Itachi Uchiha yawned heavily as he trudged into his home. He had been gone all weekend on a mission that had taken quite a lot out of him. He was tired, hungry and just all around very worn out. He walked into the kitchen and greeted his mother with a gentle kiss to her forehead. He then went into his bedroom, flopped down on the bed and fell asleep. He wanted to be awake by the time Sasuke got home from school. He tried not to let Sasuke see him like this, all worn out and beaten. He knew that he was Sasuke's idol and he wanted to live up to that.

Sasuke Uchiha ran home. He knew that today was the day that his brother was coming home from his mission. It had been a boring weekend with him gone. But he pulled through it. His mother greeted him as he came in. He knew his brother was probably asleep, so he needed to be patient. But he couldn't. So he went and waited in his room.

Itachi could the patter of a young child's footsteps coming down the hall. Even though he was exhausted he couldn't help but smile. He knew Sasuke most likely had been looking forward to his return. Itachi groaned softly as he forced himself to get up and sit up on his bed. He turned and looked at his little brother and a smile curved his lips. It was almost as if he had abandoned a puppy the way Sasuke was looking at him.

"Welcome back Itachi. Did your mission go well? Did you get hurt? Are you ok?" Sasuke asked him. He wanted to make sure his aniki{japanese for older brother} was ok. He was smiling though.

"Everything's fine Sasuke," Itachi said, reaching over and lightly ruffling Sasuke's hair. He had been hurt, a little bit, but he hadn't even returned home before he took care of it. He didn't want his mother worrying about him either. She worried too much. He was a shinobi, he was going to get hurt, but whenever the sight of blood was on him, or on Sasuke she would always become overly protective.

"That's good. I don't want you to get hurt." Sasuke said. He smile got bigger as Itachi ruffled his hair.

"And what about you?" Itachi asked, "Did you behave while I was away?" Itachi gave Sasuke a mock suspicious look. He knew Sasuke was almost always well-behaved.

"Yes I did. I did all my work too. I have to work hard to keep up with you aniki." Sasuke said, pouting slightly because he wasn't as strong as Itachi.

Itachi again gently ruffled Sasuke's hair. Sasuke would probably never catch up with him. Sasuke was very talented, and very strong, and was probably going to be the best in his age group, but the two of them just couldn't be compared. Itachi was a prodigy. If he were not an Uchiha it was likely that he would have become Hokage eventually.

"Will you train with me aniki? So I can be stronger, like you." Sasuke asked. He had a puppy dog face that was impossible to say no to.

"After supper ok?" Itachi said, "I'll help you with your target practice. I have a surprise for you." Itachi reached into his pack and pulled a set of six new throwing stars. They were polished and black and very sharp. "Remember," Itachi warned him, "These aren't toys. Don't be using them when you play with your friends because you'll hurt someone."

"I won't. And thank you!" Sasuke said, tackling him and giving him a big hug. "You better help me after dinner or I'll get mad at you." he said.

Itachi held Sasuke against him for a few moments before releasing him. "I will," he said, "I wouldn't want to risk your vengeance." He gave Sasuke a teasing smile.

Sasuke instantly smiled back. "Thanks aniki." he said.

Itachi yawned softly. "Mmhmm... now, let your nii-san get some rest before supper ok?" he said. Itachi had barely slept all weekend so he really was exhausted.

"Ok..." Sasuke said. He went into a different room to wait.

Itachi slept until their mother called them in for supper. The tired Uchiha boy got up and joined his family. Dinner was quiet. Their father asked about the mission and Itachi told him what he could about it.

Sasuke ate his food silently. He stared at him plate as he ate, not really paying much attention to the conversation.

Itachi hated how his father was always trying to get information out of him. He hated a lot of things about the Uchihas. He hated their standards. He looked down at his little brother and thought of what might happen to him.

The older Uchiha boy finished his meal and thanked his mother before asking to be excused.

"Can I be done too?" Sasuke asked. Then he got up and left before he was excused. He followed Itachi.

Itachi looked down at Sasuke. He had promised the boy to practice with him, so even though he was tired he slipped on his shoes to go outside.

Sasuke smiled. He put on his shoes also. He followed Itachi outside.

"It's almost dark so we'll make this a quick practice," Itachi said, "I don't want you tired for school in the morning after all." Itachi headed to the training grounds.

Sasuke followed him. "I don't want it to be a quick practice. I want to train with you. This is the only time you get to spend with me." he said.

"We can train again tomorrow after school," Itachi assured him, "I have a day or two to rest." Itachi knew how much his time meant to Sasuke.