Chapter 1
Tsunade was having the worst day ever. Considering she had been in a coma for months after the war, and that had been a nap in a park compared to this. She would have thought that the idea of a post-war time should not be more chaotic than the war itself. She sighed, and took another sip from her cup as the Council continued with their discussion.
"Hokage-sama. I really think that it's impertinent that…"
The rest of his sentence was drown out over the crash of the door. All eyes skittered to the doorway where a boy was gripping the door in his white knuckle as two masked ANBU held his other arm and shoulder. "My apologies, Hokage-sama." The one in badger's mask spoke out, hands already moving in a seal to shunshin the intruder off.
"No!" The boy ground out, his voice was stiff and unyielding over that one syllable. He moved and everyone in the room noticed that he had an unconscious boy in his arms. And wearing what looked to be half of his body's blood on him. The boy shifted and it looked like he was shrugging off the ANBU's hold on him. Which would be impossible for someone his age, anyone actually but he took two steps and suddenly darted to the left, out of reach of Badger's reach. It was an illogical idea that he was capable of reading the ANBU's movement and simply countering it with an opposite move. "Hokage-sama, please. I need you to listen to me."
Tsunade didn't move from her seat, her eyes narrowed as she took in the situation. A boy of 11, maybe 12 had just weaseled out of her ANBU's grasp while clutching a passed out toddler, no less. There was a flash of black eyes, almost hidden under a shock of unruly dark hair. He was clutching a younger boy of 4 or 5 years old and he was leaving behind a trail of blood in his wake. Under the smears of blood, the pale face with the dark hair seemed eerily familiar.
"Wait," she nodded to the two ANBUs, more of trying to keep the injured boy still rather than anything else and instantly the masked guards stood to attention. "Who are you, kid?"
Her eyes were on him and she saw how his jaw clenched as he straightened himself up, standing tall and stiff. The arm that was around the young boy shifted upwards to reposition the young boy and Tsunade frowned at the cock of his head, the fire in his eyes. How many times had she seen the Uchiha kid looked at her like that after Naruto hauled his ass back to Konoha? There was no resentment, no unfinished revenge brimming in those black eyes but they could be an exact copy. "Who are you?" She asked quickly, brows knitted together.
"You know who I am, Hokage-sama." The boy didn't move a muscle. "I… no, we both need your help."
"I know who you are? What I know is that you can't be an Uchiha, kid."
"Uchiha?" The others picked up on the last name and the smothered gasp move across the room like it was a living being. "But that's impossible. There's only one Uchiha left and he's currently in our prison awaiting judgment." The oldest Council member protested stiffly.
"But he sure does have the Uchiha look." Another member remarked quietly and silence hovered over the room. A beat bled into another before the first Council member sputtered with indignation.
"How preposterous! Why, I…"
"Hold on," The Hokage held out her hand upwards and stared unblinkingly at the boy but directed her words at the rest. "Leave us."
"But Hokage-sama!" The refusal was instantaneous.
"Leave us. However good he is at evading the ANBU, he's still a boy. I thank all of you for your thoughts of my safety." Tsunade added drily.
Reluctantly, they walked out of her office in a sullen file. Tsunade waited for a few seconds after her door clicked shut before she turned her gaze on the boy. He was still, staring at her with that dark Uchiha eyes, his body's posture off a seasoned shinobi, ready for battle even though he's wearing practically half of his own blood. Tsunade silently mused what had happen to make this young boy a weathered warrior so young.
"How are you related to the last Uchiha?"
"Do we have to be related to him personally? So you have dark eyes and suddenly you're an Uchiha?"
Tsunade huffed, "You're going with that? Really? You thought I would miss how you're the exact copy of the Uchiha?"
"Maybe the eyes, yes," the infuriating boy shrugged. "But I've been told I take after my mother."
The Hokage took a minute to sip slowly from her quickly emptying cup, studying the bloody boys with hard eyes. "You claimed to be an Uchiha. Do you know how impossible that is?"
"I didn't claim anything. You jumped to the conclusion yourself, Hokage-sama."
The Hokage leaned back in her chair, her eyes glinting in suppressed amusement. "An Uchiha who's not as dry as the Suna sands. How did that happen?"
"Forgive me Hokage-sama but why are you so hell-bent on saying that I'm an Uchiha?"
"And why are you so hell-bent on denying something we both know is the truth? However impossible that is."
The young Uchiha sighed, as if resigning to the fact that now was the time to tell her. He already knew it was unavoidable but that doesn't mean he didn't dread actually doing it. "It's not impossible. My father created a jutsu that send us from our time to the past. We're from the future, Hokage-sama."
"The future." Her expression didn't waver. "How are you related to Uchiha Sasuke?"
The boy swallowed and his grip on the unconscious younger boy tightened. "He was our father."
The blond brow quirked upwards. "Was?"
"He used his last burst of chakra to complete the seal that send us here."
"You and your… brother?"
"Hai," the boy nodded morosely. The stony black eyes shimmered and Tsunade frowned at the glimmer of tears in the boy's eyes. The Uchihas were a proud clan and none of them would be caught crying in front of someone else. The idea that a child of the Avenger Uchiha tearing up in any situation was something that was impossible to comprehend. As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, the boy stiffened and stood even straighter than before, the black eyes hard.
"Why did he send you here? Sasuke."
"I don't know."
She sighed, the thought that Uchiha Sasuke of all people would make her life a little easier by telling her what he wanted was laughable. Of course he would sent his son off to her and expected her to do whatever to help. "Tell me from the beginning."
"Hai, Hokage-sama." The boy nodded and opened his mouth to comply.
Tsunade smirked at the rare sight of an Uchiha following order. Their mother must be something, to raise such obedient Uchihas. However, she stopped him before he could start. "Sit down first, boy. You look like you're about to topple over."
"I'm fine," the dark eyes narrowed in a glare and Tsunade's laugh flitted out of amused lips.
"Now, this is more familiar." The drops of blood on her floor caught her attention and she stood before making her way to the two boys. She gestured to the desk behind her, "Put your brother down there. You can start while I look him over first then I'll see what I can do for you."
"I'm fine," the boy grounded out again, suddenly irritable. "It's just a scratch. I've had worse. Just focus on Shin, I'm sure he needs you more."
The Hokage didn't say anything but her brown eyes were fixed on him, one brow quirked upwards as if she was waiting. The unblinking stare forcibly reminded him of his mother's gaze and he crumbled. He laid the still unconscious boy on the Hokage's desk, stripping out of his bloody Chuunin's vest to slide it under the boy's head.
Tsunade was quiet as she watched the boy gingerly straightened the young boy's limb, his inky hair a contrast to his pale face. She moved closer and picked up his limp hand, fingers quickly finding his pulse. It felt slow but steady as it thrummed against the pads of her fingertips. Her hand quickly moved over his small body, checking for any wounds. "What's your name, kid?"
"Hajime. Uchiha Hajime."
"And this one here?"
"He's Shin."
"What happened to him?"
"I don't know."
The quiet reply made her turned to him swiftly. Not because of the answer, but the tone of his voice. Guilt and pain. Regret and sorrow.
"There were so much blood," his voice trailed and the dark eyes glazed as he focused on his memory. "Everywhere. Tou-san rushed in, he had Shin and he gave him to me. I was worried because Shin was covered in blood but Tou-san said he was fine, it wasn't his. I didn't know at the time that it was Tou-san's blood. He started the jutsu and I remember someone barging into the room. Before I could do anything I woke up and we were here."
Tsunade's mind tried very hard to reconcile the idea of a man from Hajime's view –protective, paternal- to the sullen, revenge-riddled youth she was force to interact with now but failed to do so. Then the second part of his story hit her and her jaw clenched at the thought of another massacre. "The attack was directed at the Uchiha compound?"
"No, it was an attack to the village. They targeted the Hokage Tower first. I was there when it went down."
"Who did it? Who attacked us?"
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. I was not privy to that information." For the multiple times Hajime wished his father had transported himself back to the past. At least he would be able to answer the Gondaime's questions.
"Hmph. I didn't know what your father expected me to do." She grumbled under her breath. "That is just like the Uchiha to do this to me."
He didn't say anything as he watched the Hokage's hand glowed green as it moved across his brother's small body. They watched silently as the cut knitted itself back together. She lifted her head and nodded, "He'll be fine, he's just unconscious. He should come to in a bit." She turned her gaze to the older boy and her eyes narrowed. "Stand still so I can take a look."
"Hokage-sama," the boy started as her green hand stopped over his cracked ribs. He grimaced and his hand clutched the handle of the chair when he could feel his bone slowly fused back together. It was excruciating but he just clenched his jaw tight and let the pain washed over him. "What year is it right now?"
Based from the carving on the mountain, he could've put his parent's age as somewhere in their teens but he needed to narrow it down.
"The Fourth Great Shinobi War ended less than a year ago," Tsunade's head cocked to one side, studying the young Uchiha intently. "Does that answer your question?"
The Fourth Great Shinobi War? Hajime forced his face to remain unchanged, which was not easily achieved as the Hokage was practically rearranging his bones while he was conscious but Hajime didn't want to delve into details right now. He forced air into his screaming lungs when the Hokage's chakra surged through his torn muscles and he could've sworn the chair cracked under his white fists.
Even under the barrage of pain, his mind raced when more questions demanded to be answered. The Fourth Great Shinobi War already ended last year? When he knew it was only supposed to start three years after the next Hokage took over her place.
The current Hokage's gaze didn't waver from his face. "What's wrong, Uchiha?"
Hajime decided to take a leaf out of his Jounin Sensei's book. How hard was it to act all dense and easy going, right? "Gomen, Hokage-sama. History was not my strongest subject in the Academy." He forced a sheepish grin over his shoulder but he could feel the Gondaime's relentless stare on his back. The young Uchiha wheezed when her hand moved to the large gash running down his arm.
"You've lost a lot of blood, make sure to ask for blood-replenish tablets when you're at the hospital later." The Fifth grimly told him while the skin slowly closed over the gash.
She inwardly scoffed at the idea of an Uchiha who had trouble remembering his history facts. The thing that interests her more was that he went to such poorly executed length to hide it from her. What other thing was he not telling? She frowned when she came across another long slash that run down from the top of his shoulder to his spine. "What the hell did you do with yourself, kid?"
Hajime managed a small shrug even as his jaw was clenched tight. Half an hour later, Tsunade took a step back, huffing as she looked him over with her eagle eyes. "You're fine now. Try not to get sliced up again so soon."
"I'll do that, Hokage-sama."
"Kaa… kaa-chan." A soft voice mumbled out and Hajime quickly darted to his brother's side.
"Shin."
The young boy's eyes fluttered before they opened slowly. He blinked sluggishly and when he saw his older brother hovering over him, he struggled to sit. "Nii-chan."
"Calm down, Shin," the older boy grabbed his brother's arm and helped him to sit. "You just wake up, nice and easy."
"Haji-nii… what?" he groaned and shook his head, his eyes screwed shut when the colours started to bleed and merged together in his vision.
"Deep breath, Shin. Put your head down."
He didn't try to nod because he was trying to keep his head very very still. Shin didn't want to start throwing up his lunch all over his brother, but his head hurts badly and he whimpered. "Kaa-chan."
"You're fine, Shin," his brother murmured, softly running his hand over the young boy's shaking back. "It's gonna be okay."
After a few more minutes the younger boy lifted his head gingerly, as if testing its reaction before facing his brother, his chubby fingers streaking sweat, blood and tears across his face. "Nii-chan, what… where's kaa-chan, tou-chan… where's everyone?"
"I don't know, Shin. Do you remember otou-san sending us here?"
"No," the boy shook his messy head, "I remember him coming to find me but then I… I don't remember. What happened, nii-chan?"
"We were attacked."
The young boy nodded once, his small teeth worrying over pale lips. "I remember that," the boy mumbled, his fingers started to fidget.
"Otou-san's jutsu sent us here."
"Just us? Tou-chan and kaa-chan are coming, right nii-chan?"
"I don't know, Shin." His brother sighed and the sad look in his eyes started to make Shin very afraid. "I'm sorry."
The older boy put his hand on the boy's shoulder and the younger boy became still. "It was real? Kaa-chan's… everyone is really…" His dark eyes widened at the thought and Tsunade didn't think it was possible for him to be even paler.
"I'm not certain but I believe so."
The boy's lips trembled but his brother quickly added, "But before he sent us here, tou-san gave us a mission." He squashed the flicker of guilt that flared up at the lie. His brother needed some kind of motivation to keep moving forward in this different time and Hajime was going to give it to him.
"A mission?"
"Yeah, I'll tell you about it later, okay?"
"Okay, Haji-nii." The young boy nodded, his arm wiping his eyes free from any moisture.
"Shin," the older boy gestured to the silent woman behind him. "This is the Gondaime-sama."
"Gon… gondaime-sama?" The boy blinked twice and then his eyes widened to a titanic proportion. "Tou-chan used that jutsu? But I thought…" He blinked again and shook his head, "My apologies, Gondaime-sama. It's just kaa-chan always…"
"Shin."
"Oh," he turned to his brother with a guilty glance at the silent reprimand before maneuvering his limbs to climb down from the Hokage's table. He stood in front of her and gave a respectful bow. "Gondaime-sama. Please take care of me and my brother while we're here."
Beside him, the older boy gave an equally respectful bow. "Please."
Tsunade's lips quirked at the sight in front of her. "Are you sure both of you are the Uchiha's sons? He really is your father?"
"Yes, Uchiha Sasuke is our tou-chan," the young boy nodded in agreement but his brow crinkled in confusion at the question.
"Hmph," her brown eyes as she scrutinized the two boys. "I suggest you keep this up. No one will believe you're even remotely related to the Uchiha if you keep behaving like this."
"Hokage-sama, is it possible to hide our identity?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Otou-san always talked about how time is like a stream. One ripple can turn into a wave and I'm trying to minimize any ripples from our time here."
"Very well," the Hokage nodded and walked around them to head behind her desk, sitting down with a groan. "I didn't even drink that much last night but I already have a killer headache." She took a slow sip from her cup as she massaged her temple. "So, this is what we'll do. I can't pass you off as regular boys, you look too much like your father." Tsunade closed her eyes and her fingers continued to rub her throbbing head.
Who was she kidding? The older boy was an almost replica of the Uchiha at twelve but when you took the time to really scrutinize the boy, there were differences that weren't visible on first glance. The younger boy's face was still round and soft but there were no denying the Uchiha blood running in his veins. "You're the son of a distant cousin. Your parents were away on a mission and not in the village during the massacre and after they're gone, you decided to come back to us. I don't know if anyone will actually buy it but we'll go with that at the moment."
Hajime frowned at the word massacre, that was a weird choice of event but he kept his face still and nodded. "Very well, Hokage-sama."
"I still can't get over how respectful the Uchiha's sons are," she mumbled into her cup, her eyes fixed on the two boys across the table. "You can't take that after your father. Anyway, place to stay," she raised her voice and put down her cup, "Shizune!"
The door opened and said woman appeared in the doorway. "Get me Kakashi. Right now."
"Hai, Tsunade-sama. Can I just remind you that the Council are still waiting for you?"
"Ah… Let them wait. It won't hurt them one bit to cool down but make sure Kakashi gets here. ASAP."
"Of course, Tsunade-sama."
With that she disappeared and Tsunade continued to stare broodingly into her cup. "Both of you, sit down first. I don't know how long it'll take for Shizune to find Kakashi or how long it'll take for him to come here."
The older boy's lips quirked upwards, "He is known for that."
They both dropped into the empty chairs. "Nii-chan, the Hokage's office looks so different," the young boy whispered to his brother, his wide eyes taking in the surroundings.
"You've been here before?"
"Hai," the young boy nodded vigorously but didn't offer anything else. Beside him, his brother didn't add any input either.
"How's the village in your time?"
"You know we can't talk about that, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade studied the boy sitting so stiff and straight in front of her. Black hair falling into inky dark eyes, he was a copy of his father at that age. However, they were none of that fiery revenge flaming the black eyes. Those eyes however were filled with resigned determination and she could also see the pain flickering in the background. "Are you certain your father didn't give you any instruction before he sent you here?"
The younger boy turned to his brother, his face scrunched as he waited for the answer.
"There was no time," he shook his head. He suspected the only reason his father's jutsu even worked in the first place was because he had exhausted all of his chakra into it. A life to save two.
"The enemy-nin was so fast. Even faster than kaa-chan." Shin's quiet voice pulled him back from the future. "Kaa-chan only had time to hide me before they burst in. She couldn't find the others." He sniffed and wiped his watery eyes with the back of his hand.
"You did your best, Shin-chan," his brother murmured and the boy nodded, somewhat hesitant. "This is not your fault. At least we're together. I'm sure kaa-san and tou-san are happy about that."
"I miss them," he mumbled, his head lowered, his fingers fidgeting in his lap. "Kaa-chan and tou-chan. Everyone. Even Ryuta-nii."
His brother's lips quirked slightly at the admission. "Even Ryuta?"
"Hai," the young boy agreed morosely.
Hajime sighed and his stiff posture cracked slightly. He had a burning hole in his chest every time he thought about his family. His father's sacrifice to keep them alive. His mother's fury as she fought for them. His twin's scream when she took a blade aimed for their younger brother. His sibling's blood.
And there was so much blood. Everywhere.
He scrubbed his face tiredly, hand shaking. Hajime blinked when a small hand slipped into his fisted fingers.
"It's not your fault, nii-chan. At least we're here together."
Something in him moved, to hear the words he had spoken mere minutes ago was now directed at him. "Hai, Shin-chan." He forced his jaw to unclench themselves and nodded at the small boy.
"You requested for me, Hokage-sama?"
A voice suddenly spoke behind them and Hajime was ashamed to say he never heard the person enter the room.
"Ah… Kakashi. That was quick of you." Tsunade heaved a huge sigh. She really, really did have a huge headache. Now she needed two traumatic boys settled in somewhere before she could reassembled her thoughts and possibly rethink her decisions. "I have a mission for you." She scrutinized the masked jounin in front of her for any reaction but there was none. Not that she was expecting any. Not in the next few minutes at least.
"Unranked. Protective detail."
"Escort?"
"No, I don't want them out of the village."
"Them?"
"Protective detail with 24 hour surveillance. Meet your new clients." The Gondaime cocked her head at the two boys.
"Excuse me?"
"To make your job easier I suggest you have them in your house."
"You basically want me to babysit a couple of kids? But why is it unranked?"
"Kakashi, meet Hajime and Shin."
The jounin's reaction was only a miniscule widening of his visible eye as he scrutinized the boys. He noted the glittering black eyes, the messy dark hairs, their stiff posture and how the young one had one death grip on the older one's shirt. Kakashi came to a rather startling and somewhat obvious conclusion with a widening of his eye. There was something familiar with them but then, they couldn't be…
"Uchiha. But how?"
"Hence the Unranked. With the former Last Uchiha not as stable as I would like him to be, I can't just let the boys alone right now."
"Can I just say I don't have any experience in baby-sitting?"
"You had a genin team. You'll be fine." The Hokage just waved his complaint off with a wave of her hand. "Plus, this will be a priceless experience for you when you decide it was time to revive your own clan."
"But Hokage-sama…"
"Oh come on, Hatake," Tsunade snapped. "Are you really going to waste more time arguing with me about this?" She pulled a random scroll and snapped it opened, signaling that their meeting was abruptly adjourned. "Come back later for further briefing for this mission. And Kakashi, get the boys some new clothes. I wouldn't suggest taking them anywhere in their current bloody state. Take them to a hospital first, I may have missed something. And don't forget to feed them. Now go."
She pulled the scroll closer and started to attack it rather furiously, scribbling ineligible words with harsh strokes.
Kakashi winced. "Well kids, you heard the Hokage. You're with me."
Tsunade's eyes darted upwards, in time to see the three boys filing out of her office. After she sensed that their chakra was out of reach, she tossed the mutilated scroll aside and pulled a drawer opened, staring at the sake bottles lined inside. Too bad she had such a bad headache today.
Kakashi slowed down his stride so that he was a step behind the two boys. From his position, his visible eye studied the supposed Uchihas. His brow crinkled at the idea. How is that even possible? And yet, there were no denying there are indeed Uchihas. The older boy walked in a brisk stride, the younger one's hand was fisted around the edge of his brother's shirt as he stared around with wide, awe-filled black eyes. He was almost running, his short legs working hard to keep up with his brother's much longer stride. Now and again, he will tugged at the shirt and whispered his amazed observation to his brother.
The said brother, Kakashi was amazed to see had nodded obligingly, before pointing out a few other things to his brother's excitement. Did this what Itachi and Sasuke had been when they were young children? The strong bond of sibling without the rivalry? As he continued to stare, he was forcefully reminded that this was not Itachi and Sasuke, these two had been for all purposes strangers who had the blood of the Uchihas. He blinked, shoved out of his train of thoughts when the older boy turned to him.
"Where are we heading now, Hatake-san?"
"The hospital, I should think. If the medic-nin says you're good to go, we'll get something to eat." Maybe he can get a couple of those pre-packed bentos while they're getting checked. He'll rushed them to his house, toss in the food and get back to Tsunade. He can't wait to see what the Hokage had to say without the boys around.
They started walking again and Kakashi ignored the wide-eyed stares around them. The people of Konoha had started to notice the two boys and their obvious resemblance to a certain Avenger.
"So, how old are you… uh, what's your name again?" There was a sheepish glint in his eye.
The young boy blinked owlishly up at him before he grinned. "My name is Uchiha Shin and I'm 5. Hajime-niichan just turned 12 last month. I'm gonna start the Academy soon so I can be just like my nii-chan. He's been a Chuunin forever!"
"So he's your brother?"
"Hai," the boy nodded eagerly, even as he was being pulled forward by said brother's brisk walk. "And I have two more, Ryuta-niichan and Ryuu-niichan. And Hikaru-neechan is our sister." His lips pouted at the first name. "But Ryuta-nii always makes fun of me. He always said I'm a baby but I'm not! Sora is because she's not even two." His brow furrowed at the unfairness of his life.
"Shin."
His brother's tone was mild but the young boy gasped. "Oh, sorry nii-chan."
"My apologies, Hatake-san. My brother can chatter anyone ear's off." He took the boy's chubby fingers and pulled him into the hospital.
"Maa… maa… I don't mind." The jounin tried to wave it aside but the boy just smiled. The smile, Kakashi noticed, was a sort of smile someone imparts to make you feel good about yourself so as to distract and lull your opponent from trying to dig deeper. It was a hard line to balance the two and that was something Kakashi personally understood. To see that kind of diplomacy on a 12 year old was exceptional.
Kakashi crossed the need to toss them into his house at the first available chance off his to-do list. He was curious to see what else he could find from these two boys.
Self-betaed. So all mistakes are mine.
