The young boy ran his thin fingers through his dark shaggy hair with a sigh. The paper lay before him, still blank, the test's questions still unanswered. Most other students were about half-way, but this boy hadn't even started. His twirled his new pencil between the fingers of his one hand and rubbed his aching forehead with the other.

4…3…2…1… 10 minutes left. I should start now. Momma would be upset if I failed.

He flipped the pencil into place and began checking off the answers to the multiple choice questions, barely glancing at them for three seconds. For the others, he'd scribble for a second or two and then move on to the next one.

Iruka looked at the clock, noticing that only 5 minutes of the original 30 minutes were left. Looking around, he noticed that the class aces were fiddling with their pencils, staring into space or looking over their answers again. The others would try using up the rest of their time. He figured he'd give a heads up to those who were lagging.

"Alright, kids! Five more minutes left. Use it wise-"

A familiar boy stood up, interrupting him and made his way down to the front of the slanted class room casually. Iruka stared at him wide eyed as he placed the sheet on his desk. He'd been watching the boy and seen that he'd not even set the pencil to paper until the ten-minute mark.

He finished the entire test in five minutes? He definitely takes after his parents.

"Can I go home, Iruka-sensei?" He asked politely. "Momma wanted me to help her with the grocery shopping when I got back. I was hoping I could get out early."

Iruka knew about his family life and whereas he wouldn't let other students out, this boy was an exception. The scarred man nodded, quietly whispering for the boy to give his greetings to his mother. The black-haired boy waved farewell with a quick smile and quietly left the class room.

Iruka looked down at the paper and scanned the first page's answers. He furrowed his brow in unbelief when he saw that every answer was correct.

The black haired boy strolled down the street with his hands in his pockets. He smiled charmingly to the old man and his daughter at Ichiraku's, Nana Yamanaka in the flower shop and to the couple who owned the barbecue bar Uncle Chouji often visited.

They all gave him a pat on the head, asked him how the academy was and how he and his mother were doing. He'd answer all of their questions with a shining smile on his face (something he'd inherited from his mother he'd been told) and a cheerful countenance.

Maybe it wasn't that far from the truth. Maybe he really did feel cheerful and happy about his day to day life. The only thing he knew for sure was that when no one was around, he felt those things come off like a mask. When he was alone, he could be what he felt like being which usually was a quiet, pensive and yet personable young boy.

He took a deep breath in of the early springtime scent. The wind was blowing around, tickling everyone it passed and trying to get them to enjoy the new season. The boy loved this season. He may have been influenced by his mother, but he didn't care. He loved the season all the same.

He began trotting once he realized how close to home he was. The boy loved to go shopping with his mom. His friends like the sons of Uncle Shikamaru or Uncle Naruto always complained about how their moms forced them to help them run errands or clean up their rooms. He knew deep down inside they really didn't mind, but they felt that to defend their manhood that they had to complain about such mundane tasks.

The raven-haired boy loved helping his mom out because it was the only time that they got to talk or just hang out or have any mother-son time together. Granted, his three other siblings were usually with them, but it was still something. Otherwise she was always on missions or working at the hospital and barely had time to say goodnight before she crashed on her bed.

He laughed as he ran past the training grounds, the wind rushing through his hair, giving him the sensation of flying. Looking to his left, he saw the training ground his mother said that she trained at. Three stumps sticking out of the ground held many stories that he loved to hear both from his mother and the others of the Rookie 9.

"Yo, Itachi!"

He skid to a stop and turned to see the famous Copy-Nin smiling cheerfully at him. "Hello, Kakashi-sensei," he replied politely.

The silver-maned ninja shook his head at the formality as he walked up non-chalantly. "Please, just call me Kakashi. I'm not even your teacher."

Itachi smiled widely and answered, "Yes sir, Kakashi! Sorry, I guess I've heard Momma call you that so much."

Kakashi smirked back and ruffled the little boy's hair. "So where are you headed in such a hurry?"

"Momma needs help shopping. She told me that as soon as I was done at the academy to come back and help her with Kitsune and the twins."

Kakashi nodded knowingly. "Ah, that is a big responsibility. Well, I shan't keep you any longer. I'm sure you were on time until I stopped you." Leaning close as if sharing a secret he added, "If she gets mad at you for being late, you can tell her that it's from being around me too much. She'll understand."

Itachi giggled (but in a manly way, since everyone knows boys don't giggle like girl), knowing all too well how late Kakashi always was to everything. "Oh, I will!"

"Tell her I said she should come get lost on the road life with me sometime," the silver-head added with a small smirk.

"Sure thing. See you later, Kakashi!"

"See you, kiddo!" He called after him. As the black haired boy ran down the road, Kakashi smiled after him fondly.

She raised him well. She's raising them all well. He'll be a fine young man someday.

"Momma! I'm hoooome!" Itachi hollered as he kicked off his sandals just inside the front door.

"Oh! Itachi! How did school go today, baby?" his mother's voice echoed down the halls to him.

"It was fine. We had a test in Iruka-sensei's class." His bare feet made no noise when he switched from the wooden floor to carpet and he padded into the living room. There was only Rai and Den playing with wooden blocks and Kitsune lying on her stomach and coloring some sort of picture she'd drawn. His mother wasn't there.

"Oh? And how did that go?" She questioned.

Itachi huffed out, sending his bangs flying out of his eyes. "It was not that hard. I'm pretty sure I aced it." Where was my mother? Maybe the kitchen. He could hear boxes being shifted about to confirm his suspicions.

"Good job, honey! I'm proud of you. So, are you ready to come help me run some errands?"

The 8-year-old boy rounded the corner and saw his mother's pink locks swaying as she leaned over to snatch a list from the counter. "I am ready whenever you are," he replied excitedly.

"Alright, just give me a second and then we can get the little ones ready."

He watched as she put small things in her purse like a wallet and coupons that certain stores were starting to use now.

"Iruka-sensei told me to send you his greetings," he mentioned off-handedly as he sat down at the table.

"Oh! That was nice," she answered, obviously preoccupied.

"I met Kakashi, too, when I ran past your old training ground," he added trying to see what she would do.

She laughed resonatingly. "Wow! That's rare nowadays. Kakashi's hardly seen by the training grounds when there aren't any genin to train. What did he say?"

Itachi picked at the grains in the wood with his nails. "He said, 'Tell her I said she should come get lost on the path of life with me sometime.'" Looking discreetly up at her, Itachi saw her shoulders shake with a chuckle.

"Same old Kakashi," she muttered gently.

The young boy squinted his eyes in thought and pursed his lips. I wonder… he thought. His mother seemed to have forgotten something for the grocery trip and was looking for it so now would be the best time to ask.

"Do you like him, Momma?" He did not fail to notice her slight pause or her tensing of her shoulders.

"Who? Kakashi? Yeah, of course I like him. He was on my team, after all."

Come on, mom, Itachi mentally berated. I'm not stupid.

"No," he replied firmly. "I meant 'like' as in care for him in more than in a…pla…plate-tonic way."

"Platonic, you mean?" She asked. Itachi stared her down, not deterring from his questioning.

The pink haired woman sighed and leaned back against the counter, her palms turning white from the pressure. "Okay, well…maybe I care for him a little bit…not a whole lot, but sometimes I wonder if…" she trailed off.

"Do you…love him as much as you did Dad?" he asked hesitantly.

Her eyes grew wide at this. "Honey, I will love your father til the day I die. No one could ever replace him!"

Itachi exhaled in frustration and rubbed his forehead in thought. "No…I meant…not could he replace Dad, but could he be a new Dad for us?" His face was an emotionless mask, but his dark eyes betrayed how earnestly he felt about the matter.

The woman looked at her son lovingly as she pondered. She rubbed the nape of her neck and sighed. "I suppose…I suppose that could happen. What brought this up, baby?"

Itachi's mouth upturned ever so slightly seemingly satisfied with her answer. "I see the way you look at him and the way he looks at you. I simply thought…maybe someday I could actually have…a dad again." His voice choked up a little, but he recovered quickly.

His mother's face showed her compassion and how clearly she wanted to rush over and envelop her boy in a hug. Yet, she saw his strength and saw how he wanted to stand on his own, be his own man. Oh, how much like his father he was.

"Oh, sweetie…"

Itachi closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. "Tell me about Dad. You hardly ever talk about him."

She closed her eyes and reminisced over her years with her husband. "He was stubborn. Never wanted any help from anyone and always wanted to be stronger. He always had to be stronger than Uncle Naruto." She chuckled. "They always got into fights over everything from how much they ate to whom got to the village gates first to whom got the most kunai in their targets. It was because of that hunger for strength that he left the Leaf for Orochimaru."

Itachi's eyes widened at that. No doubt he'd heard rumors of his father's rebellion, but to hear it from his mother's own mouth was surely shocking.

"He came back eventually…Well, more like Uncle Naruto, Uncle Shikamaru, Neji and all of them dragged his sorry bum back here." She chuckled again.

"The first time he saw me when he got back, he came up to me with Uncle Naruto. At first, he was aloof and uncaring, but then Uncle Naruto poked and kicked him a few times and he melted down into this shy school-boy. He asked me if I would forgive him for what he did all those years before. I teased him a little, but eventually accepted his apology."

Itachi watched his mother smile in remembrance and she barely could only manage the memories going through her head.

"What did Dad look like?" he asked.

She closed her eyes once more and pictured his father's face. "He looked similar to you, but you look more like your real uncle than anything. His hair was as black as yours, but with a hint of blue."

Itachi fingered his bangs in an attempt to see the color and imagine his father's.

"He almost never smiled except when he was with those closest to him… or if Naruto did something especially stupid."

Her son snorted at this, knowing all too well how crazy Uncle Naruto could and still would get.

"He had the most amazing laugh whenever he found something worthy of laughing for. I got to see him smile and laugh the day you were born. He was so excited when he first saw you. He loved you so much, Itachi. He loved all of us…" She smiled sadly down at her son as she ended.

"He's not coming back, is he?" Itachi asked solemnly.

His mother's eyes watered and a single tear slid down her cheek as she attempted to hold back all those tears. "No sweetie…no, he won't be coming back," she answered.

Itachi nodded carefully as he rested his chin on his curled fist. "I saw his name on the cenotaph, mom," he calmly informed her.

She gasped and her eyes widened.

He is eight now,she thought. I can't hide things like that from him anymore. I suppose I owe him an explanation.

"It was… an extraction mission in the land of Lightning. He was supposed to rescue an endangered royal princess… but they were surrounded. The only way out was for him to fend the Lightning shinobi off while the rest of the team got the princess to safety. He died… protecting… his team." She trailed off, tears freely streaming now.

I have to be brave… I have to be brave for my boy… our boy.

Itachi felt a stinging in his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose to prevent the tears he knew would fall. He could remember glimpses of his dad. He could remember hearing his voice when he got home and feeling complete ecstasy or hearing a teasing voice accompanied by his mother's laugh. The others probably couldn't remember anything, being as young as they were, but Itachi – Itachi could remember.

"Dad's a hero, isn't he?" he choked out. He was almost pleading that it was so; that his memory of his dad wasn't somehow marred or skewed.

Smiling through her tears, his mother sat down beside him and pulled him into a side hug. "Yes, he is."

Itachi couldn't hold it back longer. The tears weren't particularly of sorrow, nor were they of loneliness. The simply were tears of emotion; emotions that had been locked up for so long that they had to get out sometime. Silent sobs racked his small body.

"I just miss him so much, Mom," he whispered. "It's…it's not even like I can't live without a dad…just…sometimes I really wish I had someone who'd go teach me the fireball jutsu or someone to simply…simply be Dad."

She hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head. "I know…I miss him too, baby."

Itachi sniffled and pulled away slightly to look up at her. "Dad wouldn't want me to cry would he? He'd want me to be strong and take care of you guys."

"Yes," she answered. "He would, but also he'd tell you-" she leaned close and whispered. "It's okay to cry every once in a while." He smiled gratefully and let the tears fall. The mother and son held one another until the tears ceased to fall down their faces.

"Now!" She wiped away his tears with her sleeve. She got down to his level and looked him determinedly in the eye. "We're going to go out there; we're going to get those kids ready and we're going to go show the world how tough the Uchiha really are."

Itachi laughed triumphantly and hopped of his chair. "Alright! I'll take care of the twins," he said before running into the living room and helping Rai and Den clean up their toys. His mom smiled to herself as she helped her daughter put the crayons and paper away.

The younger kids were pretty used to their routine by now and still having the discipline their father ingrained in them, got ready without any fuss. In no time at all they were dressed and out the door.

She watched proudly as her son walked through the market holding Den's hand with his head up high and a smile on his face.

He's such a strong boy. He'll be just like his father one day; proud, honorable, loving, and kind. Oh Sasuke, you'd be so proud of our little ones. God, take care of him up there until we can see him again.

While she silently prayed, Itachi had a few thoughts of his own.

I will make you proud, Dad. He smiled and looked up at the Hokage Mountain. Sure, his dad's face wasn't there, but it was the symbol of the Leaf Village's strength. I will be a strong Uchiha and I'll take care of Mom and the little ones. I'll make sure they get a dad to take care of them.

I will be a ninja just like you.

This is for the lives lost protecting their country, their families, their wives and children. This is for the families, waiting for their soldiers to come back home. I know how it feels to have a dad, but I also know how it feels to not have a dad around. It's a painful thing. Just remember that there are others like you who know your pain.

All we can do is remember those soldiers still fighting and pray for them… And recall those soldiers who died fighting and remember them.

This is for the lives lost.

A/N: A little late, but this was meant to be posted on the 4th. ;-P Oh well. I'll be adding on to this, expounding on Kakashi's and Sakura's relationship. It won't be too long, basically one shots that tie together. Anyway, that's it for now. Review and tell me what you'd like to see in the next chapters or what you think of this one.

Update 3/21/2012: I wasn't grammatically correct last time, so I updated it after fixing it. :)

In Christ,

~Timber Wolf