'Nii-san, huh?'

Such similar to words he heard from Sasuke every day, yet so different...But Itachi liked it, because it meant that Naruto, unlike most people, saw just 'Itachi'.

'Never judge anybody by appearances,' he murmured, realizing how the saying he valued so much once again had been proven to be true.

In the end it appeared that they weren't so much different – although people looked at them, they saw only what they wanted to see. Looking at Naruto they saw Kyuubi, the Demon Fox sealed in the boy. They hated the boy and were afraid of him at the same time. As if the boy himself had been the one who had almost destroyed the village a few years ago.

What did they see looking at him, Itachi? He pondered on that thought a bit. The Uchiha for some, a tool and 'hope' for his own clan... or simply a monster he had been slowly turning into in eyes of others. In some way it was rather sad to realize that only Sasuke and Naruto were able to see something more, something different.

He raised his head looking at the blue sky above him.

'Is that what we are? Monsters?' he whispered, knowing that no one would answer his question.

'But if that's the case then we both are monsters created by Konoha.' He shook his head at this sudden thought.

He was too tired to think about it now. With a silent sigh he finally headed towards home. This long day was finally about to end, but he didn't regret any second of it.

The End. That's right.

Let me congratulate you if you've got so far. I know it is a really long story. And that it's not perfect.