Konoha's Weasel Prince
Summary: Itachi never got to use his Susanoo in his fight with Sasuke. As soon as the Kirin hit, he was sent back through time to the founder's era and it was up to him to ensure a safer and surer future for Konoha and the world at large. KisaIta TobiMada HashiMito others mentioned
It was not Shisui, Itachi realized as soon as his brain started functioning properly again. Yes, this boy looked a lot like Shisui had when he had first met his best friend during his pre-Academy days, when they had still only been cousins of a large clan that occasionally crossed paths in the streets of their Compound before they became friends and each other's confidant. This boy, despite being so young, had a longer face than Shisui's own rounded face even when he was thirteen years old. He was a bit shorter than Shisui had been at that age, too, Itachi realized. But he had a slightly broader frame than his deceased best friend had had. This boy also lacked Shisui's thick eyelashes that Shisui had inherited from his mother's side of the family. But the skin tone, the messy hair, most of the face's features ... It was just like Shisui's.
''Wha-!? Who are you?! Are you trying to sneak up on me?'' The child demanded, pointing his pointer finger at Itachi accusingly like any child would, Uchiha or not. And Kami-sama, his voice was almost a copy of a younger Shisui's. Itachi wanted to just close his eyes and pretend it was his best friend, that most of their lives had never happened and they were still kids who shared a dream of stopping all conflicts and wars, that he was in the Academy with Shisui training him on the side, that the Uchiha weren't planning on betraying the village they had sworn to protect. He wanted to pretend everything was okay ... But he could not for he had never deluded himself, had never allowed himself to indulge in illusions before and he won't, can't start now.
So he met the black eyes of the boy and put on a small smile while inside he felt like crying, for this boy was so much like Shisui but not. Seeing him felt like divine punishment. ''I am sorry if I have startled you, but I was just passing by when I heard yelling. I feared someone was in trouble and so I came to check it out.''
''Oh,'' the boy said, lowering his hand only for it to go back up, behind his head where he rubbed it in an embarrassed manner that messed up is hair even more. Despite the heir being far curlier than Shisui's had been, Itachi refrained from wincing as another searing pain assaulted his heart at the familiar gesture. ''Sorry for shouting then, mister.'' He brightened up and Itachi nearly cried upon seeing his smile. ''I'm Uchiha Kagamai-'' He cut himself off with a gasp, hands flying to his mouth and eyes widening. ''Damn it, I shouldn't have told you my family name!''
''Itachi.'' The older (secret) Uchiha replied with an amused smile, extending a hand for the boy to shake. Ah, the resemblances now made sense. Uchiha Kagami, Shisui's grandfather. The man was Sandaime's, Danzo's, Koharu's and Homura's generation but had died before Itachi was born. Impressively enough, he had died in the line of duty, despite how old he was. He had been one of the Uchiha Clan's best ninja and Shisui had loved him dearly despite not having a single clear memory of him. Itachi felt honored and humbled to be in the presence of the man that will one day be the father of the father of his most treasured friend. He also felt a swell of protectiveness, finally realizing just in what sort of situation he was, how fragile this balance of time was.
If something went wrong in this time, his time will be changed forever. Shisui might never be born and Itachi could not imagine what his life would have been like without his best friend to support him through it. A part of Shisui will forever be with Itachi as Shisui's eye still looked over Itachi, still watched his back. It still guided him through this world, when he was blind and vulnerable. It still protected him through that overprotective crow of his. That was the only thing Shisui and Kuro Onyx had ever agreed on, protecting Itachi. It's what made them compatible for Shisui's eye to be transplanted into the bird despite the strain on the animal's chakra it should have made.
''Hey, I gave you my family name! I told you from what clan I am! It's not fair that you don't give me yours!'' The boy pouted, braking Itaci's train of thoughts and bringing his attention back to his unexpected companion. He felt his mouth twitching up in a smile despite himself.
''Itachi of no clan, I am afraid.''
Kagami gasped, a worried look settling over his face, a guilty glint in his eyes. ''I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories for you, Itachi-nii-san.''
''Nii-san?'' The weasel arched a perfect black eyebrow and watched in interest as Kagami turned a lovely shade of red.
''I-if you don't mind, that is?'' The little Uchiha mumbled, kicking around the rocks at his feet. Itachi couldn't repress his smile anymore and he walked over to his friend's grandfather, messing up his hair even more.
''Not at all, Kagami-kun.'' The boy beamed up at him, obviously happy to have made a friend. ''What are you even doing out here all alone?'' The older asked, looking around the banks of the river and not allowing the memories to drag him down. Now was not the time. ''Wouldn't you rather play with your friends back in your clan's lands?''
He regretted his words when Kagami flinched, wondering what he had said wrong. He didn't have to wonder for long. ''I don't have any friends. They all say I'm weird. That I don't act like a proper Uchiha because I smile openly.'' A sad look settled over the boy's features before he smothered them with a not-really-all-that-cheerful look. There was still a lingering sadness in his eyes. ''And I'm out here to train!'' He said, puffing up his chest. ''I need to get stronger so they will acknowledge my existence and not make fun of me for smiling so often.''
Itachi felt a new level of disgust towards his clan. Yes, he will always love them, no matter what they would have done in his time and he will always mourn their end, but judging a child just because he was acting like a child and being happy? Ridiculing him for being happy? He felt nothing but disgust and rage. But unlike little Kagami, Itachi had perfected hiding his emotions so his little companion had no idea what he was feeling. Which was good. He would rather not scare off his new little friend.
''That's very admirable, Kagami-kun.'' 'And very sad,' he didn't say but thought anyway. ''But you shouldn't feel like you have to prove yourself to your family just so they would acknowledge you. Find a friend, even just one, who will like you how you are and you will be a lot happier and more at peace with yourself, no matter what others say.''
Kagami blinked up at him, almost in confusion. ''But I am a bit weak.'' He protested self-consciously. ''I can't even do the most basic of katon jutsus and my clan excels at them. If I can't do the Katon: Gokakyo no Jutsu, then I can't really call myself an Uchiha. It's a rite of passage, a coming of age.''
''Well, what seems to be the problem?'' Itachi asked, trying to understand how someone who's struggling might feel and think like Shisui had once told him to. It had been a bit hard at the beginning,since Itachi had never struggled with anything in his life. Even his Mangekyo techniques came along naturally. He had seen the Katon: Gokakyo no Jutsu preformed once before he could do it perfectly himself.
''I don't really know. I push a lot of chakra into it, so I know that it's not because a lack of chakra in the jutsu.''
''Too much is also bad.'' Itachi told him before he could go on. ''You have to have some measure of control of how much chakra you use. That jutsu uses more chakra than something as simple as a Bunshin or a replacement technique but it doesn't use all that much chakra either.''
''But how will I know what amount is right?'' Kagami asked, looking up at Itachi with a face Itachi knew all too well. It was a face Sasuke had made almost every day of their childhood, wanting Itachi to train him and teach him new things. Itachi briefly wondered if there had ever been a time he had made such a face, too, when he was younger. He really wouldn't know.
''Are you sure you did the right hand signs first?''
Without being prompted to, Kagami put his hands together and started making hand seals in the sequence of Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse and Tiger. Itachi sensed the rise in chakra but arched an eyebrow when he realized it was lagging behind. At the beginning, the molding of chakra was too low for the needed amount to be finished by the end. The fire simply didn't have the time to build up.
''Maybe you should try with Tiger, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse and Tiger.'' Itachi suggested, making the hand seals a lot slower than he usually would so Kagami could see the sequence before turning towards the water, bringing up a hand and easily breathing a large fireball across the water of the river, lighting up the riverside and the surrounding forest. When he let the technique fade, he winced as the backlash of the seal hit him, causing yet another headache and an ache in his throat and stomach, where he had been molding the chakra. It took him a moment before he could turn back to his younger companion without showing his discomfort. He really hated that suppression seal. ''Why don't you try?''
Kagami, eyes lit up with awe, nodded frantically, trying to rush through the hand signs but Itachi put his hand over the boys hands before he could finish the third sign. Confused dark eyes looked up at him and Itachi shook his head, sitting down on the rock covered ground and gesturing for the boy to do so, too. Kagami complied but retained that look of confusion on his face.
''Don't rush through the signs until you are certain that you can do them right and that the molding of your chakra can follow your speed.'' Itachi admonished gently, bopping his nose and chuckling at the pout he received. He took Kagami's smaller hands into his own and brought them together, guiding his fingers properly into the first sign. ''When the technique becomes familiar, you can even use less hand signs, but before that you need to learn the technique so you can do it in your sleep.'' He let go of Kagami's hands and placed his hand in the second hand seal, waiting for Kagami to properly imitate it. The little one's face was so determined that Itachi couldn't help but smile. Together, they arranged their hands into the third hand seal. Itachi didn't use his chakra but he could feel the rise in Kagami's and it felt right. The pace of the molding and turning of chakra was correct. He made the fourth and Kagami followed. ''Before you breathe out the fireball, hold in the chakra for a moment, coat your throat, mouth and lips with chakra to prevent any possible burns. Whoever said your own chakra can't burn you is an idiot.'' The fifth hand seal was made at the exact same time and Itachi gestured with his head for Kagami to turn towards the river as they made the last hand seal together. ''Try it.''
Kagami took his advice and took a moment to hold his chakra and to take a deep breathe as he coated the suggested areas with chakra to protect himself. When he finally breathed out the fireball, it wasn't nearly as large as Itachi's first attempt had been but Kagami was not legendary for his chakra control while Itachi's had been feared since he joined the ANBU. Still, the technique was successful and all that was left is to practice it till Kagami could really do it in his sleep.
''All right! I did it!'' The younger Uchiha cheered, doing a little happy dance that throughly amused his older companion. He stopped suddenly, a little frown on his face. ''But it wasn't that great of a fireball as it should have been.'' He pouted, crossing his arms and looking away. Itachi chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair from his still seated position.
''You did well.'' He told the boy with a smile. ''Not many manage to learn it as quickly as you did. Now all you have to do is practice and it will become bigger as you get used to putting more chakra into it.''
''How long did it take you to master it?'' Kagami asked and Itachi stopped for a moment. He remembered how his achievements had influenced Sasuke's self esteem when they were younger and he knew that telling Kagami he did it almost perfectly the first time he tried wouldn't really help. So one white lie won't hurt, right? Now, how long had it taken Sasuke, again?
''About a week, but I was eight years old.'' Well, it would have been true had he been Sasuke. In truth, he had been five still, close to six, and he had mastered it the first time his Chichiue had shown it to him since his chakra had been far more refined than Sasuke's or how Kagami's felt now. ''How old are you?''
''Six and five months.'' Kagami answered proudly, puffing up his chest and Itachi chuckled.
''Then you will manage in no time, with how skilled you already are.'' The younger blushed under his praise and went to say something else but was cut off when a messenger falcon flew overhead and Kagami cursed softly.
''Damn. It would seem that I have to hurry home before the others get back and someone notices I'm not around.'' Kagami dusted himself off and moved to cross the river but stopped when he remembered he hadn't been alone and he turned to face Itachi again. ''Will I ever see you again, Itachi-nii-san?''
Itachi had to pause to think on that one. He had no plans on staying longer than the month Hashirama-san had conditioned him with, but let's be realistic. He still has no idea how he ended up here in the first place and he didn't know how he will return home, either. Still, even if he were to end up living the rest of his life here, he knew he couldn't stay with the Senju. Sooner or later his identity will be revealed and there was no way the Senju would ever accept an Uchiha with them until Konoha was built. He'd no doubt be chased away - since there was no way he was letting anyone other than Sasuke to kill him off.
But even if he stayed and if he survived, which he planned on doing, there was no guarantee he will meet young Kagami ever again and he had already made Sasuke so many promises in their life that he had not been able to keep, along with the promises he had made Fugaku and Shisui that he was not sure he had kept, that he didn't want to make a promise he will end up breaking to this boy, too. He had never gotten around to training Sasuke the way the boy had wanted to. He had not manged to protect the Uchiha and Konoha was in danger, despite his best efforts. He had not even managed to properly take care of Sasuke. He will not make Kagami a promise he will not end up being able to keep.
''I am not sure.'' He admitted and Kagami's shoulder dropped a little.
''Well, I'll continue coming here occasionally for training. If you're ever passing by, feel free to come here.'' A smile spread across his lips. ''It was really an honor and a pleasure to meet you, Itachi-nii-san. I sincerely hope we meet again.''
Itachi smiled back at the boy and nodded his head before disappearing from his eyes by teleporting away with the Shunshin no Jutsu, startling the boy. He hid behind a tree and watched how Kagami looked around a bit, excited awe on his face before he remembered he was supposed to be rushing home and, with one last lingering look to where Itachi had been, he took off across the river, walking on the surface a little shakily with his feet sinking in a few inches but still managing to cross. When the boy felt about a hundred meters away, Itachi used Shunshin again to get closer to the Senju encampment, not even wincing under the tiny backlash from the suppression seal. He sped along the forest towards the hideout, knowing he had to reach it before the troops or else he would be in trouble.
Still, it would be worth it for meeting Uchiha Kagami, Itachi thought with a small smile.
The day had turned out far cheerier than the morning had suggested it to be.
