chuunin_archive | Happy Birthday Itachi!

Aaaah! Can't believe I almost missed 'tachi's birthday! I wrote little fic to celebrate. I promise, one of these days I'm going to get right inside his head, but for now I'm still a bit scared to, so I hope this is satisfactory enough.
My apologies for the shamelessly gratuitous foreshadowing.

~

Sasuke scrubbed the toes of one bare foot across his calf, leaving behind a snake of dark soil on pale skin. His naked knees were bent and held easily to his chest with the flexibility of childhood, a trait he would be expected to maintain throughout his life. He was restless today, more than usual – Itachi’s mind registered the fact, as it did every detail, as it had been trained to do. A call for attention was better left unanswered. This, he’d learned on his own.

A rustle of clothing behind him, a shift in balance, was Itachi’s only warning before he found Sasuke perched on the back of his chair, a pair of small (weak) sweaty arms wrapped around his neck. Itachi ignored his little brother with the ease of long practice, making no sound but the scratch of a pencil on paper.

“…Brother?” Sasuke’s voice was uncertain, but its edge of determination was unmistakable. Clearly, Itachi would have a long day ahead of him.

“Mm,” he replied absently, sneaking a glance at Sasuke’s wide, dark eyes set in a face so like their mother’s.

“What are you writing?” A grubby hand reached out, but retracted swiftly a second later. Itachi schooled the corner of his mouth down from its growing smirk. Sasuke was learning.

“Mission report.”

Sasuke’s eyes scanned down lines of flawlessly penned characters, brow wrinkling when he reached the end, mouth forming the final word silently to himself before he voiced his confusion aloud. “Target?”

Ah. As of yet, Sasuke thought of ‘ANBU Captain’ as simply a title. Its true definition, one that could only be told through experience, lay in the blood on Itachi’s sheathed sword and gloved hands and walled soul. But Itachi had never tried to shelter his brother and he certainly didn’t intend to start doing so now.

“A shinobi from the Earth Country.” Itachi briskly finished off the report – Target eliminated. Mission successful.

“Brother?”

Itachi sighed and turned around, finally allowing Sasuke to steal his attention. The boy’s eyes were larger than they’d ever been, his face mere inches away. Itachi swallowed, feeling his throat move against his brother’s arms, waiting.

“You’re not gonna get…e-lim-in-at-ed?”

Itachi let the smile come this time and brushed his fingers lightly over Sasuke’s forehead, pushing away the inky bangs that stuck to his skin.

“No, Sasuke.”

Never.