Title: Moon rises slowly

Rating: T

Main characters: Gekkou Hayate, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Izuna (my OC), Uzumaki Kushina

Pairings: undecided for main characters, Kushina/Minato, most canon ones at the time.

Summary: The Third Great Shinobi War. A difficult time to grow up, indeed. With the graduation age lowered, things get worse when you have two Uchihas on your team. Not to mention that one of them is a happy-go-lucky child prodigy and the second hasn't even awakened his Sharingan. Hayate was sure his teammates would be the death of him. And then Sensei showed up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, they belong to their respective owners. I do not make any profit of this fanwork. I do, however, own the plotline and all the OC.

A/N My laptop has decided to take a month off with all the previously written chapters! So I've decided to post that small interlude, hope you like it. I'm still hoping to get some reviews)

So, here we go.

Interlude. Lost and Forgotten.

Hokage Tower, 4 years previously

'Report, Hatake'

'Yes, Hokage-sama. Our information about the enemy's numbers and proficiency was incorrect, the blueprints of the building also proved false or outdated. After quick inspection, I decided to follow the original plan with minor additions. Two squad members provided distraction, another three and I proceeded with the invasion. We realized it was an ambush only after we were deep inside. There were two full ANBU squads and about 10 lower ranked Iwa nins, therefore I decided to retreat. Gekkou Shinji was killed but we managed to retrieve his body. We made it to the mountain passage to Taki since it was the nearest and the safest escape root when they caught up with us. Uchiha Hisana decided to stay and hold them back to give us time to reach the border town. I objected and volunteered to do it myself but she didn't comply. She most likely used the explosives to close the passage and protect Konoha's secrets in her body with that. The rest of the team made it to the village in 3 hours and are now at the hospital. That is all.'

Hatake Sakumo had seen better days, but the Third wasn't about to make life easier for him.

'You failed the mission, ANBU. Two of your teammates died and Iwa has all the clues necessary to declare war on us. You are hereby suspended from active duty until the investigation is complete. You will be questioned on further details later. However, I understand and respect your decision to protect the squad members and will voice my opinion to the Council. Dismissed.'

Hatake bowed and went to the door when the Hokage's voice stopped him,

'I grant you permission to explain what happened to the families of those deceased without disclosing the mission's details. I expect you to bring them the news tonight for they deserve to hear it from you. Go.'

Sakumo wasn't sure who he should visit first. He considered it a grim joke of fate, but his late teammates' families were really alike. They had spouses who were of lower rank and not the leaders in family life and two children each, the youngest being of same, tender age of 4. He decided to start with the Uchiha simply because they didn't even have the corpse to look at and thus, in a twisted sense, were easier to deal with.

Quick on his feet, not letting himself to think, doubt or grieve even for a split second, the ANBU Captain made it to the small house at the outskirts of the compound. Through the kitchen window he could see a man stirring something at the oven and two boys carrying plates and dishes to the table. They all had smiles on their faces and were laughing at something. Sakumo didn't allow himself to stop, to start shouting at himself for being the one to ruin that perfect family dinner. He went to the door and knocked.

'Mum!', someone cried inside and the sound of rapidly approaching child's footsteps fell like stones on Sakumo. The door swung open and a little boy, no older than 5 was standing at the doorstep with a happy expression on his face. 'Mum, I…' he realized there was a stranger instead of his mother and quickly bowed politely.

'Excuse me, sir, I didn't mean to offend you. How can I help you?'

Sakumo needed all of his training to say the next words,

'I have news about your mother. May I come in?'

Confusion was evident on the boy's face but he nodded and led the man to the main room.

'Who is that, Izuna?', the boy's father asked with his back to the newcomer. He turned around and stiffened instantly.

'Hatake-san? What brings you here tonight? My wife is out on a mission and…"

Sakumo didn't let him finish,

'Please, Uchiha-san, sit down. I'm afraid I have bad news for you.'

The man paled and sat on the sofa, asking in a small voice,

'Has something happened to Hisana? Is she…is she injured?'

Both boys were quiet now, looking worriedly from their father to the tall man. Sakumo sighed heavily and said,

'Hisana-san is dead. I'm sorry for your loss.'

The reaction seemed to happen in slow motion. All colour left Yukio's face, the younger boy clenched his fists desperately and the older said very softly,

'Kaa-chan…is dead? How could that have happened? She's the strongest woman in the world! She can't die!'

'Obito. Mother is dead, that man won't lie. Hatake-san, how…how did it happen?' Yukio partially regained some self-control. Sakumo nodded.

'We had a mission. You know, I can't give any details. Our intel was wrong and we had to retreat. We lost one man, Gekkou Shinji, and the enemy was closing the distance. Hisana-san decided to stay. She…she wanted to protect the rest of us, to let us return to Konoha. I'm sorry.'

'Why did you let her? Why didn't you yourself stay there?' the older boy was shouting now.

'Nii-san! How can you say that! Kaa-chan died to save that man, you have no right to blame him!' the younger boy defended Sakumo who flinched at the accusations. However, the words of a boy who's just lost his mother in his defense almost made him fall.

'Thank you, Hatake-san, for telling us. You didn't have to…' Yukio stood up uneasily. Sakumo turned to leave,

'I had to, Uchiha-san, that's the least I should do for you. I'd better leave now.'

He was led to the door by the youngest boy and just as Sakumo stepped outside, the boy said quietly,

'Mother saved you. I think, you're a good man if she did it. I will become strong like her and protect everybody too.'

The ANBU looked in the boy's eyes and replied,

'Yes, you will.'

Things went practically the same way in the Gekkou household, only it was the younger boy who blamed him. Young Hayate was quickly stopped by his brother, Junnosuke, who reprimanded him harshly. When Sakumo was on the street again he contemplated going home to his own son, Kakashi. However, he didn't want to break the sad news for the third time.

Sakumo sat on a rooftop and gazed at the stars. The night was silent and unforgiving. Perhaps the dawn, the favorite time of both Shinji and Hisana will bring him relief.

A/N. I hope to get my laptop back in a few days and then…the new chapter!

I hope you liked that interlude. I wanted to let Sakumo say something in his defense). So, Hayate and Izuna are more closely connected than they think, but they don't know that. Ow, the suspense)

See you soon, please, R&R!