VI. Sasuke

"Sasu-kun," Sasuke said, his voice as reassuring as he could make it, "this is Shimura-san. He's our new guardian."

"Shimura Danzō," Kakashi elaborated. Sasu was watching Kakashi with a suspicious gaze, an uncertain bearing in his stance as he hid halfway behind Sasuke. "It's nice to meet you, Sasu-kun."

"Hello," Sasu muttered in reply, shuffling further behind Sasuke.

"Shimura-san is going to make sure we have everything we need," Sasuke explained, his fingers softly running through Sasu's slightly spiked hair. "If you ever need something and you can't find me, it's okay to ask Shimura-san."

"Okay," Sasu replied quietly, his eyes darting back and forth between Sasuke and Kakashi.

"Why don't you go to your room and see what you need?" Kakashi suggested, causing Sasuke to raise his eyebrow in question. "Look around and see if you need any new clothes or training weapons. After that, write a list of your favorite foods and snacks. I'm going to the store and I'd be glad to gather anything you want."

Sasu hesitated, clearly not wanting to leave Sasuke's side, but he eventually shuffled off, his sock covered feet causing him to slide slightly as he scurried down the hall towards his room.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked as soon as Sasu was out of sight, his voice pitched low as he whispered to Kakashi.

"I got a visitor last night," Kakashi started, his voice pitched even lower than Sasuke's. "We need to meet somewhere tonight."

"A visitor?" Sasuke questioned, a frown forming as he looked at Kakashi. "We could meet at the Naka Shrine, I suppose? I actually have something I want to share. I think I know what messed up the ritual—"

"Shimura-san!" Sasu's voice shouted, the little boy coming into view as he exits his room and hurries towards them. "I need new kunai and a new pair of sandals."

"Of course," Kakashi smiled down at Sasu, pleased that Sasu was meeting his eyes with less hesitation than before.

"There's nothing in our fridge," Sasu told Kakashi bluntly, making Sasuke twitch in slight embarrassment. He had meant to go to the store and gather some new groceries, but he'd been busy cleaning the house and emptying it of any bad memories that might trigger Sasu. They'd been surviving off of takeout for the past couple of days. "I want tomatoes and Izumi-chan likes kaki no tane and I want oyakodon for dinner and Itachi likes—"

While Sasu's rambling was sort of cute, his mention of Itachi and then his abrupt silence was a painful reminder to Sasuke that the massacre was still fresh in Sasu's mind.

"Itachi liked dango for dessert," Sasuke added softly, smiling sadly at Sasu's watery eyes.

Sasu sniffed, tears threatening to fall as he looked morosely down at his feet. Sasuke bit his lip, hesitant to reach forward and bring Sasu to his chest. Sasuke knew that sometimes he had needed to cry and mourn alone, even when comfort was offered. Sasuke couldn't let Sasu mourn alone forever, but he knew some peace and alone time could also benefit him during certain situations.

Kakashi knelt suddenly, his movements making Sasuke twitch at their suddenness. Sasuke looked down at him curiously, watching as he slowly raised his arm and gently rested his hand on Sasu's reddened cheek.

"What Itachi did," Kakashi started off slowly, waiting until Sasu glanced up at him with wet eyes. "It doesn't really sound like something your brother would do."

Sasu sniffed in reply, a hesitant nod given in response to Kakashi's statement.

"Well then, I'll have to investigate things further, won't I? If Itachi really did this just to test his strength, then I promise you that I will do everything in my power to help you and Izumi-chan bring him to justice. And if there is something we're missing, I promise to help with that as well. You aren't alone, Sasuke. Izumi and I are here for you."

Sasuke swallowed back his own sob, the gentle kindness in Kakashi's eyes bringing a sad smile to his face. He had never had this kind of support system when he had gone through this exact situation. He had never had anyone to commiserate with over his now gone family. He would remember something Itachi had said or something his mother had laughed at and he had been alone in his memories. He had drowned in the ghosts of his past as he had languished in the pain of being alone. Sasu wouldn't have to deal with that; he had Sasuke and Kakashi. He would be able to talk and reminisce with Sasuke, while also being able to escape his family's ghosts with Kakashi.

"T-Thank you, Shimura-san," Sasu stuttered out, sniffing loudly. He looked up at Sasuke for a moment before he turned and made a hasty retreat to his bedroom.

"Well, you've certainly gained his loyalty," Sasuke told Kakashi after a moment, watching him closely as the older man sighed heavily, a sad look in his dark eyes.

"You never should have had to go through this alone," Kakashi told him gravely.

"Yeah, but he won't have to," Sasuke agreed with a shrug, sharing a small smile with his sensei.

"Now that that is over," Kakashi coughed, breaking the delicate melancholy of the moody atmosphere . "I should be going. Our guest and I will meet you at the Naka Shrine around midnight."

"I'll see you then," Sasuke confirmed, escorting Kakashi out of the quiet house. Sasuke closed the door behind Kakashi and let out a tired sigh, his back resting against the closed door. He gave himself a moment to just close his eyes and exist before he forced himself to move. He had to finish boxing up his mother's clothes.

Sasuke spent the rest of the day boxing up clothing and periodically checking up on a silent Sasu. The young boy had mostly spent the day reading in his bed, children's books stacked up on his bedside table. Sasuke silently left a tactics book he had found in Itachi's room next to the stack, knowing that his older brother had written notes and thoughts in the margins of the book. It would be a good book for Sasu to learn from, as well as a piece of Itachi that he could keep with him.

Kakashi didn't return, but a group of genin on a D-rank mission arrived with several bags. Sasuke thanked them with a tired smile, chuckling with amusement when their eyes widened when he handed them each a small tip. He made sure to put the groceries away before stashing Sasu's new sandals with the rest of the shoes at the front door.

Sasuke paused, confused when he pulled out another clothing bag. Curious, he glanced inside and then hesitantly pulled out the dark fabric. To his surprise, a dark purple furisode greeted his vision, the sleeves shorter than a standard furisode usually had. He pulled the whole garment out, noting that it was also shorter than a standard furisode, only reaching down to his knees. Rubbing his fingers against the fabric, Sasuke felt the first stirrings of delight at the thick fabric. Traditionally, such a garment should be made out of something like silk. This fabric, though, had the familiar feeling of the shinobi issued fabric that most used for their active duty clothing. Kakashi, without informing Sasuke, had gotten new shinobi attire for him. The white nagajuban that he'd wear under the outer layer was slightly shorter, though it was made of the exact same fabric. The obi that went along with the outfit was a high-quality kunoichi staple, made to have the ability to hide weapons seamlessly within the inner lining. It was a lilac tinged gray and it complimented the furisode rather nicely. There were more standard black shorts and then ninja issued fishnets for both his arms and his legs within the bag. Standard issued black sandals were the last accessory of the outfit and Sasuke smiled as he made his way to the hall bathroom, eager to try on his new outfit.

While he had resigned himself to wearing Izumi's clothes, it had left him feeling uncomfortable. The fact remained that they were Izumi's , not Sasuke's. The purple shirts and dark pants belonged to a dead girl and Sasuke would rather not wear them if he didn't have to. Kakashi had clearly picked up on that and had gone about fixing the problem. The shinobi outfit he had just given Sasuke would not only relieve Sasuke of having to deal with that sickly guilt, but it would also give Sasuke a more refined image. Such an outfit, while simple looking with only a single uchiwa fan on the back as decoration, was sophisticated in appearance and it gave Sasuke a more adult look than an otherwise preteen girl would carry.

Sasuke hummed as he finished pulling the outfit on, turning to look at the fan on his back. He had to admit, Izumi looked good in the clothes. Tilting his head, he fingered his shaggy hair, contemplating what he should do with it. Izumi used to have long brown hair, but they had chopped a lot of it off, the dried blood that had clung to it unwilling to wash out. It still reached the top of his neck in the back and the tip of his chin in the front. Unlike Sasuke's natural hair, Izumi had straight hair, her brown locks spilling down without a spike in sight.

"You should cut it shorter," Sasu's tiny voice piped up, causing Sasuke to jump.

"Sasu!" Sasuke yelped, his heart racing slightly as he cursed himself for being so distracted. "Please don't sneak up on me!"

"Sorry, Izumi-chan," Sasu muttered, slipping further into the bathroom, blatantly ignoring the door Sasuke had closed behind him. "You should cut it on the sides and in the back. I saw a kunoichi with a similar hairstyle once. I think it would look good on you."

"You think?" Sasuke hummed, once more looking at his appearance. He realized that while he was stuck in Izumi's body, he was slowly making it his own. Izumi had loved her long hair; Sasuke wasn't fond of hair that long. The bandages wrapped around his head to cover his Rinnegan ruined the illusion, but he supposes he could ask Kakashi to get an eye-patch made from the same fabric as his obi. "Thank you for the compliment, Sasu-kun. Now, let's go make ourselves some dinner." Sasuke turned and started to usher Sasu out, turning the light off behind him as he went. "Also, knock when you want to enter a room with a closed door!"

"Yes, Izumi-chan," Sasuke snickered slightly, a small grin on his face. Sasuke couldn't resist sticking his tongue out at the younger boy, laughing when Sasu responded in kind.