Summary: Sasuke meets Kagome.
AN: Some edits to adjust the timeline. The Uchiha Fiasco took place when the boys were eight.
AN: Disclaimer in chapter 1
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...ooO Seeing Ooo...
Hiragushi Sasuke was confused. With the new situation, the angry unspoken insults from shinobis, the curious stares from civilians, his new brother, his new home, what he was hearing. Deciding discretion was the better part of valor Sasuke remained still and continued to listen to what Aniki and Naruto were talking about.
"Itachi-nii-san, Why can't we tell Sasuke about Kagome?"
Itachi never lifted his eyes from the vegetables he was dicing. "Sasuke won't believe us. Like the no one else will ever believe us about Kagome."
"But why? Kagome is really neat! She knows all sorts of interesting stuff."
"Most people only see with their physical eyes. Even Shinobi must train to use their other senses. Only the best learn how to use more than five senses, to use their spiritual senses."
"Then how come jii-san doesn't see her?" Naruto wanted to know. "Isn't the Hokage supposed to be the strongest and best shinobi in Konoha?"
Itachi paused and sat down on one of the tall barstools stored under the kitchen island.
"Naruto, seeing Kagome isn't an indication of physical strength; it is a sign of spiritual wisdom. Few shinobi care about things like emotions, spirits, souls, or magic. Even the Shinobi rules say that; Rule twenty-five: A Shinobi must always hide his true emotions."
But Naruto was not buying it. "Hiding emotions doesn't mean you don't feel it nii-san. Every time people are mean to me it hurts but I never allow them to see that."
"That is true. But most shinobi forget that. They push all emotions away to become weapons during the mission, only feeling once they are in a safe place. I used to do that before I met Kagome. She showed me how to get true strength in battle."
"How nii-chan?"
"By having people that are important to me, by wanting to protect people I care about. By remembering they are part of my reason to be strong. Not prestige, power, influence, or wealth."
Naruto nodded solemnly. There was a comfortable silence as the two of them considered their beliefs and goals. Then Naruto broke the silence.
"But why can't Sasuke see Kagome?! He isn't like the other villagers or shinobi!"
"And he is still blinded by perceptions. Perceptions laid on him by Uchiha, shinobi, and Konoha. Unless he learns to discard those perceptions and See he will be forever limited." Itachi sighed. "I'm afraid Sasuke will never learn that. It had to be beaten into me by my old ANBU trainer: Shinobi see underneath the underneath, but warriors see to the core of the matter." Itachi laughed. "If Tenji-sempai were still alive I would send the both of you to him. He taught Morino Ibiki everything he knew about observational analysis and Ibiki is still a student in comparison to him."
"Does Morino-san see Kagome?"
Itachi shook his head in negative. "Iie. He is bound by the constraints of the material world. He is unwilling, or unable, to see beyond." Itachi sighed. "Now help me chop these vegetables. I want to make enough stew to freeze for a few days. Sandaime-sama might have a few quick missions for me since Konoha is a little short of jounin-level shinobi. I really hope he decides to promote the more capable Chuunin to special-Jounin."
Naruto moved to cut the vegetables wrinkling his nose at the eggplant but not saying a word.
A confused but thoughtful Sasuke crept away and out of the house. He really needed to think about what Itachi and Naruto had talked about. What did nii-san mean by being blinded by perceptions anyways? Sasuke wasn't blind, he could see perfectly fine.
- - -
So over the next few days Sasuke tried to be as observant as he could. And he found it was a really difficult thing to do. It was too easy to discard certain observations, to make assumptions and invalid conclusions, especially about the residents of Konoha. He taught himself to ignore the little voice whispering conclusions without all the observations. To pay attention to the details of body language and tone even when the words said something else. And in the end he learned some surprising facts about his age mates and the adults.
Nara Shikamaru was a genius without focus, drive, or purpose.
Yamanake Ino was a loyal driven easily frustrated girl.
Haruno Sakura was an insecure child who loved being the focus of attention.
Inuzuka Kiba was surprisingly sensitive and compassionate, but only to animals and plants that could never reveal his hidden nature.
Hyuuga Hinata was much stronger and capable than her class performance indicated.
Umino Iruka was more skilled than a Chuunin academy teaching assistant would be.
Most of the villagers hated and feared Naruto.
Sandaime cared for everyone, especially Naruto and Itachi.
Most of the Uchiha were fearful and respectful of Itachi.
The Hyuuga main family adults were disdainful-terrified-jealous of Itachi.
Morino Ibiki respected Itachis skills as a shinobi and his loyalty to Konoha.
No one knew what Aniki and Naruto were truly like. They were all blind, blinded by perceptions, just like Aniki said. They didn't know anything about what was important to him or his new family, what drove them, the things that really mattered, their dreams, any hobbies or interests they had. They were all blind.
...ooOoo...
The kitchen door opened and slammed shut.
"I'm home Aniki!"
Itachi blinked. It wasn't like Sasuke to be so loud. Perhaps Naruto was rubbing off on him. He glanced at Kagome who smiled gently.
"Go talk to him. I think he wants to talk to you about something."
"Aa." But Itachi didn't feel like getting up from his favorite lounging niche, a recessed dormer window bench softened with throws and cushions.
Kagome giggled but didn't urge him to move. He deserved some down-time after the near non-stop running involved in the A-class courier mission.
The planks of the old house creaked as a particular little boy made his way to his elder brother.
Itachi resisted the urge to teleport away as the door to the reading room opened.
"Aniki, I've been thinking about--." The six-year-old blinked and looked away from his elder brother. "Aniki, when did you start bringing your girlfriends here?"
Itachi sat up straight, legs swinging off the bench fluidly. "What do you mean Sasuke? You know I don't have a…." He trailed off when Sasuke pointed to a table, a table upon which Kagome was sitting. "You see her?"
Sasuke nodded and squinted. "She looks like she's almost glowing pink. And why is she wearing such a short skirt?"
Kagome sputtered. "My skirt is not short! It's a perfectly acceptable length."
Sasuke blinked. "If you say so." He answered in unbelieving tones. Then he frowned. "Who are you any way? I haven't seen you in the village. You aren't a shinobi."
Kagome laughed and shook her head. "Oh no! I'm no shinobi. My name is Kagome. I'm a friend of your brothers. And one of yours, if you will let me."
Sasuke tensed remembering just what he had heard. "I heard Aniki and Naruto talking about you. They said I didn't see you but I'm seeing you just fine."
Kagome smiled, more sadly. "Sasuke, I've been in this house since you moved in. I've watched over Naruto since he was born. I've been Itachis friend for almost three years now. You never saw me because you didn't See."
Black eyes widened. "What do you mean? I can see you just fine!"
Kagome swung out her arm that passed through a vase of flowers without knocking it over. "I'm a ghost, Sasuke. I've been dead for a long time." Sasuke felt a cold chill down his back. "Usually spirits move on to Reikai when they die but I didn't due to certain reasons. I came to Konoha when Kyuubi attacked and I haven't left since. Apart from a few missions with Itachi."
Sasuke looked at Itachi who smiled slightly. "Kagome is a very reliable partner. She can't fight but she is excellent at reconnaissance and espionage."
"Yeah! Kagome-nee-chan is the best!" Naruto chimed in. He had joined the three in the reading room without drawing attention. "She knows all sorts of neat stuff and makes boring history really interesting. She helps me with my homework when the teachers don't."
Sasuke glanced at the people around - his new brother, guardian-brother, potential adult-friend-teacher - and remembered how Itachi became more relaxed yet much stronger about two years ago; the same time when the teachers in the Elementary School stopped complaining about Naruto playing pranks and avoiding homework.
He looked at the pretty gentle face. How could she have made Itachi so strong, and Naruto actually improve in school work? Sasuke wanted to be a good shinobi, perhaps even ANBU one day.
"Could you teach me? Like you teach Naruto?"
Kagome stood up and floated over before kneeling before him so her eyes met his level. "Of course Sasuke. I'll teach you what I know so you can be the best you can be."
And she did. Sasuke found it was impossible to deny or be stiff around Kagome. She became the elder sister he never had, the demonstrative mother most other kids had, the trustworthy recipient of his most inner secrets, the voice of reason and stability in the sometimes chaotic Hiragushi household.
In the months following Sasuke and Naruto were put through a rigorous training program developed by Itachi. He had them running endurance courses wearing weights and sparring with older genins. The two boys soaked up the focused attention from their idol. Sasuke had always wanted to be as good as his brother, to be taught by Itachi, and now he was. Naruto appreciated the focused, intense daily routine. Itachi-nii had taught him but that was sporadic compared to this detailed training schedule. Few people had ever bothered to include Naruto in anything let alone develop a customized routine for him.
At the end of the six-months after the Uchiha Upheaval Itachi returned to active status and was called away more frequently for longer and more dangerous missions. Occasionally Kagome would go with him, but generally she stayed in Konoha to provide the boys some adult stability.
As the months passed the boys continued to grow in leaps and bounds until Sandaime took note of their advancement and suggested they challenge the first few years of the Academy Exams to basically speed through the last two years and and graduate when they turned ten. Itachi had been reluctant but gave in when Kagome supported the boys.
"They want to learn. So let them learn with other children. They will have to learn how to adapt to slower comrades, to obey undesirable restrictions and orders. Besides, they won't become genins until they turn ten."
And Itachi agreed. Kagome and Itachi had developed a routine to exercise and refine shinobi hard skills - taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu. Naruto and Sasuke had to learn the soft skills of the trade - infiltration-espionage, teamwork, reconnaissance-scouting, protocol - things that needed to be practiced with targets of varying skill-levels.
It had been a bit of a shock for the two boys, working with much older students with more inferior skills. Narutos big mouth often sparked a few fights but the two of them always ended them. Itachi often found himself called in for a meeting to 'discuss means of channeling your wards unflagging energy into more productive avenues.' Translation: bored Sasuke and Naruto equals pranking sprees with shinobi victims.
When the Hokage heard of Maitou Gai, pink spandex, and bleach he had laughed. "Active shinobis should be more than able to detect and disarm their pranks. The boys are just honing their observation, trap-making and stealth skills."
And so the weeks passed until Itachi received a particular mission.
...ooOoo...
TBC…
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AN: (cackles wildly) I know I'm evil leaving you all hanging at such a point. (shrugs) Well, enjoy.
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