(A/N) Sasuke's turn! He's the last kid I swear. Not the last person they collect, there are still three adults to collect, but y'know. Most of em are when the kits graduate anyway.

Contrary to what most people thought, Sasuke wasn't entirely blind to the issues going on within his family. He knew Itachi was never around anymore, knew his father was withdrawing further and further, never home either, and his mother was very stressed. Even Shisui, normally so cheerful was subdued, barely managing slight smirks where he'd normally be grinning like the sun. He knew, but didn't know what to do about it.

So Sasuke threw himself into his work, desperate not to be a burden that would only stress out his family more. He knew most of the other kids in his grade lived together, mostly because they met up with three kids from the class above then all went home together, although he never really thought about what that meant.

He tried to keep himself separate from his classmates, to keep himself above them like Itachi always seemed to do, even if most of them were so dang friendly and kept drawing him in to play.

Perhaps the first sign something was horribly wrong was when he spotted one of his brother's crows in the sky. Or maybe it was one of Shisui's, Sasuke could never tell.

It landed in front of him, having flown in the window to perch on his desk.

Iruka raised an eyebrow at it and then at him. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged in response. "I don't know." He ran two fingers down the crow's back like how Itachi had shown him, and it clacked its beak at him in response, hopping to the side and leaving a scroll Sasuke hadn't noticed before on the desk. A red ribbon with black crows was tied around the scroll, and Sasuke slid out the note from under the ribbon.

It was from Shisui. He could tell the edges were stained with blood, since he didn't know what else the red stains would be from.

He scanned the note.

Sasuke
Sorry to ask this of you, but can you keep this safe? I would normally give the scroll to the summons themselves, but as they're based in Konoha, that isn't an option. It's the summoning scroll for the crows, Itachi and I are the only ones to have ever signed it. Keep it safe and out of bad hands.

At that point the handwriting got even worse, like Shisui was hurrying to scribble it out before he ran out of time. Sasuke didn't like the implications at all. It was concerning, to say the least.

This is a bad time, and I wish I could stay, but I can't. Take care of yourself, spend nights at the house of others if you can, just don't be at the compound for longer then you have to be please. Keep aware, don't let your guard down, and don't go anywhere near the village elders. Please trust me with this, and trust that anything Itachi is doing, he's doing it for you. He loves you more than anything else, just remember that and don't let him do anything he'll regret too much.

I'm sorry to put this on you, but I suppose I don't have a choice any more. Keep the scroll safe, sign it if you must, but keep it out of anyone else's hands. Try not to tell anyone you don't have to, and not anyone you can't guarantee won't tell the Hokage.

I'm sorry.

Shisui

Alright then.

Sasuke folded the paper quickly, sticking it in his pocket, followed by the scroll. "Just something my cousin wanted me to see." He quickly lied to Iruka.

Iruka didn't seem convinced, but ignored it and went back to his lesson. The crow moved from its place on his desk to sit on his shoulder.

Sasuke didn't pay attention to the rest of the lesson, mind on the note Shisui had left with the scroll. What did he even mean by stay away from the compound? He lived there, that's where his family was.

And why did Shisui specifically say don't go anywhere near the village elders? Why them? What was so bad about them specifically? Plus what did he mean about staying? Why couldn't he 'stay'? Was he leaving on a mission?

Sasuke had more questions than he could find answers for, and he didn't like it. Plus, he really didn't know if he could find any answers at all, and even if he could find Shisui, there was no guarantee he'd give up any answers.

Knowing his brother and cousin, he probably wouldn't get anything from them. They weren't exactly forthcoming about anything any more, let alone information.

"You're dismissed," he vaguely heard Iruka call, and started gathering his stuff, albeit carefully so as not to disturb the crow still perched on his shoulder.

"Sasuke," he heard Iruka call as he walked towards the door. "Be safe."

Sasuke nodded to his teacher, walking out distractedly.

Upon leaving the school, he was immediately ganged up upon by the kids.

"So, what was the message about?" Naruto asked immediately. Sasuke kept an eye on Keruberosu, who seemed to be eyeing the crow suspiciously.

"None of your business," Sasuke said snippily. "It was just from my cousin. Who I'm going to go see. If I can find him."

"We can help you look for him!" Naruto offered immediately. "Kiba and Keruberosu are super good at looking for things!"

Sasuke considered it. On one hand, it might let him find his brother or cousin faster, on the other, it was involving all eleven of the people he knew lived in the house.

Finding his cousin was more important. Sasuke nodded his agreement. "Alright."

"Will the crow smell like him?" Kiba asked, pushing Naruto aside. "And what's he look like?"

"Finding either my brother or my cousin is best," Sasuke said, nudging the bird down onto his forearm. "And both their scents should be on it? They share the summoning contract."

Keruberosu approached the bird slowly, then carefully sniffed it. The bird let it happen, but gave Sasuke the stink eye the entire time. He backed away then barked once softly.

"He's got two distinct scents!" Kiba cheered. "Neat! Let's see what we can find then, eh?"

"Where are you going?" Tenten asked, heralding the arrival of the elder four. "And what are you finding?"

"Sasuke's brother or cousin!" Naruto said happily. "Help us?"

"Sure," Tenten replied easily. "What do they look like?"

"Well, Itachi, my brother, has longish hair and it's tied back. He's probably in just the usual Uchiha wear, and he looks super dead inside." Sasuke didn't really know what that meant, but he'd heard Shisui say it in reference to Itachi. "And Shisui's kinda big, and has short hair but it's like super curly. He should have a tanto on."

"We'll look for Shisui!" Kiba cheered, Keruberosu barking along in agreement. "You guys look for Itachi!"

"I'll go with you," Tenten volunteered immediately. "We'll bring Hinata, Ino, Lee, and everyone else can go look for Itachi."

Sasuke just shrugged and went along with it. She seemed to know what she was doing.

Sasuke almost regretted going with Kiba and them when they ended up near the Naka river.

"I don't see anyone," Ino hummed, looking around. "Are you sure it's this way Kiba?"

"I trust Keruberosu's nose," Kiba replied confidently. "He'll find Shisui."

"Just not alive," Tenten murmured as they broke through the trees, finding a body that Sasuke barely recognized as Shisui's. "Oh my gosh, what happened to him?"

Sasuke ran to his cousin, quickly checking for a pulse. There wasn't one, and his skin was cold.

"He's been dead for a while," Hinata murmured quietly, looking very pale.

"Should we bury him or something?" Kiba asked, with a surprising amount of tact for an Inuzuka.

"He doesn't have any eyes," Tenten said, looking very queasy. "I don't think this was a natural death."

Sasuke forced himself to look at his cousin's face, and sure enough, beneath the blood caking his face, and the scratches all over it, he very obviously didn't have any eyes. He nearly threw up. Who had Shisui's eyes now? Was this what Shisui meant by not going near the village elders? Who would even be able to take Shisui's eyes?

"We aren't even out of Konoha," Tenten whispered, backing away slightly. "Who…"

"Someone in Konoha," Sasuke guessed. "And based on the note Shisui sent me, they're affiliated with the Hokage and/or village elders. He said be wary of the elders and not tell anyone who would tell the Hokage."

"We won't tell him," Hinata vowed quickly. "But what do we do now?"

"We should bury him and say no one could find the body," Tenten said, face hardening. "We'll have to cover our scents, but I have something to take care of that for us. Keruberosu, Lee, Kiba, start digging a deep grave. Hinata, Ino, go fetch the others, quickly but quietly, and don't attract any attention. Say we found a cool bug or something."

Ino and Hinata nodded, racing off together.

Sasuke barely registered them leaving, barely felt Tenten crouch next to him and wrap her arm around his shoulders. "What else did the note say Sasuke?" She asked quietly.

"To keep their summoning contract safe. And a few other things," Sasuke whispered, unable to tear his eyes away from the body. He opted for pulling out the note and handing it to her. She lightly squeezed his shoulder in thanks and took it.

"We'll help you," Tenten decided. "I know there's a group project soon, we'll send someone with you, and tell your parents that Iruka said there was going to be a group project and we're brainstorming ideas for when it does happen, and see if you can stay over. Just in case."

Sasuke nodded, staring blankly at Shisui's cold body. He didn't think he'd see the day his cousin died. He'd always seemed just that full of life, almost undefeatable, like nothing could touch him. Almost like Itachi, but in a livelier way. And he'd clearly died brutally, especially to end up on the banks of the Naka river covered in injuries and dried blood with his eyes missing.

"We'll need to find his eyes," Tenten murmured. "Make sure no one stupid has them."

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed quietly, breath stuttering in his chest as he watched the corpse blankly.

(A/N) Wow, that got depressing really fast. Did not plan to have them find Shisui's body, but oh well. Looks like that happened anyway. Didn't expect to have this stretch on an extra chapter either, but here we are. So another Sasuke chapter next time.