Just to let you know before you start reading this chapter, if it's in italicized then it's a flashback.
Both Sasuke and Naruto were suspended from missions until the council decided what to do with them, but Naruto assured Sasuke that they would be back in the field very soon. Sasuke didn't really care, though. He was content with taking the time to research Naruto. He went to Iruka first because the two of them seemed to know each other well. Iruka, of course, did not like the idea of giving away Naruto's personal information.
"I don't know Sasuke," Iruka said worriedly. "It's not really my place to tell you about Naruto's past."
"He said that he can't tell me," Sasuke said, "because something will happen if he tries to, but he said that he wants me to figure it out on my own. You have to help me."
"I don't know," Iruka said, but he shook his head. "I guess that it's okay to at least tell you about the first time we met."
"I suppose that'll be good enough for now."
"He was with his father then," Iruka started.
"His father brought him here when he was so young?" Sasuke asked. Even his father, who had been strict beyond reason, would have ever tried to force him to do this at such a young age.
Iruka was sitting at his desk filing his papers. He was waiting for a new recruit that the council members had told him about. Kakashi was standing in front of his desk without the eye patch or the facemask that he always wears now. He was assigned to be the rookie's partner for the first assignment. Iruka wouldn't lie that this made him a bit nervous. Kakashi was one of the strongest assassins and he didn't get assigned rookies. There must be something about this one.
The door suddenly swung open to reveal Minato. He was a tall, blonde haired, tan man with bright blue eyes and little to no muscles. Iruka had never liked Minato and Minato had never showed any sign of caring for anything except for his top-secret experiment that only the council was privy to know about.
"You're the new recruit?" Kakashi asked with his eyebrow raised as he had never been one to hold his tongue on account of not insulting someone he clearly disliked. Minato was not going to be nearly enough to do any of the jobs that assassins do on a regular basis. He would fall within a week.
"Don't be stupid," Minato growled. "He is." As he spoke he yanked a young boy in front of him with a tight hand around his wrist.
"He can't be the new recruit," Iruka gasped. "He doesn't look any older then 4."
"He's 5," Minato hissed.
"He was 5?" Sasuke cut in. "They sent him on his first mission when he was 5?"
Iruka nodded sadly before continuing his story.
"He's 5," Minato hissed, "and he will be taking your most difficult case."
"I refuse," Iruka said. He would not give a five year old any missions, let alone his hardest one.
"You will do as I say," Minato demanded, "or you will be thrown in the dungeon."
"Daddy," Naruto spoke up in his cutely childish voice. Iruka couldn't help the flinch that made it's way through his body at the knowledge that the boy's own father was being so cruel to him. "What's the dungeon?"
"It's where you'll be going if you don't shut up," Minato tightened his fist around Naruto's arm so Naruto quieted by putting his free hand into his mouth to suck his thumb. The action was so childishly cute that Iruka wanted to refuse damn the punishments that the council would throw at him, but Kakashi wouldn't let anything happen to him and he trusted that Kakashi would protect Naruto as well, so he handed to folder of his hardest mission to Kakashi.
"Are you ready to go squirt?" Kakashi asked with his kindest smile as he crouches down and picks up the young Naruto before walking out of the room.
Minato scowls at his back, then once more at Iruka, and leaves the room to return to his lab.
"And he actually went on the mission?" Sasuke asked with wide eyes. Iruka nodded once more. "What happened?"
"I'm sorry Sasuke, but I really can't tell you that," Iruka replied. "I only know what happened by the mission report that I saw and even that has several blanks. Kakashi told me what happened as well, but you're going to have to ask him about it if you want to know more information."
"Where can I find him?" Sasuke asked.
"He should be working at the weapons forgery," Iruka said.
"Fine," Sasuke sighed. "I'll go find him."
"Wait Sasuke," Iruka stopped him. "After you talked to Kakashi, you might want to check out his folder. You might be able to find something in there." The folders were kept for each of them. All of their strengths and weaknesses as well as their backgrounds and personal information were collected and placed in a manila folder for all who wanted to see. Most stayed away from the folders for the simple fact that they were being respectful to the others as they hoped the others would be respectful to them, but Sasuke was willing to venture near it just to see Naruto's folder.
"Thanks," Sasuke waved behind him as he left the room to find Kakashi.
Kakashi was indeed in the weapons forgery like Iruka had said and he was a lot more forthcoming on the information that he gave.
"Naruto told me that you would probably come by and ask me questions when he came to he his new weapons checked for size," Kakashi said as he worked on a metal hand that Sasuke could only assume was Naruto's. "He also told me that I have permission to tell you as much as I'm comfortable with telling you."
"What happened during his first mission?" Sasuke asked. He was not going to let this chance go to waist before it was revoked.
"So you already talked to Iruka?" Kakashi asked Sasuke nodded. "Where did he leave off?"
"He told me that you picked Naruto up and left the room," Sasuke replied.
"I was just trying to get him away from Minato," Kakashi sighed. "The bastard was hurting his own son and I wasn't going to let that continue."
"So what's your name?" Kakashi asked once he was far enough from Minato that he knew the man wouldn't hear the interaction.
"I'm Naruto," Naruto grinned up at him. "Today's my birthday you know."
"Is it?" Kakashi hid the flinch of disgust towards Minato for sending his son out on his birthday. Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically "And how old are you today?"
"I'm 5," Naruto proudly held up the hand that Minato had held, giving Kakashi a good look at the bruising that was forming there.
"Really," Kakashi said as he did his best to ignore the injury. "You don't look five. You look more like you're three."
"I'm five," Naruto pouted and crossed his arms to make his point, but it just made him more cute. "Daddy says that I get to go on a mission today."
"Yea," Kakashi hides his grimace with a faked smile. "I'm coming with you."
"You are?" Naruto's eyes widened. "But you're so old."
"I'll have you know that I have barely entered my thirties," Kakashi choked back a laugh.
"But your hair is all grey," Naruto pulled on said hair in order to prove his point and Kakashi was actually surprised at how strong the boy's grip was.
"That's my natural hair color," Kakashi said. "I've had it since I was young."
"It's weird," Naruto said as though it was a new fact that he was letting Kakashi in on. "What's our mission going to be about?"
Kakashi sighed and opened the case file with the hand that wasn't holding Naruto up and started to read. He didn't get very far before Naruto cut in. "What does it say?"
Kakashi couldn't stop the short laugh when he looked up and saw Naruto's innocently excited eyes scanning the words even though he could obviously not read them.
"It says that we're going to have to get in and destroy an entire gang," Kakashi said bluntly. He supposed there was probably a better way to explain it to a child, but he couldn't think of any other way except for the blunt.
"They wanted you guys to dispose of an entire gang?" Sasuke gaped.
"What I didn't tell Naruto at the time was that I wasn't supposed to help," Kakashi said. "I was just supposed to remain on the sidelines as some sort of back up if he should fall, but I couldn't let that happen and I got scars to prove it." He gestured to his face, which was mostly covered.
"What happened?" Sasuke pressed.
It was relatively easy to get into the hideout for the gang. Naruto was light on his feet and didn't mind being used to get through the tiny spaces to unlock doors for Kakashi. Kakashi made quick work with the guards with as little blood as possible to spare Naruto that pain and then they made their way into the main room with both of them wearing their masks. Kakashi's was a white dog and Naruto's was a smaller version of his fox mask that he still wears.
All hell broke loose as soon as they stepped inside. The two of them were separated and Kakashi lost sight of the little boy while they fought. They were both holding their own, but Kakashi was distracted with worry for Naruto. That's what got him in the end. Because he was distracted, he missed a debilitating shot aimed at him. He couldn't fight after that and the gang members didn't hesitate to scar him. He could hear Naruto crying in the background for a few moments, but then it all stopped.
A red light that felt like a flame shot around the entire room and people were screaming in pain.
Kakashi stopped there and Sasuke waited a moment in patience before he pressed on. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Kakashi shrugged. "I blacked out. The next thing I knew I was in the infirmary with Iruka hovering over me to try to make me all better."
"That really didn't help much," Sasuke sighed.
"It's a process," Kakashi shrugged, "but Sasuke?"
"What?" Sasuke asked.
"Try checking the labs," Kakashi suggested. "You might find some good information in there."
"Alright," Sasuke sighed. "Thanks. I'd better go now."
"Sasuke!" Naruto called out just as Sasuke turned to leave. He was running down the hall with a paper in hand "We got cleared for more mission."
"Alright," Sasuke agreed. He needed something to take his mind off of this mystery that he was trying to solve. He didn't want to think of a five-year-old boy fight the gang members all on his own. It only occurred to him once they were halfway to Iruka's that he never asked if Naruto had beat them all.
Oh my gosh! Minato's evil!