A/N: Been a little bit, but I think I've established a schedule. Still trying to juggle the POV's and the times they take place. Some may be happening simultaneously so take that into consideration. With that being said, please enjoy and leave a review!

Kichiro stared out of the window, resting his hands against his cheeks. Children around him talked loudly amongst themselves as they waited for their instructor, Hensou Tomoteki, to arrive. The ten year old Uchiha sighed. Both of his brothers and his father had left for missions before he had even gotten a chance to wish them luck. His mother had explained to he and his sister, Hikari, that shinobi had to leave early on their missions because sometimes they had long distances to travel. Kichiro didn't really believe anything she said. He had seen how fast his father was. He could've waited a few hours to say good bye.

The raven-haired boy slumped in his seat and laid his head back on his chair. When he looked up, his eyes enlarged. A brown haired girl blushed and smiled awkwardly, though she didn't show her teeth. Kichiro stared at her for a few seconds before he collected himself and turned around to face her properly. After quick examination, the young Uchiha realized that he had seen this girl before.

"Hi," Kichiro said with a polite smile. The brown haired girl's cheeks were still rosy red and her purple eyes looked away. She sucked on her bottom lip as her eyes slowly met his.

"H-hi," she replied. Kichiro rested his head on the girl's desk and looked into her eyes. Something about them was oddly alluring. He had never seen anyone with purple eyes before. The girl looked away again and Kichiro blinked. She seemed a little nervous. Maybe he should introduce himself.

"My name's Kichiro Uchiha. What's yours?" the Uchiha said. The girl gulped and sighed softly.

"My name is Setsuka..." The brown haired girl looked away and then back at Kichiro. The young Uchiha watched her wandering eyes.

"Have I seen you before or are you new?" Kichiro asked. Setsuka twiddled her thumbs.

"We've...met before. I know your daddy," she replied. Kichiro smiled.

"Oh, you do? How?" the boy asked. Setsuka's eyes met Kichiro's again and the two children looked at each other. Setsuka finally breathed in a little bit and spoke again.

"The Hokage. He's my adopted dad," she replied. Kichiro blinked and then his mouth opened. He had seen this girl before! She had been with his godfather all this time and he hadn't noticed her? The young Uchiha suddenly felt a strong pang of guilt that he struggled to gulp down. Maybe she had just been extremely quiet like she was now, but for him not to even speak to her? Unacceptable. His mother would hang him for his horrible manners. He'd have to make it up to this girl.

Setsuka. It was a pretty name.

As Kichiro looked up at his classmate, he could see that she was pretty as well with her purple eyes. He smiled at her and the purple eyed girl blushed again.

"Do you want to be my friend?" Kichiro asked with a bright face. Setsuka's face was illuminated and Kichiro saw that his question made her happy.

"Yes, I-"

"You don't wanna be friends with an Uchiha," a voice said from the ranks of seats above. Kichiro's eyes and ears tracked the sound to the top of the wooden bleachers. A boy with medium length black hair that dropped to his shoulders gazed upon Kichiro and Setsuka with disdain. His white headband kept his hair from completely covering his eyes, though a bang hung in between them. Kichiro's smiling face turned into an irritated frown.

It was Kataki.

Kataki Egawaru was the top of Kichiro's class, soundly beating the Uchiha's scores after every test. His successes academically had caused the boy to become arrogant and mean-spirited. It didn't help that all the other kids in Kichiro's class essentially idolized Kataki. Even some of the Academy instructors thought that Kataki had the potential to be the next generational genius to come out of Konoha. Kichiro thought otherwise. If there was to be a generational genius among shinobi, it would be his brother, Takuma.

"Why not?" Setsuka responded, breaking the awkward silence that had permeated throughout the room. Kichiro heard Kataki let out a contemptuous guffaw.

"Don't be an idiot, girl! Don't you know that the Uchiha are some of the dirtiest traitors in the history of the shinobi world?" he said as he glared down at Kichiro and smiled. "Just ask Shitchiro's father." Kichiro Uchiha rose from his seat and balled up his fist. Before Setsuka could even try to stop him, the Uchiha had bounded up the bleachers and into Kataki's face. The arrogant boy smirked as Kichiro raised his fist. The Uchiha didn't know why, but soon, he would.

"Kichiro Uchiha! What are you doing?!" a voice boomed from the front of the classroom. Hensou Sensei had returned to the classroom. Kataki's smug face was essentially pleading for Kichiro to punch it. How dare he speak about his father and his clan that way? Traitors? His father had saved the village two years ago. He had saved the world years before Kichiro was even a thought in his parents' minds. How could Kataki be so ignorant? The Uchiha child stared Kataki down until he could feel the eyes of the instructor burning into the back of his head. The young boy turned around and sat in the seat next to Setsuka. The rest of the classroom was silent as Hensou Sensei looked around.

As he had been taught by his mother, Kichiro stood up and bowed his head. "I apologize for my disruption, Sensei. It won't happen again," Kichiro said. He could feel his pride, the flame of the Uchiha, creeping back down his throat. Hensou raised his hand in acknowledgment of the apology then folded his arms. Hensou's warm face looked from Kichiro then to Kataki. The green eyed man blinked.

"Today is Friday. We've covered all of the book material that we needed to this week. So, we will have sparring sessions amongst peers. Everyone, let's head out to the yard!" Hensou Sensei said. Kichiro sighed softly as the rest of the class gathered their things and began to head out. His eyes caught Kataki and his crew of boys as they walked past his bleacher. Kichiro thought he heard them snicker something under their breaths but he said nothing. When he looked to his right, Setsuka was looking at him with a worried expression.

"Do you...want me to wait for you?" the girl asked.

"No," Hensou Sensei's voice traveled from the front of the room, cutting off Kichiro's empty attempt to answer. "You go ahead. I need to talk to Kichiro." Setsuka slowly nodded to the man and exited the row with Kichiro then passed him as they went to the front of the classroom. Setsuka's purple eyes gazed back at Kichiro and before the Uchiha knew it, the girl was gone. Kichiro's black eyes looked up to Hensou and he saw his sensei shake his head. "Kichiro..." he said.

"I know. I shouldn't have gotten in Kataki's face or tried to hit him." The young Uchiha wrinkled his brow. "But he insulted my clan and my father! I won't take that from him or anyone else." Hensou looked down at Kichiro and nodded.

"I understand, Kichiro. But if you are to become a shinobi, you cannot let emotion cloud your senses. What if you are negotiating with an enemy over a peace treaty and they insult you? Would you let your pride rule and risk destroying your entire country or control yourself and work through it? Those are questions you must ask. Shinobi are secret holders. Even your emotions, sometimes, must remain secret." Hensou smiled at Kichiro. It was warm, friendly and inviting as it had always been. Kichiro had only seen such an inviting smile on the face of his godfather, Naruto. His father had never smiled this way. At least not to him.

"Okay," Kichiro said. "I'll try to do better. But under one condition..." Hensou raised an eyebrow and Kichiro grinned. "Let me spar against Kataki." Hensou chuckled and placed his hand on Kichiro's head.

"That was already the intention. Now, come on." Kichiro nodded and followed Hensou outside to the yard. An opening clearing where the trees near the Academy building parted, the yard had a single dirt patch where generations of shinobi before Kichiro had sparred. He had heard stories of how his godfather and father had fought here before with Sasuke Uchiha consistently defeating the Hokage when they were children. Kichiro was determined to keep that tradition going. He was Uchiha after all.

"Are you in trouble?" Setsuka whispered. Kichiro turned to her and smiled.

"Nope," he replied. "Just wait. You'll see." The two Academy students looked forward as Hensou stood in front of the class and began to speak.

"As you all know, traditional sparring matches are tests of your skill and resolve. When you step forward, you must make the Seal of Confrontation and once the person who hits the ground first rises back to his feet, you must make the Seal of Reconciliation. Are we understood?" Hensou said. When the class nodded, Hensou folded his arms. "Will the first combatants please step forward...Kichiro Uchiha and Kataki Egawaru."

Kichiro turned to Setsuka and the brown-haired girl bit her lip. "G-good luck," she said. Kichiro grinned.

"Thanks," he said. With a swift exhale, Kichiro stepped forward into the dirt square where Kataki and Hensou stood. Kataki flexed and rotated his wrist, smirking the entire time as Kichiro stepped forward. The young Uchiha slowly brought his fingers up to form the Seal of Confrontation and Kataki mirrored him. Hensou raised his hand and brought it down quickly.

"Begin."

Kataki shot forward like a rocket and Kichiro was forced into the defensive, backing away as Kataki pressed him with quick and powerful punches and kicks. It was in these moments that Kichiro realized one thing for certain. He was rusty. Since his father and older brothers had been on constant missions around the clock, no one had taken the time out to spar with him. His mother worked at the Konoha Hospital or handled Hikari while Kichiro was left alone. Everything about his fighting mechanics was off. His reaction time was poor. Though he managed to block Kataki's blows, he couldn't react fast enough to counter. If his father were to witness his performance now, Kichiro couldn't even imagine the punishment he'd receive.

Kichiro was backpedaling now, circling Kataki as he continued to strike out at him. The young Uchiha shot out an exhale and waited for Kataki to leave his feet again. He couldn't lose now. Not after the way Kataki had disrespected his father and his people. With a single burst of chakra from his feet, Kichiro propelled forward and swung a fist at Kataki. Kataki's forward momentum drove the boy directly into contact with Kichiro's knuckles.

Kataki staggered, but he didn't fall.

Instead, Kataki struck out with his own punch. The power behind it shook Kichiro to his knees and awakened something in his stomach. Kataki stared at Kichiro in shock as the young Uchiha smirked and wiped the blood that trickled from his mouth. Kataki then shook his head and frowned. The arrogant boy rushed forward again and dropped his shoulder at the last second, catching Kichiro off guard. The breath left the Uchiha's body and in the brief moment that he was stunned, Kataki swept Kichiro's legs from underneath him. The Uchiha fell to the ground and before he could even attempt to stop himself, Kataki was over him with his fist to Kichiro's nose.

"You're done," the boy said. Hensou stepped forward and placed his arm in between them. Kichiro closed his eyes and squeezed them. What had happened to him? Had Takuma ever been beaten this badly at his age? Had Sosei? Had his father? His uncle Itachi was a chunin when he was ten. His ancestors would be ashamed of him.

"Combatants, perform the Seal of Reconciliation." Kichiro looked up at Hensou and then at Kataki. The boy cracked his knuckles and reached out his hand. His fingers curled in the seal and he stood waiting for Kichiro. The young Uchiha boy frowned. He didn't want to perform the stupid seal. There was no point in feigning reconciliation. Kichiro didn't anything that Kataki had said though, for honor's sake, he felt that he had to.

Sighing, the youngest of Sasuke's sons stepped forward and curled his index and middle finger to perform the seal. Kataki stared into Kichiro's eyes as they performed the Seal, his eyes spitting venomous jeers at the Uchiha. With a frown, Kichiro quickly pulled his fingers away and stalked away, pushing through the crowd of children that surrounded the dirt square. He thought he heard Setsuka's soft voice call out to him, but he ignored it. As far as Kichiro was concerned, class was over for him.

Hensou Sensei made no attempt to get after the Uchiha boy and Kichiro smirked as he bounded down the streets away from the yard. Leaping, Kichiro climbed the side of a building and flipped onto the roof. The Uchiha took in a breath of fresh air and smiled. He hated school. Nothing he did ever seemed to impress his father or his brothers. While his mother often offered him encouragement, rarely did she spend quality time with him. Her focus was always on either Hikari or hospital work.

Kichiro sighed as he sat down on the roof and looked over the entire village of Konoha. Up here, Kichiro could see everything. People hustled and bustling downtown, merchants taking their carts through the streets and civilian children playing games in alleys. The Uchiha child almost jumped to his feet to head down and play with them but he held back. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to be bothered. He would feel elite beating civilian kids his age but that euphoria would be short-lived.

The Uchiha child leaned against the side of another building, shielded from the sun by a billboard sign advertising the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. Kichiro yawned and closed his eyes as he rested his his hands behind his head. Within a few minutes, the Uchiha boy was asleep and dreaming.

In his dreams, Kichiro stood on mountaintops, favored under the Sharingan eyes of his father. He ran and played with his older brothers, finishing missions of the highest rank and fighting powerful enemies that threatened his home. He and his brothers were equals, in fact, all of his siblings were equal, Hikari included. In Kichiro's dream, she was a kunoichi stronger and faster than their mother, with healing jutsu that activated automatically and consumed very little chakra. Grandiose and perfect, Kichiro's dreams kept him bound in his sleep until his biological clock suddenly jostled him from his rest.

When Kichiro came to, he was shocked to see that the sun was beginning to set. If he didn't get home soon, his parents would begin to worry. That is, if they hadn't already went to his school only to hear from Hensou that he had ditched class after being defeated in a sparring match. He didn't know which story his father would dislike hearing more.

The young Uchiha leapt to the streets below and made his way home. Kichiro weaved through the crowded streets of Konoha and raced to the outskirts of town where his family estate was. As he came down the path, Kichiro noticed that none of the lights were on inside or outside of the house. Nobody had been home since he, his mother and sister had left. Kichiro slowed his pace as he made it to his porch and pulled his key from his pocket as he unlocked the front door.

Light stretched forward, splitting the darkness in twain. Silence permeated throughout the entire living room and Kichiro stood in the middle of it after he closed the door.

"Mom? Daddy?" he called. There was no answer. "Sosei? Takuma?" There was no answer. Kichiro sighed softly and walked to his room and laid down on his bed. Nobody was home. Nobody bothered to leave him a note or even look for him. Kichiro didn't know what was going on with his family. Why weren't they home? Kichiro sighed and turned in his bed towards the wall. Here he was, once again, living the same feeling that he felt.

Loneliness.

Lights flashed.

Voices echoed.

Images raced across his line of sight.

Pain shot through his entire body, never ending even when he blinked his eyes.

What the hell was this?

Takuma laid in his hospital bed. Machines and monitors stood around him like mechanical guardians. The beeps of the devices echoed in the dead silence of his room. Thoughts of Honami rushed into his mind, images of seeing her fallen replaying in his mind. Takuma silently pleaded that everyone on his team had made it out ok.

The boy winced. His head still pounded. It hurt him to even blink. He could barely move. What was happening to him?

The Uchiha had felt so close. He had grasped power but it had been a gaseous illusion between his fingers. He could feel the chakra surging in hs head to his eyes right before the pain began. He didn't know what the flow had been but instinct told him that it was the Sharingan. All of his life, he had dreamt of the day that he'd obtain the same eyes as his father and the Uchiha that had come before him. But now, he had nothing at all besides a headache and bleeding eyes.

What did it mean? Could it mean that he had in fact awakened the Sharingan? Takuma had never heard or read of any instances where awakening the dojutsu caused bleeding. There had been numerous causes of Uchiha overexerting themselves to the point that their eyes bled and they eventually lost their sight. Was Takuma the first recorded case of bleeding whilst awakening? Part of the boy hoped that was the case but within him, he knew that it was not.

Moving his eyes hurt more than blinking, but when Takuma caught sight of movement from his peripheral, he looked towards it. Outside of his room, his parents and a doctor stood. The doctor was a male with black hair and pale eyes like Honami's. A Hyūga. Takuma watched as the three conversed and tried his hardest to listen or read their lips. The strain hurt him and instead, he simply watched their body language.

As the doctor talked, Takuma saw his mother's hand come to her mouth while his father's arm went to her side. The pink haired kunoichi turned towards Takuma's father and buried her face into his chest. Takuma had never been very good at reading his father's face or his emotions, but for once in his life, Takuma could clearly tell that his father was upset. Not angry. But saddened. The last time Takuma could remember seeing his father look this way was when he was very young and his mother had said something about the Hokage and his wife losing "their Precious".

Whatever news they had just received was horrible and Takuma knew without a doubt that it was about him.

Takuma's parents continued speaking with the doctor briefly before they all turned and headed towards his room door. As the wooden doorway opened, Takuma's eyes met his parents' and he felt his mouth curl into a smile. A weak one but a smile nonetheless. Takuma's mother looked as if she was going to burst into tears while his father looked more sullen than Takuma had ever seen him. The Hyūga doctor approached the boy and smiled softly.

"Hello, Takuma. My name is Dr. Hakase Hyūga," the man said. "How are you feeling?" Takuma blinked then winced.

"Not too good. Everything really hurts, especially my head," the young Uchiha replied. Dr. Hakase nodded.

"Ok," he said before sighing. "Well, Takuma. I have some news for you." Takuma gulped.

"Is my team ok? Did Shōgo and Honami make it?" Takuma asked looking from the doctor to his father. Sasuke Uchiha nodded slightly. That was enough to sate Takuma. Dr. Hakase nodded.

"Your team is fine. Shōgo Kazuma got a few scratches and bruises and young Lady Honami was paralyzed from the attacks she suffered, but everyone is up and walking now." Takuma breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. Everyone had survived their first real mission. "Are you ready for the news concerning you?" Dr. Hakase asked. Takuma slowly shook his head.

"Yes, sir."

Dr. Hakase paused and exhaled. "During our examination when your father brought you in, we healed a number of injuries and to make there wasn't any further internal damage, I used the Byakugan to scan over your body. Wwe were particularly worried about head injuries because you appeared to be bleeding from your eyes. What I found was that you have a massive blockage of chakra in your occipital lobe, the part of your brain that deals directly with your eyes. For Uchiha, this is also the part of the brain where the chakra that activates your Sharingan is located.

Because of the blockage, when your Sharingan was getting ready to release, too much pressure built in that part of your brain and an artery in your brain began to leak from your eyes. As a person, you shouldn't be too affected by it. You may have a few headaches every now and then but they should subside in a few hours. However, as a shinobi, you have to be extremely careful that you don't try to activate the Sharingan."

"W-why not?" Takuma asked softly, the shock of the news hitting him in the chest. Dr. Hakase's pale eyes stared into Takuma's.

"Because the next time you attempt to activate your Sharingan, you may suffer from a brain aneurysm, have a cerebral hemorrhage and die within minutes," Dr. Hakase said. When Takuma gawked, the Hyūga clansman proceeded. "I know that I'm being rather blunt, but I want you to know how serious your condition is. This is life or death," the Hyūga man said as he looked down at Takuma.

The young Uchiha's eyes went to the wall as he tried desperately to process what he had just heard. He could never awaken the Sharingan and if he did manage to do so, he'd die within minutes? That was it? He'd never have the same eyes as his father? He'd never copy ninjutsu, anticipate the movements of his opponents and improve his strength? His hopes were dashed. Without a Sharingan, he'd never be worthy of being his father's heir.

He wasn't even worthy of being Sasuke Uchiha's son.

That thought alone brought tears to Takuma's eyes and he shut them as both the physical and emotional pain began to tear into him.

"I'm a failure! A diseased, broken failure!" Takuma sobbed. He repeated it again and again. He sensed his parents move closer to him and he felt his mother softly hushing his cries like he was a baby again. His father's powerful hands laid gently on his forehead and Takuma could feel a calm come over him.

"Everything will be ok, love," his mother cooed as she often did when he was younger. Takuma's father stood next to his mother and rubbed the boy's head. His father then spoke with a voice warmer than Takuma had ever heard him speak with.

"You are not a failure," Sasuke said. "You are my son and nothing changes that, not this or anything else. Do you understand me?" Takuma looked up and saw something odd on his father's face. A gentle smile. "Go to sleep," Sasuke said. The calming sensation on Takuma's forehead slowly caused him to feel drowsy. He blinked up again to see if his father was actually still smiling and he was. For Takuma, seeing that was worth the pain of looking up.

"How much further is it? My feet are swollen!" Sosei turned to Komuji and the silver haired man glanced back to the Water Daimyō's blue garbed emissary.

"We'll be there soon. The gate is just up ahead," he replied. The emissary sighed loudly and fixed his clothes. Sosei Uchiha groaned inwardly and closed his eyes to reserve his emotions. After eliminating Yashin's rebels, Sosei and the rest of Team Hae made a sweep through the forest before they tried to return home. Instead of doing that, they spotted Sosei's father, Sasuke Uchiha in the middle of plains with all three of his genin down and unconscious, including Sosei's younger brother, Takuma.

"I need to take them back to the village immediately. Can someone from your team wait for the Water Daimyō's messenger to arrive?" Sasuke had asked. Noboru and Suzume had taken the red haired daughter of the Hokage and the orange and blue clad boy along with Sasuke while Komuji and Sosei had waited for the messenger. The sniveling, whiny bastard hadn't stopped complaining the entire journey back.

Two things plagued Sosei's mind and as he thought on them, he realized that they might've started to connect. After fighting and easily killing Agato and the shinobi that followed him, Sosei pondered on how such a weak man could be of any use to Yashin. Sosei hated Yashin. Even in death, the pain that the masked man had inflicted on Sosei's life had left him sleepless or screaming from nightmares. But Sosei could not deny that the man had been a man with purpose and did not seem to be a man who would surround himself with weak trash.

Then, there was the fact that his younger brother and his entire team had been taken out and that their assailants had miraculously escaped his father's sights and grasps. For both Team Hae and Sasuke Uchiha to not detect them, Sosei suspected that they had to be powerful and especially stealthy shinobi. Yashin had managed to sneak an entire army into Konoha without setting off a single alarm so Sosei was barely surprised his subordinates had given his father the slip.

What worried Sosei the most was the identities of these shinobi and why they had attacked his brother's team. None of the genin seemed to be fatally wounded although the Hokage's daughter seemed to be paralyzed and Takuma unconscious and bleeding from his eyes. The attack couldn't have been premeditated or else the genin would've been killed. Maybe, the assault was on a simple whim and when they suspected that Sasuke was returning, they didn't stop to finish the job.

Whoever the shinobi were that had done his brother harm, Sosei would see to it that they were found. Not alone had they wronged his family, but they may be the captains that the Hokage had sent Team Hae to kill in the first place. Their mission was still incomplete.

Konoha's gates appeared over the hill and the Water emissary let out a sigh of relief.

"Praise the gods above. We're here," he said. Sosei shot Komuji an annoyed glance and the Hatake man chuckled softly. As they approached the gate, Rock Lee leapt from the lookout tower down to the ground.

"Greetings, travelers!" the man said excitedly. He quickly looked over them, gazing into the eye holes of their porcelain masks. Sosei flashed his Sharingan as Lee looked into his eyes and the man backed away quickly with a startled look on his face. "Very well. Proceed," he said. Sosei pushed past while Komuji raised his hand.

"See you later, Lee," he replied. Walking with the Water Emissary wore down on Sosei's patience. All the Uchiha wanted to do was see the Hokage for his debriefing and go observe the damage done to his brother, as well as ask his father how the hell he allowed enemies to slip past him. That was sure to make for an exhilarating conversation.

Sosei walked with Komuji as the two of them escorted the Water Emissary. The royal messenger expressed his "oohs" and "aahs" at Konoha's architectural advancements since his last visit, a detail Sosei didn't bother to try to listen to. Komuji, on the other hand, entertained the Emissary's chatter with casual conversation in his laziest voice. Sosei was amazed at his captain's patience. He admired it. But it didn't stop him from being annoyed.

The chatter droned in Sosei's head until the three of them made it to the Academy building. Sosei half expected to see Kichiro playing in the yard with his classmates, but the distinctive spiky black hair of his brother never caught Sosei's eye. However, someone else did.

"Sosei! Sosei!" a quiet voice squealed from the yard. Sosei saw a brown-haired girl scamper across the grass towards him. Her large purple eyes looked up at him and two of her sharp teeth protruded from her mouth. The Uchiha chuckled softly at the girl and poked her forehead as she closed in on him.

"Joji," Sosei said affectionately, though in a level, calm tone that normally his father would adopt. Regardless, the little brown-haired girl, whose real name was Setsuka, responded with a higher level of affection. She grabbed Sosei by his waist and smiled up at him.

"I missed you, niisan. Where'd you go this time? Why haven't you come to visit me?" she asked. Sosei patted her head and gave her a small smile.

"Where I went is confidential. A secret that you don't have to worry about. And, I'll take you out for ramen or something tomorrow after your classes," Sosei said. Setsuka nodded.

"Okay...wait, can I bring a friend with me?" Sosei raised an eyebrow and turned to where Komuji and the Water Emissary stood, except they were no longer there. Komuji was gone. Sosei turned back to the girl and sighed.

"You want me to take you out on a date? With who?" At that question, Setsuka twiddled her thumbs and gulped.

"A boy...named Kichiro," she replied. Sosei gawked. Did she really mean...?

"My brother?" he asked. Setsuka nodded quickly. Sosei ran his fingers through his black hair and sighed softly. He couldn't begin to explain how screwed it sounded to have his adopted sister going on a date with his half-brother. What kind of backwater shit... "Ok, since I haven't been by in a while, I'll take you and Kichiro for some ramen. I'll just have to ask the Hokage and your instructor how you're doing first. Deal?" Sosei asked.

Setsuka grinned, though her lips never parted. Sosei knew why. She shared her father's genes after all. "Ok, niisan," she said. Sosei smirked.

"Alright, Joji. Scram," Sosei turned away from the girl and entered the Academy building. He moved quickly. Team Hae and the Hokage were probably upstairs now waiting for him to arrive for the debriefing. The sooner Sosei got that out of the way, the sooner he could go check on his brother and question his father.

Confirming Sosei's suspicions, the Nara clan head, Shikamaru stood outside of the Hokage's office with his arms folded. His face looked as uninterested and bored as it always had been and the man gave Sosei a curt nod.

"They're waiting," he said. Sosei dipped his head.

"Figured."

When Sosei opened the door, he was greeted by the faces of Team Hae. Suzume's annoying smile, Noboru's quiet stare and Komuji's lazy eyes. The Hokage sat at his desk with an uncharacteristically sullen look on his face. Sosei suspected that it had to do with his daughter. The blonde man's blue eyes shot up to Sosei and nearly stopped the young Uchiha in his tracks with their ferocity. The Hokage's emotions didn't seem to be angled towards him though. He was upset at whoever had done his only child harm.

"Now that you're all here," Naruto said as he sighed. "Talk." Komuji cleared his throat and Sosei listened as he went through the mission details.

"We reached the forest in front of the Emissary's landing and encountered twenty shinobi loyal to Yashin, one of them being a suspected captain in his army. Sosei dispatched him and the rest of the shinobi were handled by Noboru and myself. There were no survivors," Komuji said. Naruto glanced over to Sosei and the Uchiha looked back.

"Are you sure that this captain is dead?" the Hokage asked. Sosei nodded.

"I put a Chidori through his mouth and sliced through the side of his head. The parts of his brains that weren't fried came out of his mouth in a red heap. I'm very sure he's dead," he replied. The Hokage shook his head and then brought his hands down to his desk.

"Then...can someone explain to me how the hell Sasuke's genin team were attacked if you cleared out every single enemy?" he demanded, his voice rising to a volume that startled even Shikamaru. Sosei looked around the office. His teammates were silent, looking at Naruto nervously. Rarely did the Hokage express anger, but the injuries his daughter sustained must've prompted this. When nobody else offered an answer, Sosei inhaled then exhaled.

"What if...they were the captains that you actually sent us to kill?" Sosei asked. Komuji turned to Sosei and the two shinobi exchanged a quick glance. Naruto sat in silence. He must've been fuming. "The man that I killed, Agato...he didn't seem to be a shinobi that Yashin would install in a leadership capacity. He was stupid and arrogant. Yashin was meticulous and secretive," Sosei said.

"So, you're saying that whoever attacked Sasuke's group was Yashin's actual captain?" Shikamaru asked from the corner. Sosei nodded.

"Yes. The group of shinobi we fought wouldn't have given my brother or his team any issues." Naruto sighed sharply and closed his eyes.

"We need to know for sure what happened..." he said as he rubbed his temples. Sosei nodded.

"When I go to see my brother, I'll speak to my father about it," he said. Naruto stood up and walked towards Sosei and the exit to his office.

"No. We'll speak to him about it."