August 4, 2003
10:07 AM
Los Angeles

"Are you sure?"

Tony wasn't worried. He wasn't anxious or dismayed or put out or anything like that, seriously. He was an adult. An adult-y adult. He knew what was necessary.

"While I'd prefer it if he never went back to that lifestyle, he's certainly arrived at the point where it wouldn't be any more detrimental to his mental health than if his previous trauma hadn't occurred." Dr. Frost's voice was calming over the phone line, and Tony forced himself to take a deep breath. Right. Okay. That was a thing.

"Are you sure he doesn't need a few more months?"

"Attached, are we?" Dr. Frost laughed, though not unkindly. It was a strange sound, especially over the phone, like clinging diamonds. "Like I said, it would be best for him to never go back to that sort of work again. Unfortunately, what little you've told me about the situation, that doesn't seem to be an option, so I'm telling you that he's as ready as he'll ever be to get back into the game."

"…I don't want to let him go back." Tony leaned back in his chair, hand up to his temples. "I really, really don't want to let him go back to that life. You've heard what it did to his brother, and I grew up with a lot of stories from my mom on the subject… it's just… it's not…"

"I get it, Mr. Stark, I really do." Dr. Frost sighed. "You're his legal guardian, so it's really all down to you. You're the one that has to weigh the risks and make the decision."

"No pressure or anything." Tony muttered.

"I do have some unrelated good news, if you want to hear it." Dr. Frost offered, sensing that there was nothing left for her to say on the previous subject.

"Go for it." Tony sat back in his chair, twiddling a pen in his hand.

"I've spoken to Professor Xavier, and Sasuke is free to visit in a few months' time." Dr. Frost told him, and Tony had to agree that that was probably good news. "We've been dealing with some legal trouble with a certain student recently due to the fact that he was an unregistered German minor when we picked him up a few years ago, and still is, but that should blow over fairly soon, and Sasuke can visit once it has."

"That's probably a good idea. I'd like for him to have some friends his own age here in the States." Tony made a face. "I certainly didn't have any 'til college, and look how I turned out."

"Well, you didn't turn out terribly bad, but some friends would be beneficial to Sasuke's mental health, yes." Dr. Frost, Tony guessed, was probably smirking right now. "In any case, I think some of the students would benefit from his stories of the Elemental Nations and their shinobi clans."

"I can imagine." Tony levered himself up from the slouch he'd sunk down into over the course of the conversation and switched the phone to his other ear. "So, is there anything else I need to know?"

"Not at the moment. I'll see you on Saturday, Mr. Stark."

"See ya then, Doc."

o.o.o.o.o

August 4, 2003
12:27 AM
Malibu

"I want to go back to… the Academy." Sasuke's answer was immediate and resolute. "As… as soon as possible."

Tony didn't let his disappointment show, though Pepper did no such thing. Ms. Douglas didn't react much at all; her contract stipulated that wherever Sasuke went, she would go as well. "No chance of staying here in the States with Uncle Tony, then, huh."

Sasuke shook his head, though he seemed pleased that Tony wasn't forcing the issue. "I need to go back. I need to be able to fight Itachi."

Tony's thoughts ran somewhere along the lines of: well, at least it's not 'to kill Itachi' anymore. "You'd be just as safe if you stayed here. Safer, even, given what the fallout of hurting you would be."

"If Itachi were to decide to kill me now, I would not be able to defend myself, and the bodyguards you hired would do no better. They are very good at defending against non-shinobi threats, and likely against ninjutsu and taijutsu users, but genjutsu is totally different." Sasuke had clearly been working on these arguments for a while. "I need to learn how to be an effective shinobi before I can do anything else. I need to be able to defend myself against Itachi, and then take him out whenever possible so that he doesn't do anything bad like that again."

Aaaaand there was the 'need to kill Itachi' bit again.

"All things considered, I can't start a war between the US and the Elemental Nations by refusing to let you go back. I also can't afford to let you stay defenseless against your brother." Tony shook his head. "As much as I hate doing this, I'm letting you go back."

Sasuke's face brightened. "Tha—"

"But!" Tony held up a hand to pause him, and Sasuke froze in place, awaiting the caveat. "You have to come back and visit every once in a while, alright? Long weekends, holidays, vacations, whatever. You tell me when you have free time like that as soon as possible, and I'll have a plane ready whenever necessary, okay?"

Sasuke nodded slowly. "Is there… anything… more?"

"Anything else." Ms. Douglas quietly corrected him.

"Is there anything else?" Sasuke repeated, this time with the correction.

"I'm giving you a phone and a laptop to take with you." Tony said, now quite serious, and switching to Japanese to make things easier for Sasuke to understand; Tony's Japanese was nearly fluent by this point. "I want you to keep the phone on, charged, and with you whenever possible. You can set it to silent when you're in class, but if there's ever an emergency, Pepper or I will call you as soon as possible, and you'll need the phone for that. Ms. Douglas will have one, too, though the only Stark Tech that one has is an enhanced battery life and signal. The computer has a built-in camera, and I want you to call me with video chat every night, alright? You'll also keep meeting long-distance with Dr. Frost on Saturdays the same way."

Sasuke nodded slowly, and glanced at Ms. Douglas.

"I'll remind you."

"Oh, and I'll also be sending along some books on science-y stuff for you to read." Tony switched back to English and the light-hearted tone he usually used. "I want you to have some non-ninja stuff to entertain yourself with whenever possible, and to practice your English, okay? I'll get the rest of the series you've been watching downloaded onto some DVDs so you can watch that when you want to, and some more sci-fi books, too."

Sasuke tilted his head, eyes narrowed. "How much science… do you want for me… to learn?"

Tony shrugged. "As much as possible? Seriously, whatever your chakra does or whatever you want it to do, knowing some science is gonna be helpful. Like, a lot. If you understand how something works, making it work is going to be a lot easier."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You just think math and science are the most important subjects."

"I'm biased, so sue me. Actually, don't. We're related and that would be messy, and you're a minor, so that would be weird for everyone. Also, I don't want you in a court because that would mean people knowing who you are and that would be bad." Tony made a face.

"Right…" Sasuke shook his head. "When do I go?"

Tony winced. "I think your school semester is halfway done, so really, whenever you want. I'm thinking of having us ship out in a week. You were ahead before we left, right? You should still be fine to get back into the game once you get back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Sasuke nodded. "I… cannot wait."

"Yeah… you're the only one, kid." Tony muttered, audible to no one but himself.

o.o.o.o.o

August 13, 2003
2:42 PM
Konohagakure no Sato, Hokage Tower

Tony, for all his hesitation to let Sasuke go back, was pleased to see how happy the kid was at seeing his home again.

He wasn't quite as pleased to see the Hokage again, but the man had his respect, so Tony held out a hand to shake as soon as they were within distance, not quite sure whether he should be doing this or bowing, but it didn't seem to matter either way, considering how that the Hokage shook his hand in return.

"I see that Sasuke-kun is doing better?" The Hokage nodded down at the boy.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he can answer that for himself." Tony said, remembering all the times he'd hated people speaking for him when he was a kid.

"I think I'm doing better." Sasuke said, looking away, down and to the side. "But I'm going to keep talking to Dr. Frost."

The Hokage quirked an eyebrow and looked up at Tony.

"Psychologist. She's been working with him for the past few months." Tony shrugged, though he paid careful attention to the Hokage's reaction, even if the whole ninja thing probably meant he was hiding his real thoughts on the issue.

"I see. I take it she's good at what she does, then?"

"Top of her field." Tony assured him. "So, I think you remember Pepper, and I'd like to introduce you to Rachel Douglas, Sasuke's nanny/caretaker/whatever you'd like to call her so long as it's applicable and not going to get anyone killed."

The Hokage and Ms. Douglas both raised eyebrows at that, but Tony was pretty used to that expression at this point; he got it from just about everyone he knew personally.

"Miss Douglas, then?"

"Ms. Douglas, yes." The woman corrected him as she shook his hand. "I'll be staying with him until such a time as Mr. Stark sees fit to release me from my duties, or my contract runs out."

"I see. Well, you'll have to fill out some paperwork to stay in the village. It would normally take much longer, but due to the circumstances—"

Because Sasuke's the heir to one of the most important clans in the village and Mr. Stark has incredibly large amounts of money, Tony mentally filled in.

"—one of the shinobi downstairs should be able to get you set up within a few hours." The Hokage looked over at Sasuke again. "Now, as to your living situation…"

"I want to live at my old house." Sasuke said, face set in as stubborn an expression as he could make it. Tony and the Hokage glanced at each other.

"Not happening." Tony said.

"Maybe in a few years." The Hokage allowed. "There were a number of empty homes in the Uchiha compound before, so you can continue to live there, but I would prefer it if you didn't live in a house with too many… memories."

Sasuke pursed his lips and crossed his arms, but didn't argue outright, so Tony supposed that was good enough.

"Other than that, I believe we only need to get you reassigned at the Academy, and that can be done the morning you begin classes again." The Hokage nodded slowly, as though reaffirming the decision to himself. "Anyone have any other concerns?"

"A working schedule for when I can drag him away back to the States?" Tony noted the Hokage's amused smile, shrugged, and moved on. "Like, can I get an academic schedule or something, so that I know when the long weekends and the holidays are?"

"I believe that would be doable, yes." The Hokage smiled. "Now, is that all?"

"Yeah, I think so." Tony looked around for a second, gauging the expressions of everyone in his party. "Yeah. That should be it."

"Then I suppose this is goodbye."

Tony's throat was suddenly very, very dry. "Guess it is."

o.o.o.o.o

"Don't forget to call me." Tony had his hands on Sasuke's shoulders, and was looking him in the eye, quite serious.

"I will not forget."

"And keep your phone charged and with you at all times."

"I will."

"And have your computer open and hooked up to the internet on Saturdays so that you can meet with Dr. Frost."

"I will."

"And—"

"Mr. Stark." Ms. Douglas came and put a hand on Tony's arm, very, very lightly. "I can assure that, should Sasuke forget to do anything you've asked, I will be there to remind him."

"Right." Tony took a deep breath. "Right, I just…"

"You worry. I understand." And she did, Tony later found out; she understood far more than he thought.

But that is a story for a later time.

"Yeah. I just… take care of yourself, alright, kid?" Tony's hands tightened minutely on Sasuke's shoulders.

"I will be fine, Uncle." Sasuke shifted awkwardly, and Tony guessed, or at least thought he might know, what the problem was.

Tony pulled Sasuke into a tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you, kiddo."

"…I'll miss you, too, Uncle."

o.o.o.o.o

A/N: If you're wondering what the issue with this chapter was, blame chapters two and three of SCaaHDoM (currently out on AO3 but not here), which added up to over fifteen thousand words.

Exposition takes a while in crossovers where no one's trying to kill each other.

Ja ne,

Phoenix