Still starting off at age 7, but we'll be in the Academy now. Seeing how their classmates react to the two Uchiha's returning to class. This chapter will be two stories with more character development. Not much time has passed. If you don't appreciate the slow pacing, please understand that I need to build connections with the OC, or else the story will go nowhere and my OC will be meaningless and inconsequential, which is two of my biggest fears in the development of this story. Anyways, sorry for the long wait. I hope you enjoy and please review so I can improve.
The sun. An incredible phenomenon that is crucial to the growth of the world. It fills not only plants with vitality, but also everyone in the world. It signals the start to a new day in spectacular fashion. Which was exactly the problem in this current moment. That same incredible phenomenon was currently invading the personal space of one young Seishi Uchiha. Coming through the window of his room and smacking right in the face. The very same window Seishi was sure he had closed the curtains on to prevent this exact scenario.
"Get up." Was the first thing Seishi heard to greet the new day. With a grumble Seishi slowly sat up. After wiping his eyes Seishi was able to see exactly who it was that betrayed his trust so. None other than the other Uchiha in Konoha, his almost brother Sasuke. Sasuke stood right beside that horribly placed window, not even trying to hide his crimes. Sasuke was dressed for the day already. Sasuke stood there in a pair of black shorts, a light blue high collared shirt, and ninja sandals.
"For why?" mumbled Seishi, his mind still on sleep.
"We're going to the Academy today. We've missed too much." Sasuke replied. Sasuke then walked over to Seishi's dresser that he kept his clothes in and started rummaging through. Once Sasuke found what he was looking for, he started tossing them to Seishi. Seishi grumbled when a pair of gray shorts him in the face. Realizing what the object was he put them on, getting hit by a flying shirt in the process.
"I didn't think you were serious about going already." Seishi spoke to the intruder. "I mean, you just got out yesterday, aren't you wanting to take it slow?" He asked. Sasuke looked back at him after Seishi got finished dressing and calmly responded.
"No. I want to start getting stronger now." Seishi rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He just picked at the shoulders of his white t-shirt as he walked by Sasuke and towards the bathroom. After finishing his morning relief and brushing his teeth, he met Sasuke in the kitchen. Ayane was already there and serving Sasuke's breakfast. She noticed Seishi walk in and greeted him with a smile,
"Good morning Seishi-san. I hope you like eggs." Seishi nodded to her before sitting down and resting his head on his folded arms that now laid upon the table. Sasuke and Ayane were silent as Seishi laid there, and he didn't move until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Ayane presented his breakfast to him on a plain plate before moving back to start on the dishes.
"Thank you Ayane-san." Seishi said to the kind woman. She replied with a quick "Your welcome" before she returned her focus to the dishes before her. Seishi ate quick. Taking no notice to anything but the plate in front of him. When he was finished he gave his plate to Ayane before he made his way to the front door, where Sasuke was already waiting. Seishi put on his ninja sandals and made his way outside, still following Sasuke. When the morning air greeted Seishi he took a deep breath. A light mist was present around Konoha and Seishi could feel the chill of the water. It definitely finished the job of waking him up.
Sasuke immediately took off in the direction of the academy. Seishi soon fell into step beside him, his morning aches being soothed away by the use of his limbs.
"You excited to go back?" Seishi asked Sasuke while they walked.
"Not really." Sasuke replied, "But I have to if I want to get stronger." Seishi sighed upon hearing that line again. It was already starting to irk him, and Sasuke had only said it a few times. At least he was motivated.
"I want to get stronger too," Seishi began, "But only because I want to make my mom and Shisui proud of me." Sasuke just grunted in response before the two fell into silence once again.
The walk to the academy wasn't terribly far, only a few minutes, but on the way Seishi just admired how early all the people were along the marked road setting up all their shops and preparing their goods for the day. A few people waved to the two boys as they walked, and they both politely waved back. A couple even called out a greeting to them, which again they politely replied to. One lady even went so far as to bring the two boys a pair of oranges. Seishi was quick to politely decline, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. Sasuke was the first of the two to grab one, giving her a "thank you" before beginning to walk again. Seishi followed in his footsteps, already starting to peel the orange when he caught up to Sasuke.
Around the time Seishi finished his orange was when they arrived at the academy. The academy itself was quite large. Located directly next to the Hokage building itself, it sported bright red doors with the Leaf symbol right above them. The building itself was mostly white with red shingles and a flat roof. Beautiful green trees grew all around the building itself, and on the opposite side of the courtyard in front of it. Students had already begun pouring into the building while some said goodbye to their parents as they departed from them. Seishi saw Sasuke out of the corner of his eye tense at the sight and stop walking. Seishi himself stopped, returning next to the now upset Uchiha. Sasuke had his fist clenched as he eyed the scene of the children and their parents. He didn't even notice Seishi until he felt a hand fall upon his shoulder. When the hand collided with Sasuke's shoulder, Sasuke jumped. Seishi looked at him with concerned eyes, and asked him,
"Are you okay?" Sasuke just closed his eyes and nodded before marching forward. Shoulders tense and his movement rigid. Seishi felt bad for Sasuke. He'd only been out of the hospital for one day and had obviously not yet recovered as much as Seishi made himself to seem. The pain was obvious for anyone to see if they knew Sasuke. Everything in his posture and his walk screamed "Angry", but Seishi could only watch. Seeing Sasuke upset put a damper on Seishi's attitude about the day. Seishi wasn't as affected because he had already been trying to live on the past two weeks, and especially after being in the park to play with Ino and talking with her father, it had helped Seishi not get so upset or cry anytime he saw another child with their parent. Talking to Ino's dad Inoichi about everything also helped a lot. He was always willing to listen.
Seishi sighed before trailing after Sasuke. They were still in the same class as before everything happened, so when Seishi finally got to his classroom he walked in on many familiar faces. The classroom itself was quite spacious. It had a chalkboard at the front and desk in front of that. Across from those were the desks. They rose up after every row in an auditorium like fashion. They had three columns of tables that were filled with four tables each. When Seishi walked in the room was oddly quiet. He immediately noticed why as most kids stared at Sasuke who had already taken a seat in the furthest seat away from the door and next to a window. When Seishi began walking forward, he immediately drew the eyes of the class. Seishi took a second to look back at them. Most of his class was full of normal people, but a few were from clans like him. He only knew a couple, those being Shikamaru Nara, an apparently really smart kid who wore his hair in a pineapple style, Kiba Inuzuka, a rowdy child who always had his dog Akamaru with him, and Choji Akimichi, a robust boy who always hung around Shikamaru and was never too far from food. Seishi felt like there would be more, but he hadn't gotten to know them before. His new best friend Ino was the heir to the Yamanaka clan, and he didn't even know she was in his class until they brought it up one day while they played. If he was going to be a ninja he needed to straighten up in that aspect. Seeing all eyes on him however, Seishi felt embarrassment at being the center of attention. Seishi immediately began walking towards where Sasuke sat before his eyes caught a familiar head of blond hair.
The person associated to that hair was Ino Yamanaka. Seishi's newest best friend outside of Sasuke. She immediately beckoned him over to the empty seat beside her which he was quick to oblige to. With a smile he immediately zoomed into the seat next to her.
"Hey Ino-chan." Seishi smiled as he greeted her. She smiled back before replying,
"Good morning Seishi-kun. I can't believe you're here. I thought you might not be coming back so soon." Ino rambled on. Seishi chuckled nervously. He scratched the side of his cheek in embarrassment before saying,
"I actually wasn't going to come today until Sasuke made me." Mentioning his fellow Uchiha's name brought Sasuke to the forefront of his mind again. Looking over to where Sasuke sat Seishi saw Sasuke glaring back at him. They locked eyes for a few seconds before Sasuke grunted and looked out the window again. Seishi felt his heart sink a bit. He could tell Sasuke was upset at him for not sitting by him, but he couldn't help it. Ino caught his eye and he got distracted at seeing his friend again. Seishi hoped Sasuke wouldn't be too mad for too long, or else things would be awkward later for him.
His attention returned to the Yamanaka beside him and to a pink haired girl named Sakura Haruno that was on the other side of her. Sakura was Ino's best friend and Seishi had gotten to know her through the many times he played at the park with them over last couple of weeks. The three of them talked amicably while they waited for their sensei to show up. Seishi did his best to ignore the whispering around him. He could hear his and Sasuke's name pop up and he was pretty sure he knew why. What happened to his clan had not really been a secret nor was it a secret of who did it. He had heard from Inoichi that Itachi had been labeled a criminal and recognized for the crimes he committed. Seishi still could hardly believe it, but the facts were there and he had to accept them, as hard as that had been. The whisperings were loud, but Seishi was able to ignore them, that is until Kiba Inuzuka said something he definitely should not have.
"I can't believe the entire Uchiha clan was killed by one guy. They must have been weak to let that happen. Not even my mom could take our entire clan and she's the head." Seishi whirled around, his eyes wide in shock that he'd heard such blasphemy. Seishi was about to start yelling in the defense of his name and clan, but apparently Sasuke had heard him as well.
"What did you just say?" Sasuke growled out. Kiba turned to face Sasuke, a lopsided grin on his face.
"You heard me. If your clan was that weak, that just means my clan is stronger and everyone should stop praising the Uchiha." Kiba boasted out. Seishi was beyond livid, he was about to stand up himself but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke had walked down from his seat and was now in between Seishi and Kiba. Sasuke was staring at Kiba with a menacing glare, and Kiba didn't back down from it.
"Take it back." Sasuke said to Kiba. Kiba laughed a little before shaking his head. His grin still there, seeming to antagonize Seishi and Sasuke even more.
"Am I wrong?" Kiba asked. "Your clan must've been weak if it was done by one person only." The room was silent during this exchange. All eyes and ears on the two clan heirs as they attempted to stare each other down. That is until a quiet "Troublesome" was heard from the back of the room.
"It was my brother that did this." Sasuke said, his voice raising with each word. "And he was NOT WEAK!" With that final remark Sasuke jumped at Kiba tackling him to the ground and starting a wrestling match. With all the commotion the teacher of that class, Iruka Umino, rushed in from outside to break the two up. Pulling the two boys away was not very difficult for the Chunin teacher that came in. He had them both by the collar of their clothing, dangling them in the air. He pulled them both away from each other, but still hoisted above the ground so they couldn't continue fighting.
"What do you two think you're doing?" He yelled at them. Both boys were silent, still staring at each other in anger. Kiba's lip seemed to be bleeding and Sasuke's cheek was starting to swell, but their seemed to be no other injuries besides that. Iruka looked between the two before Kiba answered first.
"He started it." Kiba said. Iruka set him down just to smack him upside the head and pick him up again. Kiba yelped in pain before struggling to get out of Iruka's death grip.
"I don't care who started it. It's over now!" Iruka yelled again. The classroom was dead silent watching the events unfold. "Now sit down. You both have detention after class today." Iruka then dropped them both. Sasuke and Kiba both fell down to their butts before Sasuke got up in a huff and returned to his seat in the corner. Kiba scrambled back into his seat, trying to hide the tears coming from his eyes in anger. Seeing that the fighting had officially stopped Iruka walked to the front of the room towards the chalkboard and began writing today's lesson.
Seishi looked back at Sasuke to see if he was alright, but Sasuke was just looking out the window and giving just the slightest of glances towards the chalkboard. Seishi then turned to Kiba. He was still mad at Kiba for what he said, and he likely wouldn't forgive him for awhile, but Seishi was pretty sure Sasuke won the scuffle and so he was content for the moment. He was fine until he felt a sharp pain in the side of his head.
"OW!" Seishi yelled, clutching the point of impact just above his ear on the left side of his head. He looked down at his desk to see a small piece of chalk sitting on his desk, and deducing the only place that could come from looked towards the front. Iruka was giving him a stern look.
"Pay attention Seishi. Everyone else is looking up here but you, and I expect your full attention." Iruka said before grabbing another piece of chalk and continued writing. Seishi was baffled, he wasn't even looking away that much. It dawned on him that Iruka probably thought that since he was looking at Kiba he was going to start another fight. Unfair, but he'd get over it. Seishi then gave his full attention to the front. Iruka was a rather average-sized man with tan skin and a scar across the bridge of his nose. His hair was brown in the pineapple hairstyle plenty of people seemed to appreciate, though Seishi didn't know why it was so popular, and he wore the standard Chunin attire of a green Chunin vest, a blue sweater, and blue pants with even more blue shinobi sandals. 'Lots of blue' Seishi noted. The topic Seishi saw on the board that Iruka had just finished writing dubbed 'The Second Hokage's Reign.' Seishi mused on the topic for a second. The only thing he really knew about the Second Hokage was his name, which was Tobirama Senju, and his renown for his water jutsu. Other than that Seishi was stumped, but that didn't mean he couldn't learn more. So he decided to give Iruka most of his attention, while some still lingered on his worry for Sasuke.
The day itself was rather slow. The highlights were definitely his lunch break and the one really interesting thing he learned about the Second Hokage, that being that he sacrificed himself to save his team, and on that team was the current Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been named Hokage by the Second just before he sacrificed himself. The bell ringing was always a blessing and Seishi was almost the first out the door. Out in the courtyard many parents could be seen mingling and waiting for their children. He spotted Inoichi and gave him a wave before going to a tree across the courtyard and sitting on a small rope swing that hung off of it. He waved goodbye to some of his classmates as they walked by. After finally what felt like forever, there was movement again. He had seen Kiba come and go first, being dragged by the ear away from the academy by a rather fierce looking woman who Seishi could only assume was his mother. Sasuke came out a little bit later and started walking in the direction of Seishi.
"How was detention?" Seishi asked trying to make light conversation as they began walking. Sasuke just grunted in response which immediately had the effect of annoying Seishi. Undeterred however, he began to speak again.
"I'm a little surprised you got in a fight with Kiba. Though after what he said, if you didn't do something I would've." Seishi said. Again, Sasuke just grunted in response. Seishi was about to make a point of it when Sasuke took a left turn towards the forest behind the academy instead of a right towards the market district where there temporary home was. Surprised, Seishi spoke up questioning the sudden change in route. "Where are we going?"
"I'm going to where Itachi used to train when he was in the academy." That answer surprised Seishi, seeing as how Sasuke had been very anti-Itachi lately.
"Why?" Seishi asked simply.
"I'm going to train there. I want you to come." Sasuke said to his clansmen. Seishi was still a little surprised but he decided to go with it. He wasn't going to leave Sasuke until he was sure he was okay. Hearing his friend be silent, Sasuke assumed he needed to explain a little more. "We still have the basics of the Uchiha fighting style that our brothers and our clan taught us. We should get better as fast as we can so we can become stronger than everyone else in our class." Sasuke said. Seishi was a little surprised. That was the longest Sasuke had spoken straight since he had been released, or at least it felt like it. Seishi didn't see the rush in being better than everyone right now, but he was an Uchiha. The Uchiha were the best after all, and training was something he and Sasuke could do together to work on moving on.
Seishi smiled before giving Sasuke a nod. "Ya, let's do it. Let's get stronger." Sasuke gave Seishi a small smile before nodding back and walking forward with a renewed vigor. Seishi smiled some more. He knew the training was going to be fun, it always was with Sasuke. He wasn't sure if Sasuke was going to have fun with it, but that was okay. Seishi too had desire to become stronger, but his was more related to making his brother proud. Shisui had been arguably the strongest in the Uchiha clan before everything happened, and in Seishi's eyes it was no contest. He had a lot to live up to in regards to Shisui, but he would do his best. With those thoughts in his head Seishi followed after Sasuke again, but this time with more determination than before.
Today was a hard day for Seishi. A harder day than any other in the year. Today marked the one-year anniversary of when Seishi's mother and brother were buried. Three days before the anniversary of the fall of the Uchiha Clan. Seishi always thought it a little rude to call it the "fall" of his clan. He and Sasuke were still there and were going to be awesome some day, and even Itachi-nii was still out there. Somewhere. The days leading up to this had been rough. Sasuke had tried to help him a little bit, but even he was starting to get a little more aggressive with the anniversary the worst day of his life coming up. Seishi's was today, and though he'd been getting better and getting along better that didn't stop the sobs that racked his body.
His friend Ino's dad Inoichi had helped him get through the times early, and had told Seishi that he could come over for dinner whenever he would like. It meant a lot to Seishi that he got the invitation, but Sasuke never had wanted to go so far. Over the last year Sasuke himself had gotten quieter and more withdrawn than ever before. It got on Seishi's nerves. Instead of playing with him and his friends, all Sasuke wanted to do was sulk and train. It got so bad that Seishi hardly sat by Sasuke anymore, choosing to sit next to Ino or Shikamaru. Ino because she was Seishi's best friend other than Sasuke, and Shikamaru because he got all the answers on the tests right. Even that weird kid Naruto was more fun to be around than Sasuke even though a lot of adults told him not to hang around him. Even Akane became very stern at the mention of Naruto which was really odd to Seishi because she was so nice to him and Sasuke.
The morning Seishi woke up to was bright and sunny just like every other one this week. It made Seishi feel like the world had forgotten about his family. To him he felt it should've been raining harder than ever. It was unfair to Seishi that his family was forgotten about, lumped together with the rest of his clan on a day they weren't even alive to bear witness to. The only solace that Seishi had that they didn't forget was that Shisui's name was not only on the Uchiha Shrine, but also on the Memorial Stone. Seishi didn't know why exactly it was there, but Shisui was his hero and if any name deserved to be honored, it was definitely his.
Seishi didn't feel like getting up. He had already sent Akane away, and he wasn't sure Sasuke was going to come in. He may have already left or was brooding in his room. He reached over and grabbed the photo on his nightstand. It was the same picture he held onto the night the massacre happened. Himself when he was little, a younger Shisui, and his mother and father, smiling like everything was right in the world. At that time, maybe it was. Tears poured out of Seishi's eyes as he cuddled that picture again. He had other photos of his family, but this was the only one he had of them all together. He stayed lying in bed with that picture curled up around it. After a little bit however, Seishi got tired of lying in bed. Shisui and his dad were not one to lay about, and he was going to honor his family properly. He slowly got up and got dressed. He got dressed in a pair of black pants and a black long-sleeved shirt that was open just under the collar. It was a pair of clothes that almost everyone seemed to have in some form or fashion for a funeral. He walked to the door, slipping on his now getting-worn black shinobi sandals and left without saying anything. He had made his mind and was going to two different locations. First he was going to the memorial stone and was going to honor his brother as the hero that he was, then he was going to go to the Uchiha clan compound for the first time in almost a year to honor his mother and Shisui as his family. First he needed to grab a couple things.
The walk through town was one filled with uncomfortableness for Seishi. He got many wary looks as he walked through town in his mourning clothes. People understood what he was wearing, but were probably confused since the big day was three days from now. He was not stupid and didn't get his days mixed up. How could he with something like that. He went first to a florist to pick up a bouquet, incense, and some matches. The florist had a small section of incense candles since many people bought flowers to put on the graves of lost loved ones. He paid for it all by pulling his little money pouch and giving it to the man. Seishi had access to the Uchiha funds so it wasn't hard for him to get money when he wanted it.
He made his to the Uchiha clan compound first. It took him awhile since his pace was slow, but he finally got there. When he arrived to the gates a lump formed in his throat and his emotions rooted him to the spot. He was scared to open them and see what lay beyond. Images of bodies and blood flooded his vision and made him feel sick. These same images haunted his nightmares, but he was not going to be stopped now. He swallowed hard and pushed on the gates. The sight that greeted him was not one of death and destruction, but one of nostalgia and emotional pain. It looked just as it did before everything, except now it was empty and that hurt more than Seishi thought it was going to. His home wasn't far from here, and he would stop by there on his way out, but he had a different destination first. He made his way to the small rectangular building next to the home of the clan heads. It was in here that a shrine for the Uchiha dead was made. On the back wall across from the door was a mural of the Sage of Six Paths, Madara Uchiha, and his brother Izuna beside him. Under that inscribed into the wall was the names of the fallen Uchiha. Seishi turned to his right and walked towards the end of the names. On the fourth column from the end was the names of his family. He kneeled down before their names and began the small ritual. He laid down the flowers in front of him, put a couple of incense sticks in the small cups scattered along the ground near the walls and began to cry. He mourned. He grieved. He beat the ground with his fists in rage. It had been so long since he cried for them. It still hurt so much that they were gone, and he wasn't sure he'd ever truly get over it. He'd been doing better, but a year wasn't nearly enough. After the incense was finally burned out Seishi stood up and got ready to leave.
Seishi's head hurt from the constant strain but he walked on. He made his way over to his home. Seeing the entire clan compound and not seeing a soul was still jarring for Seishi. Around this time the entire clan would be busy. It was like it's own little world in its walls, but now everything was silent. When he finally got to his home he stood before the doors preparing himself to go in. He expected the house to be a complete trainwreck with spiders and cobwebs everywhere, but when he opened the door he was surprised to see everything the same as he remembered it. Just like the rest of the grounds. He didn't know who to thank for taking care of his home like this, but he'd find out and give them a big hug. Still, seeing everything like this again hurt. He followed the same path he did last time. First he went to his parent's room and looked around. It was a little dusty, but overall it was just as he remembered.
He then went to Shisui's room and looked around. Again, it was just the same. However Seishi saw something that he immediately wanted to grab. Laying against the wall on the far side of the room was Shisui's tanto that he used just before everything happened. Seishi immediately ran for it and grabbed it. He put his hand on the handle. It was wrapped in a white cloth that Shisui would change often to keep it pristine. He put his other hand on the leather sheath. The same sheath that Shisui used when he wielded this blade. He finally pulled the single-edged blade a little out of its sheath. It was a beautiful almost white color. It had a black line down the middle that was actually chakra metal surrounded by steel. Shisui had explained him how it worked once, and even showed him a jutsu he himself had created. By pushing fire chakra through the metal, he could extend his will through the blade, and by swinging his sword could create fire slashed that traveled a distance before expanding outwards and consuming everything before it. He had told Seishi everything about it, and was even going to teach him when Seishi had become a Genin. That seemed so far off now, but he had a basic idea and he vowed to himself that he was going to recreate that jutsu someday.
Finally having enough, Seishi put the strap of the blade's sheath around his shoulder and walked out. He was definitely not going to leave that there. It was his family heirloom now, and he was going to use it to make Shisui proud. Finally exiting the home, and then the compound Seishi felt a weight come off his shoulders. He was still sad, but to him, being at the Uchiha clan compound again showed progress. He was able to properly mourn his family and he got something that was immediately precious to him that he wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
Seishi again began walking, but this time to training ground three. He still wanted to honor Seishi as a hero, his hero, and he wanted to maybe, just a little, try swinging the sword around a little bit. Seishi had not long ago begun working on the fireball jutsu, and while he couldn't get it to form yet, he had asked Iruka-Sensei for advice on molding fire chakra and was starting to make progress. Maybe he could practice his fire manipulation by making the blade warm. If it worked that way. After a long walk, Seishi was starting to feel a little better. Mourning his family properly had been hard, but with Shisui's sword on his shoulder, he felt closer to them again. That alone meant the world to Seishi.
Finally arriving at the training ground Seishi was a little surprised to see someone else there. It was a public memorial stone so he shouldn't have, but the man in front him looked a tad weird. He was rather tall with spiky silver hair and wearing a standard Jonin uniform. He also had a mask that covered most of his face except for his right eye. To Seishi t didn't seem the man noticed him as he walked up to stand beside him. He had his lone gaze glued to the names on the stones. Seishi walked up and stood beside him. It was only then that he seemed to take notice of the small newcomer beside him. Seishi wasn't expecting the man to talk, but when he did it surprised him.
"Ahh. Little Seishi." The man said. Seishi looked up to him in confusion. As far as Seishi knew he had never seen this man before, so why did he know his name?
"Do I know you?" He asked. Seishi scrunched his face trying to discern any details. 'If I knew anyone with hair like that, I'd recognize them for sure.' The man seemed content to let Seishi scrutinize his visage before chuckling.
"Probably not. My name is Kakashi Hatake. It's nice to meet you." He said to the young boy. The newly-named Kakashi reached his hand out for a shake. Seishi reached out the one hand that wasn't holding the sword and shook it back.
"My name is Seishi Uchiha, though you seem to know that already." Kakashi gave him what he thought was a smile. He had crinkled his eye closed and you could see the shape of his lips through his mask to see it. Kakashi himself took notice of the boy's appearance. Particularly of the sword on his shoulder. He knew exactly whose sword that was, and where he had gotten it from. Instead of mentioning that he decided to strike a different conversation.
"Here to honor your brother?" Kakashi asked him. The boy below him nodded before looking at the name. It wasn't near the end. It had been a year and many good Shinobi had died in that spanse of time. Seishi found it with relative ease however, finding the characters easily among the rest. Kakashi returned his eyes to the names he had been staring at before. Minato Namikaze, his old sensei, Rin Nohara, his female teammate, and Obito Uchiha, his other teammate and best friend. All were taken too soon and had left their dreams and ambitions with Kakashi. It was his fault his teammates had died, and the Nine-Tailed foxes that caused the fall his sensei.
The two sat in relative silence for awhile, but it was Seishi that made the first move. He moved away from the stone and into the clearing of the training ground. Kakashi watched him the whole time. Seishi set the sheath on the ground and slowly withdrew the sword. He put his hands on the pommel like his brother had taught him so long ago, and took a few practice swings. After a bit of repetition he decided to try something new. He decided to try and warm up his chakra to see if he could heat the blade. It would be the first step in recreating his brother's jutsu. Seishi knew it wouldn't happen since he couldn't even make a fireball yet, but he had to start somewhere.
Kakashi watched him with mild fascination. He could tell Seishi knew very little in the way of swordplay, but he was now trying something else. Kakashi watched him for awhile before looking back at the stone. Staring at Obito's name and then back at Seishi, Kakashi came to a decision. His time at Anbu was coming to an end, he could feel it. The Hokage would likely force him to take on a team of brats, but maybe he could wait until one or both of the Uchiha's graduated the Academy to take them on as students. It would help him start to pay back the sacrifice of his best friend. For now though, he could begin by helping the Uchiha right in front of him.
"What is it you're trying to do?" Kakashi spoke to the young boy after approaching him. Seishi who had just lost all of his focus groaned at having to start over again.
"I'm trying to make fire chakra to heat up the blade. I want to make my brothers Jutsu again." Seishi responded to the man. Kakashi 'hmm'd in response before speaking again.
"Shisui's Halo Dance right?" Seishi looked up at him in shock.
"How did you know?" He asked dumbfounded. Kakashi chuckled before answering.
"I worked with your older brother before, plus I make it a habit of mine to know any interesting characters around the village." Seishi looked at him in awe. Seishi quickly yelled out,
"Could you help me then!?" He asked the man in front him. Kakashi smiled before shaking his head.
"I could give you a couple tips, but the technique is his." Seishi deflated at hearing that, but Kakashi wasn't done. "I did hear him say the technique was a little draining when used repeatedly, so maybe I can help you with your chakra instead." Seishi's grin nearly split his face. He jumped up and down on his feet,
"Please please please please please please help me." He pleaded the man. Kakashi could only chuckle at the complete turn around in emotions the kid went through. He smiled before nodding causing Seishi to jump up and down in glee.
"So first things first. Let's learn something that will help you not only as a ninja, but also help build up your reserves without damaging them or causing overexertion easily. Did you ever learn the tree-walking technique?" He asked the boy. Seishi shook his head no and continued staring at Kakashi for an explanation. "Well the tree walking exercise allows you to walk up the side of a tree using only chakra. Follow closely and observe." Kakashi then began walking towards the treeline, and when he reached the first tree started walking up the side of it. Seishi could only look in awe. That was one of the coolest things he'd seen. Why had Shisui or Itachi never shown that to him before?
Kakashi walked up a few feet before turning around and walking back down to the earth. "What do you think?" He asked the boy. Seishi blew up in excitement.
"That was awesome!" He exclaimed. "How'd you do it? Tell me please please please." Kakashi laughed again, enjoying seeing the excitable young child and for having brung the somber child out of his mood and into one of joy. It felt good. Maybe having a team wouldn't be so bad.
"So come over here, ;lay down and put your feet on the trunk of the tree." Kakashi told the boy. Seishi did just that. He walked up the tree next to Kakashi, laid the sword on the ground gently and laid down next to it. Putting his feet up to the tree, he then looked up to Kakashi ready for the next instructions. "So channel your chakra to the bottom of your feet and try moving your feet until you get the right amount and they stick." Seishi looked up at Kakashi in confusion, but tried anyway. It took a little concentration to get his chakra down to his feet, but once he did he played with the amount. At first nothing seemed to happen, so being annoyed Seishi pushed a lot of his chakra to his feet which got him shoved back a few inches. Kakashi had chuckled a little before telling him to be more careful and try again.
After a little bit of trial and error he finally got his feet to stick properly. Kakashi seemingly pleased with his progress then told him to walk up. Seishi did as he was asked. He took a step forward, and then another up the base of the trunk. Feeling the rest of his body rise off the ground like he was walking normally excited Seishi and then he fell with a solid 'Oomph.'
"That was good." Kakashi praised, "But you have to keep pushing chakra to keep stuck to the tree or you'll fall down." Seishi nodded at his words before trying again. It took a lot of effort and not long after Seishi got really tired. Kakashi nodded at his complaints. "You've been at this longer than I thought you would with your Chakra coils not being fully developed yet. You did great." Seishi beamed at the praise. He could tell this man was a Jonin based on his attire, and praise from an elite ninja meant a lot. Especially to him. "Go home and get some rest. If you have time practice that until the chakra flow becomes natural to you." Seishi nodded before sluggishly getting to his feet.
Seishi grabbed the small sword beside him and shouldering it before speaking. "Thank you." He said to the man before him. "I'm happy you helped me and made this day more fun." Kakashi smiled at him.
"You're welcome as well Seishi. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go." Kakashi gave him a lazy wave before disappearing in a shroud of leaves. Seishi was again in awe at seeing that technique. He had seen it plenty of times before, especially because Shisui liked to show off when they played tag by just disappearing and reappearing on the other side of the field like the cheater that he was. He really needed to learn that too. Seishi began the long walk home. The sun still shone in the sky, but was on the receding end. Seishi was rather tired as well so a nap was definitely in order.
After a walk that was normally short but felt incredibly long on his tired and sore legs, Seishi arrived home. He opened the door slowly and shut it behind him. He took off his shoes at the door and began walking towards his room. He gave a small wave to Akane as he walked by her on the way. He poked his head to inside Sasuke's room as well before entering his. Seeing that he wasn't in, Seishi sighed. He was probably out training again, although Seishi couldn't judge since he got some special training by a super cool Jonin. He'd brag to Sasuke later and teach him what was taught to him. He proceeded to go to his room. He set down the sword on top of his dresser, clearing off space for one of his now most-precious items. He then undressed his now dirty and grass stained mourning clothes and put them with his other dirty clothes. Akane had dealt with plenty of grass stains on his clothes before, so he was sure she wouldn't mind too much. He then stretched out his legs, feeling the muscles groan in protest. He rather liked the feeling. It made him feel as if he did good, and Kakashi-san had said he did good. He then laid down and closed his eyes.
The next few days dealing with Sasuke would be rough, but Seishi decided he'd try to take him to the Uchiha compound as well. Maybe it will help Sasuke like it helped him. Emotionally he still hurt, but after seeing the clan grounds again, getting Shisui's sword, and having a fun time with Kakashi, Seishi was in a much better mood. He just hoped Sasuke would be as well.