Disclaimer: No.
When they finally returned to school Uchiha Sasuke was not there. He didn't attend the next day or the day after that. There were whispers around the school and the general public that the boy was in the hospital due to a Sharingan ability his brother used on him. Kurama had little doubt as to what attack was used, even if the rest of the Konoha populous didn't.
Shikamaru mentioned an interrogation and Kurama had to stop himself from wincing.
Even if they were Uchiha, even if he hated them, their ancestors and everything they stood for, he also knew loss. He knew the bone-deep ache of losing one's family. Even if they were loud, annoying and undoubtedly insane, the other Biju were family to him. They were his family no matter how much he denied it. He realized that now, in his current state, and regretted pushing them away.
It still hurt, like a fresh and aching wound in his chest. He could feel their pain, as muted as it was, their sorrow, their loneliness. Trapped within their own seals, cursing fate.
He knew it must have been utter agony to think about your family's murder so soon after the act. To have to go over every detail with strangers.
Perhaps that's why his eyes always turned to the empty seat, even a week after the massacre.
Perhaps that why when the boy finally did return two weeks later, full of anger and sorrow with a touch of the Uchiha madness, Kurama looked him dead in the eye for the first time.
I don't like you, but I don't hate you either.
The boy's face twisted with confusion, unable to understand the meaning behind silent declaration. Kurama merely smiled blandly back. After all, confusion was better than anger. It was so much better than that all-consuming madness.
One broken Uchiha was superior to a clan of bitter ones, after all.
The broken can be fixed.
He knew that now.
Naruto, being Naruto and uncannily observant at the least expected times, proceeded to drag the dark haired boy into the empty seat at their table rather than the one at the front of the class.
Ignoring all protests he brightly and declared "Welcome back…what, what's your name again?"
Shikamaru, sitting with Choji at the table behind them, snorted and Kurama shook his head while the Uchiha looked utterly offended. However, that irritation turn to a reluctant appreciation as Naruto cut off, distracted and completely and blatantly prevent their instructor from making any mention of the massacre or bothering the Uchiha in any way.
When Naruto invited him to their home after school, explaining excitedly that Iruka-sensei had been teaching them to cook and he had finally gotten the hang of homemade ramen, the boy actually looked interested even if his jounin escort frowned in disapproval.
The Uchiha refused in the end. Grateful for Naruto's actions, but still too proud for his own good. Kurama wondered at the faint regret on Naruto's face. After all, the boy hadn't even known the Uchiha's name before today.
He shouldn't have even bothered wondering because Naruto turned to him with a sad smile and murmured. "He's just like us, you know."
It didn't matter in the end that the last Uchiha was adored by the village, while they were the outcasts. Naruto had found a connection between them and Kurama knew better than to discourage it. Because that was who Naruto was and it reminded him of someone so dear to him he couldn't bear to smother it, even if he knew his brother would be hurt. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but in the future, he'll reach out to someone and be turned away, betrayed, hurt.
Kurama only hoped that he wouldn't be the one to hurt him.
The rest of the day flew by in an uninteresting blur. Iruka had started getting busier as the school year started, so he didn't have time to spend every evening with them. Kurama found himself once again staring restlessly up at the ceiling. Naruto snoring lightly beside him.
He heard a rustle and smiled.
The anbu Hound, or Kakashi as he had come to learn, returned again tonight as he had since his reappearance without his Anbu uniform. He remained on the window sill like he had when he was their guard, but he had become more talkative lately. Kurama appreciated it, even if he didn't understand the man's reasons.
Regardless of motives, Kurama had taken a liking to their talks. They calmed him down enough to fall into a dreamless sleep. Their topics ranged from the most mundane of topics to the abstract and complicated. Kurama liked that fact that the man didn't question his intelligence nor discredit his opinion because of his physical age.
He wondered if talking with him was just as calming as it was for Kurama. Some days it seemed that way, while on other days the man seemed to curl into himself. On those days, he reeked of guilt and sorrow. It was on those days Kurama wondered how the man was connected to them. Did he know his previous host, his…mother, or was he connected to his…father? On those days, he would fall into an uneasy sleep considering the question and all the implications of the answers he considered.
A mere three month later, Kurama tried not to let his boredom show in school, but it was a difficult task. While he didn't know much about human culture and history he was able to understand the lectures much quicker than his fellow classmates. Instead, he helped his brother through the lessons as subtly as he could. The boy was smart but didn't have the attention span nor the patience to puzzle through the instructor's words. He liked practical lessons like Iruka had been teaching them, with images and objects that Naruto could hold. Kurama couldn't have been more grateful for the man's creativity when teaching them.
Their instructor had taken to ignoring them completely unless Naruto instigated something, so he could whisper translations for Naruto to understand. When Naruto seemed to understand what was going on, Kurama let his mind drift to other subjects. Some, rather worrying subjects. He had managed to convince his brother to practice stealth by 'spying' on the shinobi around town and while it was a rather slow process, Naruto's sudden thirst for pranks was more pressing. He wasn't sure if the 'stealth missions' were what brought it on or pent-up passive aggression from constantly being looked down upon, but Kurama didn't appreciate being his brother's test subject.
He thought his hair was ridiculous, normally, but bright pink and standing straight up from static took it to a new level. He wasn't even sure how Naruto managed to pull than one off. All he knew was that he woke up that way and remained that way for the rest of the day.
After a few more similar pranks, he had managed to persuade Naruto into targeting other shinobi in hopes helping his brother with training and give himself a break. To his great relief, he was no longer a target. However, that didn't mean he was completely in the clear. Apparently, his dear, sweet brother had begun a revenge campaign against their instructor and his pranks continued to become more elaborate.
They found themselves in trouble more often than not. Him usually being dragged into punishment because he was Naruto's twin, rather than having anything to do with the pranks themselves.
Iruka laughed, before scolding Naruto. He then recounted his own escapades, unintentionally managing to encourage Naruto to get even more creative. Kurama was positive that he would develop a constant eye twitch before he turned seven if this nonsense kept up.
He caught a slightly suspicious movement out of the corner of his eyes, dragging him out of his thoughts for the moment. He tilted his head to the side as the Hyuuga girl seemed to have developed a twitch making her fingers tap incessantly on the desk in front of her. Her eyes flashed from him to the front of the room before he finally got the message looked forward, just in time for his "sensei" to slam his hands on the desk in front of him. The intention was to startle him, but Kurama wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Instead, he tilted his head up at the teacher and raised an eyebrow in a silent question.
"Pay attention Uzumaki! If you daydream during a mission you'll be killed!"
'I'm six, as far as you know. What do you expect, you moron.' Kurama thought as he gave the man an unimpressed look. The man was lenient and understanding with the other kids in the room, but not them. Instead of making a fuss he simply lowered his eyes and uttered a soft.
"Understood, sensei."
It wasn't worth the effort.
The man scowled and stalked up front to continue to lecture about the different countries with a map pulled down to show the boundaries. It was information that Iruka had already taught Naruto and him, so he hadn't considered it all that important to listen as closely as he did all the other lectures.
He rolled his eyes.
That was apparently a mistake.
It seemed as though, their sensei was completely fed up with the pranks and their general existence.
"So, the genius thinks he too smart to participate with the rest of the class, eh?"
Oh.
"Well, why don't we go outside and I'll demonstrate what happens to ninja's who don't listen to their instructors."
Oh.
Iruka leaned back and stretched his arms above his head. He sighed in relief as his back cracked in three different places. He had finally completed all of the paperwork for becoming an instructor. He had gone to all the interviews and completed all the tests. Now all he need to do was get this stack of forms to the Hokage tower and wait for his tests to be graded. He hadn't known just how much work it was to become an academy teacher when he started, he couldn't even image what it took to become a jounin instructor for genin. He took a deep breath and released it slowly.
It took a long time for him to make it this far, but imagining teaching his first class made the struggle worth it. Not only that, but he had been getting a lot of experience over the past three months with teaching the Uzumaki twins.
A fond smile made its way across his face.
For all of the tragedy the Uchiha Massacre left in its wake, his meeting with the twins was a blessing he could never have foreseen. It had cost him a few friends and acquaintances, but he considered it worth it every time the two grinned at him or when their eyes lit up with joy.
He sorted the paperwork on his desk, wondering if he would get to teach a class with those two in it. He would have to continue to work as a teacher's assistant until the next school session, but if he did really well he'd be able to teach a class himself. He wasn't sure if he could request a class, but he considered trying. After all, he doubted anyone else wanted to teach a class with those two in it as sad as that fact was to him.
He finally stood up and gathered all the papers into a folder. If he delivered them now, then he'd have the rest of the day off.
He hummed to himself as he walked down the hall, his mood only getting brighter as he thought about what he could make for dinner and whether or not Naruto would try another prank on him after the last one failed spectacularly. The kid was good, but Iruka had experience on his side. He grinned as the image of Natsuki's exasperated face came to mind.
The grinned slipped slightly when he noticed a group of chunin and genin, teacher assistants, huddled around one of the windows looking out at the training ground behind the academy.
"What's going on?" He called out, making them jump. His suspicion rose when they took one look at him and shifted their eyes away from his. Guilt was etched into their bodies.
One of them, however, didn't look guilty at all and he smirked at Iruka. "One of the instructors is showing an unruly student what for."
Iruka's eyes narrowed as his gut screamed at him that something was wrong. His gaze shifted to the group outside, just in time to see a familiar orange head hit the ground; hard.
Iruka knew that he was known for a level head in combat situations. He read it in his file and had heard his friends praise him for it enough times. He had taken pride in never losing his cool in rough situations. That didn't mean he didn't get angry. That wasn't possible, but he controlled his anger and acted as rationally as he could, even in situations that he hated.
That rationality was gone today. For the first time in a very long time, he saw red.
Sasuke shivered as he watched the blood slowly seeping into the ground around the smaller twins head. His mind flashed back to three months ago before he could stop it. He wrapped his arms around himself.
The blond was screaming and attacking their instructor with vicious bites and scratches. The boy was almost rabid with rage over his twins beating.
The other students shifted uncomfortably and whispered to themselves. They had been taught to respect and follow the orders of their instructor, but…
Sasuke's eyes landed on the unconscious boy's face.
Vivid red stained the pale skin.
He closed his eyes and tried to push the memories away.
Uh, hi? Wow, it's been a long time. Seriously, half of this chapter has been written and sitting in its little folder for a very long time now. I just never had the time to finish it. This semester has been a nightmare and I have had no free time, at all. I mean I should be doing work right now and writing my final papers...Well anyway, this chapter is a little shorter than the other three, but it's easier to manage so this will probably be the usual length from now on unless I'm feeling inspired. That being said I cannot promise any next chapters until my semester ends, which is in about three weeks. I'll try to have a better update schedule during the summer. A job is easier to work around than classes, thankfully.
Thank you guys so much for all of the lovely reviews/favorites/followers! I really appreciate them and honestly, cannot believe so many people like this idea. To answer a couple questions/comments; no there will not be romance. As much as I love reading romance I hate writing it (weird I know). I might add some hints and funny moments, but no serious relationships. Also, the pov will be from Kurama's view primarily with dashes of other people added for flavor. As someone else pointed out, there aren't a lot of Kurama stories (I went on a long search after starting this fic), so I want to focus on him.
Anyway, I'm sorry for the wait, but I hope you guys like this chapter! Have a wonderful day.
(Oh, and sorry for the cliffy, uh, I promise he's not dead!)