~~Hello again! I've come back with a request this time! Someone asked me to do a story where Itachi lost his eyesight and had to depend on little Sasuke to basically give him his will to live back. I know this doesn't really follow with the story arc in the actual Naruto stuff, but it's still a cute idea so I decided to do my best^^ You must realize though, these first few scenes are a "fight" scene...sort've...I'm not very good at that sort've thing so you'll have to forgive the silliness and pathetic attempt at making it dramatic. If this goes over well though and is liked by a few of y'all I'll continue it! So, please read and review this story and tell me if I should keep going! Thank you so much, enjoy!~~

"Sudden Weakness"

There came a moment in time where every anbu would pause to evaluate his station in life. There came a moment in time where every anbu would stop and look around him, and wonder what he was doing to and for the world. Was he a mindless killing machine created souly for the purpose of doing the grunt work of a country? Or was he making a difference in the world? Was he clearing a path for generations to come by slaying the evil and laying down the foundations of peace? Or...was he just a tiny piece of the puzzle that made no difference what-so-ever? It was the only weakness an anbu ever encountered. They were the elite, they were the ultimate ninja, they were the unbeatable. There was no such thing as weakness to an anbu other than self-doubt. But, there came a moment in time where every anbu had to quell his doubts and remember there was no backing out of what he had signed his life over to, because he had signed the contract in blood.

Itachi scanned the ground silently, looking for the slightest change in the scenery to alert him to anything suspicious. His gloved fingers touched the peeling bark of the tree behind him, as if he needed to be steadied. He blinked behind the thick mask he wore, able to hear his lashes brushing against the smooth, cut edges of the eye holes surrounding them. His sandled feet shifted beneath his weight as he readied to leap from the tree, almost sure it was safe to move on. He glanced over his shoulder, hearing one of his team members settling in a tree of his own, making the softest of noises. There was no foilege to cover them this time of year, only cloaks and jutsus.

Something rustled in front of him and he spun his head back around, his fingers dragging over the tree's bark as they readied to grab his katana. There! Fourteen paces ahead, between the snow drift and the oak tree! Only one though...the other was hiding elsewhere. Most likely setting up an ambush, as if they were foolish enough to fall for something so childish. He lifted his free hand, creating slow, drawn out motions as the wind rattled the bare branches amidst them. Two men moved forward silently, landing in trees on either side of him. He glanced between them, waiting for them to motion they were ready. They nodded slowly and he did too, then gave them the go ahead to attack.

He watched as they lunged out of the trees in flurries of black cloaks, landing in front and behind the hiding enemy. He shot from his cover, attempting to run, but Itachi smirked behind his mask, knowing the man wouldn't get far. It was foolish to take on anbu, especially a whole team. One man ran after him, throwing shuriken and knocking the opponent to the ground. Another man fell from the trees across the way, attacking the anbu left behind, but the ninja was a fast thinker, blocking and countering fast as light. Snow began to fall and Itachi glanced up at the swirling gray clouds above, then back down to his team. He was never one to like battle, and would get them to do his work through manipulation and cunning if he could, but that wasn't to say he was a coward.

Hearing noises beneath him his eyes shot downward, a frown crossing over his hidden face. There should be no one on this side of the clearing. Three more enemy men were hovering beneath him, waiting to attack. Itachi slowly reached up and over his shoulder, grabbing the hilt of his katana in a flexing grip, straightening his feet and readying to drop. Two men shot forward and into the clearing as Itachi dropped on the third, slitting his throat before he knew what was going on. Quickly searching the body he looked up, his men locked in battle with two opponents each. He knew they were questioning his leadership now. He was too. He would be lucky if they made it out of this alive with him.

He ripped three kunai out of a pocket, running forward into the clearing and hurling them at an opponent on the left, dashing towards one on the right. The man on the left fell dead, but the man on the right spun around and blocked his blade with his own, quickly ducking and slashing in a counter move to his stomach. Itachi flipped backwards, kicking the man's jaw as he did so. He landed and brought his blade up in a block of his own as the man lunged forward, snarling in rage as his lip spilt blood onto the white snow beneath them. The enemy was slow, their feet sinking heavily into the snow drifts, the anbu's managing to stay atop it with little effort.

The left teammate dropped his final opponent, ducking beneath his blade and stabbing him in the throat with the katana blades attached to his gauntlets. He shook the dead man off and ran for the man attacking his friend, dashing past Itachi without the slightest effort to help, knowing there was no need. His captain could take a single man. Itachi hissed through his teeth as he shoved the man's blade back, dropping and swiping his feet from beneath him, sending him crashing to his back. The man was bleeding from his lip and nose and had a rather large gash running across his stomach now. Itachi walked over and looked down at his with a lofty brow, disdain swallowing his features as he slowly shook his head and placed the tip of his blade to the man's exposed throat. The enemy looked up and gave a soft snort, his breath swirling in a white cloud around his face before dissipating into the air between them.

"You anbus think you're all so great...Your noses are up so high you all would drown if it rained." He slapped his chest and Itachi gave his own scough behind his mask, quickly slitting the bare flesh before him. He knelt and reached for the man's pockets, moving to search for the scroll he needed, when he heard something hissing quietly. The anbu captain blinked as he suddenly realized why the man had struck his chest. The last opponent fell to the snow with a muffled thud, just as Itachi rose to his feet and jerked his head towards his teammates, reaching for them with a quick hand, "BOMB!" But, it was too late. His words were drown out by the sound of the explosion and all three of them were blown back into the trees they had descended from.

"Captain! Captain, wake up!" There was someone shaking him roughly, almost violently. He furrowed his brow, groaning and attempting to swat the person away as he rolled his head from side-to-side languidly. "Captain!" He groaned again, suddenly feeling every ache and hurt in his body. He leaned up on one elbow, touching his forehead lightly with his hand, able to feel rips and tears in the leather of his glove, tatters of it hanging off the side of his palm. Wasn't there a bomb? Wasn't he still in the field? A sudden, sharp pain shot behind his eyes and he let out a cry, his head falling back with the hurt. "My eyes! Gods, my eyes!" He shook his head, rubbing at his eyes fiercely with his hand as he forced himself to sit up, doubling over with in pain. They burned worse than ever before! Sharingon had never hurt like this! What was going on?! "Captain, we need to get you back! You need a medic!" Someone was shouting at him, shaking his shoulder again, attempting to lift him to his feet. He let out another cry, shoving the man back and staggering to his feet on his own, still wiping and rubbing at his burning eyes.

"It hurts! What the hell happened?! My eyes, my eyes!" He would go mad if this pain didn't stop. It felt like burning needles pricking and picking at his eyes, jabbing in and out, over and over again. He heard feet shuffling around him, heavy breathing that wasn't his, and felt the hands on him again, pressing his back into a tree. "Captain, the blast! You're really hurt, you need to let us get you back to the village and a medic!" Itachi shook his head wildly, thrashing in his man's grasp, suddenly noticing he could see nothing but black. "Why can't I see?! What the hell is wrong with my eyes?!" The men continued to hold him down, one trying to fling him over his shoulder, but Itachi struck the man in the back of the neck, knocking him out cold. "Captain!"

He tore blindly through the trees, his hands out in front of him, grasping and shoving at the branches and trunks that got in his way. His breath burned in his throat and every noise in the forest was too loud, even the sound of the snow falling made him want to scream. "No!" He let out an anguished cry of rage and pain, stopping to catch his breath and claw at his eyes again, as if he could tear the blindness away like a band aid. This couldn't be happening, HOW did this happen?! He was a genius! He was an anbu captain! The youngest ever! Nothing could touch him! How did this happen? HOW?!

Some how Itachi managed to find his way back into the village. Stealing over the wall and sticking to the roof tops, he moved quickly and unfettered. There was nothing for him to run into if he stuck to the top of the village. He moved by smell, rational enough to be able to trace the smells of his home down through the streets and many houses he touched. But, when he got to the roof of his own house, it was as if any remaining rationality left. Trying to move down the side of the tiles he stumbled, falling quickly with nothing to catch on to. He managed to tuck into a roll and hit the ground as a ball, not hurting anything that didn't already ache in some way. He stumbled up, staggering forward a few steps into the blackness, a hand reached out farther than the other, fingers grasping at the air for something, anything, that they knew.

Finally they hit a smooth wooden post, one he knew belonged to his front porch. He quickly stumbled up the steps, tripping once or twice before running to the door and slamming into it. Groaning he threw open the door, listening to it slide quickly in its tracks, slamming to a halt with a resounding 'clack' in the stillness of the night. He needed peace, he needed this pain to leave, he needed this hurt to go away. "SASUKE!" Itachi screamed, his body losing its adrenalin rush from the pain and giving beneath his weight, causing him to collapse heavily to the tatami mats.

Would it be alright for him to cry in this situation? To show some kind of weakness when he felt so helpless? WAS he crying? He couldn't tell...he couldn't tell anything any more. There was just this empty darkness, and this horrible burn; was he going to be eaten alive by the flames his clan commanded with such ease?

Sasuke heard the scream and shot up in bed, eyes wide and terrified as they searched the darkness of his room, his grip on the covers one of white knuckled horror. There was nothing there though. Nothing but his room and the night enveloping it. He caught his breath, reaching up and touching his chest lightly, trying to slow his heartbeat as he glanced up at the window above his bed. Snow was falling outside...he hoped Itachi was warm enough, where ever he was. Sasuke suddenly started with a jolt, jerking his head towards his door and staring at it like it had grown arms and legs.

What if that was Itachi calling him from downstairs?! What if something bad had happened to his aniki?! He ripped the covers back, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and hauling across the tiny room, flinging open the door and running out of the room. He almost slammed into the hallway wall, but shot his hand out, managing to catch himself and turn to run down the stairs, jumping them two at a time. A cold breeze struck him halfway down the stairs and he felt his heart stop, that meant the door was open; something WAS wrong.

When he hit the last stair he froze, covering his mouth as it opened in a silent scream of his own. Itachi was lying on the floor across the room from him, his lower half still outside, his upper half inside. He was lying on his side, partly in fetal position, scratching and rubbing viciously at his eyes. Sasuke could hear groans and grunts of effort and pain escaping his brother's tightly pressed lips, every now and then he would give out a desperate, pained cry of loss of will and throw his hands to the floor, but not too long after he would reach up and start again. "Nii-san!" Sasuke felt tears welling in his eyes as he ran over to his older brother, dropping to his knees beside his head.

Itachi froze, as if he was listening for the sound again. "S-Sas-" Sasuke fell over on his chest, sobbing as he touched bloody spots of bare flesh on the anbu's body, his clothing torn and tattered in so many places you could barely tell what he was wearing. "Nii-san! What happened?! Are you alright?!" He lifted his head, Itachi lifting his own and reaching for his little brother. His hand touched the young Uchiha's cheek blindly, his fingers moving slowly as they tried to identify what he was touching. Two of his fingertips had no glove covering them any longer, so he was able to feel the warmth of the boy's wet cheek. "Oh, Nii-san! Your eyes! Your beautiful eyes!" Sasuke's little hand touched his own cheek, his thumb rubbing over the slick blood that apparently covered it. What a sight he must've been to the little boy. Itachi winced and dropped his head back to the carpet, the burning sensation seeming to worsen.

His hand curled into a fist on Sasuke's cheek and the boy quickly reached up, grabbing hold of it and squeezing, "You need the doctor, Nii-san! I'm going to go get him!" He whimpered, shaking his head slowly as Itachi quickly shook his head. "No! You can't leave, Sasuke!" His voice was a desperate plea, begging not to be left to this darkness alone again. "I have to! You need a doctor, Nii-san, please!" Sasuke begged, his own voice rising in pitch as his desperation to make his brother live grew. "My eyes! Don't!" Itachi reached up with his free hand again, rubbing and scratching at his eyes, trying in vain to scratch away whatever was holding him to this empty void, trying to make his little brother see that he didn't need to worry about him. "Stop it!" Sasuke fell over on his chest again, snatching his wrist and forcing it down to his chest, clutching it tightly. Itachi could feel his tears hitting his throat and face, he could smell the worry and sadness on his little brother, could smell the pure terror of losing him. "Stay here, I'm going to get the doctor, Nii-san!" And then he was gone, ripped away from him so quickly he couldn't stop the little boy.

Itachi leaned up, reaching for where the child had once been, crying out in agony before falling back to the floor and covering his eyes. "Sasuke!" He begged, crying out to the emptiness that surrounded him. He had never felt so helpless, never felt so alone. He never knew this desperation, this upset, this kind of pain. Is this what weakness felt like? When the boy had run over to him there had been light. He had seen a warm light, and heard the boy's voice echoing softly in his head, like he was in a foggy tunnel and his little brother was at the other end, calling to him. How would he know if the boy was going to come back? What if he had run off and was just going to leave him here? What if something got him while he was so weak? What was this sudden terror that gripped his heart so tightly?! "SASUKE!"