Sasuke cursed this day. The Academy was just insensitive, he supposed, but that didn't stop the painful memories.
Earlier than was usual even for him, he arrived at the Academy only a short time before the clouds that overcast Konoha mornings were due to leave. Expecting no one else but staff – and even then, not all of them – he was startled to see a blonde haired man arriving at the Academy grounds hardly moments before him. More unexpectedly, he didn't enter the building, instead finding a spot he seemed to like and settled there to watch the changing leaves on some of the youngest and smallest trees in Konoha, only reaching around twenty-five or thirty feet each (each due to continue growing).
Considering that he was early, Sasuke settled a ways away from the man to keep an eye on him, a gut feeling telling him to stay despite not knowing why.
The man was vaguely familiar. He was tall and wearing similar pants to those of most chūnin and jōnin. He wore standard shinobi sandals, black to match the rest of his outfit, and the plainest high collared sweater Sasuke had ever seen. He held himself in a completely relaxed manner, arms folded as opposed to Sasuke's hands in his pockets. The man had bright blonde hair, unlike the sandy coloured hair attributed to the nuclear leading family of Konoha's Yamanaka Clan. He kept his hair longer than most, one of the defining traits seen among Yamanaka despite hair colour or distance of lineage from the head family, reaching just below his shoulders, though it was thick and presumably longer if its slightly waved ends were straighter. It was pulled back into a low ponytail, still leaving hair to cover his face and in his eyes. Sasuke would have frowned at the detrimental haircut but was drawn by the hiding eyes. They were incredibly blue, vibrant unlike the mainline Yamanaka.
The longer Sasuke stared at this man, the more he compared him to the Yamanaka Clan heir and one of his classmates, Yamanaka Ino. It was as though someone brightened her hair and cut it shorter, brightened her eyes, darkened her skin to be almost as dark as someone native to Kumo, and made her a man, though that was debatable due to his more androgynous and feminine features, like his softer jaw and long eyelashes. So: he looked nothing like Ino.
Then again, that just described another of his classmates, Uzumaki Naruto, who had bright blonde hair, bright blue eyes, dark skin (though not as dark as this stranger), slightly androgynous features, and very distinct markings that he shared with the older man: three whisker-like marks indiscernible as scars or birthmarks on each cheek that accentuated the age of their bearers, though the elder's were darker and looked to be like indentations from what Sasuke could see. He was unsure if Naruto's were as well, having never paid attention.
If he didn't know that Naruto was an orphan and would probably take any opportunity to talk about his family if he had any, Sasuke would've called the man Naruto's brother or uncle, maybe cousin, but he did know and was very well-aware that Naruto was as alone as he was, reminded on this dreaded day by the Academy: Parents' Day.
Sasuke never understood why the day was so late in the Academy years, when the students' lives were already set in stone and very unlikely to change. Maybe that was why: parents couldn't interfere. He might never know, but he wondered who the blonde man was waiting for.
Speaking of the dumbest student in his class, Sasuke spotted Naruto walking towards the Academy, head down. Noticing that he was almost at his desired destination, Naruto looked up and spotted the blonde-haired man.
Sasuke has never seen such pure elation on the face of someone who was known to smile the biggest grins.
"ANIKI!"
The blonde-haired man's head snapped around to Naruto and, though quieter, yelled after the boy who was sprinting towards him, "Hey, otōto!"
Brothers?
Sasuke froze as he saw Naruto excitedly bound up to his 'aniki,' the biggest smile on his face that the man returned just as brightly.
"I thought you couldn't come 'cause you were out of village! Weren't you doing some super important stuff in that mountain-y place?"
"Oh, otōto, if you should call, I would come from the very edges of the continent to see you. You think a few mountains could get in my way?"
The man smiled softly in a way that made Sasuke clench his hands, the familiarity of it making him want to punch that face. His own brother had smiled like that to him.
"Don't believe him," Sasuke growled.
The two blond-haired people looked at him questioningly, their synchronised mirrored responses further cementing their relation.
With attention now on him, Sasuke continued, "Don't trust that man. I've seen what a 'kind' brother can hide with a that smile."
Naruto looked offended and made to yell at Sasuke, but the elder's hand on his head made him look back in inquiry.
"Then it's quite lucky that Naruto-kun and I aren't truly brothers, isn't it?" Still unsure where this was going, Naruto looked around in a gesture less for help and more to express that he was confused as his 'aniki' addressed Sasuke. "Naruto-kun and I don't actually know how we're related, but DNA tests do confirm that we are. It just happens that I've accepted Naruto-kun as my precious otōto."
Naruto smile brightly with a twinge of embarrassment at being called in such a familial manner.
Sasuke frowned and almost glared, and the elder seemed to have an answer for this too.
"Just because your brother betrayed you doesn't mean that everyone else will. Most often, people betray you because you didn't trust the right people."
The blonde man suddenly looked sheepish.
"I never introduced myself, did I? It's awfully rude for me to be trying to give you life advice when you don't even know my last name."
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Naruto tugged on his older brother's sleeve to get his attention. "Can I introduce you?"
"Of course."
Naruto cleared his throat and gave a very bad imitation of an announcer's voice as he said, "Introducing the one, the only, my awesome big brother and no one else's because if anyone takes him I'll cry and punch them-" Naruto took a deep breath to recover and he dramatically gestured to the taller man. "NAMONAKI HASU!"
Sasuke snorted and Naruto looked very confused.
"You expect me to believe his last name is 'nameless'?"
Naruto still looked confused.
"It's his name..?"
Hasu gave an airy laugh, patting Naruto on the head again.
"Actually, I'm an orphan as well. When I ended up at the orphanage, I was barely a new-born. The hospital called me Hasu, but the orphanage gave me my last name. Every unnamed person at the orphanage gets the last name Mumei and then changes it when they leave. I just decided to almost keep it."
"Okay," Sasuke muttered to himself.
"Ah," Hasu brought the kids' attention. "Some other students and parents are probably going to start arriving soon. D'you wanna go in?"
Naruto tried to rush off, stopped barely feet away, then turned back to Sasuke.
"Is anyone here for you?"
Sasuke glared, but it didn't deter Naruto as he practically begged Hasu, "Can you, like, adopt Sasuke? Like, just for today, 'ttebayo! He doesn't have anyone!"
Sasuke made to protest, but Hasu smiled at him so softly the words stuck in his throat.
"I'd be honoured to be your family for a day, if you'd allow me."
Not saying a word, all of them still unutterable by him, Sasuke looked away. He didn't see Hasu smile bright or Naruto awkwardly realise what he'd just done, but he felt Hasu ruffle his hair. He gave an indignant shout and Naruto burst out laughing, Hasu not far behind as he covered his mouth to hide his smile.
A hand was then on his shoulder, like he remembered his mother once doing so he wouldn't get lost after he'd thrown a tantrum that he was old enough to walk without holding her hand. Looking over, a matching hand was holding Naruto's hand, though instead of to hold it was ready to be led.
"Lead the way, boys."
It was still quiet in the school when Sasuke and Naruto managed to get Hasu to their classroom and Iruka, their teacher, looked startled to see Hasu.
"Who's this?" Iruka asked the two.
Naruto excitedly proclaimed, "He's a long lost relative! Jiji let us do a super easy test at the hospital that said we were related and now I call him big brother! And! And! And! Sasuke doesn't have anyone for Parents' Day, so I offered and now Sasuke and I are brothers for a day!"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the sudden realisation, a little bothered that he still couldn't find it in himself to protest, but a glance as Hasu's genuine smile made him keep his mouth shut. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
"My name's Hasu," he introduced himself cheerfully. "You must be Iruka-sensei, yeah?"
Iruka nodded, glancing between Naruto and Hasu, then lingering on Sasuke for a moment before inviting them to sit down.
Because it was Parents' Day, the classroom had an extra row of chairs and tables set up at the front for the influx of people, but otherwise there was simply going to be more people crowded at each set of wide tables and benches than usual.
Sasuke ended up choosing where they sat, going straight to his seat a row back from the usual front and next to the window. Naruto settled next to him and then Hasu, sitting as though not expecting more people and Sasuke was silently glad, hoping to stave off the fangirls from being near him for as long as possible.
"Sasuke-kun," Hasu called to get his attention. "I can't exactly call you my baby brother for a day if I don't know anything about you. Wanna impart any wisdom? Hobbies? Life goals? Dislikes?"
Sasuke didn't plan on answering, but Hasu's expectant look pried his lips open.
"My goal is to restore the Uchiha Clan and to kill a certain man."
"Cool."
Hasu's nonchalant reaction caught Sasuke off guard and snapped him out of the brooding stupor he was about to fall into. Naruto seemed pretty interested too.
"What?"
"Cool," Naruto repeated for Hasu. "Who is this guy? How'd he manage to fuck shit up so badly he has you after him?"
Sasuke waited for Hasu's reprimand at Naruto swearing - as he was sure Itachi would've done to Sasuke had he ever sworn in front of him - but was almost disappointed, yet all the same felt a nagging jealousy at their casual relationship.
Ignoring Naruto's jab at him, Sasuke answered bitterly, "My older brother. I believed that he was a good person, but he killed our entire family to test his strength and left only me alive, saying I was the only one he believed could get strong enough to one day try and kill him."
"So you're gonna try and kill him?" Naruto looked confused. "What the hell - you're just gonna listen to what the mass murderer says for you to do, 'ttebayo?!"
"I need to avenge my family!"
"You need to stop listening to crazy people, 'ttebayo!"
"Ah, to be young," Hasu interrupted fondly.
Naruto and Sasuke looked to him, confused.
"You two sound so much like when Itachi, Anko-chan, Shisui-kun and I used to get into arguments over what the best food was. It was really unfair! Itachi and Anko-chan both said dango, but Shisui-kun and I disagreed so we never won. We even got Fugaku-san and Izumi-chan involved, but Fugaku-san liked ignoring us unless it was to watch Itachi be awesome and Izumi-chan had the biggest crush on Itachi and wouldn't disagree with him. When Itachi got into Anbu, we even managed to get his captain in the discussion, but he had a different opinion too that he wouldn't even tell us!"
Hasu continued to talk at length about the Great Food Wars, featuring people Sasuke had once knew and people he'd never heard of, entrancing Naruto and making Sasuke constantly note to start talking with him more due to his revealed history with Itachi.
As Hasu's rant calmed down, Iruka long gone to do something or other somewhere else and both kids completely lost by the number of names and people mentioned, Sasuke burst in.
"How did you know Itachi?"
Hasu gave him a look he couldn't quite place.
"Right, Itachi was your brother, wasn't he?"
Naruto looked flabbergasted as he yelled, "He's the one who killed your family?!"
Sasuke nodded and Hasu smiled forlornly.
"Itachi and I met when we were both really young. Like, four, or something. I don't quite remember why we met, but it happened, and we actually became really close friends. He and I went to the Academy together for a while before he graduated, like, six months in or something, but I graduated really soon after too, promise! We didn't see each other for a while...I think I next saw him when a member of his genin team was killed on a mission and the rest of the team got put in hospital. If I remember right," Hasu gave Sasuke a look that made him pay more attention, "that was the mission where Itachi first activated his Sharingan."
Naruto just became more confused, but Hasu gave him a very summary of what the Sharingan was, to which Naruto's only answer was to exclaim, "So cool!"
"Do you think I could defeat Itachi?"
Hasu's face became one of seriousness, the first Sasuke had seen on him.
"Right now? No. In a few years? It depends. You'll need a really good sensei, a great work ethic, some friends to support you when things get hard, and a will to persevere, because you will fail, a lot, but if you want to accomplish anything, you've gotta pick yourself right back up and carry on no matter how difficult it is. But you also need to know when to stop."
Sasuke wanted Hasu to elaborate (he couldn't just stop), but the first few parents and students started coming in and discussions of more than five years ago were barred. Most were civilian, early due to a want to impress, slightly put out about the three already in the classroom before they entered. Whispers went around as kids explained who everyone was to their parents and, slowly, the reason that their graduation class was so famous among their generation became clear.
Uchiha Sasuke was, of course, infamous in the village as the lone survivor of the Uchiha Massacre, but there was more to the class than a famous trauma victim.
Inuzuka Kiba arrived with his mother, the head of the Inuzuka Clan, and his older sister, the Clan heir. He had his ninken-in-training, Akamaru, with him as always, a staple feature of the Inuzuka Clan.
Heiress Hyūga Hinata entered with more attention on her than her shy personality usually warranted, her closest cousin from the side branch of her clan and a caretaker with her – her father, the Hyūga clan head, was nowhere in sight.
The heirs of the Akimichi and Nara clans came in together, best friends Chōji and Shikamaru, with their parents, a startling realisation of their resemblance becoming uncanny as Shikamaru and his father immediately attempted to nap at the nearest desk, only to be threatened awake by Shikamaru's mother. Chōji and his parents were less argumentative, all of them already equipped with snacks that they shared between the three of them.
Aburame Shino, clan heir, and his father, clan head of the Aburame, walked in with hardly any attention from anyone but Hasu, who stood and greeted the two pleasantly out of earshot and then quickly returned to Naruto and Sasuke before the seat could be taken by the next civilian family that wandered in.
Heiress of the Yamanaka, Ino, arrived with both her parents and her love rival's family. She and her rival, Haruno Sakura, were more mellow and less loud and annoying to Sasuke with their parents around to supervise them, something he was incredibly glad for.
Not many other students were of note, but the influx of incredibly important clans of Konoha made this classroom crowded with people who were practically the up-and-coming celebrities of Konohagakure by birthright.
Then again, people leered once they spotted Uzumaki Naruto, but they supposed it was a balance. The best with the very worst.
Sasuke didn't notice the looks, too used to being stared at regardless, but Hasu gave a chilling glower to the families who glanced at them the wrong way, a protective arm over Naruto's shoulders that he didn't complain about, snuggling against his elder brother.
Iruka returned before the last families, basking in the sun that finally began to reveal itself as he waited.
With all the parents in the room, Iruka didn't have to resort to using any jutsu to scare the students into silence, so he was able to start teaching.
"Due to the number of shinobi currently in this room, I think it's only fair to talk about some famous shinobi, some of which your parents might have even know. I think I'll start less with me and more with all the adults here. The Kyūbi Attack was devastating, but it's better to remember those that died than to continue to forget what made them important. Would anyone like to share a person they'd like to remember."
Naruto raised his hand.
"...Naruto?"
"The Yondaime Hokage!"
"Naruto, I meant the adults for a reason. It's people they knew who died, not just people you just happen to know died that day."
Hasu's hand raised from where it was wrapped around Naruto's shoulder.
"Yes, Hasu-san?"
"Uzumaki Kushina."