"I held no love for Konoha. Why should I? The inhabitants save for three treated me and my brother like dirt. The village took away almost everything I ever loved. The Hokage did nothing to help us- we had to fend for ourselves like feral dogs. That sounds like a recipe for a rogue shinobi, or worse. But I didn't. I stayed in Konoha for Naruto, for my father. Konoha wasn't my village, but it was my fathers. It was my mothers. If they died protecting it, then I would do my best to continue that legacy. A promise to them both."

Shisui was a breath of fresh air almost. With the around three year age gap between him and the other two, he was the one you could go to if you needed to talk to someone about something you didn't understand. Unlike Mitsuo and Itachi, being one of the branch members, Shisui was lighthearted and jovial, able to take things seriously, but able to switch it off at a minute's notice.

While he was Itachi's best friend, Mitsuo liked his presence, being someone that he could look up to. Shisui didn't treat him any different- he wasn't the demon fox, he wasn't Mitsuo, who rejected a place in ANBU, he wasn't Namikaze Mitsuo, son of the Yondaime. He was just Uzumaki Mitsuo, and that was all he was.

They strode along together, walking on the outskirts of the village, as Naruto and Sasuke played ahead, chasing each other with rocks and throwing them at "foreign shinobi". Said foreign shinobi were simply trees with angry-looking faces carved into them. It kept the two five-year-olds entertained. It helped that Shisui was known as Shisui of the Body Flicker, which was similar but not the same as the Hiraishin.

Shisui was the only one fast enough at the Body Flicker Technique to leave after images, and due to his expertise, Mitsuo had gotten faster, also able to balance out his chakra better. Of course, it was still volatile at times, and the Hiraishin had its own aspects that differed from the Body Flicker, but Shisui's guidance truly helped Mitsuo with his self-given task.

His chakra control was still absolutely awful, to put it mildly.

"I hear it's your birthday coming up Mitsuo. What are you going to do for it?"

Shisui asked innocently, tilting his head at Mitsuo as they kept walking. Mitsuo hummed, having not got anything planned in particular. Usually, they didn't have enough money to celebrate both birthdays, and it wasn't much of an event anyway: mainly just him and Naruto spending time as a family. Naruto would always draw him a card of some sorts, on the back of an old book or something unimportant, all in all, a quiet day.

Each card he was given was collected in a small box, which Dog had sealed for him. That was another interest of Mitsuo's, if not because of his heritage, then because of all the practicality they had. He wanted to know more about the seal on his stomach, on Naruto's stomach. He wanted to know the ones that used to be on their homes, the ones his father used. He wanted to know more about the Hiraishin seals and what caused them to work.

He wanted to know how to stop the Fox if anything were to happen.

Unfortunately, seals weren't actively taught by anyone but private tutors, and again, without access to some of those… it was difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. He knew a few basic ones, courtesy of Dog, who somehow managed to teach without speaking a word, but he knew that Dog was not a specialist in fūinjutsu. How did he know that? Because Itachi had done him a favour and looked up his fellow ANBU, and while he kept everything else a secret, he confirmed that Dog had likely shown him all he knew.

Or at least, all he could learn as an essential novice.

"I think I'll just be at home with Naruto all day. I don't really have any plans."

Shisui gasped, and he couldn't tell if it was a joke or something serious. Itachi kept quiet as the two five-year-olds chased one another, jumping over invisible logs and darting to the side of invisible attacks. The sight made him smile, the two boys being so light-hearted, Naruto smiling and giggling like nothing bad had happened in the world. Naruto's blue eyes were wide and happy, his step had a bounce in it, a laugh that could cheer up even the saddest person.

"We celebrated my eleventh birthday."

Itachi pointed out, still looking ahead. That was different. That was your birthday, not mine. I haven't properly celebrated my birthday since I was six years old. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate me and Naruto spending our time together every year, that is my birthday celebration, but with friends? Not a chance.

With the children just as likely to ignore him as the adults were, there was nobody but his brother to celebrate with. And while he wasn't vain, he knew that many people tended to flock to those who were deemed "powerful." Kasuhiro was an example of that, as were many of the girls in the Academy, who stared at Itachi and Shisui as if they had their Sharingan out. The few friends he'd had, back when he'd been "normal" aside from being the son of the Yondaime, had all drifted away since.

"You enjoy your birthday. It's just another day for me."

He knew that excuse wouldn't fly the minute the two Uchiha's stared at him, mirror looks on their face. They were disapproving, faces pinched, their chakra's spiking, but not overly so. It was as if you were to cook a bowl of ramen, where the pot was just beginning to spit out the water just like a wayward fire jutsu. Which both Uchiha's were capable of doing, and to a high level of efficiency.

Mitsuo just had a practical way of thinking about everything: why bother with his own birthday and waste money if he didn't care for it? It was a no brainer, a simple point with a simple answer. What they'd done for Itachi wasn't even much, it was a quiet affair compared to the massive party that he knew had taken place at the Uchiha compound, a way to shake hands with other clans, and form alliances which would benefit them in the future.

Most clan heads and their children went to the outing, such as the Nara's and Hyūga's, despite many of their clan heads only having children around Naruto and Sasuke's age. Nobody wanted to refuse the Uchiha's, as not only was Fugaku a terrifying adversary when he wanted to be, but he was an even more powerful ally.

Obviously, even though Mitsuo was essentially the clan head of both the Uzumaki Clan and the newly formed Namikaze Clan (although it was a debate whether such a thing existed considering it started with his father, and there were only two members)-both titles he could not take up until he hit sixteen years of age- he and Naruto had not received an invite to Itachi's birthday.

Because yes Konoha, it made sense to train children as young as six to become killers- even if said children did agree to the training- but they couldn't become the head of their clan if there was no other. It was less that he wanted the responsibility, and more so he felt like he owed it to his parents, to carry on their legacy. His father was great and deserved to have his legacy honoured: even if it was through the creation of a clan and not old folk tales.

Though that task might be one greater than Mitsuo could do: it took more than one member to make a clan, and he couldn't create a clan until he was sixteen- just like he couldn't change his name until then. Or, strictly speaking, he could, but his guardian would have to sign the papers, and considering he was a ward of the state, which meant the papers went via the Hokage's office, there was no way for him to return to Namikaze Mitsuo.

Mitsuo still wasn't sure what to think about changing his name. He would never get the old identity back; he could never be that carefree child he had been once. On one hand, changing his name back to the original meaning- living light- and getting Namikaze back, meant driving a metaphorical wedge between him and his brother.

Unless Naruto felt like changing his name- which Mitsuo would never ask him to- they would be Uzumaki Naruto and Namikaze Mitsuo. It wasn't uncommon for siblings to have different names, but he didn't want to drive a wedge between him and his brother.

On the other hand, he would take the identity that had been intended for him for his parents. They had never intended for him to be Uzumaki Mitsuo, instead holding his father's name. If he changed his name back, he would be reclaiming a legacy he should have had from the start.

There was a lot of thought that he needed to put into this.

"It's not just a day. You only turn twelve once, Mitsuo. I wish I could turn twelve again."

"No, you don't."

Itachi interceded, rolling his eyes. Shisui grumbled something under his breath as he slugged Itachi in the shoulder, with enough force to make the younger Uchiha grumble. Shisui maintained his mock glare, eyes narrowed with an "I dare you to contradict me again" look, as he continued on smoothly, unperturbed as ever.

"Alright, so I don't. Fourteen is a good age to be- nothing bad happens when you're fourteen. But still, twelve. Come on, we have to celebrate. Just this one, please."

Shisui was persistent when he wanted to be, and his eyes were damn killers when he turned them on someone. And funnily enough, Mitsuo didn't mean the Sharingan, even though that was deadly enough. Mitsuo's eye twitched as he tried to look away, only for Itachi to be mirroring the look, which was much more effective then he'd admit.

The only problem was that with Shisui, one turned into every year from then on. It turned into multiple. One spar with Shisui had turned to one every Sunday, where Mikoto would take Naruto and the three of them would take turns sparring with another. It went from a one-off thing to a weekly thing. He knew he was going to regret it, but he didn't want to upset Shisui and Itachi either. Putting on a show of indifference, he shrugged, his feet continuing on in their measured steps.

"Fine. Just nothing too large and exuberant…"

"Naruto, do you know what I heard about today?"

His face furrowed adorably; the plain innocence feigned on his face. Mitsuo pursed his lips, humming as he organised some papers, pushing them aside. The hesitation in Naruto's answer was enough to give some indication that there was something his younger brother hadn't told him, and Mitsuo knew by now all the ways to drag out a confession. That sounded darker then I meant it to be.

"No? What happened?"

Mitsuo knew full well that Naruto had something to do with it, but he was impressed that his brother had gotten in and out without detecting it. His lying face had gotten better as he got older, but there were still tics that gave him away, that indicated that he wasn't being wholly truthful. There was the quiver of his lip, the rising of his cheekbones, a sly grin that threatened to break out over his face.

"I heard that somebody swapped Kasuhiro and his gangs' shampoo out with bright green dye and coloured all their clothes pink. It wouldn't have anything to do with you, would it?"

Granted, they weren't apart of the main houses, so the civilian houses were significantly easier to break into. They weren't as highly guarded as the main clan compounds, due to the lack of protection that they needed. Outside of the major clans, there were no Kekkei Genkai in the general population of Konoha, and as such, was less reason for them to be hunted down. Naruto snickered, before beginning to cough, and Mitsuo pressed him with his best older brother look. Naruto dipped his head a little bit, before finally coming clean, with a slight cry.

"I was angry that they hurt us. But you said that we couldn't hurt our allies, and messing with them isn't hurting them is it? I'm sorry if I made you mad!"

Mitsuo placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, guiding him to the sofa where he sat with a humph. He wasn't mad, wasn't even upset. He was amused more than anything, and while he knew he should really discourage things like this, he'd rather Naruto pranked them then try to physical hurt them. To try and do that while untrained… it wasn't going to end up well. In fact, it would end badly enough that Mitsuo wouldn't be happy.

"Pranked. That's the word you're looking for."

Naruto nodded but he hugged a nearby cushion, pressing his face into it, revealing only his blue eyes. Mitsuo mussed his hair, soothing him like he was well experienced with now, humming a low tune to keep him calm. He shook his head to try and reiterate the point that he wasn't mad, wasn't going to scream at him in anger.

"I'm not mad. In fact, I'm glad that you pranked them instead of hurting them. Just… no harmful pranks."

"No harmful pranks!"

Naruto repeated in agreement, wrapping his arms around his brother as he burrowed into Mitsuo's chest. They stayed like that for a few moments, before Naruto pulled away, his eyes wide with astonishment and his ever-cheerful grin on his face. A sad Naruto meant something was very very wrong in the world, and he'd not done a good enough job as a big brother.

"They look at us as something other than a demon when they're pranked."

Naruto remarked idly, somewhat mischievously. There was a problem with that- he'd done it in the middle of the night, so there shouldn't have really been anyone else to prove that theory. He looked at Naruto with a narrowed face, a curious glint of his own eyes as he narrowed them at his brother, who shuffled in his seat again.

"Naruto…. Who else did you prank?"

He grinned sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders and tackling his brother, wrapping his arms around him and trying to tickle him. Mitsuo let it happen as he tickled the spot behind his neck that caused Naruto to melt under his touch, his eyes screaming "stop it!".

"Nobody, dattebayo."

The shock of Naruto using his own spin on that word caused him to roll off the sofa and Naruto land on his chest with a solid thump, allowing him to tickle him ferociously. Sometimes, the silliest of things could shock a shinobi- it didn't always have to be blood or the skill of their opponent. Letting Naruto enjoy his momentary advantage, Mitsuo went limp, letting Naruto snicker cheekily. He tilted his head with curiosity, innocently, genuinely this time.

"What's wrong with dattebayo?"

Little did Mitsuo know he'd just created a prank-loving monster. Konoha would quickly learn not to attack the two Uzumaki brothers, lest they be on the receiving end of some devilish pranks, courtesy of the unusually stealthy youngest.

"Nothing nothing. Now, where did you learn to be so stealthy...?"

"That was a good spar."

Itachi commented idly as they headed back to Mitsuo's apartment, sweating pouring down their faces, eyes flickering from some degree of exhaustion. The two of them were equal in ability, and the spars always came down to the wire, usually who could endure longest- even though that was equal for the both of them- or for however long they had. Neither one of them were ones to give up a fight, especially if they had something to fight for.

In their cases, Naruto and Sasuke. The days had gone past far too quickly for Mitsuo's liking because now, it was his birthday. And he knew that neither Shisui or Itachi had forgotten about their little agreement, just like Naruto wouldn't have forgotten the date. Less noticeable things may pass his little brother by, but family and family-related dates? There was something seriously wrong if they slipped him by.

"It was. I've been trying out more versatile wind Jutsu, but without a teacher… it's tough. Wind comes naturally to me, but without any kind of proper idea of example wind Jutsu? Independent study doesn't mean much."

Itachi tilted his head, rolling his shoulders as his eyes momentary deviated from the path in front of them to Mitsuo's own, and he could so very clearly see the ghost of the Sharingan, tomoe and all, spinning in front of him.

When he had his Sharingan activated, it was easy to see how he'd so easily made it into the upper ranks of the Academy. At least, that was what many people assumed. But they forgot that it was a great tragedy that caused the eye to activate and that it was only as skilful as the wielder.

"I can check our library to see if there's anything on wind jutsu and nature."

He offered, but it was more of a statement than a question. Mitsuo nodded in agreement, as Itachi diverted his eyes back to the paths. The streets were occupied, busy with the hustle and bustle of shinobi and civilians, each one having their own destination in mind.

The buildings loomed over them all, like some kind of guardian, but there was nothing more watching then the four Hokage, watching over them from their positions on the monument, watching the village they all loved so dearly.

"So, what have you been trying?"

"I've been observing other people's Jutsu, like your Water Dragon Bullet. Wind is easy to fix into what I, in theory, want it to do, but to get it to go against its own nature… it proves difficult. The wind clones were easy to combine because the clone naturally melded with the chakra."

Itachi hummed in the way that meant he was thinking. Itachi was someone who you could go to for advice because he'd give it in an unbiased manner. He wouldn't exuberantly praise you or mollycoddle you, but he wouldn't criticise every flaw in your Jutsu either. The ability to just be impartial, even when talking to his friend- it was a trait that Mitsuo admired.

With nobody else to give him constructive criticism, Mitsuo knew he relied heavily on Shisui and Itachi, more so then they relied on him.

"I'd look into the actual aspects of wind nature before trying anything like that: the problem could be that you're trying too hard to make it into something it's not- a water Jutsu is a water Jutsu for a reason, and there are limitations to what can be done."

It sounded so simple, logical in any sense. Fire couldn't be water like grass couldn't be metal. It could give off the illusion that it was something that it was not, but it was fundamentally the same. It was so simple that it had completely slipped his mind, with his unnecessary habit of complicating things. Nothing could be simple, there was always some underlying flaw that had to be addressed.

Nothing could be perfect in life, especially not one as tumultuous as the life of a shinobi, but he wanted anything involving his skill to be honed to a razer point. Not for the glory, not for the pride, but for his brother. If he could figure all this stuff out before Naruto began to really need his Jutsu, then Mitsuo could give him a hand. He didn't have to try and establish all the ins and outs of wind nature by himself.

"Thank you for your help Itachi."

"It makes for a better spar. Now come on. I don't want to see what a bored Naruto and Shisui are like when put together. Hopefully, my Otōto will keep them reigned in."