1. Kakashi

Kakashi hadn't expected to have the Uchiha clan heir assigned to his ANBU squad.

To be fair he hadn't expected the boy to even join ANBU in the first place. His skills, while prodigious, would be far better suited to frontline fighting instead of the Black Ops but here he was, a tiny, waifish figure with a Weasel mask in hand.

Perhaps it was because he knew the pressure of being a genius from a family that was disliked by the village or because he recognised the world weariness in those onyx eyes that were far too old for the youthful face they were set in or maybe just because he saw the way he was slowly breaking with every drop of blood spilt across calloused palms. Whatever the reasons, Kakashi had always kept an eye on the young prodigy from the moment they were assigned to the same ANBU squad.

He had never been the best teammate but carrying Obito's nindo, he knew that he could not fail the young Uchiha if only for his fallen teammate. Nevertheless, he found himself growing fond of the serious young shinobi and he bemoaned his protectiveness to the cook marble of the memorial stona time and time again. Despite the shared clan name however, he knew better than to compare the two. Not only was Itachi far superior to Obito in skill, their temperament was entirely different. Obito was determined to a fault and while he wouldn't call Itachi unmotivated, he never seemed to enjoy improving as a shinobi. Where Obito was average despite his determination, on the best of days, Itachi was brilliant despite his distaste for violence.

That was another thing, Kakashi mourned about Itachi. He was very clearly a pacifist and the pain in his eyes at taking life after life was evident. The way he muffled his emotions behind his palm during sleepless nights after successful assassinations was telling and if Kakashi's superior hearing managed to catch the near inaudible sobs, he wouldn't spill. He couldn't do anything about it either. He knew nothing of the inside politics of the Uchiha clan or its relations and he didn't know the consequences of allowing their most prolific fighter to retire but he couldn't help but feel sorry for the gentle boy forced to dress in the veneer of a killer.

That was the main reason why he hadn't believed the news when it came out. The very idea of Uchiha Itachi snapping and killing hundreds of members of his own clan was frankly so ludicrous that Kakashi had just stared blankly at the messenger for several seconds.

"What." He said flatly, not even phrasing it as a question because there was no way his kouhai, who had wept silently after every kill, had actually turned his sword against innocents.

"Sandaime sama requests that you assist in the aftermath of the Uchiha massacre wherein Uchiha Itachi killed every Uchiha aside from the youngest son of the main family." The recruit repeated and Kakashi felt like he had stepped into a different dimension. One where apparently pacifistic young men took to their homes to paint the streets in blood for no apparent reason, traumatizing their beloved younger brothers in the process.

And wasn't that a ludicrous thought? Itachi's devotion to his brother was unbelievable. It was a bit of an open secret around the ANBU base that on the rare occasions they caught Itachi smiling, Sasuke had something to do with it. Their post mission celebration was almost always interrupted by the tiny clone who stuck to his brother's back like a limpet and his team was always treated to the soft, gentle and most importantly genuine emotion when he did so.

Determined to get to the bottom of the frankly sick joke, Kakashi had body flickered into the Hokage's office, only to discover that apparently the messenger had not suddenly lost all control over his mental faculties but was apparently telling the truth. A truth so unbelievable, that he had managed to get away with it as well, if only because no one had ever expected it to happen.

Uchiha Itachi, former clan heir of the Uchiha Clan had killed one hundred and seventy two members of the Uchiha clan, leaving only his brother alive. He had proceeded to torture the boy with a Sharingan Genjutsu, before fleeing the village to become a missing nin.

All this to apparently 'test his strength'!

Kakashi hadn't known whether to laugh or cry.

He had instead bowed his head and followed orders to clear the Uchiha compound and look for clues. He had taken his place amidst the blank masked soldiers to comb through streets paved in blood and filled with bodies and done his best to not be sick even as the number of searchers dwindled away with every newly unearthed horror.

Throughout the search, all he could think of was the lonely walk Uchiha Itachi must have made through the very same streets knowing that their blood was on his hands.

He wondered if the genius had cried for these deaths.

Strangely however with every new body he examined, he was beginning to put together a very odd picture. Every one of the deaths had been near instantaneous and with the least possible pain. An assassination, his traitorous mind had whispered.

A single sword injury to vital points that indicated no struggle, no battle and certainly nothing befitting the so-called 'test of strength' Itachi had claimed as the reason for his insanity.

As a shinobi he had always strived to look underneath underneath and right now his instincts were crying foul with every step he took through what had been labelled a senseless and tragic massacre. When he reached the Main Family's home, he knew for certain that his first impression was definitely wrong. The almost ritualistic arrangement of the matriarch and patriarch of the clan was very much deliberate and very much unlike them.

With a pensive frown he delivered a basic report to the Hokage. Trusting his instincts, he kept back his speculations and made careful note of the slight relaxing of the old man's posture when he revealed no anomalies in the preliminary investigation.

The next morning when the sun rose on Uchiha Itachi's new status as a missing nin, Kakashi kept his suspicions hidden but ears open for any source of information as to the truth behind the Uchiha massacre.

He had failed an Uchiha before and he was not about to repeat that mistake. It wouldn't do to leave a teammate behind after all.

AN- Leave a review and favourite if you liked it and let me know who else you would like to see. I have five more chapters of this story and I'll update if they get a good reception. Follow to catch the updates!~Teaspoon