Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my freaking - you guys are awesome. Seriously. I'm already at over 75 favorites and OVER 120 followers. 120. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY. OH MY GOD. I'm the happiest author alive right now :)
And I'm already at 50 reviews in THEEE CHAPTERS, which is INSANE...have I said I love you guys? 'Cause I do! (In a totally platonic and non-creepy way, mind you) My goal for this story is 100 reviews, and I'm already halfway there! O.O
Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful support, you guys are encouraging me to forget homework and write this story for you guys - not sure if my parents will view that as a good thing but WHO CARES?!
But seriously, I feel like I don't deserve this at all...you guys are amazing. Absolutely amazing. Way too amazing for this lowly author. Seriously.
On to chapter four!
If there was one thing Kakashi hated more than actually doing work, it was shopping.
Shopping.
He was a shinobi, a former-ANBU for Kami's sake! Seriously!
How the hell was he stuck in a freaking shopping mall, carrying shopping bags with horrible smiling people and giant logos, with three giddy children accompanying him around?
Scratch that, two giddy children. The third one was just...weird.
Said kid was looking up at him irritatedly. "Can we go home yet?"
Kakashi sighed. "No, Sasuke, not yet, we have to get clothes for all three of you - your old torn ones just won't do." He whispered in his ear, "Trust me, I hate this as much as you do. But if you cooperate, I'll buy you a tomato on our way back."
Sasuke immediately brightened. "You promise?" He asked in all 6-year-old seriousness.
Kakashi nodded solemnly, and Sasuke steeled himself and did his best to look happy and cheerful - like a normal child should. Well, as happy as Sasuke could do. Kakashi gave him brownie points for trying.
The other kids, Naruto and Sakura, looked genuinely joyful. He swore the two were having a field day. They were gawking everyone and everything, with people smiling at them and calling them 'cute'. It was amazing how people's attitude changed when you're supposedly of different status - in this case a normal child instead of an orphan.
Finally, they arrived at the dreaded destination. The ninja supplies shop.
It was a quaint little place at the corner of a street, with windows that displayed hundreds of kunai, shuriken, senbon, and anything else you could think of.
Now, normally Kakashi loved this place. It was one of many ninja stores in Konohagakure, but it had good quality clothes and weapons especially.
But today...he was brining three kids along with him. That were definitely NOT genin age. This was going to be awkward.
As he pushed open the door, the shopkeeper, an old man named Kaito looked up from his weapon polishing.
"Ahh, Kakashi! What brings you here, my friend? Need more senbon?" Kaito smiled at the arrival of one of his most frequent customers. He then noticed the three kids now currently attached to his leg.
Instead of giving him a look of confusion, he let out a booming laugh. "Alright Kakashi, which girls did you bang up to get these three? 'Cause they sure don't have the same momma, that much is clear!"
Kakashi flushed a deep red worthy of a fire jutsu, while his three charges looked at him in confusion. "Kakashi-sensei, what does 'bang up' mean-" Sakura started.
"Sakura, don't ask. Please." He managed to grind out. He shot a glower at Kaito. "And these are my soon-to-be genin team, not my kids." He growled at the shopkeeper.
Kaito simply shrugged, giving him a mischievous smirk. "Hey, your reaction was priceless!" With another glare aimed at him by the copy-nin, the shopkeeper held up his hands in surrender. "Ok, ok. So, what can I do for ya'll, kiddos?" He grinned at the kids.
Naruto grinned right back. "We're here to get some ninja clothes, ojii-san!"
Kaito gave another chortling laugh. "I like you, kid. You've got spunk!" He said, ruffling the blonde's hair.
He turned to the other kids. "Now, what are your names?"
"I'm Naruto, dattebayo!" The blonde nearly screamed, waving his hands around.
The pinkette smiled. "Hi, I'm Sakura."
The black-haired boy merely said, "Sasuke. Nice to meet you."
Kaito clasped his hands together. "Well then kiddos, let's find you guys - and girls - some awesome ninja clothes!"
"Ooooh! Look at this! It's orange!"
"Dobe...that looks horrendous."
"Aww, but Sasuke-teme! I don't even know what 'horrendous' means!"
"It means bad-looking, Naruto."
"Ohh, thanks Kura-channn! Wait - NO IT IS NOT UGLY!"
"Tch. Then you're colorblind."
Kakashi had to agree with Sasuke on this one. The orange jumpsuit he was currently looking at was...horrendous.
The orange neon fabric glared up at them harshly, with the baggy sleeves that prevented almost all movability. Kakashi shuddered.
"Hey, Naruto, I have a good idea of a color scheme for you!" Kakashi said fake-brightly.
"Really." Naruto said excitedly. "What is it?"
Kakashi tilted his head thoughtfully. "Hmm...I'd say blue and black, the blue to match your eyes."
Naruto pouted. "Awww...but I love orange!" His whining then gave way to some contemplative thinking. "Although...blue isn't a bad color either..." He mused.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Idiot." He had already found seven normal ninja clothes sets, all of the identical. All seven were in generic ninja black, along with metal arm guards and leg guards, with 2 sets of black ninja boots.
Seriously, with all the black he would be sporting, along with his dark eyes and hair, he'd look like a walking shadow. Which, Kakashi supposed, was a good thing for a ninja.
He just hoped he wouldn't dress like that casually - then people might start asking questions.
Sakura, on the other hand, was holding up two matching outfits on hangers, looking between the two. One was a simple red kimono top with black shorts and a grey skirt, the other an off-shoulder green top with a mesh long-sleeved shirt underneath that you could see at the sleeves and neckline with black cargo pants. Both sets had black ninja boots.
She looked up at her surrogate-father. "Kakashi-sensei, which one do you think is better?"
Kakashi narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at the two. "Hmm. I think the green goes better with your hair and eyes."
Sakura examined the clothes critically a final time before nodding cheerfully. "Yeah, I think so too. Thanks Kaka-sensei!" She chirped.
Kakashi realized that compared to when they first met, Sakura had gained a lot of confidence. Whether she was just nervous around him at the time or not he had no idea, but either way it was a good sign.
When Kakashi looked again, the pinkette was holding up seven sets of the same outfit. Handing a stunned Kakashi the pile, she smiled cheekily. "Thanks for holding my clothes for me, Kakashi-sensei!" With a mischievous wave, she vanished into the shop, probably going to look for her brothers.
...That little brat.
Naruto finally emerged from the maze of clothing racks. "Hey Kakashi-sensei! Check this out!" He proudly held out a jumpsuit that, thankfully, wasn't orange. It was sky blue and black, very similar to the orange one he was currently wearing, except A) it wasn't as old and beat up, and B) not nearly as obnoxious-looking.
Sakura nodded her approval. "That's pretty good choice, Naruto-nii. It goes well with your eyes."
Naruto grinned. "Thanks, Kura-chan! I like it too, 'cause it reminds me of my old jumpsuit, only better!" He hugged the blue garment to his chest lovingly.
Sasuke grunted. "Can we go now?" He gave Kakashi a pleading look...well, if Uchiha could plead.
The other three rolled their eyes.
Making their way over to the counter to pay (Kakashi grumbling about carrying Sakura's stuff), they were greeted by old man Kaito.
"Alright! You kids got your stuff?" He grinned and ruffled Sakura's hair, causing said girl to giggle. "Good! Alright, Kakashi, let me ring them up." He held out his arms for the enormous pile of ninja clothes, which Kakashi gave to him gratefully.
Checking their prices, he announced, "8000 yen."
Kakashi raised his eyebrows. "Really? That's pretty cheap, for 21 ninja outfits. Aye you sure you didn't-"
Kaito winked at the ninja. What was he...oh.
Kakashi grinned. "Thanks, Kaito."
"Don't mention it." Kaito grinned back.
Yup, Kaito was a great man.
The three kids had made it home relatively fine, well, except for the fact that Sasuke and Naruto were arguing like typical six-year olds about who's clothes were better.
"Alright, how about you guys try on your new outfits?" Kakashi suggested.
Both boys nodded and immediately began to strip. Sakura on the other hand began flushing a deep red as she fidgeted uncomfortably. "But...Kakashi-sensei..."
"Oh." Kakashi felt like an idiot. "Errr...go on to the bathroom."
Nodding gratefully, the pinkette made her escape to the bathroom, while both boys were trying on their new clothes.
Posing in front of the mirror, Naruto grinned, and obviously the mirror-Naruto grinned right back. "I look totally awesome and handsome, dattebayo!" Kakashi had to admit, without the orange jumpsuit Naruto did look a lot more serious and less...well, weird.
Sasuke groaned. "Shut up, dobe." Pulling on his new boots, he grunted. "These'll do..." Decked out in black, the ex-Uchiha pulled on the sleeve. "And the sleeves are made to fit senbon inside. Not bad."
Which was probably Sasuke-nese for "Wow, this is pretty cool. I like them!"
"Are you guys decent?" A timid voice called out.
Shouting a confirmation, Kakashi motioned for her to come out. "Let us take a look at your new clothes, Sakura."
Stepping out into the light, Kakashi grinned. "You look so cute, Pinky!" He teased.
Sakura gave him a mock-glare and crossed her arms. "Kakashi-senseiii! I'm supposed to look intimidating, not cute!"
Naruto snickered, holding his hands over his mouth gleefully. "Sorry Kura-chan, but you do look pretty cute..."
Sasuke smirked. "Yeah, you do."
Sakura stamped her foot in typical 6-year-old fashion and pouted. "I hate you all."
Kakashi gave her an eye-smile. "Hate is a strong word Pinky..." He chuckled.
Kakashi did have to admit though - Sakura looked pretty damn cute. The green was fitting with her hair and eyes, and the top wasn't too low-cut (they were still six, after all).
Said girl fidgeted with the ninja boots. "These are so thick, Kakashi-sensei, what are they for?" She complained, shaking one leg out.
"They're meant for ninja duties - you can climb roofs and walk over broken glass without it piercing through, and the padding allows for an almost silent walk." Kakashi explained. He gestured to his own boots. "Plus, they're sturdy, and they're warm for cold weather."
"But that's just it! What if it's summer?" Naruto whined in agreement.
Kakashi sighed. "You deal with it."
Sasuke grunted. "Hn."
Kakashi clapped his hands. "Alright, my little minions, time to go to the Training Grounds to test out your new outfits for movability."
"Ugh, do we have to?" Sasuke groaned.
Kakashi smirked. "Yup. Unless, of course, you want a repeat of yesterday..." He trailed off.
All three soon-to-be genin were suddenly up on their feet. "Hai, sensei." They grumbled in unison.
Kakashi knew there was someone watching the second they entered the training grounds.
He was a former-ANBU, an elite ninja capable of completing S-Rank missions with ease (mostly).
He would be very disappointed with himself if the mysterious ninja remained unknown.
"Um...Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto waved his hand in front of said man's face. "Are we starting?" He, along with his other two charges, were waiting not-so-patiently for Kakashi to begin.
Kakashi nodded. "But not just yet."
It was time for the ninja (whoever it was) to come out. Naruto gave him a look of confusion. "But what do you mean by-"
"All right, ninja-san, you can stop spying on us now." Kakashi called into the nearby area, cutting off the blonde. "We know you're here - come out so we can see you."
Sakura and Naruto's eyes widened, and Sasuke unsheathed a kunai, unconsciously inching towards his siblings.
The grass rustled eerily, as everyone held their breath for the mysterious ninja to arrive.
With an ominous swirl of mist, their spy appeared before them. Kakashi made his way towards his students, prepared for the worst.
What he DID see, however, calmed him a bit.
It was a standard masked ANBU in the usual Konoha black bodysuit and armor, albeit short for an operative, with dark hair jutting out in spikes behind the mask of a bird. Kakashi recognized him at once, or at least his reputation. "Crow."
Crow inclined his head. "Hatake-san."
Sasuke looked between the two suspiciously. "Kakashi-sensei, who is this?"
Crow turned to the raven-haired boy. "It's been a while, otoutou."
If Sasuke could look shocked, he did now. "Aniki?"
Naruto looked between Sasuke and Crow, a look of plain confusion on his face. "Ok, what am I missing here? Who's this guy, Sasuke?"
Crow the did something that no ANBU member ever does. He removed his mask.
The bird mask revealed a teenage boy with a pale face with onyx eyes and raven hair, with two lines along the sides of his eyes. He also looked strikingly similar to Sasuke.
"I'm Itachi," said the teen, "Sasuke's older brother."
(A/N I was going to end it here but this chapter's too short -.- Enjoy the continuation!)
When Itachi revealed himself, Kakashi was expecting one of the following:
A) Sasuke would be overjoyed to see his brother again (Kakashi still didn't get why the hell Sasuke hadn't told them sooner...)
B) Sasuke would be shocked into silence.
He was not, however, expecting Sasuke to glare at his brother so fervently that even Itachi, the emotionless ice block he was, looked mildly shocked.
"What do you want!?" Sasuke yelled. His hands were clenched into fists and his eyes burning with loathing. It was an amount of hate that was definitely NOT health for a six year old boy, especially when seeing his beloved older brother for the first time in 2 years.
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Checking in on my little brother, as per Hokage-sama' orders."
Sasuke growled. "Oh, of course it's just about the Hokage and orders. What about your little brother - oh, wait, you don't have one anymore." He spat with contempt. "You lost the right to call me "otoutou" two years ago, when you sided with them."
Itachi sighed. "Sasuke...you didn't understand-"
"What was going on?" Sasuke's voice was growing shrill. "Oh, I knew perfectly well what was going on. You, Mother, Father, Hachiro, everyone! You were all planning to banish me!"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this. Itachi was in on this plan to banish Sasuke?
It made no sense. Everyone who knew Itachi knew that he loved his brother more than anything. Then why would he plan against him? It made no sense.
Itachi's eyes widened, though only slightly. "That's why you left?"
Sasuke glared at him. "Yes, that's why I left."
Naruto chose this time to intervene. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it." He held up his hands. "Ok, why did no one tell me this before? Sasuke, you have an older brother who was plotting along with your parents to banish you?"
Itachi's shoulders slumped. "But that didn't happen."
Sakura looked confused. "O-ok, I'm lost here. Uchiha-san, Sasuke-nii, h-how about you guys explain y-your sides, since you obviously have c-conflicting opinions."
There it was with the stutter. Kakashi supposed it was natural to feel nervous around others, especially scary ANBU whom your honorary brother hated the guts of.
"Alright," Itachi conceded. "I suppose you deserve to find out the truth."
He waved a hand, gesturing for them to follow. "Come with me."
"Two years ago...there was unrest in the Uchiha clan." Itachi began. The three almost-genin and theirs sensei were sitting in a small cafe, about two blocks east from the Uchiha Compound. Sakura and Naruto were showing open interest, while Sasuke was scowling in his seat, arms crossed tightly across his chest, but was listening nonetheless.
"One of the Uchiha Clan elders, and old man named Hachiro-"
"Wait." Sasuke interrupted rudely. "What does this have to do with me being banished? He was one of the few people who were nice to me!"
Itachi sighed, as though he was expecting this. "Patience, otoutou, I shall continue."
Sasuke moved as though to retort, but Kakashi held out a hand. "Easy, Sasuke." He warned.
The black haired boy grudgingly quieted down, and Itachi continued.
"He was always a shifty man, slippery as an eel and malicious as a snake. Now, Uchiha many stereotypes, mostly about us being power-hungry, cold, and ruthless...and I'd be lying if I said some of it wasn't true. But Hachiro took this to an extreme. He manipulated everyone, the Council, the other elders, and you, otoutou, just to accomplish his own goals." Itachi clenched his fists. "We believed he was working with Danzo."
Kakashi's face darkened. "Danzo? That's a new low." Everyone, the Hokage included, had their suspicions about the shifty councilman, but they obviously couldn't do anything about it. Sasuke's eyes were widened suspiciously.
Itachi nodded in agreement. Kakashi could feel the incredible killer intent radiating off the teen. "He tried manipulating Father, but luckily oto-san saw through it and, along with okaa-san, planned on banishing him. Father only told me because he wished for me to spy on him, to find incriminating evidence. But before I could do that, you apparently disappeared." Itachi hung his head. "You just disappeared. No trance, no stuff gone, just disappeared."
Sasuke's eyes widened. "But...you...you..."
Itachi looked at him with solemn eyes. "We didn't banish you, Sasuke."
Naruto looked utterly confused. "So Sasuke thinks he was banished, and Itachi thought he disappeared, then...it's all a huge misunderstanding?"
Sasuke shook his head. "No...I don't want to believe it."
Itachi put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Otoutou...we would never banish you."
Sasuke stood still for a second, before flinging his arms around his older brother. "Aniki..." His voice quavered.
The ANBU operative, in Kakashi's humble opinion, looked the happiest he'd ever seen him.
Releasing Sasuke from his impromptu hug, Itachi questioned, "But why did you think you were banished anyways?"
The younger boy sighed. "I had come home early, and you, tou-san and kaa-san were all in the kitchen talking and didn't know I was home. You and kaa-san were saying things like 'But why do we have to banish him?' And 'Don't you care about your little brother?' You even said...kaa-san even said 'But Fugaku...would you really do that to your youngest son!?' And he said 'For the good of the Uchiha Clan...yes.' And after all that...I ran away to escape the humiliation of being publicly banished." Sasuke realized his eyes were watering and reached to wiped them furiously, only to feel two pairs of arms wrapped around him.
Two familiar kids, one pink haired and the other blonde, were smiling at him, their gazes full of sympathy. "That's awful Sasuke...I don't know what I'd do if I heard that..."
Sakura nodded. "Sasuke-nii...why didn't you tell us?"
A warm hand was laid on his shoulder. Onyx met onyx and Itachi stared at him passively. "Otoutou...you didn't deserve that." KAkashi barely noticed his clenched fist. "It wasn't your fault."
Sasuke growled. "What I'm more upset about is how Hachiro played me like a fool! How could that lowlife get the better of me..?" He grumbled.
Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto suddenly felt very awkward. Sakura began chewing her dango slowly and Naruto twiddled his thumbs.
"But wait..." Sasuke, thank Kami, interrupted the awkward silence. "Why didn't you look for me?" He sniffled, some of his former vulnerability returning. "Didn't you care?"
Itachi placed both hands on his shoulders. "Sasuke. Of course we looked for you. But we couldn't cause too much of a ruckus...if Danzo found out an Uchiha had run away from the compound, he'd definitely want you to join him. Trust me, he can be very persuasive when he wants to be..." Itachi's voice faded into a deep hatred.
Kakashi had to wonder - what kind of bad blood was between Itachi and Danzo?
"Aniki..." Sasuke muttered. "Should I...go back to the compound?"
Everyone at the table straightened, waiting to hear this.
Itachi looked, for once, uncertain. "I don't know, Sasuke. But I'd suggest staying away from the compound for a while...things are in unrest."
Sasuke nodded. "I think I'll stay with my new family for a while..." Itachi visibly seems hurt by this, "But knowing that my real family is still accepting of me is...nice." He finished.
Itachi smiled - for most people it looked like nothing more than an upward twitch of the lips, but coming from Itachi it was like an ear-splitting grin worthy of Naruto.
He patted Sasuke on the head. "I need to speak with your jounin instructor for a bit, please go ahead and begin training."
The three genin, knowing their place, nodded, and hand in hand exited the little cafe.
Kakashi cleared his throat. "Itachi...there's something you wish to discuss with me?"
Itachi silently grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled something onto it, and promptly handed it to the confused jounin.
"Itachi, what is this for exactly-" Kakashi didn't get to finish because as soon as Kakashi grabbed the piece of paper, Itachi silently teleported away.
Opening the paper curiosity, his brow furrowed at the words written.
Danzo is behind this.
...
...
...
Well, that wasn't creepy at all.
But...what did that mean? Was Danzo behind Sasuke's banishment? But that made no sense - if Danzo knew, he'd immediately snatch the little Uchiha up and never let go.
Sighing, Kakashi prepared to teleport back to his students. Uchiha Itachi was a mystery - a thirteen year old mystery but a mystery nonetheless.
Back at the cafe, a 17-18 year old girl walked up to where the group was previously. Putting on her best waitress-smile (because Kami knows it's not a real one) she pulled out her pad and cleared her throat. "All right, is there anything else I can get you guys tod-" She noticed the entire table was totally empty.
"Godammit those shinobi! Always leaving without paying!"
"Alright, my little minions, without further delay, it's time to test out your new outfits!" Kakashi called out cheerfully.
For once, the upside-down U that was his eye looked very, very sinister.
"Wait. Before we start."
"Yes, Sasuke?"
"...You never bought me my tomato."
Hoped you guys liked this! ^^ Because I know I had fun writing this...though it took waaaay longer than expected since school is being...well, school. I just wanna clarify a few things:
So basically Sasuke overheard Fugaku, Mikoto and Itachi talking about the certain corrupt Uchiha elder (whom I can't remember the name I gave him... -.- nice going HS, nice going, I know) and thought he was banished, so he left before he could be publicly humiliated. Itachi and the others though he was missing, but they kept it hush-hush so Danzo wouldn't find out.
As for the whole clothes shopping thing...well, they couldn't be in their dirty, old, nasty clothes forever, right? Besides, Kakashi's a former ANBU and probably got $$$ from all those S-Ranks ;) Sorry about changing Naruto's signature orange, I just found it unrealistic that Kakashi would let him wear something that bright as his ninja uniform...but don't worry, Naruto's still gonna have an orange wardrobe and stuff :3
And, as you've probably figured out due to the one too many hints in this chapter, SPOILER: the Uchiha Massacre will happen. And I'm sorry to those who don't like this, but it's a big part of the storyline with one difference - our favorite team, instead of trying to kill Itachi, will try and clear his name...maybe. At least Kakashi'll try.
As for the ages in this, just to make things clear:
Kakashi: 20-21
Naruto: 6
Sakura: 6
Sasuke: 6-7
Itachi: 13-14 (so he basically just became ANBU captain - *insert squeal* it all fits! ^^)
Since this is about 6 years from the canon beginning, just take everyone's ages and minus 6.
And one more thing: (I'm sorry, this AN is taking an ETERNITY...) I've been having a bunch of people ask me about stuff in reviews, most of them involving the Uchiha, their backstories, and stuff like that. Here's my response: I. WILL. EXPLAIN. EVERYTHING. LATER. ON. IN. THE. STORY. I know stuff doesn't make sense right now but pleeeaaaaaase, just bear with me - it's only the fourth chapter! I promise all your questions will be answered, and if they aren't feel free to PM me or drop a review, but LATER. Ok? Ok! ^^
Ok, that's about it with my blabbering, hope you enjoyed this, and see you soon - that is, if homework doesn't kill me first... -.-
Next Up: Justus, training, and just plain old cuteness :3
R&R!
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