{I don't own Naruto, or anything of any worth. u.u}

The Carving

Ch 1: The Souvenir Cart...

"Ooh look at these Itachi-san!" The dark haired woman lead her eldest son to a stall in the market as they shopped for souvenirs.

"What Okaa-san?" The pale boy's dark eyes searched the junky looking cart.

The woman smiled gently, "These carvings are so beautiful." She almost gasped as an elderly woman held out a finely carved piece of jade, "So elegant. Who crafted these?" She turned the jade pendant in her hand it was the kanji symbol for peace with a fine silver chain attached to it so it could be worn about the neck.

"My husband carved everything you see. I painted the wooden figures, he used to be able to paint as well but his sight is gone," The woman nodded to an elderly gentleman who was busy whittling. He seemed to stare out into the crowd. Dark glasses hid his eyes. Itachi scrunched his nose in disbelief as he waved his hand in front of the man.

His mother scolded, "Don't be rude Itachi-san!" Itachi was about to snatch the man's glasses as if that would prove him to be a fake. The man grasped his wrist with a surprisingly strong grip, "Darn-it! Let go of me you old Geezer!"

"Itachi!" His mother shouted in surprise at his disrespectful behavior. The old man laid aside the finely carved piece of what looked to be old drift wood that would soon become a dragon. He reached for his glasses and whipped them off revealing horribly scared eyes if you could call them that. All that was there was burn scared flesh.

"You believe now?" he old man harrumphed sliding his glasses back into place.

"Gomenasai Ojii-san," The man let go of the young boy's wrist. He nodded and gestured back to the cart, "Look through our wares if it speaks to you, gaki, then you may have it."

"Be careful of what you choose little one, the old man may be a geezer, but his carvings hold mysterious powers to foretell the future. If you feel drawn to it be careful," The old woman frowned at the warning but then soon perked up, "And what about you pretty miss?"

"Oh, I'm just looking..." Something caught the eye of the lovely young mother, "This is exquisite! You are telling me that he carved this and you hand painted it. I must compliment you. I have to get this for my youngest son." She picked up the delicate looking piece of art. It was a small ruddy orange fox with an off white belly and two swirling tails that seemed to have been captured mid-movement. The tip of each tail was a rich golden yellow. There were nine in all. The miniature kitsune statuette had the same yellow gold adorning each paw and the ears were also tipped with the rich yellow. The finishing touch were the blue eyes, not quite sapphire not quite turquoise but some blend of those two colors. Somehow the eyes seemed to dance with mischief, "I will take this cute kitsune." She failed to see the smirk on the old man's knowledgeable face.

"I've found what I want Okaa-san!" Itachi held up a hideous raven statue. It was large and very lifelike. The midnight colored bird stood upon a plain base. It's clawed foot clutching beheaded snake that almost seemed to writhe in pain.

"Eh, you don't want that one," All eyes turned to the old man. He was frowning, "Ravens are a bad omen." Itachi felt a little more then creeped out, 'How'd the old Geezer know if he was supposed to be blind.'

"Being blind has taught me to read people in other ways. Trust me boy that raven will not bring you happiness, take a love charm instead. I guarantee any girl you give it to will fall head over heals for ya."

"Hn," Itachi didn't believe the old man; even if he had he already had a huge pack of unwanted wanna-be girlfriends following him everywhere, "I'm taking it." His tone said that that was the end of the conversation. The woman paid despite the old man's protests and apologized profusely for her ill mannered son.

"Let us go; your father will be expecting us at the hotel for dinner," The woman lead her son past the broken down cart and up the street. Itachi looked back only to find the cart was gone. He shivered, but then looked at his prize. He had not noticed the dangerous red glint in the bird's imitation eyes and the slight trickle of realistic looking blood the raven had obviously acquired from his meal of serpent. The boy smiled intensely he really liked the evil looking thing. His mother wished she could throw it in the trash somewhere but the boy insisted on carrying it holding it to his chest like it was a small child...

...Uchiha Sasuke woke in his aunts house. It was still early—still dark out. He shivered and pulled the blanket closer to himself, 'When are you coming home anaiki, Otou-san, Okaa-san.' He rolled over and yawned sleepily as he drifted back into a light slumber...

...Dawn broke as the sight of the hidden leaf village came into view. Makito, Fugaku, and Itachi were riding in a carriage. Itachi was excited to be back so he could go train. He also missed picking on his little gaki-nii-chan, Sasuke. Makito wanted to show the cute little fox to her son. She knew he would love it. He was such a happy child and he liked animals. She knew that spirit would be quashed soon enough because of the stubborn Uchiha pride, so she chose to enjoy and encourage it while she was still able to influence her youngest boy...

...The three bustled into the Uchiha compound. Itachi made a bee line for home to put his things away and make sure no little brats could get hold of his new prized possession. He put his things away neatly then ran off to the Uchiha's private training grounds to practice his taijutsu.

Fugaku had to settle some wrinkles in his negotiations with the wave country. They were dealing strictly under the table and he had almost been found out by the Hokage himself. Their little 'vacation' did not go unnoticed. Makito was blissfully unaware of the impropriety of her husbands actions. She hummed lightly as she went to fetch her little boy...

...There a shorter version of Itachi squatted watching a cricket skittering across the garden. His dark locks shined an almost bluish black. His eyes sparkled with interest as the cricket made it to the safe shelter of a large rock in the center of the garden.

"Sasu-chan!" Makito shouted and waved at the small boy. Sasuke smiled until his eyes were forced to close, "Okaa-san!" He ran to his mother happily and embraced her leg as if his life depended on it, "I missed you Okaa-san." He squeezed to emphasize his point. She knelt down and held a small box out for him.

"I got you a gift," She smiled and the boy took the box looking both pleased and puzzled.

"What is it?"

"Open it up and see Sasu-chan."

Tiny but delicate fingers lifted the lid. The boy's onyx eyes grew in size as he gently lifted the little kitsune out of the box. He held it as if it were fragile china. He turned it over in his hands. A joyous smile graced his pale pink lips, "Arigato Okaa-san!" He hugged her again not letting go of the cute little fox, "I love him!"

{I am glad to repost this. Hopefully I fixed all the errors.}