Prologue

"Sasuke, I would like to speak to you for a moment," Iruka-sensei called out to the sullen boy after class one day.

Somewhat reluctantly, Uchiha Sasuke approached his teacher. He hoped it would be quick, because he had some training to do.

"You are aware that sometimes a few exceptional students are allowed to graduate early form the Academy?" Iruka asked the boy once he was near.

Sasuke stiffened slightly at the question but gave one slow, firm nod.

"Sasuke, because of your skills, the Hokage and the council have decided to allow you to take the graduation exam a year early," Iruka announced without preamble. He'd decided it was best to get to the point quickly, having seen Sasuke's impatient expession.

Sasuke's impatience turned to that of mild surprise. He blinked a few times but didn't say saying. Iruka let him a have a few moments to let the words sink in. Mildly, he wondered what the boy's reaction would be once he fully realized the meaning behind his words.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the boy didn't show much visible reaction at all, other then to nod and ask, in a very nonchalant sort of way, "When will the test be held?"

However, Iruka thought he might've seen the boy clench his fist as though he were angry but that reaction didn't make much sense. He quickly dismissed it as simply his imagination and answered Sasuke's question, "You will take the exam about two months from now. I will give you the details about a week from the day of the actual test."

Sasuke gave a nod of affirmation, showing he understood. Then, he asked, somewhat impatiently, "Is that all?"

Iruka paused, looking at the eleven year old boy that was the apple of nearly every girl's eye in his class for a long moment, before he slowly shook his head. Uchiha Sasuke left without further ado, barely saying a quick goodbye to his sensei. Iruka was left staring at the red and white fan that was the Uchiha clan's symbol and contemplating his own inaction.

Uchiha Sasuke was barely eleven. Despite the fact that he was very skilled for his age and about to become a genin, he was still just a kid. Prodigy or not, he shouldn't be so serious, so stoic, all the time, Iruka thought sadly. He knew the pain of losing one's parents and of being alone. He understood just how much Sasuke must have been hurting on the inside, despite his cold façade, despite his anger at his clan's killer. There was nothing worse than the feeling of being all alone in the world.

Iruka thoughts drifted to the other orphan in his class. They were like two sides of the same coin. One tried to hide his pain by being cold and aloof, while the other tried to hide it by being loud and pretending to be happy all the time.

He wasn't a therapist. It wasn't his job to fix the emotional problems of his students. Even so, he wished with all his heart that he could help them.

But wishing could only take him so far.

He was still their teacher after all. He had duties to uphold and appearances to keep up. So no matter how much he wishd he could, he could not be seen showing favoritism to his students. He could be a surrogate father, or even brother to them. Not unless he officially adopted them. The only thing he could do was be fair and show as much concern as he could while still remaining in the realms of what was appropriate. Which wasn't too much. He could never give them hugs, or talk to them for long hours. He could never give them the things they truly needed, not while they were still his students, his official responsibility.

Iruka could wait for them to graduate and approach them then. But that would be unfair. How could he expect them to look at him as family if he hadn't cared enough to break a bunch of stupid rules for them? In fact, he could've just asked to be transferred to a different class. The Hokage was a very understanding man. It would've been unusual but allowable. So why didn't he do it?

Because he was a coward. Because fundamentally, nothing had changed since the day that he had left his own parents behind to save his own skin. Since the day that he'd abandoned his teammates and his mission because of a little killing intent turned in his direction. Because he was such coward, everyone around him got hurt.

People were always paying for his cowardice.

He clenched his fist in frustration. His parents, his teammates, even his old jounin sensei underneath all his sardonic remarks, had all believed in him. And he had failed them when they needed him most. That was what Iruka was most afraid of. Not of S-class missing-nin or even the Kyuubi itself. It was once again letting someone that had believed in him down, just when they needed him most.

A sigh escaped from his lips.

Sasuke was going to be graduating soon. Soon, Iruka would no longer be able to do the meager things he could as his sensei. Soon, Naruto would be graduating as well. Soon, all Iruka would be be able to do was pray to kami that the two would stay safe and find a family within their new genin teams.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Uchiha Sasuke, once he got out of the Academy, did not walk his usual path to the Uchiha Clan compand and to the training ground close to his house. Instead, he wandered around the village, lost in his own troubling thoughts.

He should have been happy. He was finally going to be a genin, a real shinobi, instead of just an academy student. But he wasn't happy, in fact, he was downright furious. All he could think about was how slow he was. Itachi had graduated at seven years old. He was already eleven. Four years. It took him four extra years to achieve the same thing Itachi did. It was pathetic.

His fist curled in anger.

He had to do better. Itachi was still so far away from him in terms of skill it was laughable. He had to work even harder. He had to get stronger, even faster. He had to beat Itachi. No matter what.

It was with newfound zeal that Sasuke ran to the Uchiha Compound. He ignored everything around him. The waves and greeting of the various store owners, the curious looks of the younger children, the observing gazes of the ninja, everything faded into the background. Sasuke could only see Itachi, standing cold and aloof and he killed everyone in his clan (their clan). He could only feel his own

That day, Sasuke trained himself so hard that the next morning, his hands were purple bruises and his voice came out in a hoarse whisper.

But he didn't care. All he could see was Itachi, lying in the ground, begging for mercy as Sasuke's kunai plunged into his heart.

A/N: I hope Iruka didn't seem too angsty. But I thought since Iruka could relate to Sasuke just as much as Naruto, I wondered why he didn't. Then I thought about the student-teacher thing, which in canon is only really broken during a high-stress, life-threatening situation where you probably wouldn't care too much about a few stupid rules (i.e. Mizuki's betrayal and Naruto stealing the scroll). But then, I thought, couldn't he just transfer to a different class, maybe in a different level? It's not like he was close to any of the other kids and he wouldn't have known about Mizuki's secretly evil ways. So, without another excuse, I came up with this. I don't think it's too implausible. And once he gets to the scroll-stealing scene, he'll manage to get over it and be like a surrogate brother to Iruka (though not to Sasuke... in canon; this is an AU, after all)

This is just a short prologue. The next chapter will be much longer, I promise. i already have it partially written so hopefully I'll be updating soon.