Crossroads (A Naruto Fanfiction)

Uchiha Sasuke

Sasuke looked out from his window to watch Satsuki train with Kakashi. Satsuki, to Sasuke, was someone he couldn't understand. He was an enigma Sasuke felt he should treat with caution, but at the same time he was family that he should love unconditionally. Although Itachi was someone he admired and respected like no other, Sasuke never felt that same barrier as he did with Satsuki. If it was Itachi training outside in their backyard, he would have been sitting on the porch to watch closer.

Sasuke knew Satsuki cared about him. It was obvious from the way he always hugged him and kissed his forehead, and the way he openly asked their father to change his tutor. The new tutor was amazing too! He never got upset at the mistakes he made, he never forced him to write perfectly. He never made him feel useless. He loved learning from his new tutor, and that was thanks to Satsuki. But, he still saw the way his parents treated Satsuki, as if he was different from the rest of them. It's true that his brother was a little different with the way he didn't speak and with those unique powers, and how Itachi was so protective of him as if he was some fragile glass despite them. But, his brother seemed normal every where else.

He saw how his brother loved to read and write. He was always writing something. He saw how Satsuki didn't like to sleep alone, which Sasuke took as a win for himself because Sasuke could sleep perfectly well on his own. He was never scared of the dark or ghosts like Naruto! Satsuki always preferred his mother's cooking. He was always trying to prove himself like Sasuke was.

Sasuke's eyes alighted when his brother spun, his chin length hair flowing along with the motion as a perfect sphere of fire surrounded him. The fire moved like the water he would always entertain Sasuke with.
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Sasuke waited excitedly besides Itachi at the entrance to the playground. He wouldn't usually be this excited before he saw Naruto, especially now that the odd glares and whispers fell more heavily onto them. That's because Sasuke didn't come alone this time. Some of the Uchiha children came with him, six in total with himself included. They fidgeted uncomfortably and the only two that were younger than Sasuke fisted their hands into Itachi's shirt. Itachi comforted them with little pats and smiles, which worked well to placate them from outright crying.

"Sasuke!! Everyone!" Naruto's booming voice rang across the entire playground and it garnered all the parents and children's attention. Sasuke was too used to it to get embarrassed at this point. When Naruto ran up to them with his dad walking a few steps behind him, he looked at everyone with a shining smile before blinking in confusion. "Where's Satsu-nii?" He asked.

When Naruto first started calling his brothers his own brothers too, Sasuke had felt possessive. However, Sasuke found that Naruto was practically part of his family, and it didn't feel all too bad to call the same people their brothers. "Mom said he had a medic-nin appointment." He answered.

Naruto stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Ew, I hate the medic! Those needles are evil!"

Naruto didn't need to ask why his brother had such frequent visits to the medic. Sasuke didn't know the full reason as to why himself, but it was understood that Satsuki wasn't all too healthy. Itachi put his hand on Sasuke's head to get the boy's attention. "I'll leave the two of you to have fun with the others. Make them feel at home, okay?" He made sure to look at Naruto when he said this.

Naruto nodded firmly and his bright smile was back in place. "Of course!" He exclaimed before going up to each of the Uchiha clan kids for their names. Most of them seemed overwhelmed by Naruto's energy. Sasuke couldn't blame them, since even he couldn't keep up with the blond at times. As Itachi and the Yondaime, who kept himself in the background, went off to a safe distance to watch over the kids, they had decided to play the game they always played: Ninja!

The Uchiha children slowly came out of their shell (no one could avoid Naruto's charisma) and with a large group playing a popular game, more of the playground children wanted to join. Sasuke was smart enough to know that the only reason the parents allowed the kids to play with them was because of Naruto, the son of the Yondaime. Sasuke was never jealous of Naruto's status, but he did feel a little bit put out by how everyone favored the blond outside of their clan, while he faced their oppressiveness. He would show them, however, that he wasn't any less than Naruto.
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When Itachi brought Sasuke back home, Satsuki had already returned from the hospital. He was seated at the dining table as he went over a worksheet their Mother made for him. He was always studying whenever he could and it only made Sasuke motivated to catch up. Sasuke didn't run up to him as he did whenever he greeted Itachi. His eldest brother was the one to greet him first and asked Satsuki if he was doing okay with his work. Sasuke followed behind him casually, not feeling any kind of shyness or hesitance. He was just subdued when it came to interacting with Satsuki like he was infected with the habit of treating his brother with some sort of protectiveness. It wasn't until Satsuki opened his arms up for a hug that Sasuke finally let himself loose to accept it happily, and he started recounting his time at the playground.

Satsuki always listened to him with interest and an indulging smile on his face. Little gestures like those are what made Sasuke feel so worthwhile, and the reason why, for whatever may make his brother different, he would love him unconditionally.