Don't Stare at the Sun or You'll Go Blind

Interlude 3

This had been a long time coming. Despite reserving a large portion of his heart for Sasuke, Itachi had done a marvelous job of keeping his little brother at a distance. There was always something in his life that was too dangerous, too troublesome, or too much for his little brother to be burdened with. Itachi swirled his noodles and broth around in the takeout dish with his chopsticks, pondering the best way to begin.

"Despite already acknowledging your growth and strength, I still purposefully kept you at a distance. Not because I don't trust you, but because I never wished to burden you with my problems," Itachi spoke, his gaze trained on an arbitrary scallion floating through his broth.

"You always made my problems your own. Why can't it go both ways?" Sasuke asked, a bit of frustration slipping into his tone.

The corner of Itachi's mouth barely lifted. "You're right. Whether it was my wishes for your well-being, my own arrogance, or both, I restrained myself from seeking you out. I can only try harder to rely on you, Otouto."

"Arrogance?"

Sasuke was hanging off his every word, his ramen already forgotten. Sasuke was staring at him with wide, questioning eyes, doing a remarkable job of impersonating his younger self. A small part of Itachi was pleased to see that his adorable little brother hadn't lost all of his innocence yet. "I thought that I could take on all the burdens of the clan and the village, while protecting my precious people in the process. I was arrogant and wrong. Sasuke, you once called me perfect. I have to disagree with you. Perfection can never be obtained by one individual acting alone," Itachi said.

Itachi knew to never underestimate an opponent during battle. One miscalculation could cost you your life. Unfortunately, he hadn't put much thought into the dangers of overestimating his own strengths when he had been younger.

"The Yondaime stopped the coupe from happening-" Sasuke started, but Itachi cut him off.

"Not alone. Not even the Hokage is that powerful. Minato-sama often seeks council from those he trusts most. Relying on others- on their strengths- is what makes a shinobi and the village strong."

Itachi allowed Sasuke a few moments of quiet reflection before continuing, "In fact, I'm starting to believe that sometimes two people of completely opposite personalities- two sides of the same coin- can accomplish more together than they ever could separately," Itachi hinted. Itachi raised some noodles to his mouth as he waited for Sasuke to catch on, his gaze resting heavily on his little brother. When Sasuke continued to silently stare at his food, Itachi decided to give him a nudge, "How did Naruko-chan react when you spoke to her?"

"About my eyes? How do you think she reacted?" Sasuke asked rhetorically with a scoff. "I would have told her eventually. You didn't need to involve her."

His adorable, little brother could be very unhelpfully dense at times. Itachi held back a deep sigh. He chose not to physically react and instead replied, "While that wasn't what I had been referring to, I can't help but wonder... Wouldyou have informed Naruko-chan of your deteriorating eyesight?"

Itachi wasn't surprised by the soft, "It wasn't her burden to bear" that Sasuke muttered.

Itachi could remember a time where he had reacted the same as Sasuke- shutting out those closest to him. He'd been unable to successfully bar Shisui from his burdens, but he'd been hellbent on keeping Izumi distanced from his problems. He'd rationalized it as necessary for her protection and peace of mind, but had only managed to hurt her with his lack of trust and honesty. "Learn from my mistakes, Sasuke," Itachi finally said. "That's what elder siblings are for after all."

The look that Sasuke gave him gave Itachi slight pause. Sasuke looked ready to debate the reality of Itachi evermaking a mistake, but seemed to reconsider at the last second. Itachi was relieved to avoid having to hammer another lesson into his stubborn, adorable little brother's head.