Campaign of Distraction

Campaign of Distraction Chapter 2

Note: In this chapter, Sasuke is thirteen and has a flashback back to when he was 11. Now, eleven year old Sasuke is going to be acting a bit more like, maybe an eight year old because of the environment he is in. Itachi is very overprotective and coddling when handling Sasuke and so Sasuke at age eleven has not really developed like he should… but that WILL change… You’ll see… Enjoy!

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THREE YEARS LATER

Sasuke shifted his school bags to put the key in the lock of the apartment he lived in with his brother. Today hadn’t been the best day in his life, rather disappointing really. And the long ride from school to the apartment hadn't helped his mood one bit. The cheap lock clicked open and Sasuke pushed the door open and dropped his bags to the side unceremoniously. The thirteen year old scowled and nearly slammed the door shut behind him before scanning the room for his brother.

Itachi heard the door open and bags being dropped to the floor. He could tell already that Sasuke was in a bad mood, which wasn't a rare occurrence. The thirteen year old boy tended to have an attitude when provoked. He decided to save his brother the trouble of finding him and went out to the living room from his bedroom. "I take it you had a bad day?" The now nineteen year old Itachi asked with a raised eyebrow and a tiny knowing smirk.

"What do you think? I can’t stand those other brats in class, thinking they're so smart. If it weren’t against the rules to beat some of those underdressed bitches with their over painted faces for trying to get the teachers attention...." Sasuke fumed all the way into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. He needed something cool to drink.

Itachi followed Sasuke into the kitchen. "What did I tell you about using that language? I know I don't really mind usually, but you shouldn't talk about other people that way; especially girls." He gave Sasuke one of his serious ‘I'm not messing around’ looks as he heard his brother snort in derision.

"Find me a girl with something between the ears besides plastic and I’ll THINK about talking better about them." Sasuke grabbed a bottle of green tea and twisted the cap off with one hand. The stuff smelled a little leafy but it was better than nothing and a hell of a lot healthier than sodas.

The little Uchiha took a swig of the watery tea and grimaced at the slight after taste. Fresh tea tasted better but he didn’t feel like heating water on the stove just for a drink at the moment.

Itachi shook his head, not expecting to get through to his younger sibling. Ever since that incident about two and a half years ago, his brother had become very cynical, bitter and distant. Not from him of course, but to society and life in general. He sighed as he took some things out of the fridge to prepare for dinner. "Why don't you start on your homework and I'll call you when dinner's ready." he said calmly as he started up the stove.

Sasuke grunted in agreement and went back into the living room to pick up his bag with his homework inside before heading off into his bedroom. Like every other room in this apartment, the walls were white, the carpets some neutral shade of grayish blue with plain floorboards running about an inch above the floors.

Sasuke's room had a lot of open space since he only had what furniture he needed and not to much more than that; a six drawer dresser, a bed big enough for two people, a nightstand with a plain table lamp on top and a desk. Sasuke took his books out of his bag and put them on his desk by the only window he had to start his studies like any good student would. He made sure to turn his computer on first so he could listen to a bit of classical music while he worked. His brother always listened to the famous and not so famous composers and Sasuke had grown accustomed to them throughout his short life.

Sasuke hadn't even gotten his pencils out when a sound outside drew his attention and the raven’s natural curiosity compelled him to see what it was.

Outside a group of kids were playing a game that could only loosely be called soccer for lack of a better description with a trio of adults watching the kids to make sure they weren't getting hurt or lost. The whole thing; the kids just having fun with adults watching them, made him remember a much happier time in his life just before he got woken up to what the real world was like.

~~FLASHBACK~~

Itachi rushed around the apartment, getting things cleaned up for their monthly inspection. The courts had assigned them a liaison to oversee his progress with Sasuke and how their household was kept up. Basically, they wanted to make sure that Itachi was able to provide for Sasuke and have him living comfortably.

He glanced over at Sasuke who was happily munching on some cheery tomatoes and sitting in his usual spot on the counter. "Would it hurt you to help a little?"

"I can’t reach where everything goes. Anyway I cleaned my room just like you asked and I’m hungry now. Can’t I just clean after I have a snack?" Despite what he said, Sasuke hopped off the counter and scooped up his favorite snack in the world and looked for something to help his brother with. Being small for his age, he had a hard time reaching certain places when he was trying to help his brother clean or anything in those regards. Luckily he had grown a bit since he was ten and was now able to reach over the counters, but not far enough to reach the other side of the wall. He hated being short, and he wished he was at least tall enough to help his Aniki with things.

Itachi put a few more things away before facing Sasuke in the living room. "You know how important today is. We've had this talk many times already. You remember what to tell them right?"

Sasuke popped the last few tomatoes in his mouth and chewed them up thoroughly before answering his brother. "Yep, I tell them exactly what they want to know and if they ask me any tough questions I tell them 'I don’t know’ right?” The eleven year old Sasuke looked at his brother for conformation and hoped that the people would go away quickly like they always did. The way they talked, it was like they expected to find a problem.

Itachi smiled and kissed his brother's forehead. "That's right. Now they'll be here any minute so why don’t you go sit on the couch alright?" As if on cue, the doorbell chose that particular moment to ring. He took a deep breath as he walked up to the door and looked out to see a man and a woman standing there. He was a bit worried at that. There was usually only one... the woman who came to see them. Something must be wrong. Nevertheless he opened the door and greeted the two with a smile. "Nice to see you again Mrs. Athendale. And I don't believe we've met before." he said politely holding out his hand to the newcomer.

The man took Itachi's slender hand in his own beefy paw and shook Itachi's hand with more force than was necessary. The man blinked hard unforgiving eyes and smiled enough to give the scars on his face the look of deadly sharpness. The tall man was easily close to two hundred pounds and was all muscle. He wore a bandana tied securely around his head so Itachi really couldn’t say what color his hair was, if he had any that is; coupled with the suit under a long black trench coat made the man look more like an interrogator of a prison than a social worker. "The names Ibiki. Miss Athendale is showing me the ropes today." His gruff voice didn’t help the situation any. Itachi just knew that this hulk of a guy was going to freak the hell out of Sasuke.

Itachi nodded and invited the two into the small apartment. "Would either of you like anything to drink?" he asked politely as he led them into the living room and Sasuke who was sitting properly on the couch.

Mrs. Athendale shook her head making her reddish brown curls bob around her shoulders while she took in the room around her just as she had so many times before. "No thank you Mister Uchiha; I don’t want to bother you more than we absolutely have to."

The bulky man set his sights on the kitchen with more of a motive to check it rather than accept a drink. But then again, accepting a drink may give him a hint of the condition of the fridge. “I wouldn’t mind a drink of something if you don’t mind.”

Itachi nodded "What would like? We have; water, a various assortment of teas and milk."

"Water will be fine."

Sasuke turned around with his knees on the couch cushions and looked at his visitors over the back of the couch. He knew the lady from before but the giant was new and the guy kind of scared the little Uchiha with his bulk and muscles. Not to mention the scars marring the chiseled face. Sasuke watched with large eyes as the man turned too looked at him and dropped out of sight on the couch.

Itachi shook his head at his brother's antics. "That's my brother, Sasuke. He's a bit shy when meeting new people." he said in explanation to Sasuke's behavior. "Sasuke, would you like to get our guest a glass of water?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sasuke put his feet on the floor and went the long way around the couch and into the kitchen to get the stranger a glass of water. The little Uchiha had to get the stepping ladder in order to reach the glasses.

Mrs. Athendale sighed and walked into the apartment so she could look around a bit. "Don't worry about him Ibiki; Sasuke did the same with me at the beginning. Now Itachi, how is work going for you?" She politely sat down, having been told she was able to do so whenever she frequented the house. Ibiki soon followed the example.

Itachi sat down on the couch across from the two individuals in suits and answered truthfully. "It's going well. I haven't had a lot of time off lately. They've been making me work overtime for a while now."

The woman watched Itachi carefully for any falsehoods but this news did have her interested. If Itachi wasn’t around much then he might be neglecting Sasuke.

Ibiki smoothed his suit with one strong hand and looked around for either something to complain about or for the kid with the glass of water. With neither in sight, the said rookie took a stab at what he was being paid to do. "Your neighbor still watches him while you’re gone, right? Have you had any problems with him watching your brother recently?"

Itachi shook his head as he saw Sasuke enter the living room once more, glass of water in hand. "No, Kakashi's more than happy to watch him for me. From what I can tell, and from what Sasuke's told me, Kakashi's really good to him."

Sasuke kept his thoughts about Kakashi to himself as he gave Ibiki his water and retreated to his brothers comforting side. He could have sat next to the lady if he wanted to but she'd brought the big guy with her so he didn’t want to be that close to her either.

The woman smiled winningly at Sasuke and gestured for her partner to stay quiet while she asked Sasuke questions. She’d prefer to take the boy to another room but he didn’t look like he'd go anywhere where his brother wasn’t today. "Now Sasuke, what does Itachi do when he brings you back here when he gets home from work?"

Sasuke looked at the person asking him the question, just like he was suppose to and answered truthfully like he was suppose to. "Well he makes me dinner and we eat together and talk. Sometimes we watch TV together. But I always go to bed clean and not hungry at all." Sasuke smiled at the lady like a little angel and looked at both guests to see who would ask the next question.

This time, Ibiki spoke. "And what do you talk about?" he asked, not sounding the least bit skeptical about the situation, but still on his guard.

Sasuke looked confused and resisted the urge to look at Itachi for some kind of clue about what to say. He'd never been asked that question much before and he knew enough that saying the wrong thing could get him or his brother in trouble "All kinds of things really. Like what me and Kakashi did or what he had to do at work, you know, things like that."

Ibiki felt that last statement to be a bit interesting and decided to further his questioning. "What does your brother say about work?" This was the heart of the issue. It was explained to Itachi that Ibiki was a new recruit...but in reality, he was a licensed social worker who had gotten a call from the courts saying there may be some lying pertaining to Itachi's job.

"His job isn’t bad, not really. Even though I wish he was at home more to play with me. Sometimes he has to work late for his boss and I have to stay over at Kakashi’s place until almost bed time and the book smell of his place makes me sleepy but Itachi always comes home to put me in my own bed. Not that I think Kakashi would mind having me over for a night." Sasuke fidgeted and shifted his weight. That wasn’t one of the questions they usually asked him.

The woman looked at Itachi carefully but directed his question to Sasuke. "Does your brother tell you why he has to work so late? I can't imagine why a receptionist would have to stay at work until almost eight o'clock."

Itachi didn't let his nervousness show. Shit, they were trying to figure it out. How did anyone find out? He really hoped Sasuke would try and explain it. But he had told the little one to be honest... damn it!

Sasuke looked slightly miserable and tried to hide it. It was true that he didn't know what kept his brother late sometimes. Only what happened when Itachi came back at his regular time. Something felt wrong about his answer but he couldn’t take it back.

Ibiki looked at Itachi pointedly and set his empty glass on the table. "What is it about working late that you don’t want your brother to know about?"

Itachi thought on the best answer and decided to let this play out as best he could. "If I told him, I'd just be repeating myself. I do what I do during the day. That's all there is to it. My boss just needs some extra filing done sometimes, occasionally some transcribing..." He let it trail off, figuring they'd get the hint.

"And your boss doesn’t have any night time staff for that kind of work?" Ibiki leaned forward and tried to lock gazes with Itachi.

The older of the two brothers locked the gaze evenly and equally. "Of course not, why would she have something like that. It is a nine to five business after all... Plus, I’m her only secretary." He was being cocky, but he didn't care, he was confident enough.

Ibiki never looked away and got to the heart of the matter. "And what kind of work would she have you doing that would take four hours?"

Itachi sighed and closed his eyes. "…Exactly as I told you. Have you ever been a receptionist... Sir? It's very much a time consuming position. And with all do respects... If you think I'm doing... less than reputable things with my boss, then you should know that I have no interest in women." He let that hang there for the huge man to either understand or look bewildered.

Sasuke took a step closer to the two dressed up people and tried to look bigger than he was to make what he said sound more important than it probably was. "I know what my brother does when he stays at work late! I heard him talking to Kakashi about it once! He said he had to play secretary for a bit because that's what he was getting paid for. But he gets paid any way right?"

Itachi tried not to glare at his sibling. He probably just lost his brother with that little outburst. What a stupid thing to do! If they got through this, he'd have to have a very long talk with Sasuke. He looked over at Sasuke for a moment then back to the large man. "What does it matter how I word it? I'm still doing my job like I'm supposed to and making money to live comfortably and provide for my brother. I've done all you've asked."

Ibiki shifted in his chair, which groaned in protest and looked pointedly at Sasuke. "We may have to take the kid with us until we can figure out what you’re doing on those nights you come in late then. But if you really are just working late you won’t have anything to worry about."

Itachi's mouth dropped open and he stared at Ibiki like he was some kind of poison. Ibiki the Rookie shouldn't be talking about taking a kid away, because he didn’t have the authority to take Sasuke away. Unless…

Itachi felt his hands itch to hold Sasuke in his arms for safe keeping. The only reason Mr. Muscles would talk about taking his little brother away was if the man was a social worker pretending to be a rookie. "You don’t really work for the agency do you? You lied to us."

The woman looked to Itachi. "Don't take any offense by it Mr. Uchiha. The courts do have to be careful you know. It won't be forever, but we need to take Sasuke out of a potentially harmful environment until we can figure this situation out.

Sasuke looked at Itachi pleadingly. He didn't want to go with muscle guy and the woman. He wanted to stay with his brother! "I'm not going with you!" he screamed before jumping off the couch and started to sprint for his room.

Ibiki shot up out of the chair like someone had set his ass on fire and bolted after Sasuke. He was extremely fast and had knocked over a few things on the way to the fleeing kid before him. This was one part he really hated about his job; catching the little brats when they got wind of what was about to happen.

Itachi got thrown from his chair when Ibiki shot past and was struggling to get his feet underneath him to go help Sasuke even if it made him look bad to the judge.

Sasuke was just about to reach his room when he felt a strong hand grip his arm and pull him back. He looked back at the big man and tears started to well up in his eyes. This was it, he would never see his brother again, and it was all his fault. He should have just stayed quiet and did what Itachi said. He looked over at his brother who was being restrained by Kakashi. How did he get in here? Either way, he hoped that Kakashi might help them. "Itachi, don't let them take me!" he said with tears starting to roll down his cheeks.

The muscled man put a strong arm around Sasuke’s waist and started hauling the kid back to the front door. The little brat was really squirming but at least that was all. Big tears were rolling down the boy’s cheeks as he tried to get someone to help him but no one who didn’t want to spend a night in jail would do such a thing. "Quit wriggling kid. This hurts me more than it hurts you.”

Itachi struggled against Kakashi and tried to get his brother back from the pair of lying thieves before him. Sasuke's pathetic pleas for help were more than he could handle and the older brother could only watch helplessly as Ibiki carted Sasuke across the room and to the front door where Mrs. Athendale was waiting.

Kakashi held onto the distraught Uchiha and tried to calm him down by speaking soothingly to the boy. "Calm down Itachi. He won't be gone for long; they can't do anything if they don't know anything. They don't really have the right to take him. We just need to calm down and come up with a plan." He really did feel for his neighbor and friend. He knew that Sasuke meant everything to the teen and he could imagine how he must be feeling.

Itachi swore a blue streak at the social workers muscled ass and the man tried to get Sasuke out the door without the little Uchiha's nimble fingers grabbing the door frame to keep from being taken away. Just when it seemed that the man had managed to keep Sasuke’s arms pinned the little boy startled everyone by opening his mouth and biting the huge bastard on the only part he could reach, the hand. "Sasuke, don’t give them any reason to put you in a foster home! I'll get you back soon… I Promise! I swear to God I’ll have you home really soon." Itachi stopped fighting against Kakashi so hard and reached out for Sasuke while Ibiki swore roundly and dragged Sasuke out of the door before the brat could bite him a second time.

Sasuke nodded to his brother's words and tried one last time to get away before he was bodily picked up and carried out the door; the woman right behind. She turned to Itachi and gave him an apologetic look before she shut the door quietly.

~~END FLASHBACK~~

Sasuke blinked. He’d spaced out remembering the worst time in his young life. It was a black car he'd been put in after the social worker had threatened him with his brother being in jail if he didn’t behave. After that he'd been roomed in a plain building with a few other kids his age from abusive families all of who missed the people they loved. Only one; a girl who was two years younger than he'd been at the time, had understood that he wanted to go back there because he messed up. Couldn’t remember her name; but she had green eyes that didn’t look real. A few months after getting sent there Sasuke had been allowed to go back home with his brother but it wasn’t the same. The world had changed somehow; gotten darker, dirtier and a lot less friendly. He had finally left his sheltered little puny self behind and now had a hardened shell encased around him; a shell that sometimes even his own brother couldn’t get through anymore.

The teenage Sasuke shook himself and looked at his clock. More time had passed than he could remember and he still hadn't started his homework. Not only that, but his stomach was letting him know it was in need of being filled soon. Sasuke hastily got to work on his homework when he heard a knock on his door. Itachi was always considerate that way, even when the door was left wide open on rare occasions. "Come in."

Itachi opened his brother's door and was greeted to Sasuke bent over his books and studying away. Ever since Sasuke was able to come back home, something in him was a bit different. He had gotten a bit distant from him and a lot more cautious about his actions. He had also gotten this negative view on the world that gave them both a bit of problems in life. "Dinner's ready." was his simple statement. He looked outside where he could hear other teens hanging out and talking. "Why don't you ever hang out with anyone your age?" He asked curiously as he sat on his brother's bed.

"The people my age only care about getting dates, looking like models and getting laid. Why would I want to be a part of that? Besides, getting good grades in all my classes is more important. I want to get a great job while all those others are still scraping around for their next fix."

Itachi raised one eyebrow at his baby brother. "I doubt your thirteen year old peers are interested in sex yet Sasuke, let alone drugs." Although he wouldn't have been surprised; kids sure are growing up faster these days. "Anyway, I'm going to have to go into work for a couple hours after dinner. You know the rules; do your homework and be in bed by at least twelve."

"About your job… What do you do exactly? Because of that damn ass job of yours I got dragged off to that hell hole because you work late sometimes. I'd like to see what you do." Sasuke turned towards his brother and propped his head up on one hand with the other toying with his pencil. He’d done some thinking recently and had come to some pretty kinky conclusions about what his brother really did at night and it wasn’t secretarial work that's for sure. He knew all about crap like that; he did have a computer after all.

Itachi rolled his eyes. It had been common to get this interrogation from his brother. "I told you Sasuke. My job hasn't changed, I'm..." He was suddenly cut off by a hand held out in front of his face.

"Let’s cut through the crap. If your work was legit, I wouldn't have been manhandled by Muscle shit and his squad of cronies so your late night job is of a questionable nature, likely sexual. This narrows your job to either; prostitute for hire, or working for the porn industry." Sasuke let his hand drop and smirked at his brother, this would get him riled up and he might let drop something very important.

Itachi didn't let his surprise show. Better let the brat think that the older of the two was still on it. "Listen to me Sasuke. What happened three years ago was a mistake. Everything was cleared up wasn't it?" He knew he was losing but he needed to hold the bit of control he had left.

"Oh sure, the state government just kidnaps random kids living with their older brothers and throws them in a pit with kids from abused families just for laughs." Sasuke couldn’t keep a touch of sarcasm from his voice and narrowed his eyes at his older brother. Now he was sure he was on the right track. "Try again."

This time Itachi sighed and looked at Sasuke. "Why do you need to know so badly; it's not like I'll be doing it forever..." He just didn't want to taint his baby brother any more than the boy was already tainted with cynical thoughts of the world.

"So I'm right. You do get paid for sex. Not that it matters much to me. I just want to know what you do after you leave." Sasuke changed his tone from angry to more of a begging tome. His older brother really saw him as kind of a baby even though he was much older than any baby would ever be.

Itachi sighed once more and gestured for Sasuke to join him on the bed. "Yes, I'm in the porn industry. But I'm sure you already know that you can't tell anyone. Even though I'm nineteen and the courts can't send anyone to check up on us...I'd still get in trouble since I started underage."

Sasuke felt perversely proud that he'd figured out exactly what Itachi had done all those years when he was little to keep him clothed, fed, and happy. But at the same time, he was a little hurt that he wasn’t trustworthy enough to be told the truth when he got older. "Can I go with you to work?"

Itachi almost laughed out loud at that. What was Sasuke thinking? "Hell no! Why would I do a stupid thing like that? You're not even allowed near the building. You're only thirteen. In case you forgot, you have to be over eighteen to even step foot into that building. Never mind the fact that I was sixteen, you don’t have a family to support and you don’t need to be tainted with things like that..."

Sasuke felt something stab him almost painfully and sat up, leaning away from his brother. "But you were underage when you started! Why can't I just see what you’re doing? It's not like I’d let anyone talk me into doing kinky shit in front of a camera. Besides you owe me."

Itachi glared at that comment. "I owe you do I? What do I owe you for, may I ask?"

"You owe me for letting yourself get caught that's what."

"I didn't get caught; if I remember correctly, it was YOU who opened your big mouth and said shit that could have gotten me arrested and you taken away forever!" Itachi was pissed at this point. He couldn't believe Sasuke was blaming him for all this. All the things that happened three years ago. He started to walk out of Sasuke's bedroom, done with the whole thing. "Just come and eat..."

Sasuke fumed at his brothers back and snatched his backpack form the floor and emptied it. He just wanted to know what Itachi really did but he'd let his stupid anger and hurt get in the way. He could have just asked Itachi nicely to go to work with him but it was too late now and drastic measures would have to be taken. Running away from home seemed like the best way to get what he wanted. Even though he had nowhere else to go. The hard part would be getting out the front door, past his brother, and out of the complex before Kakashi got wind of what was going on. After that Sasuke would just have to find some safe place for the night.

Itachi was in the kitchen angrily setting the table. He was beyond annoyed at this whole situation and he was really getting the desire to call up Kakashi and have the man come over to help calm him down and perhaps talk some sense into his little brother. He was too busy with his own fuming that he never noticed Sasuke head toward the door.

TBC

Well there it is…the second chapter in my newest RP fic! Hope you enjoyed!!!
Naruto will finally appear in chapter 3!!!