Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

"..." : speech

Italic : thought

Chapter 1.

Itachi: 8 years old

Sasuke: infant

I think she knew. I remember my mother walking around the new nursery and explaining every little detail to me. She showed me where she kept everything and what the items were for or how it was used. As if she was preparing me to raise my little brother all alone.

She often took me with her when she visited her sister, who had just given birth to a baby boy two months earlier; showing me how to hold the baby and explaining the proper use of bottles and how to prepare baby food. She explained to me how to bathe him and change his diapers.

I stored all the information in my young but brilliant brain, unconsciously knowing this was important. And I was so excited. I couldn't wait for the moment when I could finally hold my brother in my arms. I somehow already knew it was going to be a boy and my mother had accepted my premonition as her own.

I saved up my weekly allowance and shares from completed missions and bought toys and books even before he was born. My mother and I spend long evenings talking to the baby in her belly and I would read him stories from the books I bought. Or just tell him about my day while I rested my head against my mother's protruding stomach as she stroked my hair.

"I know your little brother will be the happiest boy in the world with a brother like you, Itachi. Promise me you will always care for him as much as you do now."

Another tell-tale that should've prepared me for the worst news a barely 8 year old boy can ever hear. But it didn't. I would just look into her warm smiling eyes and respond

"I promise I will love him more every day and always protect him!"

I remember standing outside her hospital room and patiently waiting for the nurse to tell me I could go inside and see my mother and baby brother. My father had dropped me off there after he got sick of my incessant pleading. He never even stepped one foot into the hospital. He didn't care. As far as he was concerned, this second child was nothing but a burden and a mistake. He already had his little prodigy to show off, what good could this new baby possibly bring? And he didn't hesitate to voice his opinion to my mother or myself. And it hurt me deeply; I even hated the man for it.

When I was finally allowed to enter the hospital room, I was ecstatic. I nervously sat down on my mother's bed and could hardly breathe when a nurse walked over to me and placed the little bundle in my arms. The world just faded out when I looked at my Otouto's face for the very first time. All I could see was him; his perfect little face, dark eyes looking up at me with curiosity, his little pink lips curled up in an adorable pout and his chubby cheeks flushed from all the new impressions.

I just sat there, staring at him in awe, until I felt a tiny hand wrapping itself around my finger. My mother stroked his dark hair and then looked at me with her beautiful smile.

"Will you help me with a name for your brother, Itachi?"

I thought about it for a few seconds and looked back at the perfect little being in my arms.

"Sasuke…" I whispered.

My mother just nodded and laid her head back against the pillow, the smile still playing around her lips.

"Take good care of Sasuke, Itachi…"

And still, I didn't fully grasp the meaning behind her words. I just assumed she was going back to sleep, so I gently kissed her forehead and turned my attention back to my Otouto. His little fist was still tightly clenched around my finger and his tiny mouth had opened up as if he was hungry. I slowly brought my confiscated finger to his lips and as soon as it was within his reach, he closed his mouth around it and started sucking on it. He let out a content little sigh and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

My eyes welled up when I felt an overwhelming amount of warmth spread through my body. I lowered my head and rested it lightly against him, inhaling and memorizing his scent. It was then that I realized; I was already utterly and hopelessly in love with this innocent little boy and I swore to myself that I would never let anything bad happen to him.

"I love you, little Sasuke…"

That was such a bittersweet day for me. It was the first time I laid eyes on the beautiful Angel that would be the center of my universe, but also the last time that I saw my loving mother alive. She died of complications only hours after giving birth to Sasuke. Sometimes I still regret the fact that I hadn't been more attentive towards her in those final moments together, but I know that the sight of me being so engrossed in my little brother was everything she ever wanted. And I'm also sure that she knew how much I loved her…

But I didn't have much time to mourn over her, as the arrival of my new brother consumed all of my time and attention. So I gathered all the grief and pain in my heart, turned it into even more love and poured it out over the beautiful boy that now ruled my life.

My father blamed the loss of his wife on Sasuke. The only attention the little boy received from him was in the form of insults and disgusted glares. And just like my love for my Otouto grew each day, so did the hate I carried for my father. How could anyone look at something so precious and then discard it as if it was filth? My young brain couldn't deal with it in any other way than my increasing resentment towards him. So I made sure Sasuke didn't leave my sight whenever the man was home.

There would be aunts and other women from the Uchiha clan that would come and help out with taking care of the baby when I was at school or on a mission. But as soon as I came home, I picked him up and wouldn't let go of him. They would tell me about how Sasuke would cry when I wasn't there and how he would stop as soon as he heard me enter the house. It broke my heart to know that my absence was making my Otouto sad. But on the other hand, it also increased my determination to always be there for him, no matter what I had to sacrifice.

Itachi: 9 years old

Sasuke: almost 1 year old

My best (and maybe even only) friend, Hatake Kakashi, would come around whenever he could. He was two years older than me and had also developed a soft spot for my adorable Otouto. He was one of the few people I trusted 100% and even Sasuke had grown attached to him, stretching his chubby little arms out to be picked up by my silver haired friend and ANBU teammate.

"Hello pretty little Uchiha!"

His usual greeting towards the toddler sounded happily through the house, while Sasuke squealed with joy as he was hoisted up and carried around the room like an airplane.

After a few minutes he sat the boy down in his baby chair, while I prepared some mashed fruit and sat down to feed Sasuke. He took a bite and scrunched his little mouth into a disgusted frown and refused the rest of the food. I sighed and went back into the kitchen to chop up some tomatoes for him. His face lit up with that beautiful smile of his when I presented him with my peace offering.

"One of these days you are gonna have to eat something else besides tomatoes, Otouto..." I grumbled in defeat.

Behind me, Kakashi was chuckling.

"Such a spoiled little Uchiha!"

I turned around to glare at him, which meant I had to take my eyes off Sasuke for a few seconds. When I saw the expression on my friend's face change to one of shock and amusement, I immediately realized my mistake. My baby brother's fondness for tomatoes was really bordering on the obsessive. When I turned back, my fears became reality.

He was covered head to toe in tomato juice, little bits hanging from his lips which were currently curled upwards in an ecstatic grin. He held some scrunched pulp in his hands and he was looking at me intently. Almost as if he was aiming...

"SASUKE! NO! DON'T YOU DARE..."

SPLASH!

Kakashi was on the floor, holding his stomach from laughing so hard. And Sasuke's squeals of happiness made me lower my head in defeat. But then that high-pitched noise changed into the most heart-warming sounds I had ever heard. Sasuke tried to talk.

"Eeeeh... Taaaasii! Taaashi!"

I just stared at him, dumbfounded. Even the ever-annoying Hatake was quiet for a change. He blinked and looked back and forward between me and my little brother a few times.

"Did Chibi just... Say your name?"

I still couldn't do any more than nodding and staring at that point. Kakashi stood up and walked around to lean over the tomato-explosion formally known as Sasuke.

"Say it again Chibi!"

The toddler looked at him intently for a few seconds and then stretched a chubby little finger out towards me.

"Taashi!" He repeated happily.

I felt like crying and laughing at the same time.

"Taashi Taashi Taaaashiiii!"

For some reason I didn't even faze at the knowledge that Kakashi was still in the same room, when a single tear ran slowly down my face. I grabbed my Otouto's dirty cheeks and began littering kisses all over his tomato-covered face.

Sasuke reached his chubby arms up towards me as far as he could reach and began to clench and unclench his little fists as a sign that he wanted to be picked up. I laughed and took him into my arms, not caring about the tomato-goo he was covered in.

"You're right baby, time for a bath."

Kakashi took that as his queue to leave with a loud and happy "See ya Uchiha's!"

I filled the bathtub up until halfway and put both of our clothes in the washing machine. Sasuke was very busy picking pieces of tomato from his bangs, making him cross-eyed while he sat on the floor.

"My pretty little Angel"

I snickered while I clutched him with his back against my chest and lowered us into the bathtub. I kept one arm around his waist to hold him in my lap and struggled to wash his soft hair with one hand.

All the while he was splashing around happily and babbling incoherent words, ending every sentence with a cute little "Taashi!" He obviously understood how happy that one word had made me. I loved spending time with my Otouto like this. I brought my knees up and turned Sasuke around to support his back against my upper legs. He smiled his heartwarming smile at me and grabbed some loose strands of my hair.

He looked at me thoughtfully for a few seconds, before wrapping my hair around his fingers and treating me to another award-winning smile.

"Taashi"

He almost whispered this time. I wrapped both my arms around him and nuzzled my face in his neck.

"Yes baby, I'm your Tachi."

He sighed happily, stuck his thumb in his mouth and rested his head against my chest. It only took a few moments before his eyes fluttered shut and he fell asleep.

I slowly got out from the tub, careful not to wake him and wrapped a warm towel around him. I was going to have to clean the mess in the kitchen before our father would come home. I stepped out of the bathroom with the intention of putting Sasuke in bed first, clean the mess and come back later to dress the boy. But it already was too late. A loud slam of the front door signaled the early arrival of an already pissed off Fukagu.

He stood in the hallway with a grim look on his face and glared at the bundle in my arms. Then his eyes darted towards the open kitchen and he started yelling.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?"

Sasuke immediately woke up and started crying. With three big steps Fukagu stood in front of us, looking at the toddler with a menacing look in his eyes.

Instinctively I wrapped my arms tighter around my Otouto, but the man was still so much stronger than I was. He grabbed Sasuke away from me and held him by the towel in one big hand.

"This fucking useless bitch is ruining you, Itachi! And I will not stand for it! Have you trained today? Studied? Have you done ANYTHING besides doting on this piece of shit?"

I was mortified. My precious little Angel was precariously dangling from our 'father's' hand, with his little arms outstretched towards me. Tears were rolling down his beautiful face while he sobbed my name and looked at me with such fear in his eyes... It broke my heart and my sanity.

I lunged towards the horrible man in front of me and pounded my fists against his chest.

"Let him go! You're hurting him! Give me my Sasuke back!"

I couldn't think, I could hardly breathe and all that I could see was the terror in my Otouto's big, teary eyes. Fukagu's voice dropped dangerously low when he grabbed me by the collar with his free hand and raised me off the ground a few inches.

"I swear to god Itachi, I will not have your potential get washed down the drain because of this useless little bitch! If I ever…"

And that's as far as he got with his threat. A loud knock on the door and a male voice calling out his name, made Fukagu set me back down. He growled one last time and practically threw Sasuke at me before he went to answer the door.

As soon as I wrapped my arms around my Otouto, his sobbing stilled. He wrapped his arms around my neck and whimpered quietly. The mess in the kitchen long forgotten, I stroked Sasuke's hair and whispered sweet little words in his ear. As soon as I was in my room, I quickly locked the door behind me, giving me that false sense of security. I knew that Fukagu could easily break it down if he wanted to, but it would have to do for now.

I dressed Sasuke in his nightwear and laid him down in my bed. And even though it was hardly time for bed for me, I changed into my own nightwear as well and cuddled up beside my little brother. There was no way I was going to leave the boy out of my sight anymore. I hid my emotions and smiled a big smile for Sasuke and kissed him all over his face. The tears on his cheeks had started to dry and he even managed a little smile back through the last hiccups. I pressed him close to my chest and rested my chin on his head.

Still sensing the fear and shock in his little body, I softly started to sing for him. I remembered the lullabies my mother used to sing for me.

Baby mine, don't you cry

Baby mine, dry your eyes

Rest your head close to my heart

Never to part

Baby of mine

Little one, when you play

Don't you mind what they say

Let those eyes sparkle and shine

Never a tear

Baby of mine

If they knew sweet little you

They'd end up loving you too

All those same people who scold you

What they'd give

Just for the right to hold you

From your head down to your toes

You're beautiful, goodness knows

And you're so precious to me

Sweet as can be

Baby of mine

I was aware of the fact that my mother had adjusted the lyrics a little and I deliberately used her version. It just made more sense.

When I noticed that Sasuke's breathing had steadied and he was now fast asleep against my chest, I let out the nervous sigh I had been holding in for my Otouto's sake. I had to be strong for him, make him feel safe and loved. But now that he was asleep, I could no longer hold back the tears of sorrow and fear.

How I missed my mother right now. She would know what to do, she would hold me and whisper to me and stroke my long hair. But I was all alone. Sasuke was all I had left and I had to be there for him. And I knew I could and would, but right then, I was just a little 9 year old boy, in dire need of parental love and affection. I fell asleep that night with tears in my eyes and my mother's name on my lips.