Half Brother

Bullying

Itachi quietly observed as the clan members discussed the impact of Shisui's decision to leave the clan. The current plans were no longer valid as Shisui was a centre piece to the attack. Furthermore, the people who were previously on the fence regarding the coup were in opposition of it, since the Hokage had shown immense trust in the Uchiha by granting the custody of the jinchiruchi to one of them, despite him being required to leave the clan.

He left the meeting feeling much lighter. This was the first time since he had started spying on the Uchiha for the Sandaime, that he had good news to offer to the Hokage. That would have to wait though. As the meeting hadn't dragged in because of discussion of different attack strategies that were never going to be used, he still had time to pick up Sasuke from the Academy.

Itachi enjoyed the chatter of crowd around him as he walked towards the Academy. He didn't like travelling through the rooftops when not in a mission, unlike other shinobi. This was one of the few times that he could be just another face in the crowd.

He could hear a commotion as he neared the Academy building. He quickened his steps to see what was going on.

"..... you're just a monster. Nobody cares about you." He could hear a childs voice. Front that, it wasn't hard to guess. what was going on.

Sure enough, Naruto-kun was standing there, surrounded by a group of children sneering at him, including Sasuke, Itachi noted with disappointment.

"That's not true. Shisui-nii cares about me." Naruto-kun shouted back defiantly.

It was Sasuke who came forward to squash that claim. "No, he doesn't. Shisui only with you because the Hokage asked him to. Why else would he care for someone as stupid as you?"

Itachi could see that Naruto-kun's brave facade was about to crack and decided that it was time for him to intervene.

"And how would you know that Sasuke?" He asked stepping closer to his brother.

Sasuke, at least, understood that what he was doing was wrong and looked down in shame when he saw Itachi's disappointed face. "Nii-san. We were just having fun.."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? Were you having fun Naruto-kun?" He asked, glancing at the boy. He had wiped his tears and was looking at Itachi with a scrutinizing expression. "And you didn't answer my question, Sasuke? How would you know how Shisui felt? When did you last meet him?"

"Everybody in the clan was saying so." Sasuke mumbled.

Itachi wanted to sigh. "That is called a rumour, Sasuke. A shinobi doesn't rely on rumors for information, because more often than not they are wrong. Do you understand?"

"Hai, nii-san." Sasuke answered, as the other children began to disperse, having understood that there wasn't going to be anymore bullying there.

Itachi turned to the young jinchiruchi. "And that goes for you too, Naruto-kun. Don't believe anything just because many people are saying so. Always confirm your information from the source." He said, ruffling the boys hair.

Naruto's eyes lit up in what could be recognition as he whispered (what could be considered whispering for Naruto)  in delight, "Karasu-nii!"

Oh. Shisui wasn't going to like that.