Enigma
Chapter One
-Hooky-
Konoha Ninja Academy, one of the village's pride and joys. Esteemed school that trained almost every ninja that resided in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Any kid would be happy to go there, for the status alone gave you something to brag about. Any kid, except one Uchiha Sanosuke, who sat in the back of his classroom with a look of disinterest plastered on his young face.
He didn't understand why he was being forced to attend this school. Anything and everything he needed to learn about being a ninja he could learn from his parents and his grandfathers. In his eyes, this institution had nothing to offer him but a boring, daily routine that he didn't need in his life.
His siblings went here as well, and were in their third year. They seemed to enjoy it, though his older brother Noriaki had said on more than one occasion that it was obvious they were better than the other children. And Sanosuke couldn't help but agree. He'd rather be at home with his mother, the way Hayate, his five year old brother, got too. Lucky guy.
He exhaled harshly, blowing his ebony bangs out of his face and allowing his forest green eyes to scan the entire room. They were learning about different kinds of weapons today, something Sanosuke was already privy too, as his grandfather had already taught him this. Not wanting to sit through an entire lecture on something he already knew, he raised his hand straight up in the air.
The teacher, a middle-aged jounin that looked like they hadn't really seen many missions, paused in his lecture, sighing. It had been a known fact that on more than one occasion Uchiha Sanosuke would raise his hand, only to correct him. He just didn't feel like dealing with this today. "Yes, Sanosuke?" he asked, albeit reluctantly.
"May I use the restroom?" the young Uchiha asked politely.
"Yes, just make it quick." The jounin said.
Sanosuke stood from his seat, walking down the aisle of the class, completely focused on his goal, which at the moment was the door of the classroom. He glanced up at his instructor briefly, before crossing the front of the class and leaving. Once he was out in the hall, he breathed out a sigh of relief, but didn't relax his posture. He quickly, though at a normal-looking pace, made it to the boy's bathroom, where he immediately went into the last stall, where the window was located.
He stared up at it in contemplation. It would require a bit of work, but he could get out through that. Readying himself, he stepped up onto the edge of the toilet seat, placing his hands on the walls to steady himself. He squat slightly, bending his knees before pushing up and jumping into the air, grabbing onto the ledge of the windowsill as quickly as he could. Using all of the strength he possessed, he pulled himself up, eventually using his entire forearms to lift himself. He reached out with one of his hands and pushed open the window, allowing for a small gap to appear that he could crawl through.
It took him a while, because at one point he'd had to take a short break and lift himself again, but eventually, Sanosuke had managed to slip through the opening in the window. Sure, he'd fallen to the ground instead of landing gracefully, but nobody had to know about that. No one had seen it anyways, so it didn't matter. He would just have to work on it.
Dusting his clothes off, so that his mother wouldn't notice when she came back to pick him up in a few hours, he ran away from the school, a small smile coming to his face. He was free, however momentary, from that terrible place. Maybe he could test out of his grade and get moved up, then he could graduate early like his grandfather's brother Uchiha Itachi had. Though something told him his mother would never allow that. She wanted her children's lives to be as normal as possible. Though based on who they were, normal would never be an option.
Sanosuke eventually found himself coming up on Konoha Academy, the school where civilian children went. He'd never really seen the place before, since he'd never had a reason to come this far east into the village, but it certainly didn't look very different from where he went. There just weren't any practice targets in the front.
He decided to sneak around this building, because he knew that if he was caught over here, he would be sent back to his school. There was no way he would be mistaken for one of the kids, simply because of the symbol of his family's clan on the back of his black t-shirt. Just as he was crossing the playground, he heard a loud bell, which startled him into a run straight for the woods. He quickly dove into some bushes, looking through the leaves and watching as a mass of kids ran out, screaming and laughing as they began to play with one another.
Fascinated, since he'd only ever played with his brothers and sister, he sat there and watched the other kids interact. Nobody would find him anyways, and he wanted to learn more about regular kids. They didn't really seem all that different from kids from ninja families, they even played some of the same games that he had learned of. He began to get caught up in simply observing, the sound of the bushes next to him rustling enough to bring him out of his trance and stiffen as he waited to see what was making the noise. Had he been discovered? He could already feel the weight of his mother's disapproving stare, despite the pink haired woman not being present.
But what came through the bushes wasn't a civilian teacher. Instead, it was a little girl, with golden blonde hair, and the biggest amber eyes Sanosuke had ever seen. She didn't notice him at first, instead focused on brushing off the leaves that had stuck to her. So he decided to speak up and get her attention.
"You can't be here." He said, his posture not loosening in the slightest.
The girl almost screamed, stumbling back and falling on her butt. She stared up at him, her eyes wide with surprise, somehow widening even more when she took in his appearance. "Holy crap!" she laughed, getting to her knees and pointing at him. "You're an Uchiha!"
His brow furrowed slightly. Why was someone her age using such foul language so freely? He would have been punished if he'd ever done that. He quickly schooled his expression back to one of boredom. It was best to show no emotion, and overlook her need to point out the obvious. "You can't be here." He repeated. "Go away."
"Well neither can you snob, aren't you supposed to be at the ninja academy?" she smirked. "I bet your pretty mommy would flip a lid if she knew you were skipping school."
Sanosuke's eyes widened, and before she could blink, he had tackled her to the ground, his hand over her mouth so that any sound she made would go unheard. "Don't tell her." He whispered, as if even talking about it would alert her to the news. "Please." He added, remembering his manners. Normally he wouldn't care too much, but she was a girl, and he was supposed to be nice to them, no matter how weird they were.
All the blonde girl did was talk into his hand, and it was clear she was laughing, enjoying his slight turmoil from his pre-punishment. He glared down at her, hating that a mere civilian girl was seeing him at one of his weaker moments. Uchihas were never supposed to be weak, after all. "Shut up." He ordered. "I'll knock you out if I have to, but I would rather not have to resort to such tactics."
She reached up and pulled his hand down from her mouth. "Go ahead. Then I get to tell your daddy while you were skipping you hit a girl. For no reason, other than to help you in your lie!" she yelled the last part out, getting a couple stares from some nearby kids. They remained unseen though, since they were hidden by the bushes.
"Whatever." He said, getting off of her and sitting cross-legged, crossing his arms as well as he observed who he now considered his opponent. Best to just change the subject instead of admit defeat. Steer her onto a different path of conversation. "What are you doing back here anyways? Don't you have friends or something?" he asked.
"Yeah." She smiled, pulling out a small pouch from the messenger bag. "I made these stink bombs at home and I'm going to throw them onto the playground and watch everybody freak out!"
He gave her an odd look. That sounded like something Noriaki would do. "Why?" he asked, obviously not understanding her joy in the idea.
"Because it's funny of course." She said simply. "To see people freak out." She snickered and offered him one. "You want to do it with me? I bet you can throw it pretty far with all that training you guys do!" the girl laughed, rubbing the back of her head.
Sanosuke took it from her, examining the small bomb. They certainly looked interesting. He wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not, but his mother was always telling him he needed to make some friends. So, if he did this, he and this girl would kind of be like friends, right? He nodded, looking back up at her. "Okay, you go first, since you're a girl."
She nodded and giggled, scooting closer to the shrubbery and squat down before pulling her hand back and throwing the small projectile towards a group of girls who looked confused, until the thing exploded in a cloud of stink, making them all scream out and run away, scattering all over the playground. Sanosuke's eyes widened at the sight, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. This was kind of funny to watch. He drew back his hand and tossed the bomb as far as he could, watching it land over by the swings.
The kids that had previously been hogging the sets made sounds of disgust, and hastily stopped their swings as quickly as they could, running away from the favorite place of fun and holding their noses shut so that they didn't have to inhale any more of the smell.
The blonde girl burst into laughter, throwing another out from the bushes. It was just perfect, that was until one of the teachers yelled out to them. "Hey! You two in the bushes!" he called out, spreading the branches and glaring at the two. "What are you do-Ugh Talia, I should have known it was you." The dark haired man shook his head in irritation. He looked to the ebony haired boy beside her, his eyes widening. "Uchiha Sanosuke."
Sanosuke blinked, his eyes having widened slightly at being caught. Great, now his mom was sure to find out. But he wasn't too worried about that at the moment. What interested him more was the girl next to him, whose name was apparently Talia. He ignored his thought about how pretty her name was, instead focusing on the fact that it seemed she was known for pulling pranks and practical jokes. Certainly not the kind of friend his parents and grandfather would want him to have. But his grandparents were friends with the Sixth Hokage, and he did stupid stuff like that all the time. So it wouldn't be that bad if he were friends with her, right?
"It was my idea to throw the stink bombs." Sanosuke found himself saying. He was already going to be in trouble for ditching school, might as well take all of the blame onto himself for this little idea of hers. Besides, friends stuck up for one another. So even though his mother would be mad at him, she would forgive him eventually, and this way he earned Talia's trust. Trust was important in any relationship. His mother had taught him that.
Talia looked over at the dark haired boy, surprise obvious in her wide, vivid ambers orbs. The teacher sighed and gave the blonde girl another hard look. "Talia, the last thing we need is for you to taint the minds of the village's pride and joy." He huffed and stood straight, snapping for them both to come out. "Come with me." He said, signaling for the other teachers to take the class inside as the man led the two kids down the street towards the Hokage Tower.
Talia glanced over at Sanosuke before moving a bit closer to him. "Why'd you do that?" she whispered.
"I'm not really sure." He replied honestly. "But I didn't want you to get in trouble."
"You didn't have to." She frowned, looking forward. "I mean you're all esteemed. Your dad's going to be pissed."
Sanosuke shrugged. "I know, but I don't really care."
"How come?"
He thought about her question, but didn't really have an answer. It wasn't like he could tell her that it was because he wanted to be friends with her. That just sounded lame, and Uchihas don't sound lame. "Because my father's anger is nothing compared to my mother's. But you won't have to be around for that, so it's okay."
Talia nodded and glanced up once they were in front of the Hokage building. The travel up the steps was a lot worse than she imagined. After all, she'd never been in trouble with the Hokage himself before. The next thing she knew they were at the door, the teacher knocking loudly.
She didn't hear anything, but their elder must have, because he pushed in the door and allowed the two to go in before him. "Hokage-sama." The instructor said loudly, getting the attention of a familiar looking dark haired man.
Sanosuke and Talia walked until they were before the desk, and the entire time the younger Uchiha could almost hear his heart beating in his chest. "What's going on?" Akito asked, standing from his desk and looking to the teacher for the answer, since before then his gaze had been on his son.
"Well Hokage-sama, I found your son in the bushes by the school and he was with this little destructive one." He said, pointing to Talia. "They were throwing stink bombs at all the kids from the bushes, and your son says it was his idea…though I think he might be covering for a certain little deviant." He spoke, staring Talia down as she shrunk a bit.
"I never lie." Sanosuke stated, his deep gaze not even wavering from his father's form. "I snuck out of the ninja academy and went over to the civilian one to play a joke on the normal kids." He explained. "Talia found me and decided to help. None of this is her fault, it is mine for dragging her into my mischief."
Akito raised a brow, clearly knowing that that was not the entire truth, but deciding not to argue against it. Natsumi could deal with him later. "I see." He said, his gaze moving to the girl that had entered with his offspring. "And is that what happened?" he asked her.
"Yes sir." She nodded, trying not to appear as nervous as she was. "I'm sorry."
The Hokage just sighed, debating on what to do. He looked back at the teacher that had brought them in. "Take her back to school. You can just tell her parents about what happened and punish her how you see fit. I will deal with my son." He ordered.
"Of course." The man nodded and ushered Talia out, but not before she stole another glance back at the Hokage and his son.
When they were alone, Akito walked around the desk and then crouched before Sanosuke. "Sano." He said, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You realize that if you continue this lie, your punishment will be worse."
Sanosuke cocked his head to the side. "What lie?" he asked, appearing innocent. This made Akito chuckle and stand.
"Well, if you insist." He said, walking over to the door. He opened it, getting his secretary's attention. "Please send for my wife. Tell her it's urgent."
"Yes Hokage-sama." The woman nodded, immediately jumping to the task. Akito shut the door then and looked at the stiff back of his son. If he knew one thing, he knew that Sanosuke would be more likely to bend under his mother's will than his own. She had a way with their sons that just called for them to do her bidding, he thought, walking over to his desk and leaning against it. He stared at Sanosuke, who had chosen to look out one of the windows at some distant object, crossing his arms as he waited for his wife's arrival.
It wasn't much later when they all heard the footsteps coming from down that hall. Sanosuke's eyes widened slightly, and this time, he was sure he could hear the pounding of his heart. He even wondered if his father could hear it as well. He glanced at his elder, but Akito just seemed to brighten at the knowledge of his wife's impending arrival. The younger male had to fight to control his breathing, as well as come up with what he was going to say.
He heard when her fingertips touched the door, and shortly after it opened, almost painfully slow. Natsumi walked in then, in all her glory. Her short pink hair was perfect, not a strand out of place. She had on a black halter top that tied around her neck, a necklace hanging from her neck with a diamond Uchiha symbol as the pendent. She wore black capris that stopped just past her knees and looked at the scene before her, her eyes taking on slight surprise. "What's going on?" she asked her husband, moving her gaze from her son and locking onto his beautiful green.
Akito pushed off the desk and walked forward a bit. "Sanosuke decided to sneak out of school today." He told her, looking down at their son, who slowly turned around to face the woman who had brought him into the world. He gave her a small smile in an attempt to lessen her anger, since it was rare that such an expression was ever on his face.
Her gaze narrowed almost instantly. "What?" she asked, meeting her son's terrified gaze, her tone anything but merciful.
He looked down at the floor in shame, stepping forward and clasping his hands behind his back. "Well you see Mommy," he said softly, looking back up at her with wide, innocent eyes. He was going to try his best to make this work. If he could pull it off, he'd be even better than his older brothers, and that knowledge alone was enough to give him even a sliver of courage. "We were learning about all the different kinds of weapons, and Grandfather already taught me about that. I wasn't even paying attention, because you told me to stop correcting the teacher when he said stuff wrong, so I pretended to go to the bathroom and slipped out the window. I figured that way I could do something more productive with my day." He explained, using his most childish sounding voice as he did so.
"What did I tell you about skipping school Sanosuke. Don't bring this crap like Noriaki tried to do when he was your age about how you're so much better." She huffed, placing her hands on her hips, which was never a good sign. "Just because you are better than someone doesn't give you the right to disrespect them by leaving class. Are you really so eager to be like Noriaki?"
"No ma'am." He shook his head. "It wasn't about thinking I was better, I promise. I just wanted to spend time with you like Hayate gets too." He said, feigning feebleness as he reached out and gently touched her fingers in a sign that he wanted to hold her hand. Akito couldn't help the smirk that came to his face at his son's tactics. His children certainly knew how to work things to their advantage, though their tricks never really worked on him and Natsumi, it was still fun to watch them try.
Natsumi huffed and glared off, lifting her arms and crossing them over her chest as to prevent her sweet son from manipulating her. "Sweetheart. You can't skip school. I just can't believe you would deliberately disobey me…" she said, sounding pained as hurt flashed across her face.
Sanosuke gasped, his eyes widening at the look. "I'm sorry Mommy!" he said, hugging her around the legs. "I didn't want to upset you, but I was so bored!" he told her, burying his face in her leg. "I won't do it again, I promise. Just please don't be sad because of me."
The pink haired woman kept up her distraught façade before finally resting her hand on top of Sanosuke's head. "Well you're grounded from training for three days because of this. Understand? And yes, nighttime fun with your grandfather counts as training. No kunai practice, no nothing."
He looked up at her with wide eyes. "What? But…but…" he stuck his lower lip out in a pout. "But training is healthy. Don't you want me to be healthy Mommy?"
"Sanosuke." Akito said, halting his son's next manipulation tactic. "Tell your mother what else happened today." He ordered, making the little boy's pout disappear as he hid his face against Natsumi's thigh once more.
Natsumi retracted her hand, glaring down at her boy before stepping out of his grasp. "There's more? And you didn't plan on telling me? Sanosuke it's not like you to lie." She scolded, her anger simmering beneath livid jade eyes.
Sanosuke clasped his hands behind his back. "Well…" he looked off, unable to meet her gaze. "I went over to the civilian school…and threw stink bombs at the other kids while they were at recess." He admitted.
"And?" Akito said, raising a brow. The young Uchiha sighed, his shoulders slumping a bit.
"And I involved a civilian girl that was at recess, so when a teacher caught us, she got in trouble too." He said. Then he glanced up at his mother. "But now I have a friend…" he trailed off, giving her a tiny, shy smile, hoping that that knowledge alone wouldn't cause her to increase her punishment on him.
The Uchiha mother blinked, a look of astonishment on her face. "Really? As in…you want to hang out with her and be normal?"
He nodded earnestly. "I even tried to talk to her and keep conversation flowing, just like you said." he told her.
"You spoke to her of your own want?" Natsumi bubbled, only getting more and more excited. But before she could speak again, and before Sanosuke could feel in the clear, Akito cleared his throat.
"Sweetheart." He said strongly, giving her a knowing stare.
She blinked and seemed to snap back into her role. "Right." she nodded and looked back at Sanosuke. "Nevertheless, skipping school is wrong and you shouldn't get other people into trouble. And for throwing stink bombs that's four days of grounding now." She said, holding up a silencing finger since he was about to protest. "Got it?"
He considered trying another tactic to manipulate her into lessening the punishment, but knew that his father would never allow it. "Yes ma'am." He sighed in acceptance. He glanced at the clock on the wall and then back up at her. "Can I please stay with you the rest of the day? I promise I'll be good. Please?" he pleaded.
Natsumi sighed. "Sano, I have to prep the Anbu for upcoming missions. You know that's top secret information between your father and I."
"But Mommy, there's only an hour and a half of school left. If I go back now it will be pointless." He explained, looking up at her with wide, innocent eyes. "I miss getting to spend time with you." he reached out and grabbed her hand in a weak grip, making himself seem more childish.
"Sanosuke, you heard your mother." Akito said, moving and standing next to his wife so that he could look down at his son. "Quit trying to manipulate the situation to your advantage, or I will make your punishment a whole week. Understand?"
"Yes sir." He said dejectedly.
The pink haired woman sighed, setting her hand on her hip as she leaned against her husband. "Alright, alright. Come on, you can help seal the scrolls while I go over details with the Anbu." She said, taking his hand in return and pulling him after her. "See you later love," Natsumi smiled, looking over her shoulder to her husband. "I await for your arrival darling."
Akito smirked. "Don't worry baby. Today's been a bit stressful, so I won't stay too long. You know how I get when I'm…tense." He said, glancing down at their son's back before looking back into her dazzling jade eyes.
"I can hardly wait." She visibly shivered, pulling her son out the door after her before she wouldn't be able to leave.
Sanosuke refrained from rolling his eyes, knowing that this meant dinner would be delayed. And he couldn't even pass the time with his grandfather or training, because he was grounded. The next four days were going to be a living hell for him.