ALTERED CIRCUSTANCES
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters used save those I made up. No profit is earned. This is just for fun.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Like many Naruto fics, I just changed a couple of things from cannon to see where it would go. If you want to find out what I changed, read and find out.
CH. 11 Picking up the pieces
Sasuke hadn't said a word for three days. Only one of the Uchiha from outside the village had returned, and that one was badly wounded, reporting a fierce battle with Itachi and a lucky circumstance that allowed her to retreat. This left two crippled Uchiha ninja, two civilians and five children, of whom, Sasuke was the oldest. What set Sasuke apart was that he didn't cry. This worried the two adults of the clan that weren't in the hospital. He seemed to be not merely brooding but seething. They wanted Itachi found and punished as well, but the boy was on the verge of doing something stupid. They could see it. Makoto, a tailor well regarded in the clan, had tried speaking to Sasuke, but the boy simply ignored him.
He suspected that his father was the only thing that kept Sasuke from running after his brother to avenge the clan. Fugaku was in a coma and the medics still didn't know if he'd recover. Being unable to do anything about that, the last two adults of the clan set about taking care of the business of living. There were five small children to care for and arrangements to make for their businesses. They were the clan's only means of support at this point at least until the clan's wills and finances were sorted out. With a final glance at the silent boy, Makoto went to meet with Yasuo about what needed to be done. They had to focus on the living.
OOOOOOOOOO
Naruto was in a quandary, although he would not have thought of it in those terms. He was angry with Itachi, grieving for his lost friend, worried about Sasuke, and confused about what to do about any of it. He hadn't told anyone else about his Kekkei genkai and worried about doing so. He and Shisui had discussed jutsu that could be created for it and ways to expand his abilities, but it had never gone beyond talk.
He knew he could trust Hiro, but for reasons even he didn't quite understand, he stayed silent. He trained in his Kekkei genkai alone, wondering what else he could add and how.
OOOOOOOOOO
It took time and experimentation, but he used his kekkei genkai to build an impressive arsenal. Some experiments worked better than others as there were rules his body followed that he needed to learn. Hiro and Keiji, the only ones he had eventually trusted with the secret, had helped with that as much as Naruto would allow, offering suggestions, but otherwise letting him do it on his own, and obeying his wishes to keep it a secret.
The Denkouyama clan continued to make him welcome and Naruto became like another son to Keiji, albeit an occasionally aggravating one. The boy's penchant for pranks hadn't faded, and at least once a month there was some incident. A few days after a new shirt had been shredded by the cat belonging to the Fire Damyo's wife, the animal had run away from home again only to turn up painted orange and sitting in a cage outside the mission office. The genin team assigned the task of catching the little beast had been ecstatic.
Not long after the twins started at the Academy, Gen and Matsu made an enemy of a young Akamichi by commenting on his weight. He was rude to them and almost violent. Later that day, shortly before lunch, he found that his lips had been glued together. No one was quite sure how that had been managed. Naruto claimed to know nothing about it.
The pranks against the teachers continued as well. Long after the original prank, Mizuke would make the class snicker at the way he twitched and carefully avoided any apple left on his desk. The wasabi in the teachers' lounge teapot was another that went over well.
Time passed, and Naruto improved remarkably. He wanted to try graduating early, but Keiji talked him out of it. "You could probably pass the exam, but the more time you spend at the Academy learning, the better. They still have things to teach you." So Naruto waited and graduated with his class. His friendship with Sasuke had been strained, but the blond prankster refused to give up. He made sure that his friend didn't brood alone too much. Sasuke likely would have spent most of his time doing just that if not for his remaining family. Makoto and Yasuo needed his help to care for the younger children. The younger children needed him to be strong and supportive and serve as an example.
He learned how to soothe their nightmares and that helped him deal with his own. His father was still alive, but he could no longer serve as clan head, confined as he was to a wheelchair. He took little interest in the problems of his family, seemingly lost in the past. Long hours were spent in silent brooding and he grew snappish if someone disturbed him with current problems. Makoto and Yasuo were left to look after the clan's affairs. Amaya did what she could, but although she was fully mobile, she tired easily and could do little to no heavy work. She became Fugaku's caretaker and could only watch in consternation as the proud man withdrew into himself despite her efforts and the needs of his son and the other children. He had no time at all for those outside the clan.
Sasuke had to become the man of the house, looking after the younger children when the civilians were away tending to clan business and his father and Amaya were too busy doing whatever it was they did. Sasuke had come to see his father with new eyes. The man brooded constantly over what he had lost and ignored what he still had. Sasuke and the others had tried to involve the paraplegic in his training and that of the younger children, but the man, while very supportive of their training disturbed all of them with talk of training them to avenge the clan. His talk of growing stronger so they could punish Itachi frightened the younger children to whom the missing nin was little more than a bogeyman. None of them had even met him. For Sasuke, it was worse. There was too much to do, looking after their home and the younger children, to focus exclusively on what had been lost and getting revenge. While he wanted his elder brother dead, he knew it would likely fall to someone else. His concerns were with life and the living.