I don't own Naruto, and I make no money writing this fic. Hogosha in Japanese for protector/guardian.

Hogosha: Part II

I was five when I first spoke with him face to face. He had come to the Academy to speak with the young ninja about our futures. The Ninja Wars had subsided to nothing more than rogue skirmishes in the year since I had stumbled upon the horrific scene at the battlefield. We were winning because of him, our beloved Hokage.

Now that danger wasn't an immediate threat, changes were happening at the Academy, but we were still important to Konoha, or so he told us. No one else would need to start training so young, and we would have more time to hone our skills.

We would not start our official training yet. It would be like it had been since I was four. They would teach us a few simple lessons here and there for protection but nothing formal, or officially formal, until we turned six. My birthday was June 9th and it was July 22nd. I had ten months, two weeks, and four days left before I could be formally admitted to the Ninja Academy. I expected to have learned everything before that time, so that when I got to the Academy, I could become a genin right away.

Hokage-sama spoke about the importance of teamwork. His words were wise, but how could I follow his ideas when I had no team? I wouldn't be in a team with anyone for at least a year because they now refused our formal admittance to the Academy. For some reason, they expected us to be children even after all we had been through.

I guessed I would just have to protect my teammates from harm when I got them, and do what I could and hope for a competent jounin instructor.

Yondaime spoke for some time, debriefing us on what was expected of us now, the types of menial tasks that were just as important as had been during the Ninja Wars. Helping to rebuild Konoha was a big task, and it would help give us experience for when we started D Rank missions.

The room was muggy in the hot summer afternoon, the air felt heavy as some of the younger pre-Academy students started having trouble paying attention.

Even when I glared at them it didn't seem to rouse their attention. It later led me to hours of research to see if the sharingan could instill motivation in others by a mere glance.

Of course, it didn't help that Yondaime's smile seemed to put everyone at ease, his voice calm and soothing. The Ninja Wars were more or less over, so now the flux of ninjas was not needed to be trained so young, and because of that, it was clear that he wanted us to act more like children and less like trained killers – even if I didn't agree.

At the end of his talk, the other young would-be-ninja-students filed out. Yondaime stayed behind and spoke with the chuunin teacher, and I couldn't help but linger a moment longer to hear him speak.

As it was, I didn't have to make up an excuse to stay behind.

"Itachi-kun, wait a moment," Yondaime spoke, and I stopped, surprised. He knew my name!

I looked from the chuunin instructor to Yondaime, wondering if they'd been talking about me. Grown-ups seemed to do that about me for some reason. They frequently told me I was a genius. I turned slowly, trying to suppress the smile from my face, wondering if they had just been talking about how smart I was, wondering if Yondaime himself would tell me I was a genius.

"I hear you're going to be a big brother very soon."

"Y-yes," was the only word I could manage.

Somehow, I felt let down. I had wanted him to praise me like my father did, and the other grown-ups did. I had wanted him to tell me he had remembered me from that horrible battlefield like I had remembered him.

Then again, I had been useless. Maybe...maybe he had told the teacher how I had frozen, and that they didn't want a shinobi like me in Konoha? Giving me a searching look, Yondaime suddenly smiled at me kindly, and I felt the fear that he would dismiss me drain away.

"Your cousin Obito-kun spoke very highly of you: about how good of a ninja you will become. That's important to Konoha, but that's also important to your younger sibling as he or she grows. You'll need to be a protective older brother. Being a big brother is one of the most important responsibilities now. Do everything in your power to keep your younger sibling safe. That is your duty for now."

"Sir?" I said, confused at his words.

"I know you'll do your best." He ruffled my hair affectionately. "If you see anything, anything at all that could endanger the future of you unborn sibling's safety here in Konoha, tell me immediately. I will do what I can to prevent bad things from happening to him or her. I promise."

He turned from me back to the chuunin instructor who was looking at the Hokage with as much confusion as I felt.

I didn't understand till years later why he had said those words to me, even though they ended up having an effect on my life almost immediately.

The next day, my baby brother, Sasuke, was born.

I heeded Yondaime's words, so that the next time I saw him, it was because I was following his orders to tell him what I found out.

And it was bad.

Worse than bad. It was horrific.

The afternoon had a bright blue sky, though no one could mistake the chill in the October air. Years later I would remember it feeling very like the calm before a storm.

Two and half months had passed and the seeds of Yondaime's words had rooted.

The man himself was a true genius, and as he planned, I sought him out when I got wind of something that could harm my baby brother.

I never felt that I had gotten to him in time, despite telling myself over and over again things would have been worse if I hadn't searched him out at all.

I went to the Hokage Tower, but he wasn't there. Very few seemed to know where he was, and it made me feel even more afraid than I already was.

Fortune smiled upon Konoha just as she prepared to spit upon it, and luckily I ran into Sandaime.

"Where's Yondaime-sama?"

Sandaime looked at me critically, his wrinkled eyes bunching up more as he frowned at me. He seemed ancient, especially compared to Yondaime. Seeing him also filled me with dread. Why was he here when Yondaime was the new Hokage?

"A very personal matter has come up, and Yondaime-sama is not available today."

"He told me I had to tell him if...if...I have to tell him!"

More fear filled me.

It would be my fault; somehow I knew it was my fault. I hadn't found Yondaime in time. Those horrible people would go on with their plan. I hadn't paid as close attention as I should have. I might have overhead them earlier! Today was the day, and I just found out about it this morning. It was all my fault! I should have paid better attention sooner! One of the men had been skulking around a lot, and if I had just listened, I would have known something was wrong. I should have gotten a better look at their faces, especially the one I had seen around a lot.

Instead, I had avoided him because I had gotten a bad feeling every time I had seen him. Now I knew why, and he was going to make terrible things happen.

There would be so many dead, again, just like on the battlefield.

I could see the startled look of the man with the kunai sticking out of his forehead flash before my eyes. The bodies of the wounded and the soaked earth colored with blood. I could see the man I had recognized with his decapitated head lying unattached from his body.

Mother, Father, and baby Sasuke...they would end up like that, wouldn't they?

I put my hands on my head, imagining terrible pictures. Sandaime placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, and I felt some of my tension leave me. I followed the line of his hand up his arm and finally looked into his very, very wrinkled face.

The way his hand gripped my shoulder made me remember that my father had said with age comes wisdom and experience. That, and Sandaime had a really strong grip for such an old person. He was still strong, so maybe he could help after all.

"This is important, isn't it?" Sandaime asked me.

"They want a baby to carry it like in the other Villages! Someone they can control easier."

Sandaime's face went blank.

I was a genius, but at five, I didn't understand why it was odd that he didn't ask who "they" were of what "it" was. Thankfully he knew more about what I was talking about than I did.

"I see. That changes everything. You must go to his house and warn Yondaime immediately! No time to waste!" He gave me quick directions that I repeated in my head as my mantra, before he all but shoved me on my way.

Part of me felt glad that he understood those words, even though I didn't, at least, not fully.

I skidded to a halt in front of a small little home, smaller than mine, and it surprised me slightly. I expected Yondaime to live in a big mansion or something. He was so amazing; didn't he live in the most amazing house too? Even so, I didn't have time to ponder that, even as I skidded on some rocks and stumbled slightly as I ran up the path to his front door.

I banged on the door frantically.

Yondaime opened the door and looked at me. He seemed worried by my appearance, but more curious than actually surprised at my presence.

I tried to speak, but suddenly realized how out of breath I was.

"They want – the baby – for it!" I managed to wheeze on. Yondaime's face froze.

"What?"

"You said – to warn you – if there was – pant – anything that might hurt Sasuke-"

"Sasuke?"

"My baby brother!" I took a deep breath to calm down my breathing. "They – the bad men – they said they were after a baby. So, that...that meant my baby brother Sasuke, right?"

I paused, sudden doubt filling me. It had seemed to me that's what they had meant. Yondaime had said to look after my baby brother. He had told me to. Now, thinking about what those men had said, maybe they hadn't meant Sasuke at all. I should have tried to double check.

"Should I have brought Sasuke here, to – to protect him?"

Yondaime's face snapped back down to look at me. His eyes searched mine, and there was a strong look of fear in them. It was so strong that I backed away from him. The look vanished as a burning determination spread over his face.

"Yes. Bring him here. Hurry, but don't be obvious about it. Pack some things. Tell your parents it's a mission. I'm making it a mission. Rank B, top secret to bring him here and keep him safe."

I opened my mouth, startled. "Yessir!"

I turned and ran, set to due my duty for Konoha.

To Be Continued...

This chapter is dedicated to Witchy Bitch. :) Hope you all enjoyed the second of the three parts. ~ Jelp