Open Eyed Dreams
Chapter-3
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Disclamer: I don't own Naruto.
AU: Non-massacre or maybe postponed for a while.
Itachi is thirteen.
Sakura, Sasuke and other academy kids are nine.
In my previous chapters, though i have referred Sakura to be of ten years, I request my readers to please accept this minor edit.
Summary: Haruno Sakura was one of the few civilian children present in the esteemed Konoha Ninja Academy. Her previous records showed her as a Straight A student, curious by nature and quick to grasp things. However, her homeroom teacher constantly found her to be spaced-out and almost earmarked to be a dropout soon for reasons beyond his comprehension. Can a chanced meeting with the Uchiha prodigy save Sakura and her failing dream of being a ninja?
The village of Konohagakure throbbed with power. Of all of the ninja nations, Konohagakure was the largest, the strongest, the mightiest. One can feel the tendrils of chakra in the vibrant air. It could be felt in the lively movement of the breeze, in the prolonged freshness of the village's greenery. One can feel the political prestige in the swirls of the leaf proudly adorned on each and every wall. The buildings thronged with green flax jackets and black anbu guards.
The Hokage tower stood out sharply from the rest of the village buildings. Even a common visitor could pinpoint the building to be of some High Order judging by the regular patrolling of the chunin guards. A good ninja could pinpoint several underlying chakra traps, genjutsu traps, camouflaged chunin guards, Special Jounins and even Anbu responsible for looking after the security of the Tower. Only average ninjas were ever admitted into the building,the elite ones usually poofed in the Hokage Office or used the more 'comfortable' option of scaling up the wall and sailing in through the window.
Sarutobi, the esteemed Hokage was well aware with the idiosyncrasies of his ninja populace, having dealt with them during his two sessions as the Hokage of the Village. He rarely was started when the ninjas, particularly those returning from missions decided to randomly 'poof' in his office. Some of his elite workers even had special access to him, especially those elite forces which got the files labelled "confidential". The details of such missions were often meant only for the ears of those undertaking it and the Hokage himself. Mostly such missions were given out during nights, after the day workers had retired, to avoid unsuspecting folks. The reports were heard as soon as the mission as completed.
Today, there was one particular report that had been preventing the Hokage to retire to bed, even though the paperwork for the day had been completed long ago, for a change. Sighing, the Hokage's eyes flicked briefly again to a particular shadowy corner behind his desk for a moment before returning randomly to the book, trying to read it, but unsuccessfully.
The clock ticked further. A full ten minutes passed. Sarutobi briefly sighed again. He contemplated on the thought that had been insistently troubling him all day. He found himself questioning his actions, his decisions today regarding one particular elite ninja. Everything on this ninja's profile was of top-grade, absolutely perfect regarding his age and experience in the actual ninja world. Which exactly was the matter troubling the Hokage. The said ninja, though of ANBU level, was only of thirteen years of was not even a proper teenager!
Having lived in the brutal ninja world long enough to be of old age, the Hokage had loads of practical wisdom at his disposal. He was an adept at spotting young prodigies and shaping them. He knew well enough how much they needed such talented ninjas, for they were one of the crucial elements of the village economy. They were the one who went by fond nicknames of 'Yellow Flash', 'White Fang' or 'Slug Sanin'. They struck fear into the heart of the transgressors, completed the maximum number of missions and brought in the most number of customers, particularly the high profile ones. They set new standards for the leaf. He also knew that such ninjas came rarely like this one was once in a generation.
He was a true prodigy, there was no doubt of that. He completed those tasks which scores of Jounins and Anbu's have failed. He had enough power, strength, and courage to go up against a Sanin, his own former student, Orochimaru. Not only that, he even brought the severed hands of the erring ninja. But the main fact remained, that he himself was still a child. Being exposed to the ninja world at such an age was harsh enough, but such staggering feats spoke of a matured mind, too matured caught in a child's body. It spoke of rigorous hours of practice, quick thinking, vast learning, and a reasoning capacity well beyond his age.
"The perfect ninja tool", Sarutobi thought with a grimace.
It was what lacked that worried Sarutobi. It lacked emotive response, awkward social behaviour, lack of love and affection, nonexistent peers, isolation. A prodigy hailed as the next clan heir, was usually set on a pedestal at a young age where he was entrapped into believing that he was above the common mass. It usually ended in either him being burdened by responsibilities and becoming a puppet or being reduced to merely a cerebral identity without the development of the qualities of compassion and kindness.
Sarutobi had himself seen his student Orochimaru rapidly descend into the path of the Evil. He knew that the worse kind of Evilness was an intelligent head without a heart. An Intelligence power well above the common masses, who looked upon them as feeble entities for no good save serving the whims and fancies of those intelligent beings like themselves. And the overachiever Itachi Uchiha, no matter how highly intelligent, was a mere kid of thirteen years subjected to varieties of external influences, and well within his formative years.
A chakra flare informed Sarutobi that the person he had been thinking of has finally arrived. Soon, the little boy stepped out from the shadows, scraping his sandals as an additional sign of his presence. He went round the desk and stooped in a bow.
Sarutobi eyed the teenager from down up. Standard ninja sandals, bandaged ankles, standard black ANBU attire,. The katana was strapped in its proper place. Nothing seemed amiss, no scratches, no cuts, no signs of struggle, no physical or mental agitation. Nothing at all.
And it worried Sarutobi even more. Though it indicated a superior control and power of a ninja,to complete the assigned task without anything betraying it's presence, the undercurrent of 'adeptness' was quite palpable. Aged ten and already 'adept'. The notion did not quite sit well with the esteemed Hokage, who upheld the liberal ideas of peace, brotherhood and companionship.
Returning without a scratch from the mission was a feat achieved by few elite ninjas, who reached that summit after years of practice.
But if Itachi had already scaled that height at age this age, what other mountain did he have to climb? What would that mind think of, when already at the threshold of goal attainment?
His mind immediately retrieved an eerie memory of long bangs, chalky face and a full blown smile of a creep. Unwillingly, a statement reverberated in the confines Sarutobi's memory.
"I am going to master every jutsu ever created!"
Sarutobi suppressed an inward shudder. The boy in front of him looked up from his bow.
"How did it go?"
"Mission Completed Successfully. The gang of dacoits had been caught and handed over to the local authorities. The ones listed by the client were eliminated. "
" Any Causalities? "
"None"
"The team?"
"Quite well"
Sarutobi leaned back and took a long puff of his cigar. Itachi Uchiha has just completed another A ranked mission. The expected time was about one week. He returned with his team, safe and sound, within three days of departure.
" I congratulate you and your team for the successful completion of the mission".
The boy bowed in acknowledgement of the compliment. However, when he looked up, his eyes were expectant.
'Already waiting for another mission, are you? '.
"The successful completion of this mission will boost trade relations between Konoha and the bordering villages of the fire country. As a reward, I award you and your team a week-long vacation."
Sarutobi's smile however was not returned by Itachi.
" A week long?"
The voice was soft indeed. But the question mark was figuratively hanging in the air. Also the subtle stress on the 'week' didn't go unnoticed by the Hokage.
'Damn, the kid!'
Another puff of smoke followed. Sarutobi looked outside the window, lazily tracing the outlines of the building with his eyes. The evening sun reflecting off the roof of the Academy caught his eye. A second later, his wizened eyes took on the same glint. A smile began to tug at his just found another great mission for the ever famous Itachi Uchiha.
Sarutobi for a moment analysed the cost-benefit effect of the random idea that has just popped into his mind. No doubt, Itachi would probably question his sanity. But he was a loyal leaf shinobi nonetheless. It would be beneath him to dare refuse a mission.
Which left the question of Fugaku Uchiha!
'That old geezer will certainly give me a hard time'
Sarutobi felt a vein throbbing in his temple just at the mere mention of Fugaku.
Well for now, he was going to stick to this great brainwave he has just would deal with that old Uchiha later.A slight scraping of sandals was Itachi's cue that he was still waiting for a response. Sarutobi turned and gave him a little smile.
Itachi stiffened.
"Well yes,Itachi, a week-long rest will do you good. The missions come on a contractual basis after all, and there are other shinobis as well,who have to complete them"
The slight narrowing of Itachi's eyes made Sarutobi smile a bit more.
"But I do have a mission for you"
He waited patiently for the boy's reaction. His shoulders squared, and he shifted was fully prepared to receive the mission scroll.
"Come two days later. You are dismissed for now"
Itachi's momentary displeasure evaporated too quickly. But Sarutobi was the Hokage for a reason. His old eyes did notice it. He nodded as Itachi bowed and then noiselessly crept out of the window.
" Well, well ,well, now where was that file that Iruka had given me?"
Laughing silently to himself , Sarutobi questioned his brainwave that had randomly popped in. Would it really be a good idea? He could hardly wait to see the expression on Iruka's face! He wondered at his own eccentricity. Looks like the old age is finally getting him huh.!
The air was filled with joyful laughter near the children's park. Young parents strolled around, some holding their young ones hands, while others watching the kids play from a distance. Some stood gossiping about. All in all, it was indeed a picturesque scene. But an observant eye could see that the adults stood in two different groups occupying the two ends of the park. The children too, though playing in numerous groups, al of them yelling, laughing, smiling , shouting and running , still had some light differences. Somehow even they could be easily divided in two distinct groups.
One of these wore bandages. Their clothes had some insignia stitched on them. When they ran , they let their arms trail behind them while bowing their head a little, to achieve a streamlined shape. Their sandals made very little noise. They ran for prolonged periods without huffing or even breaking a sweat. They didn't quite attach themselves to the parents standing nearby.
The other group played with careless abandon. They held their arms in front of them, made a ruckus and fought among themselves. Occasionally, someone would scrap their knee, or cut their arm. Some of them would cry in the threatening manner of a petulant child. They ran to their parents almost every twenty minutes.
Somewhere in the middle of the park, with both the groups on either side, Sakura sat huddled in a particularly shady spot. It would have been a bit difficult to locate her, but her unusually bright pink hair gave her position away.
She did not join either of the group, but sat there patiently, casually watching the other children. Her wide green eyes rapidly flew back and forth between the two unmarked distinctions, her body quivered every now and then, itching to stand up, talk, join but never moving really. She continuously worried her lower lip, anxious, awaiting, but never quite taking the initiative to join a group of her own accord.
"Boo"
Sakura jumped at the sudden sound that startled her. Whipping her head, she was bombarded with the view of luxuriant platinum blond hair. Unconsciously, a full blown smile tugged at her lips at seeing her only friend.
" Ino. You scared me"
"Yeah, that was the point sa-ku-ra... Ino replied between fits of giggles. She gave a loud exclamation upon seeing her nerdy friend huddled with a textbook, in a park of all places. She grunted in exasperation.
"Uhh sakura, put that book away,c'mon, let's play"
Sakura 's eyes widened. Hastily she took out the loose sheets that were hidden among the page of the textbook. Doing her best to avoid Ino's eyes she quickly crumpled them up and threw it away among the long grasses near the base of the tree she had just been leaning against. Hoping fervently that Ino doesn't catch those papers, she stood up suddenly and tagged along. Her responses were loud, enthusiastic and fake to all of Ino's ramblings. Thankfully, the little Yamanaka was too young to notice the fake cheery tone that her friend had put on. It would take some years more for the Yamanaka mental prowess to develop in the usually confident kid. Sakura tagged unwillingly. She looked back to see her now crumpled papers, hidden safely among the long leaves. It was a precious possession , and she made a mental note to retrieve it later.
Ino proceeded to drag Sakura to meet her new friends, absolutely oblivious of Sakura's discomfiture. Sakura unwillingly followed suit and mumbled awkward greeting to her ninja classmates. After gawking at Kiba's elongated than usual cannines, gazing at Chouji's constant chip-chewing and mentally agreeing with Shikamaru's comments of 'boring' ,Sakura acquiesced to a simple game of tag. They spent the next hour chasing each other.
However, the fake paper bombs were an entire revelation to Sakura. She had never used these while playing with her civilian friends. Though she recognised them as a tool commonly used by ninjas of all grades, yet using them during a game of tag had been somewhat...unusual. She was a bit surprised to learn that Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji and Kiba played tag in a slightly modified manner. Each one of them had a fake paper bomb and they were to run aiming to touch each other, which in reality was a disguise attempt at pasting the paper bomb on any part of the clothing. The person who succeeded in doing so was declared as the winner of the round
Sakura had quite fallen in step and had actually begun to enjoy the game when her gaze was arrested by a vivid blue shirt standing at the stall of one of the street vendors. Attached on it was the decorative red and white fan that Sakura had come to recognise so very well. An involuntary gasp escaped her lips as she saw the almighty Sasuke Uchiha wearing a big grin and dragging a person older in tow.
Green eyes brimmed with curiosity. She looked hard at much older person whose finger was held in an iron grip by her idol Sasuke. Her eyes traced looked hard at the black clothing and standard blue ninja sandals the person was Uchiha insignia proudly stood out his back. Long black hair hair, same facial features as Sasuke, She marked as the person shifted slightly ...
'Sakura,run, Kiba is coming for you'
Rudely snapped out of her reverie , Sakura looked at Kiba's toothy grin...and broke in a run.
Her mind however was still wheeling from the information she had learnt today.
Sasuke had an older sister!
Itachi stood bemused at Sasuke's splitting grin. He looked fondly at his little brother 's eyes shine taking in the stock of the numerous food ware lined smartly at the stall. While the younger Uchiha debated what to buy, the older one , on the other hand, felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
He was being watched.
Surreptitiously, the older Uchiha spread out his awareness hoping to catch the intruder's chakra. He was surprised to find that there was none he could feel. That either means the person is of an extraordinary calibre or ...a civilian whose reserves never developed.
Shifting ever slow slightly, Itachi exposed the side of his face. His eyes, shielded by his long bangs, looked sharply at everything within his range of vision.
A flash of pink hair widened his eyes.
False alarm, it was only a child.
But who had pink hair?
Itachi mentally went through all the people he had met in Konoha, both civilian and ninja, but he remembered none with such blinding pink hair. For the heir of the Uchiha clan, this was indeed a challenge.
'Interesting'
Author's Note:
'I will master every single jutsu ever created'
This had been the indicative statement of Orochimaru's ambition. The third, had witnessed what evil a genius mind could create.
Hefervently hopes that Itachi never has the need for something like that.
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