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Four
Kakashi faintly wondered if Minato-sensei and Obito were sending the little demons to haunt him on purpose.
The first time he noticed he was being followed he'd been on alert. It was not usual for him to be trailed through the village so he hid and waited. He'd never been more surprised to see a child, let alone an Uchiha child, be the one following him. Then again, he supposed that maybe the kid had heard about his - Obito's - eye and was curious. It took a few more attempts of the same kid following him before he thought that maybe it wasn't just idle curiosity. The kid was skilled and somehow kept popping up in places he frequented, which was disconcerting, to say the least. Not even Guy found him in some of those places.
Further investigation revealed that the kid was the second son of the clan head, Sasuke, who was apparently a genius after his elder brother, even as far as having a special recommendation to enter the academy a year early. He was also the best friend of Naruto Uzumaki, which Kakashi should've put together earlier, considering he'd seen the two of them together fairly frequently. It was how, Kakashi thought tiredly, he'd recruited Minato's kid into being his stalking buddy. Naruto was not as subtle or quiet as Sasuke and often gave away their position with his giggle, bickering or loud movements. It was almost amusing, but he did not want or need kids following him around for any reason.
Kakashi didn't expect the pranks Naruto usually pulled to be turned on him and he definitely suspected Sasuke was the real mastermind behind them. The day his shampoo had the faintest whiff of dye in it was the day Kakashi had had enough. How they had managed to get into his apartment to spike his shampoo was an infuriating mystery, let alone how they knew where he lived. He slammed his shampoo into his wastebasket, dressed furiously fast and summoned Pakkun to hunt the Uchiha brat down.
When Sasuke saw the pug coming towards him he smirked with satisfaction. He stopped walking towards the academy and instead headed for the bridge where Team 7 used to meet for missions.
"Hey kid," Pakkun said, trotting up beside him.
"Hello," Sasuke answered. "You're a ninja hound."
"Yep. Name's Pakkun."
"Sasuke Uchiha."
He glanced down and saw that Pakkun was giving him a level, curious look. Sasuke gave him an equal look back and saw something like amusement cross Pakkun's eyes.
"Listen, pup, the boss is a bit upset with you."
Sasuke tried and failed to hold back a smirk.
"Who's your boss?" Sasuke asked, his tone making it clear he already knew.
"I reckon you know, pup. But shouldn't you be going to the academy?" Pakkun asked, eyeing his backpack.
Sasuke shrugged.
"I don't think Kakashi will be patient enough to wait for me to finish for the day before he finds me, do you?"
"You... seem to know a lot about the boss," Pakkun said carefully.
Sasuke shrugged and didn't reply.
"So where are you going?" Pakkun questioned.
"For a walk."
"Mind if I come?"
Sasuke shrugged again and kept walking, wondering what Kakashi was going to say.
Kakashi tracked Sasuke and Pakkun to a familiar place a little on the village outskirts and his eyes narrowed at the location. Why did Sasuke come all the way out here, of all places? Kakashi saw the brat sitting in the bridge with his legs crossed, his backpack laid beside him and Pakkun sitting in front of him. They were in the midst of a discussion about ninja cats versus hounds, and Kakashi remembered the Uchiha had an affinity for cats.
Even when Kakashi was standing over the boy, even after Pakkun had greeted him, Sasuke still didn't acknowledge him. Kakashi narrowed his eyes dangerously at the kid who was either a brave or an idiot. After Pakkun departed with a slightly worried and warning look to Kakashi, who gave him a short nod, Sasuke stood up and put his backpack back on over his shoulders. He finally raised his head and looked at Kakashi and Kakashi fought to keep his fists from clenching at the victorious smirk on the brats face.
"Yo," Sasuke said his tone mocking.
Kakashi breathed deeply, controlled.
"You know, it's bad manners to break into someone else's apartment," Kakashi said evenly. "Also very dangerous."
Sasuke's smirk widened and his eyes drifted up to Kakashi's hair.
"I never set foot in your apartment, I just know where you shop."
Kakashi's eyes narrowed further.
"Listen, kid, you might be some kind of new generation genius, but you don't - "
Sasuke shook his head.
"No, you listen, Kakashi since you finally decided to let me talk to you."
Surprised, Kakashi's mouth twitched. That was what all the pranks and stalking was about? The kid wanted to talk to him?
"Oh?" He said with interest.
The kids smirk washed away and was replaced with a more serious expression.
"You... you owe a lot to my clan, right?"
Kakashi was careful to keep from showing any visible response, but the kid seemed to not need one.
"So, so if someone or something was hurting the clan, would you help?"
Kakashi stilled and stared at the kid, trying to figure out how a five year old had the clarity of mind to ask a question like that, and more importantly why he would ask it in the first place.
"If the Uchiha were being harmed in some way the village would protect the clan, just like any other clan."
Apparently that was not the right response because the kid rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"You don't believe that?" Kakashi asked curiously.
Sasuke eyed him a moment.
"Do you?" He countered. "Why would the village protect the Uchiha when it doesn't even protect Naruto?"
At that, Kakashi stared hard at Sasuke, and Sasuke looked like he realised he'd said something he shouldn't have. Kakashi's suspicions about the kid rose.
"Naruto?" He asked.
Sasuke cleared his throat.
"My best friend," Sasuke said in a quieter voice. "The villagers are always saying mean things to him and sometimes trying to hurt him, and he's just a kid like me."
Sasuke looked and sounded like a child at that moment, but Kakashi wasn't convinced by the act, especially not after the way he'd just spoken to him. It was a good act, but not convincing in the slightest, not to him. He'd have to keep an eye on the brat.
"So if the village won't protect my friend why would it protect my clan?" Sasuke asked again.
"Shouldn't you be at the academy, kid?" Kakashi questioned, changing the discussion from the oddly difficult topic.
Sasuke seemed to sense the conversation was over. He was about to answer before he slowly closed his mouth and a devilish smirk spread across his face making Kakashi want to get away as soon as possible.
"Why don't you teach me something, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise and then he disappeared and a puff of smoke.
Sasuke chuckled lightly when Kakashi disappeared in panic before he heading back to the academy where he was looking forward to explaining he was late because of his new, favourite 'Kakashi-sensei.' As expected, his academy instructor didn't believe him and reprimanded him by sending him into the hall and with a letter sent home to his parents. They weren't impressed and Sasuke was forced to endure a long lecture about respecting his elders and a gentle but serious pressing to stay away from Kakashi, which he supposed made sense. The Kakashi he'd observed wasn't the same man that had been his sensei. He was definitely a darker type of man, but it didn't scare Sasuke, it just made him more eager to get under his skin.
He was sure that Kakashi would be keeping a closer eye on him after his slip-up about Naruto, and considering what he'd said about his clan, and that was a good thing. The more that Kakashi could decipher, could see, could observe, the more likely he would be to actually listen when the time came, and that was what Sasuke needed. He needed Kakashi who was one of the strongest shinobi in the village, who had ties to Danzo and the Third, was feared and respected and connected forever to his clan. There was a sense of loyalty to Obito that Sasuke planned to exploit, however guilty that made him feel to do, because for Sasuke, his brother came first.
As surprising as it was, Sasuke's lunchtimes were not spent alone like he wanted. Somehow, Lee and Tenten and Neji had become his companions, which provided an interesting dynamic considering Neji seemed to hold contempt for both him and Lee, and Sasuke didn't understand why he spent time with them in the first place. Tenten was the peacemaker, smoothing over every argument, and Lee was just Lee: energetic and irritating and annoyingly sincere. Most of the time he was silent, ignoring the glares Neji gave him and responding to Lee's exuberant displays of life with grunts and monosyllables. But there were days when Neji decided to take out his own life's frustrations on Lee and Sasuke couldn't keep quiet.
"Hn. You're annoying," he said with a scowl.
Neji glared and Tenten looked between them anxiously while Lee sat slumped and down hearted.
"The sooner he understands he's not cut out to be a shinobi, the better," Neji said, more harshly than a six-year-old ought too.
Sasuke scoffed.
"Obviously everyone who thinks you're a genius is an idiot," Sasuke snapped.
"Sasuke, that's not - "
Neji's sharp glare cut Tenten off.
"Only a fool would try to escape their fate."
Sasuke clenched his fist and jaw. It hadn't been a good night for him, he'd had a nightmare about his past regrets, and added to the insufferable comments Neji was making about not changing fate, things were hitting a little too close to home for Sasuke to handle. He glared at Neji.
"If you're so unhappy, do something about it instead of complaining," Sasuke hissed.
Neji fumed and Sasuke turned from him to Lee.
"Are you going to accept that?"
He stared hard at this young Lee, who hadn't yet met Might Guy and was without a youthful spirit companion. Lee looked at him, gaze wavering for a moment and Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"Do you want to be a shinobi or not?" He snapped.
He couldn't believe he almost missed the future Lee; at least he was more firm in his beliefs. Lee's eyes steeled with a familiar determination.
"Yes! I will become the best shinobi I can be and a master in taijutsu!" He declared before he turned to Neji. "I will prove it to you Neji! I will be great even without being able to use chakra."
Neji shook his head, having had enough, and stood.
"We don't always get what we want," he said darkly and then left them.
Tenten looked between Neji's retreating figure and at Sasuke and Lee biting her lip. Sasuke scowled, wondering if it were possible to speed up time so Naruto could punch sense into Neji already.
"Why do you and Neji always fight?" Tenten questioned Sasuke.
Sasuke glanced at her and then away.
"The Hyuga and Uchiha have a rivalry," he replied.
Lee and Tenten frowned.
"That's not the truth," Tenten answered, upset. "Why are you lying? I thought we were friends."
Sasuke's brow twitched and he fought the urge to apologise. Instead, he gave a tired sigh and stood up.
"Break is over."
He returned to the class alone.
Sasuke watched with amusement as Naruto squirmed under Mikoto's motherly glare, her hands in her hips.
"Naruto! You told me you were cleaning up like Sasuke showed you! Look at this mess!"
She pointed to the unmade bed, the pile of smelly, dirty clothes, the unwashed bowls and off milk on the table. Naruto gave a nervous chuckle.
"Sorry, Mikoto, I forgot!"
Mikoto sighed and shook her head.
"All right. Sasuke, here." She pulled out her purse and handed him some money. "You two boys go and get some lunch and play. I'm going to stay here and clean up."
Sasuke nodded and Naruto gave her a shy, sheepish hug around her legs and Mikoto's face softened.
"Thanks, Mikoto," Naruto mumbled.
She patted his head fondly.
"Don't get into too much trouble," she warned them.
Sasuke and Naruto ran out of his house and into the village, predictably, right to Ichiraku Ramen.
Mikoto looked around Naruto's little flat with a tired, sorrowful sigh before she set about to clean it. She opened all the windows first, trying to breathe some fresh air into the musty, stale place. She thought it would only be a matter of minutes before someone showed up, and she wasn't disappointed, although she was annoyed. Two knocks at the door and she opened it to see the Hokage himself standing there, giving her a pleasant smile, which she returned, equally pleasant.
"Good afternoon, Lord Hokage," she greeted him.
"Good afternoon, Mikoto. Might I come inside?"
Mikoto stepped aside, noting the ANBU stationed outside the door.
"I'd offer you tea, but I'm afraid it might cause some ill side effects," she said wryly.
The Hokage chuckled in understanding and she closed the door behind him.
"Not to worry, I'm quite all right," he said. He looked around. "I see Naruto is out."
Mikoto pursed her lips.
"I sent Naruto and Sasuke out to have lunch while I clean," she said to him.
"Is that so?"
Mikoto folded her arms over her chest.
"Someone has to take care of that boy," she said evenly, the implication and disapproval in her voice clear.
The Hokage turned to face her.
"The village provides for Naruto."
"A constant ANBU surveillance, a stipend he doesn't know how to spend properly, and a flat is not what his parents would have wanted," Mikoto said in a tight and angry voice.
The Hokage turned and gave her a sharp look, and Mikoto's heart raced.
"Do you really think I wouldn't recognise the son of my best friend and her husband?" She asked, standing straight. "His personality is exactly like his mother and he looks just like his father. Why don't we stop the pretense, Lord Hokage? What are you doing here? Are you worried about the Uchiha corrupting him?" She snapped, her anger and frustration getting the better of her.
The Hokage's eyes narrowed and she fought to not cringe away from his intimidation.
"Those are dangerous words, Mikoto. I expected better from you," he said in a low voice.
She took a deep breath and steadied herself.
"Naruto is more than just a child of the village," the Hokage said. Mikoto clenched her jaw. "You understand why there are reservations about him having such a close relationship with the Uchiha clan."
"They're just boys," Mikoto said in a strained voice. "It's an innocent friendship."
"Yes," he replied. "I agree. It is important for Naruto to make friends, and I believe that your son is genuine in his friendship."
Mikoto looked at him in confusion.
"What else could he be? He's five years old!"
The Hokage gave a heavy sigh and gave her a tight smile.
"You must be very proud to have two such intelligent children, Mikoto," he said to her.
She narrowed her eyes.
"Lord Hokage, please speak plainly. I'm proud of both my children, and I know they are both beyond their years. I don't understand what you're implying."
He gave her an apologetic look.
"I must ask you not to come to Naruto's home anymore. For the good of the village and your clan."
Mikoto's hands shook.
"I understand," she said, bowing her head to him. "I'll clean today and then leave."
She spoke through gritted teeth.
"Leave an ANBU here if your precious council is so concerned about me."
She turned away, hiding the frustration and angry tears in her eyes. Moments later, the Hokage left, and an ANBU remained.
Sasuke noticed that his mother was hiding something when he and Naruto returned. Naruto didn't notice, he was too excited about the now-spotless flat he lived in. He gave Mikoto a big hug, and she smiled, but Sasuke frowned when he saw it was forced. He held her hand tightly on the way home, wishing he knew what had happened but unable to ask.
Time passed and Sasuke found himself reluctantly enjoying his time at the academy again. It was nice to there without the shadow of the massacre and hatred of Itachi looming over him constantly. Lee and Tenten were better company than he thought they would be, and Neji quickly became both the rival of him and Lee.
Sasuke suffered being targeted by the older and insecure kids, and quickly put to rest any thoughts that he avoided conflict like Itachi had. Sasuke was more than happy to put fools in their place, and while it gave him satisfaction to do so, it also increased the frequency of the attacks and painted him in a bad light to the sensei. He eventually just avoided the bullies and endured the mocking comments until they saw that he didn't care and backed away.
Naruto was painfully slow in improving his own skills when Sasuke tried to teach him anything, and on observing them one afternoon, Shikamaru asked Sasuke why he was bothering in the first place when it was clearly bothersome. Sasuke told him to figure it out himself. It wasn't long after that that Sasuke invited Shikamaru and Choji over to his house for dinner, putting his plan for improving clan-to-clan relations into action. It took a few days, and Sasuke's persistent asking before it happened, and when it did he saw that the atmosphere wasn't as relaxed as he'd have liked it.
One afternoon at the park, when Choji and Naruto were locked in a discussion about something inane, Shikamaru was laying in the grass and staring at the clouds and Sasuke lay down beside him.
"Why are you so insistent about dinner together?" Shikamaru asked him.
Sasuke smirked, glad to have finally piqued the curiosity of the Nara. With Shikamaru Sasuke knew he could talk a little more openly, a little less like a child. If he managed it right, Shikaku would be made aware of things that he may not have been aware of in the past, and that could help a lot. As far as Sasuke knew, only the Hokage and the council knew the truth about the relations between the village and the Uchiha. Other clans might have their own suspicions, but the depth of the truth wasn't known. Sasuke's smirk dropped.
"I think my clan is isolated," he replied.
Shikamaru glanced at him briefly and then let out a big sigh.
"Sounds troublesome," he said.
Sasuke silently agreed.
"The village doesn't really like my clan," Sasuke said quietly.
Shikamaru didn't reply and his eyes were closed, but Sasuke knew he was listening.
"If we have more friends and show that we're nice, things might get better."
Simple, short, but informative enough for Shikamaru to know that things were happening under the surface, and so that Shikaku would also pick up on it if Shikamaru said something to him. Small steps to start with.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.
Sasuke saw Sakura for the first time in the park and paused. Naruto, oblivious, ran ahead to the swing-set, while Sasuke debated what to do, suddenly nervous. He wasn't prepared to meet Sakura yet but she looked up and around when Naruto screamed with delight for him to hurry up and come and play, and she saw him and immediately blushed and he sighed. Then he saw Ino and sighed more heavily. There was no avoiding it now. Sasuke walked up to them with a small scowl and his hands in his pockets. The girls stared in disbelief at him, clearly not expecting him to do so.
"Sasuke!" Ino stammered, trying to appear like she wasn't.
Sasuke barely looked at her. He kept his eyes on Sakura, who was looking at him with some awe and nervousness.
"H-hello," she stuttered.
"Sakura."
Both Sakura and Ino looked shocked that Sasuke knew her name. He saw the way Ino's expression faltered and he scowled causing the two to flinch away.
"Naruto and I are going to play. If you want you can too," he said gruffly.
Then he walked away and left them to do what they wanted. Naruto, who'd been watching from afar questioned Sasuke when he returned, and Sasuke merely shrugged in response and told Naruto they were the same age and might play if he was nice.
Unsurprisingly, the girls didn't play with them that day, but several days later they did, although Sasuke was immediately annoyed with Ino, who clung to him and ignored both Sakura and Naruto. It was obvious that she had also been in some stupid little conflict with Sakura, the way that girls were. He soon grew annoyed with Sakura, who was mean to Naruto. Fed up seeing Naruto pretending like he was okay, Sasuke snapped at Sakura and Ino.
"If you can't be friends with Naruto, you can't be friends with me," he snapped. "I don't like girls who fight over stupid things like boys. We're going to be shinobi, so grow up."
He grabbed Naruto by the arm and stormed out of the park, leaving the shellshocked Ino and Sakura behind, and hardly listened to Naruto as he complained about leaving the 'super-pretty and nice Sakura' behind.
Weeks passed before he saw either Ino or Sakura again. He definitely hadn't been avoiding them, and he definitely wasn't spending time wishing that he was older again and that Sakura was older again either. Definitely not. Sasuke had merely not been where they were. He'd instead been with his brother and Shisui and had taken to showing Naruto around the Uchiha District instead of the park.
When he wasn't at the academy, with Lee, or Naruto, Sasuke was back into his training and trying to bridge the gap between his clan and some of the others. There were times he wished that he had Naruto's more open personality because he was exhausted with all the talking he'd been doing, especially when he realised that bridging the gap between his clan and others meant he had to make Ino a part of his plans. The night he managed to have the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi leaders over for dinner under the guise of a 'play-date', in which he and Shikamaru endured Ino, Itachi confronted him.
"Why do you keep bringing people around when you don't like it?" He asked as Sasuke was getting into bed.
Sasuke paused and then continued to get ready to sleep. Itachi came into the room and pulled his blanket up, tucking Sasuke in, before sitting on the edge of the bed. He poked Sasuke in the head with a little smile, but his eyes were concerned.
"I know you, Sasuke. You're putting up with looking interested, but why?"
Sasuke pursed his lips.
"The other clans are all friends," he replied. "Why don't we have friends like them?"
Itachi stared at him for a moment, clearly surprised by his answer.
"I don't really care if they're my friends. But if mother and father have more friends from other clans, maybe the village will like us better," he continued, watching his brother carefully to see his reaction.
Itachi stared at Sasuke for a long time.
"I thought I said you didn't need to worry about those things," he said eventually.
Sasuke frowned.
"Why not? You're a kid too and you worry."
Itachi gave him a small smile.
"That's what big brothers do," he replied. "Good night, Sasuke."
"Night, 'Tachi."
Sasuke settled into his blankets and fell asleep almost immediately, and in his last moments of consciousness, vowing to take the next week off of all socialising whatsoever.
Sasuke finished top of his class in the first term just like he said he would and Shisui was forced to bend to his will and train with him. During his break from the academy, Shisui had Sasuke running drills and Sasuke was pleased to see that his cousin was surprised and impressed by his skills and promised that when he and Itachi were training together, he'd let Sasuke come along sometimes too.
It was immediately obvious that Neji was not pleased by the results, and judging from his glares and storming out of the school, he now thoroughly despised Sasuke. Itachi had come to collect Sasuke on his last day and saw the Hyuga leave and the worried looks Tenten was throwing between the pair of them and questioned Sasuke what the problem was. He just shrugged and said it wasn't something to worry about, but privately, Sasuke did worry. After a few days, he decided it would be better if he didn't continue to draw attention to himself. Neji was supposed to be the genius in that age-group, and Sasuke was little more than an interloper.
On Naruto's birthday, Sasuke and Itachi broke into his apartment and with a lot of reluctance cleaned the place up. Itachi, who usually kept his opinions to himself, couldn't help but express that he couldn't fathom how dirty it managed to get so quickly. Naruto, predictably, didn't wake up once or stir in his sleep while they were inside. Sasuke, feeling devious, ripped the blankets off him and dumped cold water on his face. The chaos that ensued rendered their cleaning pointless, but Sasuke did manage to have fun until Itachi picked them both up by their collars and gave them a stern warning to behave.
When they brought out the cake they'd hidden for him, Naruto blubbered and hugged them both very tightly. Sasuke refused to sing happy birthday, but he did say it quietly while looking away from Naruto, too embarrassed by the spectacle to do much more. The three of them spent the day in Naruto's apartment since Itachi decided it would be more fun to play games. Sasuke, however, knew it was in an effort to protect Naruto from the general public whose resentment toward him was probably heightened because it was the anniversary of the Nine-Tails attack.
Training with Lee was a nice break for Sasuke, who was used to holding back during the day. But against Lee, he didn't bother and they often battled it out until they both ended up on their backs unable to move. Sasuke was, regrettably, beginning to feel a real friendship with him but he still adamantly refused to meet up with Lee outside of the academy and training hours. Naruto was tiring enough for him, but Lee and Naruto together, there was no chance.
The dissatisfaction between his clan and the village seemed to stagnate, and despite Sasuke's attempts to improve it in some small way, nothing he was doing seemed to work and Itachi was keeping an even closer eye on him than ever. In his previous time as a kid, Sasuke would've loved nothing more than to have his big brother hanging around him so much, but now he was finding it overbearing. Still, he didn't say anything to discourage it and instead decided that if Itachi was going to be around all the time, then whenever he could Sasuke sought out Izumi and force them to interact. It was fun watching Itachi be flustered and helped reinforce Sasuke's determination to make sure his brother lived the life he deserved.
Sasuke and Naruto continued to try and prank Kakashi as much as possible, but it grew more and more difficult as Kakashi managed to turn their pranks back on them. It was difficult for Sasuke to hold in everything he wanted to say and do when he ended up with a disgusting mix of porridge and feathers all over his face and hair. The adult in him wanted nothing more than to retaliate brutally, but he held back and promised a lifetime for pain for his future sensei.
He didn't see Ino and Sakura again until the new year came and his mother forced him out into the festival. Both Itachi and Shisui were away on missions and Naruto had told him that he usually went somewhere with the Hokage at this time. Sasuke suspected it was to check his seal, and gave Naruto a tight nod, knowing that he would never be allowed to go with him. He hadn't been planning on leaving the house at all, but when Mikoto wanted something she usually got it. His father was working, so it was just him and his mother, which he didn't mind.
He saw Ino and Sakura from afar, and it was obvious that they were not friends anymore. Ino stuck her nose in the air when she saw Sakura and Sakura did the same. Sasuke scowled when he saw both their shoulders drop when they thought no one was looking and made up an excuse when his mother asked what was wrong. He wasn't going to tell her that he was worried about Sakura, he'd never hear the end of it. Instead, when he returned home, he had to deal with Mikoto gushing over Lee and Tenten, who they'd run into during the festival. She was so pleased that he'd apparently made even more friends, and Sasuke was content to let her feel that way and bask in her pride for a little while. It was beneficial for both of them.
If Sasuke had known that Kakashi was keeping as close an eye on him as he had been, he would have been more cautious. But Kakashi was far above his ability to track as he was and when his sensei finally confronted him, Sasuke found it difficult to regain his composure.
"What are you still doing at the academy?"
Sasuke, who was concentrating hard on his chakra control on the underside of a branch, startled at the voice coming from above him and lost his footing, falling to the ground far below. He halted his fall with a quick mid-air maneuver that ended with his kunai in the trunk of the great tree and halting his progress down. With a racing heart, Sasuke jumped the rest of the way down and landed in a crouch. He wanted to run, but he knew it would be a fruitless effort; Kakashi would catch him in moments. Instead, he raised to standing and put away his kunai and looked back over his shoulder to Kakashi, who was standing behind him, obviously ready to reach out and grab him if he should run.
"None of your business," Sasuke answered cooly.
Kakashi didn't respond and the tension rose. Slowly, Sasuke turned and stared up at him.
"Is it fun for you, trying to intimidate a five-year-old?" Sasuke inquired.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed.
"You're not like your brother," he said after a moment. "There's something different about you."
Sasuke scoffed.
"Of course not," he responded. "Itachi is a genius."
"And what are you?" Kakashi asked, his eyes curious and demeanor that of an interrogator.
Sasuke paused, considering how to answer. He surmised that Kakashi had been watching him for long enough to know that his kid act was just that, an act. Still, it was imperative that Sasuke keeps under the radar, and if Kakashi repeated his suspicions to the Hokage, or worse, Danzo, he'd be in trouble.
"I have other advantages," he settled on.
"Other advantages," Kakashi repeated, not believing him. "You don't belong at the academy and you know it. So why are you still there?"
Sasuke's mouth tightened in a firm line and he turned away.
"Are you going to tell the Hokage?" He asked quietly.
Kakashi didn't respond and Sasuke looked back at him, his eyes determined.
"You won't believe me even if I tell you the truth, so why should I tell you anything?" Sasuke tried a different approach to try and understand what Kakashi was thinking.
"Because I can force it out of you, willingly or not," Kakashi threatened.
Sasuke involuntarily flinched and scowled because he did.
"You wouldn't do that," he shot back confidently. "You're already on thin ice with some of the clan because of Obito's eye. If you hurt me it'll just blow back on you."
The atmosphere around Kakashi darkened at the mention of Obito's name and Sasuke took a step back.
"I have things to protect, just like Itachi and Shisui," Sasuke blurted out, trying to stop Kakashi from either exploding or running. "I didn't mean to go to the academy early and I'm staying because it'll just be worse for my clan if more rumours spread about us being too powerful."
Kakashi, who had been listening in anger suddenly paused at hearing the end of Sasuke's explanation. He stepped back and looked down at Sasuke, who swallowed and straightened out his shirt. This younger Kakashi was not like the man he had known, the atmosphere around him was more cutting and threatening than Sasuke was used to.
"If you tell the Hokage, someone else will find out and I don't want them too," Sasuke murmured, hoping that Kakashi would be able to read between the lines.
There was a long pause and Sasuke's heart pounded in his chest as he waited for Kakashi to speak. When he did, it wasn't what Sasuke had expected.
"If you had to choose between your clan and Naruto, who would you save?"
Sasuke frowned and clenched his jaw.
"Naruto," was his whispered, guilt-ridden answer.
There was too much at stake. Naruto had to survive anything, no matter what. Without Naruto, Kaguya would never be sealed again.
If Kakashi had any thoughts of what he'd said, he didn't show them. Instead, he continued his questioning.
"What about between your clan or the village?"
Sasuke's frowned deepened and he swallowed hard.
"The village," he said thickly.
If he was forced into that choice, he would honour Itachi's past choices and sacrifice himself instead. Again, he couldn't read Kakashi's thoughts.
"Naruto or Itachi?"
Sasuke froze and then glared at Kakashi.
"What's the purpose of these questions?"
"Why are you so attached to Naruto?" Kakashi prodded.
"He's my best friend," Sasuke answered truthfully.
"You could have other friends, why him?" Kakashi asked insistently. "Why some orphan that the village hates?"
Sasuke scoffed.
"One day these people will look at him and call him a hero, just you wait," Sasuke said challenging Kakashi to differ. "Naruto's going to be Hokage."
Naruto is going to save the world, and this time, I'm going to be standing by him all the way there. I won't let him down again, not this time.
Kakashi's eyes suddenly flickered upward behind Sasuke and peered into the trees. Sasuke turned his head to look at the intruder and the moment he did he knew felt Kakashi disappear. He locked eyes with Shisui and Itachi, both of whom were staring at him with concern. This day was not going his way at all. Sasuke heaved a sigh.
"What's going on, Sasuke?" Shisui broke the silence.
"Nothing," Sasuke muttered.
Shisui and Itachi glanced at each other and Sasuke lowered his eyes to the ground.
"How long?" He murmured.
"Long enough," was Itachi's reply.
Itachi looked at Shisui and a silent understanding passed between them before Shisui was gone - gone after Kakashi, Sasuke guessed - leaving the brothers alone in the midst of the forest.
"Are you angry?" Sasuke asked quietly.
Itachi took a few steps towards him.
"No, Sasuke. I'm worried," Itachi said. "I'm worried because… you're right."
Sasuke's eyes snapped to Itachi's.
"I'm right?" He repeated, surprised.
"I keep telling you not to worry, but you don't listen and it's obvious that see more than anyone gives you credit for," Itachi said after a moment.
Sasuke swallowed and hesitantly took a few steps closer to Itachi, gazing at his face a moment before he saw the twitch in his brother's arms and ran forward into his embrace. Sasuke hugged Itachi, his eyes closing tightly as he became filled with gratitude for Itachi being his brother and undercut with fear for the future.
"Kakashi Hatake is not someone you should anger, Sasuke," Itachi whispered. "He's a very dangerous shinobi."
Sasuke could only give a short hum in response.
"Sasuke, promise me you won't do anything reckless."
Itachi's voice had a desperate tone to it.
"Promise," Sasuke replied, stepping back from his brother.
"Stay in the academy as long as you can," Itachi said. "It's a good plan."
"Only if you promise me something," Sasuke said firmly. "Don't do anything reckless and don't keep trying to protect me."
Itachi gave him a tight smile and poked his forehead.
"Let's go home."
Sasuke noticed that he didn't promise anything, but nodded and held Itachi's hand as they went. Between Kakashi apparently stalking him, his worry for Itachi and Itachi's worry for him, Sasuke was beginning to wonder how much longer he was going to be able to hide the extent of his skills from the village.
Kakashi and Shisui stood in a tense silence in another part of the forest some kilometers away from where they'd left Itachi and Sasuke. The pair stared in silence, both trying to gain the measure of the other. Kakashi was Shisui's superior in age and position, but he knew that the younger Uchiha was not as far below him as many others were. There were only a few years between them and Shisui was the youngest jonin in the village. He wasn't to be underestimated. Kakashi broke the silence with a statement he knew would cause Shisui to become defensive.
"He's too observant for his own good."
Shisui's response was fierce in his eyes and tone of voice.
"We will protect him."
Kakashi couldn't manage a soft expression beneath his mask, he could only taste bitterness of his tongue.
"You'll fail."
His eye twitched beneath his headband, a reminder of just how the Uchiha protected others. He recognised the look in Shisui's eyes as his gaze hardened.
"You knew we were there," he accused Kakashi.
Shisui was right. Kakashi had known they were listening. He didn't bother to deny it and waited for Shisui to get on with whatever he wanted to say.
"How long have you been watching him? Those questions weren't random," Shisui said.
Kakashi looked at him with interest disguised as annoyance. He didn't want to give away anything to a kid, no matter the talent he had. When he didn't answer, Shisui grew openly frustrated and stepped forwards.
"Not going to answer me? Why? You're not afraid, are you, Hatake?" Shisui tried to provoke him.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, and not for the first time, questioned what it was about Sasuke Uchiha that kept drawing people to him and why the kid seemed to see more and see further than most adults could. Shisui seemed satisfied when he saw Kakashi's eyes narrow.
"Don't you think his answers were interesting?" Kakashi said lightly, shifting his stance and causing Shisui to tense at the movement. "Such odd loyalties for an Uchiha, no?"
Shisui's fist clenched.
"You don't have the right to say that, Hatake."
Kakashi almost flinched at the harsh meaning behind his words but he didn't. He kept his body carefully neutral to hide how much he wanted to lash out. He didn't understand himself why he wasn't just leaving. Even if Shisui pursued him, he would find a way to keep the kid back. Shisui was not Minato, no matter how fast he became.
"He's not like Itachi or you. Don't make his life more difficult than it needs to be," Shisui sighed.
"Like Itachi or me?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "In what way? He seems very like us."
Shisui clenched his jaw but didn't reply. The air between them was tense until he looked away from Kakashi a moment before he looked back with a different air. More tiredly, but with meaning.
"Whatever some people might think, Sasuke didn't get close to Naruto Uzumaki for any ulterior reason."
Kakashi inhaled and his eyes sharpened as he took in the defiant eyes of Shisui Uchiha, who stared back without flinching, and Kakashi believed him. His opinion didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. He felt was being pulled into this because of the kid who wouldn't leave him alone, and village politics wasn't something he wanted anything to do with. Somehow, Kakashi had a hunch that things were just beginning. The way that a five-year-old seemed to understand the political undercurrents of the village and all those little leading comments he let drop were too much for Kakashi to simply ignore.
"Be careful, Shisui," he said, turning away. "You know what happens when people know too much."
"Don't be a stranger, Kakashi." There was a hint of amusement in his voice. "Though I doubt you could be, since you're interested now."
Kakashi turned his head back to glare at Shisui who was smirking, and disappeared in a puff of smoke and swirl of leaves.