Heya people, I'm alive! With this story, I'm opening the doors to Joyous Children's side fics: things that didn't make it into the main story, different POVs that didn't fit as an Interlude and the likes - you get the gist. First up is a retelling of Etsuko's encounter with Sakumo from the latter's POV. It was something that was itching me immediately after writing that chapter and after speaking to some of you, I found out that you were interested to read that. So here you are! Enjoy and stay tuned for an update of the main fic in the next couple days. Love y'all!

Beta'ed by the ever amazing NightsBlackRose13.

Sakumo

Sakumo had just come back from his morning jog out in the forests surrounding Konoha when he discovered her, entirely spent, on a nearby Uchiha training field at eight in the morning. She had looked so small, so fragile sitting there in the early sunlight, and it was then that he decided to interfere with her life once again.

Enough was enough and the girl that was still only barely older than a toddler urgently needed a break.

Sakumo knew what she was doing, knew what her legal guardian was making her do and he hardly approved of it. He knew because he hadn't been able to forget her since the day he'd walked in on her in the hospital room, in the middle of an attempt to gouge her eyes out with her own fingers, and he'd decided to keep an eye on the little Uchiha girl and her brother. Just to make sure that they were doing okay.

A little over three weeks later and he'd come to the conclusion that they were most decidedly not doing okay, at least not the girl. Not by a long shot.

For the time he'd been watching over her now he'd never seen her do anything but train. It wouldn't have bothered him too much if he'd only seen her once or twice per week or something like that or if she at least would have seemed to be enjoying it – but no.

He'd seen her every. Single. Day. For hours. With an intense grimness that couldn't be healthy.

She didn't train alone very often, either working with her guardian or, more regularly, with a boy not much older than her. Even from a distance he could tell that the working relationships with neither of them were particularly happy.

By now, Sayu probably would have already blazed down on that "douchebag of a guardian" – Sakumo winced when he thought back to that one conversation concerning Etsuko he'd had with her – and approached the girl, ignoring any and all existing clan protocols in favor of saving her. His wife tended to let compassion take over, especially where children were concerned, and she wasn't apologetic for that in the least. Which was one of the many reasons he loved her, of course.

But.

He was not his wife. He was the head of his own clan, as small as it might be, and he'd been raised to respect the ways of other clans even if he himself didn't agree with them.

Thinking about it now, he was pretty sure he should have ignored them anyway.

(He could practically see his wife, being busy somewhere in a camp at the border of Ame, and stopping whatever she was doing just to roll her eyes in that typical 'told-you-so' fashion that always made him scratch his head sheepishly.)

Etsuko let out a startled whelp when she opened her eyes to find him standing a few feet in front of her and he immediately berated himself for his oversight. Of course she would be startled. She couldn't have sensed you because she is a little child who doesn't know about the concept of sensing chakra. Smooth, Sakumo, real smooth.

He held up his hand in a placating manner. "Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!"

The little girl frowned and at first he thought that she wouldn't recognize him, but then her eyes went wide as realization hit her.

"Hatake-san!"

He had a few seconds to marvel at her politeness, since she was using his family name to address him although he was quite sure that he'd introduced himself with his first name that day weeks ago, before he noticed the twitch of a muscle that told him that the girl was going to lose her balance in her attempt to bow down in greeting.

He was there in a flash.

"Easy there" he said as he caught her by her shoulders. "We don't want you to get hurt now, do we?"

The girl looked faintly embarrassed when she turned her face to him, but her eyes changed the instant they met his gaze and suddenly, she went rigid.

Alarm shot through Sakumo's body, a thousand different thoughts racing through his head as his mind automatically started to supply him with his knowledge on the behavior of traumatized children – which, as he discovered, was shockingly meager. Konoha's shinobi training system clearly put other things first. Something he would have to keep his eye on and think over. Later.

Right now, he watched her every move, her every breath until he was sure that her reaction was not one born out of fear of being attacked and only then allowed himself to relax the tiniest bit. He took his hands from her shoulders and squatted down.

"Are you out here alone?" he asked cautiously, his eyes never leaving her small form. He half expected her to bolt as soon as he lost contact and was mildly surprised when she actually stayed. She looked like she was considering that possibility, though.

When she didn't reply after a while, he softly called out her name again. "Etsuko-chan?"

Her response was a startled wince that could be interpreted as a nod if one was generous, but judging by the panicked look in her eyes, he suspected that she didn't even remember what she was answering to.

Well, he thought with a wry smile, at least she was not running.

He decided to try another question. "May I ask why you were training at such an early hour? It was training, wasn't it?"

Etsuko gave a proper nod this time, although she averted her eyes. Strands of black hair fell loose, framing her small face as she mumbled something to the ground. He had to strain his ears to catch it.

"I couldn't sleep."

Sakumo held back a sigh.

He had expected something like this. Ever since that night when he'd found her beside the corpse of her father, staring at the lifeless body with empty eyes, he'd known that the girl wouldn't have a good night's sleep for a very long time. The certainty had only solidified when he found out the all but confirmed truth that she had killed one of the infiltrators.

He knew because sometimes, even years after the deed, he could still see the face of his first kill in his dreams. Or the face of his first lost comrade.

He also knew that in those situations, the smiles of his mother, father and later his wife were the only thing that could bring him back from all the guilt and grief.

Looking at the little girl right in front of him, he immediately understood that although she needed it, there was nobody there to smile for her. Her mother and father were dead, her guardian too cold and her little brother too young to truly understand. She herself was too carefully guarded to let anyone see the true extent of her anguish – and somehow, this behavior reminded him much more of an ANBU operative than a child – while nobody else was willing to recognize her pain as the pain it was: not something that would fade away over time because of her young age but something just as real and lasting as any adult's. He could already see the darkness starting to eat away at her, her tiny face displaying deep lines that shouldn't belong there and her eyes devoid of the brightness usually inherent to the innocence of children.

The loneliness had to be suffocating.

It was in this moment that he realized that he couldn't leave her alone anymore. He would never forgive himself if she walked down that path, right before his eye.

So he did what nobody else could do for her.

He smiled an open, genuine smile and offered her a friendly ear. "You must be really hungry after all this hard work then. I was just going to get some breakfast. Do you want to come along?"

The little girl's head shot up, her midnight eyes almost comically wide with incredulity. It was the most emotion he'd ever seen on her face that was not heart-wrenching grief and he couldn't help the sudden surge of warmth in his chest. It wasn't unlike the feeling he got when he looked at his infant son. She looked adorable like that.

When she didn't answer immediately, he added a good-natured "Of course I'll pay", carefully making his voice light and carefree, and held his breath.

Etsuko made a small nod.

Relief rushed through him as he let it out and smiled. The girl was still hesitant, but she was letting him in.

He counted it as a good sign.

As always, don't forget to tell me what you think. :)