A Brothers Sacrifice

Chapter 2- Sick Again

Sakura went up to the blonde-haired girl and grabbed her by the ear, pulling her away from Sasuke.

"Ino you pig! He's mine!"

Ino rubbed her ear where Sakura had just pinched.

"Says who?! Big brow!"

Ino taunted the other girl with names. That caused Sakura to tackle the girl and grab her by the hair. Sasuke stood there watching the two girls fighting over him.

"Sakura cut it out"

A calm voice said from behind Sasuke.

"Ino, you too."

Another voice said.

Sasuke turned around and saw Kakashi and Asuma standing behind him. The two girls let go of the grip they had on each other's hair.

"Yes, Kakashi sensei."

"Yes, Asuma sensei."

Kakashi walked over to his student and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Apologize to each other."

Kakashi made Sakura apologize but Ino stood silent.

"Ino?"

Asma said in a serious tone.

"But sensei-"

Asuma interrupted her mid-sentence.

"No buts"

Ino sighed and apologized. Asuma took his student and went about his day. Kakashi gathered his students and headed for the training grounds.

》》Time Skip《《

Kakashi had Sasuke on the ground, one arm behind his back and a kunai to his throat. Kakashi let him go and helped him to his feet.

"That's enough training for today. "

Sasuke was angry that he lost his teacher. When he got home, he went to train in his backyard. He thought if he trained hard enough he could become strong like his brother, so he could show his sensei just how strong he really is. Itachi came home and noticed Sasuke's bag on the floor by the entrance.

"Sasuke?"

Itachi called for his brother but there was no answer. He noticed the back door was open and he went to see if he was outside. What he saw was Sasuke lying on the floor. 

"Sasuke!"

He immediately ran over to him and checked for injuries. Physically he was okay. It looked like he had overworked himself. There were kunai everywhere. Itachi tried to wake up Sasuke, but nothing he did seemed to work. He tried gently shaking him awake, but nothing. He placed a hand on the younger brother's forehead. He pulled away quickly. His skin felt like it was on fire.

"I have to get you out of this sun."

He picked up his brother, brought him into the house, and laid him on his bed. Sasuke was having trouble breathing. It sounded almost as if he was gasping for air. Itachi placed a cool, wet cloth on the boy's forehead. He stood by his side taking care of his brother. Sasuke stopped breathing heavily after a while. After a while, he started to nod off. He lay down next to his little brother, eventually falling asleep.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. Sasuke POV .* :☆ﾟ.

 I remembered I was training and I felt tired. My muscles hurt from training but I had to keep going to win against Kakashi and be strong like big brother. I was so exhausted that my legs gave out from under me, then everything went dark. My body is hot but my forehead feels cool. It feels nice. 

I tried to open my eyes but they felt heavy. when I finally opened my eyes the first thing I was met with was a familiar ceiling.

"Where am I?"

I looked around the room taking in my surroundings.

"I'm in my room? But how?"

Feeling something move next to me, I looked in that direction and noticed-

"I-Itachi?"

It must have been Itachi who carried me to my room. He even fell asleep next to me. I tried to sit up but a sharp pain in my head stops me, but I managed to sit up gently. I try to shake him awake.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. Itachi POV.* :☆ﾟ.

I felt something shake me, causing me to wake up. When I opened my eyes, I realized what woke me up was actually-

"Sasuke? You're awake, how are you feeling?"

I sat up and looked over the boy in front of me. Feeling his forehead his fever had gone down. He looked better than before, but his face was still flushed. 

"Are you okay? I found you lying on the ground."

I placed my hand on his forehead to double-check his temperature. Sasuke gently shrugged my hand away and looked down.

"I'm fine..." He said with a sad tone.

I grabbed his chin and made him look at me.

"What are you hiding from me?" I asked him.

"I... I wanted to be strong like you and Kakashi sensei, so, I trained until I ran out of chakra..."

I poked his forehead and smiled.

"Ow, what was that for?" He said while rubbing his forehead.

"You're strong in your own way. You don't have to be like me to prove your strength."

Sasuke looked down, turning red, and covered himself from head to toe in the blanket he had around him.

"Well, now that I know you're OK, I'll let you get some more rest."

I stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. End POV .* :☆ﾟ.